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49 Mercury flathead shine runner


tjones87

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Got this in the mail yesterday and decided to go ahead and put it together while waiting for more parts for the cadillac. This kit has already been started in the customization stage, someone has added filler around trunk and hood opening and at one time had the front and rear rollpan/bumpers molded in (have been pulled off for some reason). Also there will be no taillights I guess, as they have been filled in too...Will be using the flathead with offy heads and intake. The pic is of the kit after opening it. will get more later on today of the progress I make. Any suggestions and ideas are appreciated. thanks

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Edited by tjones87
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I don't what to tell you. The two kits I had like this, I traded, then went out and bought the Revell kit. The Revell kit is a joy to put together and paint. This one is going to fight you a little bit. I'm not saying that to discourage you from building a 49 Merc, I'm just giving you a headsup on the kit. Just my opinion.

Of course, you can build this one, and then try the Revell and do a comparison of your experience.

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thats ok....i paid a whole $3.50 for the kit...just going to have some fun with it..so far its not too bad. It wont be a very detailed kit, just some flat black paint some accents. If the kit doesn't go together well, it may have some slight body damage...after all it is a moonshine ride haha

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the AMT kit is old tooling and benefited from the updated parts they added back in the '90's; AMT never had the taillight area molded open, you had to figure out exactly where and how they located on your own. i've never had any issues getting it to sit right, or in getting the posable steering to look right, but i wondered why AMT never gave anything in the way of period correct custom bumpers to put on it..... several different grilles, a set of custom taillights and rims, a nice Wedge Chrysler.... but roll pans and no bumpers.... hmm. remember, 'shine runners had to "blend in" with everyday cars, not stick out like a sore thumb. not going to find a Hirohata clone running 'shine.

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it still has the bumpers with it and they will be going on it. just need to find a way to dull them down a bit. it is going to be as stock as possible, considering someone has filled in alot of the body gaps with filler. like i said before, it will not be a detailed kit or patiently built. It is just something to pass the time so the parts for my 59 cadi can get here along with my new compressor. also i am building this without instructions, only thing it didn't have in the box, but its not too big of deal.

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I for one love the AMT kit. The Flathead is a wonderful representation. ( Why wasn't a Flathead included in the Revell kit?) The opening trunk is nice and the stock hub caps with white walls almost look custom to my eye. It's a good looker with a low stance and skirts. Custom paint, frenched lights, and graphics complete the look. Also loose the bumpers. It looks good right next to the Revell kit.

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this kit is the perfect choice for what I am going to do with it...if I was going to gt real detailed or customize it alot i would probably go with a "better" kit. only reason I picked it up was the price, so even if the entire kit went into the parts box it wouldn't be a complete loss. but here are a few pics of the body (nothing done to it yet) and the freshly built flathead w/ offy heads. going to be getting some flat clear and trying it on the chrome bumpers to dull them down a bit, but may end up painting them to resemble steel or just go flat black on them (still undecided). Anyone knwo were I might can get some crates & bottles to put in the trunk, or what would i need to make some? thanks

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The old MPC 1928 Lincoln kit had the bottles and crates. Or the later AMT version may have had them, anyway it was the gangster version with two men and some guns. Also included was a violin. I overlooked the part about it being a shine runner earlier. You probably would want to keep a clean stock appearance with bumpers and all. Since the trunk opens it would be neat to make the most of it. A hopped up engine is a must. I love the idea.

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would you really run a flattie in a shine runner ?

i wonder if you could get away with slapping an early firedome hemi in there?

that would be killer

oh, and set the rear suspension up a tad higher...if the trunk is empty, maybe set it too low if its full ?

and maybe some battle scars, one or two bulletholes in the trunklid?

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would you really run a flattie in a shine runner ?

i wonder if you could get away with slapping an early firedome hemi in there?

that would be killer

oh, and set the rear suspension up a tad higher...if the trunk is empty, maybe set it too low if its full ?

and maybe some battle scars, one or two bulletholes in the trunklid?

I am debating on throwing another engine in (just have to find one)

i was plannin gon some kind of battle scar, nt sure on what or how to do it.

I think I have come up with a decent scratch biult bottle/crate set (will see what it looks like painted up)

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my vote for new engine goes to iether a caddy engine (only because it seems period correct) but rather the aforementioned firedome hemi

there is a great one in the 57 (i think) ford f100 modified hauler kit and also one in the 32 (again, i think) ford revell kit

as for battle scars, a good way to go about it is to lay down some BMF before painting and then use whatever tool you want to scratch some paint off later

that should look like you swapped some paint or had to make a sharp turn just a hair to close to a wall

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I like where this is headed. I would lean towards the caddy engine cause shine runners would leave the car looking stock but the engine would be hopped up or swaped out for something more powerful than the cops had in order to out run them. I just don't think the flathead would cut it. But it's your model do as you wish.

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I think the AMT kit is much preferred over the Revell kit because of the limitation of the Revell kit being only a custom car. And, 'shine runners wanted the car to blend in, as has previously been pointed out. Therefore, I would prefer the Cadillac engine as these cars had a frequent turnover rate, a '49 anything would have long been obsolete by '57!. ;)

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I would take a small brush and touch up the area on the header where that red paint is. It would make it look better. Just my .2 cents.

I will touch it up, just got it painted and took the pic early this morning before leaving the house...

I'm still voting for the Flathead. It IS hopped up and looks right, keep it simple, Flatheads Forever!

I am still debating on a different engine. all depends on the fit of another one. Going to leave this one alone until after the weekend. Maybe I can get it done the first of next week. thanks

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