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Spenser For Hire 1965 Ford Mustang


mrmike

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Not much to report. I've started polishing the body and got overspray onto the chassis,

Spenser20.jpg

Spenser For Hire will return.....

Wrong Shade of Red Oxide Primer? Are you kidding me? I've heard of nit picking,But thats just way to funny, I better go have the paint shop custom mix the right shade for you and send it to you Mike. :):):lol::lol: The car is looking great.
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Just a general question about the painting process on 1st gen Mustangs.

I vaguely remember some sort of video clip by The Supremes" where they were singing in a Ford Mustang plant, while painted fenders went by, hanging on a overhead conveyor, now my question:

Were some hang-on / bolt-on parts painted separate from the body, or were these items painted separately for in-plant repair?

Thanks!

Luc

My question to you is, were the parts painted or primered? From what little I know about the assembly process, certain parts are painted before assembly to the body. But, for the most part, I believe that body and fenders were painted all at once. If I am wrong, then someone please correct me. Maybe the front clip (front fenders, front panel, and valance) was painted separate from the rest of the body.

Wrong Shade of Red Oxide Primer? Are you kidding me? I've heard of nit picking,But thats just way to funny, I better go have the paint shop custom mix the right shade for you and send it to you Mike. :lol::lol::lol::lol: The car is looking great.

Steve, someone has already mentioned that the red oxide was too bright. And the truth be told, I just don't care! I heard that on a previous build which got me to purchasing the red oxide primer for this build. I've seen actual 1:1 Mustangs, unrestored with the red oxide primer just as red as the primer I used on this model. Come on guys, give me a break!

Well, shame on me! I did my research and I looked for details and I overlooked the obvious. Spenser's Mustang did not have bumper guards! The front and rear valances have holes for the mounting pins behind the bumper guards and I didn't think about filling them in. Now, what am I going to do?!!

I took a piece of round rod, sanded it down to the size I needed, and jammed it into the holes on the valances.

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While this fix is not the greatest, it is a lot better than yanking the valances off, filling the holes with putty, sanding and polishing them. I just dabbed some paint onto the styrene rod and built it up until it is flush with the surface and I'll polish it when it is dry.

Spesner23.jpg

Spenser For Hire will return.....

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Thanks Charlie! I once got called on because I painted the sub-frame rails on a Mustang semi-gloss black with a flat red floor pan. I guess my next build might be a Mopar since I know more about them! Or, on my next build, I'll follow the kit instructions and get all the paint call-outs wrong! :D

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Completely accurate or completely inaccurate this build is comin' along superbly! Spenser would be proud to be driving this car. Great work MrMike! Keep it up! I saw many many years ago at a car show a Mustang that was used in Spenser for Hire and IIRC it was undercoated. LOL Jus' teasin' to those who knock great builds! :o I really didn't look that close at the 1:1 car! :lol::lol:

Edited by Tumbler75
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Boy, that red oxide primer comment really got blown out of proportion. A "helpfull suggestion" was never intended as a criticism of the excellent work you're doing.

So if my comment was interpreted as knocking your build.... lighten up guys.... not in a million years!

For the record, I really look forward to opening this forum each morning and seeing your progress. I know it will be a killer build.

To all who read this.... Merry Christmas and a great 2011!

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Tony, I am probably a little sensitive to the red oxide comment that was made, not just by you but others here and elsewhere. For that, I do apologise for taking it any other way than what it was intended. Thank you for the info you have provided.

Merry Christmas to all and have a Happy New Year!

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I removed the bumper guards from the bumpers and I was originally going to use BMF over the cuts, but I changed my mind. I sanded them smooth and stripped the chrome plating.

Spenser24.jpg

I painted them gloss black and coated them with Alclad II Chrome Paint.

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I started painting other parts until I ran out of semi-gloss black spray paint. I'll use jar paint until I can get to my LHS.

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Motor work has resumed with the wiring of the distributor.

Spenser27.jpg

Spenser For Hire will return.....

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Thank you Clay, DW, and Charlie!

Charlie, I make sure to order 2 sheets of BMF at a time.

