Monogram 1/24 Fox body Mustang

[GTMust]

I recently received this built up 1/24 scale Monogram Mustang from Ebay for $3.99 plus $8.00 shipping.

The car is an early '80's "Fox Body" Mustang hatchback, with a four cylinder engine and the GT interior. Apart from the base line four cylinder model, the only other 4 banger I know of is the SVO, but that had different body styling (hood and front headlights). The wheels appear to be similar to the McLaren Mustang but that was a V8. I'll have to do some further research to find out which prototype this model was based upon, but it's definitely somewhere between 1979 and 1984. Although the trim on the model was poorly painted, (the body is still the original yellow plastic), fortunately it's not a glue bomb and I can disassemble it fairly easily.

I have a couple of real, 1:1 Mustangs of this era... a 1985 GT and a 1986 GT that I am trying to find the time to restore. The '85 I intend to return to factory stock but I plan some modifications to my '86 and some custom touches. This 1/24 scale model will give me an opportunity to experiment with color choices, tire and wheel combos, etc. before committing myself to the real project that is currently waiting patiently in my garage!

Anyway, here are a few pics of the model as I received it:

Does anyone have information on the actual kit?

[bad0210]

i think that it was called the cafe racer. it has a yellow mustang on the box.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mustang-Cafe-Racer-1-24-collectors-item-model-kit-/270647462033

Edited December 17, 2010 by bad0210

[GTMust]

Thanks Brandon, that's definitely the one.

Now to start disassembly and stripping paint. No big hurry on this one. There are too many other projects on the workbench.

[GTMust]

Just for reference and in case the Ebay listing disappears, here's the pic from the listing: (courtesy of Brandon)

(Wow, for a little extra coin, I could have got a box and instructions. Oh well....)

[GTMust]

Thanks for the info Mark,

Actually I have the 1/25 scale Revell McLaren kit that you mention (still awaiting a build) and I should have checked before opening my mouth and sticking my size 10 boot in it! The McLaren did have the turbo 4 cylinder 2.3 litre as you say.

The Monogram "Cafe Racer" kit appears to have a slightly different motor to the Revell kit (a different engine in details and scale), even though it is turbo charged. It could be the same engine that Monogram also used in their SVO kit(?), but I haven't seen that one.

Anyway, the four is going in favour of a FI V8....

[Eric Stone]

The '79-'80 Cobras were available with the 2.3L Turbo 4, and they made Turbo GTs in '83 and '84. The SVO had a different turbo 4 entirely.

The Cafe Racer kit doesn't seem to replicate any particular prototype, but is more of a mild customization based on or inspired by the McLaren nose as Mark mentioned. There were a few cars (3) called Enduro GTs that were basically like the McLaren M81, but with a V8... (LINK) Those might be what you were originally thinking of with the McLarens.

I bought that Cafe Racer kit around thanksgiving last year and built it about this time last year. I enjoyed it, and have been buying up more Foxbody kits since. Here's a link to the one I finished. (LINK) I called mine an '81 Cobra, since the copyright was 1981, but I think I read somewhere that the sales literature for 1981 showed a turbo 4 available in the Cobra, but they didn't actually build any.

[Rick Schmidt]

I have to agree with Eric I figured the Cafe Racer for a light custom mustang I too decided it was an 81

I got the priveledge of building mine from a complete kit about a year ago Cafe Racer

I wish you luck on gettin yours rebuilt like ya say it looks to be not to bad

[sjordan2]

Looks like a decent canvas for a good build. I'm interested in what wheels you'll choose; I like the style but not the kit version.

Edited December 17, 2010 by sjordan2

[whale392]

The Cafe Racer is a 1/24th scale kit, based off Monograms 1979 Cobra/Pace Car offerings. While fairly well detailed for the time, it is margainal at best for todays standards. The rear end is neither correct for the 7.5" (1979-85 all and 86 non-V8) or the 8.8" (1986 V8). The 4 cylinder in that kit is still the base engine that the later Monogram SVO kits got (albiet with revised Intake/Exhaust configuration). The wheels are meant to be the ARE mesh wheels available through Ford at the time. I could go on, but why?

