44 replies to this topic

[mrmike]

This is a rebuild of an AMT model I built about 15+ years ago. I was never really happy with the final product, especially the floppy wheels and the wheel design. Having recently built the Revell Ford F150 SVT Lightning with different wheels and tires, I had the stock wheels and tires left over and thought they would look good on the AMT F150 Lightning. This should be a basic disassembly and rebuild with new paint and maybe some sort of hood scoop and stripes.


My paint will be Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red.

Now to look through my parts box for a hood scoop and some decals.

More to come...

Edited by mrmike, 26 July 2012 - 12:15 PM.

[bryan_m]

Mike, are you ok?...........youre building a ford!? LOL cant wait to see what ya cook up buddy.

keep it goin
bryan

[Olskoolrodder]

My favorite gen of modern F series-AND my favorite model too,this will be killer,Mike

[Bill Edman]

cannot wait to see it i will be rebuilding one shortly also

[plowboy]

My favorite generation of Ford trucks also. I still own a '95 4X4 and like me,it's beginning to show it's age. slammedi'am (Shane Harrold) built a really sharp looking Lightning from the same kit with the same wheels. Check it out: http://www.modelcars...showtopic=58755

[mrmike]

Thanks guys for the comments! I owned an '87 F150 Lariat XLT short bed for 13 years and sold it with 187,000+ miles on the odometer. It was time for it to go as it was becoming a money pit and I didn't have the money to fix it any longer.
Anyway, dis-assembly has begun and the body and interior are headed to the kitchen sink for a nice warm bath with Dawn dish detergent.




More to come...

Well, it appears that my thread has been moved by a Mod or Admin from On The Workbench to the Pickup Trucks section. While I am initially not happy about it, a simple and brief heads up would have been nice instead of me going into a near panic mode searching for this thread only to have to find it here. I have seen other threads about pickups in the On The Workbench section and it does make me wonder why the move. OK, I am off my soapbox now and moving forward and I would appreciate no other comments made on this small matter. Thanks.

[Michigan Madman]

Should be cool!

One little tip if you're interested- all 1994 and newer F-Series trucks had a driver's side airbag. AMT neglected to update the steering wheel for the '94 and '95 versions of their kits, but if you happen to have an AMT Taurus SHO kit made after 1991, that kit has a steering wheel that looks pretty close.

[slammedi'am]

Very cool...Id like to build another kit soon..

[gray07]

Cool build, i always thought these trucks and the SS454 trucks should have came with hood scoops

[mrmike]

Thanks guys and thank you Chuck for the tip on the steering wheel. Unfortunately, I do not have a Taurus SHO kit so the kit steering wheel will remain.
Shane, I really liked how your truck turned out!
Since I haven't got a decent Ford hood scoop in the stash or the parts box, I'll just add the stripes.

[mrmike]

The body and other parts after their bath. A little bodywork and some primer to check my progress.

I found something that these wheels need...disc brakes! These were left over parts from the Shelby Mustang kits that I built.

I drilled out the centers with a 1/4" drill bit chucked into my cordless drill and carefully drilled away. I'll paint them up and install them.


More to come...

[mrmike]

I've picking away at the Lightning off and on during the afternoon. I got the rotors painted with red calipers.

The engine has been partially disassembled, cleaned up and I drilled the heads for plug wires.

The chassis has been carefully disassembled for detailing. The suspension will not be attached until the chassis and body have been rejoined so I can determine a new ride height for the Lightning.


More to come...

[mrmike]

The disc brakes have been painted and installed on the wheels.

The interior is complete and ready for installation.

The only bodywork necessary is to fill a sink mark on the right rear fender of the box.


More to come...

[mrmike]

Tonight, I was trying to figure out a way to lower the Lightning and I found a solution. In the rear, I cut down the forward mounting blocks for the rear springs.

With the rear suspension in place and a wheel and tire mocked up.

On the front Twin I-beams, it was a simple matter of cutting off 1 1/2 coils from the springs.


More to come...

[slammedi'am]

Looking good man....

[mrmike]

Thanks Shane!


With the exception of the engine, driveshaft, and some touchups, the chassis is complete.

I'm liking the stance now!


Now I can concentrate on the engine.

More to come...

[slammedi'am]

Looks good...I wanna do another one of these kits soon....I have 2 gen 2's waiting to be done right now..

Like to have a white gen 1 to match my gen 2 lol

[hgbben]

Nice rework on the interior and liking the wheel choice

[01blueedge]

I am liking the way this one is turning out its making me want to pull out one of my 92-96 150s

[mrmike]

Thanks guys!

This afternoon I got a chance to paint the body parts of the Lightning with Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red.



Sorry about the pictures, I had to adjust the exposure rate so the paint doesn't look pink. I've been putting off working on the engine. I still need to drill the distributor for plug wires and re-assemble the rest of the engine.

More to come...