Last night I watched the episode The Long Hunt where Spenser's Mustang was destroyed and he gets the '87 Mustang GT. I noticed that the '65 Mustang was black in color and not Ivy Green Metallic. I have watched this episode several times before and had not noticed the different car.

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When you consider all the equipment needed to move the production of the episode out of Boston and to the location were the episode is to be shot, there is only so much room for the equipment, including cars! Someone decided that the black Mustang would be sacrificed out of all the Mustangs available. The hero car (used for all primary shooting) is Ivy Green Metallic and was rebuilt for return to the series much later in the season.

I must come clean about something.....the '65 Mustang Convertible that I am building is the basis for trying new things before I add them to this Mustang. I figured that if I do my trial and error builds on the '65 'vertible, I wouldn't mess up anything on Spenser's Mustang. See...I can use my brain sometimes! :lol:

I started on modifying the suspensions on Spenser's Mustang. One mistake I made on the '65 'vertible was not adding any material to make up for the cutting of the spindle. I made sure I did this here. The front suspension now has been effectively lowered by moving the spindles up on the upright.

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On the rear suspension, I cut off part of the mounting blocks on the rear springs. I'll re-arch the springs slightly to lower the rear of the car.

Spenser32.jpg

Spenser For Hire will return.....

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Last night I mocked up the chassis, interior bucket, motor, and trans. The tranny didn't fit under the trans tunnel! I pulled out the auto trans from the '67 Merc Cyclone kit I just bought and this trans fits better, still a tight fit though.

Spenser36.jpg

Bodywork continues on the front and rear valances.

Spenser37.jpg

Spenser38.jpg

Spenser For Hire will return.....

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Thanks Charlie! At least it is not a situation where I couldn't do anything about it. I was able to fill, sand, primer, and paint the valance panels without much trouble. I can now polish the valances and move on to other parts of the build.

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I have joined the auto tranny to the engine. Once I have the suspension mated to the chassis, I can install the engine and continue with assembly.

Spenser41.jpg

Spenser For Hire will return.....

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I've been (quietly) following this build mrmike, and love the way it is developing. It looks great in the green you have chosen.

I've personally owned every year of Mustang since 1965, except for the mid seventies Mustang II and a few of the SN95 series from '94 on. The '65/'66 fastback was one of my favourites. My '65 was a 289 in white and the '66, also a 289, was a pale gold/green color. I'm a Mustang fan (hence GTMust). I currently have 4 1:1 Mustangs from the mid '80's and a '99 3.8 summer driver.

Just one final note on the chassis primer color and some of the comments made by forum members. Reading back, it is possible that some members weren't aware that the primer color on the Mustang chassis was left raw by the factory and only (as you have correctly depicted), barely covered by the body color overspray. I can understand why it may have seemed hilarious to some that I had even mentioned the color of a primer, as they might have assumed it would have disappeared when the color coat was applied. If the car was undercoated, of course, this whole issue would be irrelevant. Hopefully this will clarify why the issue was ever brought up. I only mention this again in case anyone else may build a "factory fresh" car and might find it of interest. And I will now... shut up about it!

Can't wait to see the Spencer car finished. But don't rush.... I savour every post!

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Thank you Tony for your very nice reply! Looking back at the pictures of the Mustang's chassis, the color was quite bright and that was due to the bright lights I have in my paint booth. Yes, I really like to see what I am doing in there! The lighting brought up the color quite a bit and if it was viewed in natural light, it wouldn't have appeared so bright. I also attempted to make light of the situation and it backfired on me when all the comments started to be posted. So, that's my story and I am sticking to it! I have never owned any Mustangs in 1:1, but I did have a friend who had two of them. The first was a '65 coupe with a 289 4/speed. I helped him replace the clutch, carb, and floors. The second Mustang was a '66 GT coupe with a 302 4/speed and was in much better condition than the first. His divorce forced him to sell the '66 and the '65 was long since sold before that. At least I can say that I did get a chance to drive the '66 GT a couple of times. The first gen Mustangs are my favorite!

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The dash is finished. My only dislike is the steering wheel which I tried to fix as best as I can. This is the only steering wheel I could find that best represents the wheel in Spenser's Mustang.

Spenser42.jpg

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The chassis is up on four wheels.

Spenser44.jpg

Spenser For Hire will return.....

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