1978 Ford Courier “Minivan”

[StanGlover]

I just finished this one before the end of the year! ‘78 Courier “Minivan” by AMT. I struggled with the body paint finish on this one and ended up stripping it twice. Still some issues but it looks good on camera at least, and I can call it done ?.

There’s some final fitment issues with this kit, but considering the age of the molds and the multi-piece body, engine bay and front end, it comes out ok. If you have the patience I’m sure you can get this thing square.

The body is Testors Extreme Lacquer Turquoise, with primer black interior and Tamiya TS-26 Pure White on the seat, wheels and bumpers.

This kit comes with tons of custom and stock part options and three sets of stripe decals. I chose the custom camper shell/bed and the front fender flares, but I left off the goofy snow plow-like custom front air-dam so I had to trim the front flares to go with the stock fascia. All of the options make for a fun kit to design however you want! Thanks for looking!

Edited December 27, 2021 by StanGlover
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[chris chabre]

I have one of these Im going to turn into a custom eventually.

 

Nice work!

[stitchdup]

Nice work, I like your pics with it younger brother, shows how much the design changed

[Olskoolrodder]

Great builds!  (all of them)

[ChrisR]

NICE!!

[cobraman]

Nicely done.

[Oldcarfan27]

I like your comparo shots.

Mini truck comparison, wagon comparison and Ford generation comparison. 

Very clever!

[espo]

Very well built. The wheel flares look just like the addons I remember the Mini Truck Guys using back in the day. I had never considered building one of these until I saw this. With the options you mentioned from the kit this is something that you could really build in any fashion you want. 

[MurfTwice]

Nice build. Can it be built without the top as a regular pickup and is the bed pre-cut to allow for the windows? Would be fun to convert to a 4x4 using a first gen bronco kit. 

[StanGlover]

1 hour ago, MurfTwice said:

Nice build. Can it be built without the top as a regular pickup and is the bed pre-cut to allow for the windows? Would be fun to convert to a 4x4 using a first gen bronco kit. 

Thanks! Yes it can be built as a regular pickup, comes with two sets of bed sides, stock and custom notched for the topper windows. There’s also a roll cage for the bed area that I didn’t use.

[PappyD340]

Looks great!

[grodudulle77]

Very nice work !! ??

[Zippi]

Pretty kewl looking little ride.  Color looks great.

[Jonathan]

So cool.

Did the real truck ever exist with that cut into the bed sides?  I'm guessing not, but who knows...

[happy grumpy]

Cool little truck. great job on the livery.

[StanGlover]

18 hours ago, Jonathan said:

So cool.

Did the real truck ever exist with that cut into the bed sides?  I'm guessing not, but who knows...

That old thread has a picture from a mini trucking magazine, looks like it was an aftermarket custom that may have had a limited production. 

[crazyjim]

Very nice build.

[Jonathan]

2 hours ago, StanGlover said:

That old thread has a picture from a mini trucking magazine, looks like it was an aftermarket custom that may have had a limited production. 

That is bizarre.  Gnarly! 

[Spottedlaurel]

Great to see what you've done with this one Zack, looks really good! I like how you've detailed the wheels.

Some useful tips there for when I build my stepside version - I got as far as the mock-up stage, but the multi-piece bodywork (and rubbery plastic) put me off and it's fallen down the queue somewhat.

It looks like you have to paint the inner wings, bulkhead/interior tub and external bodywork separately before final assembly?

[StanGlover]

8 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Great to see what you've done with this one Zack, looks really good! I like how you've detailed the wheels.

Some useful tips there for when I build my stepside version - I got as far as the mock-up stage, but the multi-piece bodywork (and rubbery plastic) put me off and it's fallen down the queue somewhat.

It looks like you have to paint the inner wings, bulkhead/interior tub and external bodywork separately before final assembly?

 Yes all of that has to be done separately. I glued the firewall to the interior tub first (per the instructions) and then tried to align the inner wings with the firewall and frame after paint, but I got the angle of the firewall wrong. Then I had to trim the firewall to fit around the inner wings, and then the radiator support. All of that was slightly off now, which threw off the outer cab alignment with the engine bay. I think the windshield also interferes with the dash a little, making the cab sit high at the rear so the bed doesn’t align right. 

My advice: ignore the directions, try placing the interior tub on the frame, then align the firewall, inner wings and rad support. I think it’s possible to glue the 4 engine bay panels together as one unit first, paint that as one unit. Then the tub, bay, cab, and front end should fit better. 

The bed is also tricky to get square. I ended up gluing the bed, tailgate, and camper shell together as one unit and painted that all at once. The cargo area is just overspray, but the tinted windows mostly hide that. You will probably have to add or subtract plastic at the bed to frame body mount points to get the cab and bed to align right. I didn’t do that before paint so I just left it as is because I was getting frustrated with it. 

Anyway I hope that helps and doesn’t discourage you! It’s a cool little kit and was still fun to do. Once I burn down my kit stash some, I’d definitely like to buy another and try this kit again with the standard bed and a different livery. 

[slusher]

Beautifully done!

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Cool little truck