Fox Chassis (Ford) community build anyone?

[Wagoneer81]

Extending it to July 1 would be great! I had an issue with the Thunderbirds paint and need to strip the body and start over... . The rolling chassis and engine are finished and the interior is on its way. I need to finish the six-point cage and repaint the seats... The engine and chassis went together great, I just wish the rest of the car had followed their example.

[Tony T]

Here's where my Trans Am Mustang is at. The chassis is done, wheels are painted, next is primer for the body and sand and letter the tires.

[gregbbear]

Dang! That is looking good Tony. I am a bit behind you on mine.

I am getting there, slowly, but surely.

Cheers,

Greg

[GTMust]

Bradley,

As a relative "newbie" to this forum, I'm feeling a little left out with my Fox build in the "on the workbench" category. Any chance I can join in here now you've extended the deadline?

Tony

[whale392]

Feel free to join in! Never too late, and with the deadline moved to July 1st, even I might get one finished in time!

Those racing Ponies are looking good guys. Thanks for posting them up.

[Eric Stone]

Here's a little Foxbody sight and sound for inspiration... This is my 1:1 on the rollers this morning. 235 hp, 333 lb-ft torque- Not crazy numbers, but it's more stock than not.

[GTMust]

Thanks Bradley,

Just to refresh, here's the Monogram "Built up" 4 cyl turbo cafe racer I received from Ebay:

I'm converting it to an '85 GT T-tops with a 302, similar to my 1:1 '85, but I will retain a couple of the Cafe racer custom touches.... the hood and front air dam (which look kinda neat, I think) and some kind of "Old school" style 5 spokes. The motor from the "New Monkees" Monogram kit will replace the 4 banger. And I'll add T-tops to the model...

I've stripped off the old paint and I'm changing the grille area to match the '85 style. Pics to follow.

If you haven't already seen the progress to date, it's in the "on the workbench" category. And if you're interested, I also posted detail drawings of the front and rear suspensions there to help the builds.

Great video...... played it over and over and over again!

[GTMust]

Bradley, you had correctly pointed out, in my "on the workbench" thread, that the side trim on the '85/'86 GT is unique and that the cafe racer side trim is obviously earlier. I hadn't realised that, even though I can see my 1:1 '85 out of my kitchen window! And I've almost completed the revised '85 front grille and hood lip.

I guess I have customized mine more than I thought! And the quad shocks at the rear..... ummmmm?

[whale392]

Is that ummmmm an 'How am I going to do that in scale?' ummmm or a 'What do you mean?' ummmm?

If it is a 'How' question: the 1993 Cobra as well as the later GT convertibles have the quad shock assemblies in the kit.

If it is a 'What' question: all Late-84 through 93 V8 Mustangs (and late84-86 Capris, late84-88 Thunderbird V8/Turbo4, Late84-88 Cougar V8/Turbo4) got the revised handling package (originally stated for the 1983 release) that had a set of shocks mounted almost horizontally trailing the rear axle back to the frame. Gone were the 'Slapper Bar' style anti-windup units and bumper plates mounted to the lower control arms. This addition of shocks was meant to stop the wind-up and subsequent 'chatter' of the rear-end/tires by addint the horizontal dampening force to the verticle force.

If you have got the front almost converted to the 85-86 style bumper; you can replicate the side moldings by filling in the existing depression and re-scribing the two thin indents in it. The only killer will be the GT script in the molding behind the door/ahead of the rear wheel well opening. Only GTs had the script, and only GTs had the foglight bumper too. It can be done, but a little work and a lot of research needs to be done.

The cowl/cowl vent is wider on the 83-86 cars than it is on the 79-82 cars, and will need to be 'swapped' to make it correct. The hood is COMPLETELY different between 79-82 and 83-86. The 79-82 has the recessed areas next to the 'raised' straight-back center section, not to mention the 'flat-squared' front lip of the hood. The 83-86 hoods are flat with the center raise being taper-angled to match the grill opening up front and the wider cowl area at the rear, and the hood lip is more of a bent-over beak looking piece.

The rear spoiler on the Cafe car is the 1979-early84 3 piece unit, and your 85 will have the one-piece 'ducktail' type unit (without the brake light......1986 got the CHMSL). The 86 unit and the 87-93LX units are VERY similar in looks and fitment. You can make the Late-84-85 unit by rounding the corners of the earlier piece and filling the center area with styrene at a slight depressed fit/putty to shape. You will have to fill in the split lines as well, as the later spoiler was a one piece unit.

Hope I haven't bored you or scared you off. I look forward to seeing this one turn out. I love FOXes of any year, but will admit to having a soft spot for the 4eye cars.

[GTMust]

Ummmmm meant "should I bother with this detail or not?" I know about the quad shocks, as I have them on both my '85 and '86 GT's. I realise that I have to deal with several issues to make the cafe racer into an '85 GT model.

I originally started this build to check out ideas, in scale, that I could apply to my 1:1 '86 GT that I'm restoring. So I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible, more for overall appearance than extreme detail. I decided to go with the '85 idea instead, as the "New Monkees" kit contains an engine that will work for me (302, auto trans). As far as I know, the CFI dual snorkel air cleaner in this kit only came on the '85 auto trans model. Anyway that's the way my 1:1 '85 GT is.