I too am a FOX lover, with 1:1 Foxes of a 1983 GLX vert V6/auto, 1984 GT Turbo (4cyl/turbo/5spd....less than 4,000 built in 1984), 1986 GT T-Top 5spd, and a 1991GT 5spd.

[GTMust]

WOW! Thanks for all the Mustang input guys. My head is spinning! I thought I had a pretty good knowledge of them but you guys have got me beat!

I actually have five real 1:1 Mustangs: an '85 GT with auto, air and T-Tops: my '86 GT with 5speed, air and T-Tops: an '88 5 litre parts car: an '89 2.3 auto, hatch with air (a great little summer "about town" car): and '99 3.8 V6 with auto and air. I've been a Mustang fan since they first came out in '64 and have owned just about every year of Mustang since (except the Mustang II Pinto lookalike). I also had two Capris, a 1980 and a 1981, but none of the body panels interchange with the Mustang. Even the inner window crank handle position was different. The McLaren had totally different wheel flairs than the Capri, much wider and molded into the doors.

I'll have to go out in the garage and compare the model mustangs I have to the real ones! See what the salt on the Canadian winter roads does to such beautiful automobiles......!

Here's my '85 buried under a coat of dust:

And my '86, partially dismantled and awaitng restoration:

I gotta lotta work ahead of me!!!

[Rob Hall]

For someone who isn't a Fox enthusiast I can agree, but if you've spent any time around 1:1 Fox body Mustangs the Monogram kits are way outa whack body-wise. There's a lot of chop-n-channel going on. In fact, the 1/24 clear '87-93 headlights fit the 1/25 MPC body almost perfectly with no modification...because the body is squished vertically in the middle quite a bit.

While I'm not going to suggest anyone should not like/build/buy them, they're a product of 70s Monogram kit design and are just as "off" as the 1/24 '69 Camaro, '70 Malibu and other Monogram kits of that time. As was mentioned above...they were acceptable at the time, but they are a very weak effort by today's standards.

It'd be great if these cars got a fresh tool cut one day. Certainly if it was designed right there are a ton of people that would like to see the Fox Mustang get a decent kit made...after all, it had a 15 year run and they're still hugely popular.

Yes, a new tool would be great.

I've.always found the fit of the MPC kits to be fiddly, didn't like how the engine compartment was part of the interior panels, and the nose shape of their '87-88 was inaccurate, along w/ the darn chrome headlights.

I think I have all the MPC and Monogram Fox Mustangs except for this Cafe Racer version.

[whale392]

I do have all the MPC versions, along with the later AMT 87-90 version.

As to the kits, I use the AMT or Monogram 1/25th scale 1994-96 Cobra/Mustang GT kits for the engine bay/chassis/drivetrain bits and make the interior panels fit the chassis.

1979 had its own specific inner door panels, same with 1980. 1981 went to the now-standard arrangement of cranks/door lock/door handle locations carried through until the end of the FOX in 1993. Capri parts will interchange with Mustang bits as well. 1979-82 taillight panels are specific to that year group, same as the narrower cowl and trans crossmember/gas tank straps. 1983-93 is pretty much standardized. 1979 had tiny 9" front discs (so did some 1980 models), 1980 and later got the 10" discs. 1979-82 cars also had some K-Member variations, 1983-84 were similar, 85-86 were similar, and 87-90 were similar. 1991, the front control arm locations were revised for less brake dive.

Sorry, I will let you get back to the build. In case you are interested, there is a FOX community build going on right now in that section of the forum.

Edited December 18, 2010 by whale392

[whale392]

You can use the AMT/Monogram 94-95 inlet tube for the mass air conversion on the car, and a file will cure the too-big headrests. Steering wheel......maybe some styrene work.

But this is roughly an 81-82 kit, and I think we are getting a little ahead of ourselves actual-car wise. The seats are the Recaro twin-post units (1979-82), versus the Lier-Siegler single-post units (83-86). The steering wheel is the 1979-82 unit, with the horn button on the turn signal stalk versus in the wheel. Also, the real steering column was a multi-spline unit (think axleshaft ends) versus the 83-later 'D' splined units. The dash face itself has one less screw holding it in place and would glow green in color versus the 83-86 unit that has the extra screw and would glow red/orange).

I have word that Revell is working on a 1991-93 All-New-Tool 1/25th scale Mustang COUPE kit as a 2'n'1. I am beyond excited about this, as it will be the first 1/25th scale Coupe to be offered in plastic and the possibilities for it would be endless.

Edited December 18, 2010 by whale392

[GTMust]

Thanks for the connection to the Fox Body community build, Bradley. I wasn't aware of it as I only just joined this great forum recently. I just had 3 hours of fascinating reading and great reference info (16 Pages....!). I would join in there but adding my build there would probably extend the thread to 116 pages!

But back to my build... I've got the "built up" pulled apart. The only real damage was that the header above the windshield wouldn't seperate, without a struggle, from the windshield and I'll have some putty work to do to fix it.

As this is going to be a conceptural ideas model for my 1:1 '86 GT, I've been searching among the other unmade Fox kits I have for alternate parts. Among them I have a "New Monkees" convertible kit that I never built because of the mish-mash of different years in it. The interior and engine appear to be 1985 era and the body basically '87 GT/Cobra or newer.

I have an '88 aero front bumper on my 1:1 parts car, that I was planning to switch to my '86, as my GT one is damaged beyond repair. For my model, with some surgery I think I can switch the plastic from both kits and eventually have a "customized" '86 GT and make up a fairly accurate '85 convertible... maybe.

I'm off to my model room now to check and see if these ideas will actually work!

[GTMust]

I checked the two kits against each other, but decided that I shouldn't destroy my real '86 by adding the aero front to it. The real "four eyes" are getting rare and I should keep mine as original. Plus there are major differences between the "cafe racer" body and the "New Monkees" convertible. The most prominent of these is the bump strip that runs aound the body. Plus the newer body has the GT rocker moldings and front air dam that wouldn't be on an '85 convert.:

The outcome of these deliberations is that my "Cafe racer" will be as close as I can make it to my real '85 GT with the correct FI V8 engine and auto trans from the Monkees car. This will mean some modification to the front bumper cover and hood, but the rest of the body is pretty close. I will be attempting to modify the roof to create T-tops as my car. That should be fun!

Here's the body mocked up after the paint has been stripped:

Now, for you guys in the community build, here are a couple of detail pics of the assembly of the front and rear suspensions that might help you with your builds: (mine won't be this detailed)

Hope these help.

[whale392]

Thank you for the pictures and illustrations for reference. Keep in mind, the rear reference is for cars 1979-early84 with the TRX/Handling package suspension. Late 84-93 got the quad-shock arrangement. The set-up you have reference for will work for that kit.

Good luck with making that a 1985-86; the side trim (belt molding) is unique to the 1985-86 cars and moreso on the GT versions. Your best bet would be make it the 1979-82, or if you feel like blending in the Monogram 83-84 GLX vert nose/hood/cowl area/taillights make it either an 83 or 84 GT. Seats from the monkeys Mustang will work for the 83-86 units with some slight modification (then again, so will the ones in the Cafe Racer kit).

Thank you for keeping this kit (and especially your real 86) a 4eye and not leading it to an Aerobortion. No matter how well done, there always seems to be some detail that stands out as to what happened. If you want a 1987-93 look, get an 87-93 and leave the 4eye cars to those of us who love that look (I say this owning both, 4eyes and Aerocars). I will be watching this build, as I have a soft spot in my heart (and an epmty spot in my wallet) for these cars.

[GTMust]

Thanks guys.

I'm keeping the build '85 GT with T-tops.

I'm transferring the progress on this over to the Fox body community build thread, so the continuation will be there..

[whale392]

Cool; see you down there Tony.