So with all the differences of model years aside, how's this for a scenerio for my model:

Billy buys an '81 turbo, four banger brand new. In late 1984, the new style 1985 GT's come in the showroom and he would just love to have one, but he's only just finished paying for his '81, and doesn't want to go back in debt for another 3 or 4 years. So he decides to update his '81 with a new V8 transplant, and modify some of the bodywork to make it look like the '85 that he likes (he works in a bodyshop). But of course, some of the original '81 style will remain and he hasn't enough of the green stuff to do a complete changeover, so he makes do with what he can in his backyard garage. And he wants to make a few changes, like install a custom front air dam, louvred hood and custom wheels. (Remember this is 1985, so he's got a limited choice of wheels and tires compared to today!)

Just like "Backyard Billy", I don't have the coin to buy a bunch of later Mustang models, like the Cobra kits, so I'll have to cobble something together from the parts I already have in my stash. Hopefully it'll all come together as a decent build.

Thanks for all the info. And no, you didn't scare me off, I just had to figure out in my mind what direction to go. Does all this make any sense?

Edited December 22, 2010 by GTMust

[Tony T]

Forgot to post the picture of the wheels:

The sanded main upper body, about ready for primer:

[GTMust]

Love to see your racers coming along, Tony and Greg.

Hope you don't mind me jumping in with a picture of the 25th Anniversary version Mustang racer I built OOB quite a few years back. The decals have seen better days. I also have the "Seven Eleven" car to build but haven't found the correct blue paint color to match the decals yet.

[whale392]

Those wheels look great Tony, and will really show the car well.

GTMust (Tony); sounds like a plan to me. I didn't mean to make your idea sound bad or anything by posting the differences, I just wanted anyone who might be contemplating the same idea to know them. That, and to be honest, I didn't know your level of familiarity with these cars or the kits....I meant no harm or ill intention by posting what I did. Like I said, I have a warm spot in my heart for the 4eye cars and love them as if they were my children (since I have no kids, I substitute with cars and bikes). I have no doubt it will come out looking good (and I too use the models as styling excersices for my real cars).

[GTMust]

I realise that your comments were meant, not just for me, but also for others in this build community. Definitely no offence taken! I certainly don't have your extensive detail knowledge of the marque, but, as I own two aero style LX's and two four eyed GT's, I know something about them. Like you, I much prefer the four eyes and will have to get a replacement bumper cover for my '86 GT. Comparing the two styles in model form, really convinced me not to screw around with a classic!

Know I have a clearer idea of where I'm going with this (and my real ones)....... Let the modellin' begin!

[gregbbear]

Hey guys, I like that cafe racer body. Looks good, which kit is that? I would like to make an American Iron racer at some point, and that looks like a good starting point for it. The Roush racer looks good Tony.

I should get back to work on mine tomorrow. For the life of me, I can't find the seat belt set that has the Simpson logos. I did find a lot of cool stuff digging through my stash looking for it though, including a black window net set. That ought to work out better than the plastic one for interior visibilty, since it will folded down. Unless, of course the interior looks like ######, net up!

Cheers,

Greg

[Eric Stone]

Greg, here's the box art (and my finished version) of the Cafe Racer kit that Tony D is working on.

[gregbbear]

Thanks Eric, now I know what to look for. That is a nice looking stang.

Cheers,

Greg

[GTMust]

Very nice, Eric. Hope mine turns out half as good!

[GTMust]

For reference, here's a pic of the (dusty) front of my '85 Mustang. ('86 is the same and unique to those two years.)

Here's my (sorry... Backyard Billy's) attempt to update the '81.

Still a little clean up and "Bondo" to get the opening exactly right, but you should get the general idea?

Next job is to carve up the roof for the T-tops.

[whale392]

That's looking pretty good for a 'Backyard Billy' build! I like it.

Eric, you tease with such a nice build-up of that kit.

[GTMust]

Time to start carving up the styrene for the T-Tops.

Here's a reference picture of my actual '86 GT roof with the T-top on, and then one with the glass top (and the weatherstripping) removed:

(Did I mention it's being restored?)

I transferred the T-top dimensions I had taken from this car, on to the roof of the build and, with trembling hands, started cutting. Fortunately, I didn't make any boo-boos, so the cut came out clean. Then I made a frame to sit under the roof and support the T-tops.

And here's the 1/24 scale copy of the real thing:

I then built the T-tops from clear styrene with the edges of the cut out roof section used as the edge of the T-top:

Has anyone got any ideas how to create the impression of smoked glass?

[highway]

Has anyone got any ideas how to create the impression of smoked glass?

Tamiya Smoke comes to mind, I think it's #X-19. A friend of mine also used window tint film once on a rear windiw in a pickup with good results.

Very nice job on the t-top, too!

[Eric Stone]

Thanks, Greg, Tony D, and Bradley.

Tony, your T-tops are looking good so far. I like the detail in the trim around the openings. That looks better than most kit T-tops I've seen on other kits.

All this work is making me want to dig out the MPC 79 Cobra I started a while back and get it done. Maybe after I'm back home after Christmas...

[GTMust]

Thanks Eric.... and that '79 Cobra definitely deserves finishing.

Does anyone know if there ever was a kit of the '85/'86 Mustang GT with T-tops. I don't think I've ever seen one... but memory fades with age!

I'll have to check into the Tamiya "smoke" at our LHS. Real window tint sounds possible too.

[Eric Stone]

...

Does anyone know if there ever was a kit of the '85/'86 Mustang GT with T-tops. I don't think I've ever seen one... but memory fades with age!

...

Nope. Closest thing you have is the IMSA racer kits that have the 85-86 nose, or the 84-86 SVO. Other than those, there weren't any 85-86 Mustangs kitted, at least by the big kit companies (Revell, Monogram, AMT, MPC).