WIP: 1/16 '68 Mustang Pro Mod

[82mockup]

Looks really nice

[STEALTHRUNNER]

Unbelievable Clay...Any updates.

[cobraman]

We want more please.

[Mooneyzs]

Hey Clay... any updates on this build? Sure miss seeing progress on it. Hope all is well.

[ClayK]

YES! This one actually made it back to the bench over the weekend after a long break. Got a lot of the suspension mocked up, and I'm looking forward to working on it more regularly. Thanks for thinking of me.

Clay

[Mooneyzs]

Clay... that is great to hear this one is back on your work bench. Looking forward to learning more from this build and seeing your next updates.

[futurattraction]

Great to hear that this one will be coming back to life... I'm looking forward to updates, Clay.

[STEALTHRUNNER]

Clay's back,i can't believe it's been over a year,i could do with a bit of inspiration to get back on my build

[ClayK]

Holy blast from the past! As I mentioned......I am back working on my Pro Mod Mustang.

My first task once I got back to work was to start mocking up the front and rear suspension.

I build the lowers, I machined a brass piece for each side that had two holes in in 85 degrees apart, and then I slid in some short lengths of brass tube. Once soldered in place I slipped some stainless steel tubing over each brass "stub" to complete the lower control arms. Rod ends are from RB Motion. To simulate the welded ends I actually held the S.S. tubing under a lighter to do some real heat discoloration. The struts are from Micro Nitro and are perfect. I would new coils, and machined two new steering arms from aluminum. These were then epoxied onto the struts.





Here's how the front end looked mocked up before I added the steering arms. With the chassis mounted to my jig, they lined up right on the ride height I had planned on.





With those out of the way, I started on the rack. I machined the two ends, and connected them with a short piece of aluminum tubing. Then I machined a separate small cap fro the left side. The boots are from the TDR 3D printed rack kit. I just drilled them out, and glued them on.





Mocked up on the chassis....



Moving to the back, more S.S. tubing and RB Motion rod ends for the 4 link. The rear coil overs are from Micro Nitro as well. I need to grind my sway bar tabs down slightly to get a bit more room. But things are lining up pretty well.



Once the wheelie bar as all fabbed up from brass, I shot it with Alclad paints, and got it mocked up on the rear end. Since it is a block long, I'm just going to set it aside while I work on the rest of the car. No need to break it off early!





Thanks for looking!
Clay

[comp1839]

so glad to see this back in action! incredible......as always.

[John Teresi]

Clay…..great to see this build re-born……I got my note book and pencil ready…….please take us to school

[Red rocket 10]

Unbelievable !

Leonard

[Magic Photos]

Very nice work Clay

[futurattraction]

Phenomenal work, my friend! Can't wait to see more updates.

[GoatGuy]

Yes - what they said. Incredible results. Question - is the geometry of the front suspension pretty much the same on all Pro Mods, or does it depend on the body style ? I need to go back to earlier posts and learn what determines the angle of the struts, the length of the steering arms, etc.

[ClayK]

Thanks guys!

Got some more work done over the holiday weekend.

I got back to work on the doors. I wanted to have them have a spring loaded latch that could held the doors closed, but also be able to be manually opened to show the interior off. A few other builders have done something similar so I'm not reinventing the wheel here. But I drew out what I thought would work best and got to it. I machined the levers on the mill. I basically carved out a shape, drilled the holes, then parted off two of the same thickness.

The inner door box was built up from styrene, then I laid out the parts and figured out where to mount everything. It took a few tries to get the leverage right, but now they work pretty smooth. The springs were the hardest part since I couldn't find anything suitable. Eventually I stumbled on to some left over airbrush trigger springs that worked perfectly. I need to bolt it together more permanently then I can finish off the inner door skins.



In its relaxed state, the lever leans forward and the door pin is back locking the door in place....



Then push the lever back, and it pulls the door pin forward out of the way releasing the door.



On the back edge of the door opening I added a jamb, and drilled (several) holes until I got it right! But the extra is easily filled.



I've also been working on tightening up the door gaps. The back is looking pretty good. I'll worry about the front once I get further along and have the engine in there to judge off of.



Thanks for looking!
CK

[Prostreet]

Wow, Great updates Clay. Really dig the way you did the 4 link bars and lower A-arms, Did you make the black bracket on the rear end?

[Mooneyzs]

Clay... I am supper impressed with these latest updates. Man this is coming along so nice. I am so glad you are back on this one. I have a question on your Alclad work, do you shoot any of the Alclad clear over some of the parts when done? Also the work you have done with the working door latches is amazing. Did you use RB Motion rod ends for the hinges on them? Keep up the great work.

[John Teresi]

BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH Clay……this is why I love your work man…….AWESOME dude

[Sixx]

I second that statement that John said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ScrappyJ]

Bad to the bone! Great job, Clay!

[TedsModeling]

An idea I've used in other areas to find where the hole in the jamb needs to be the first time - a tiny dot of black paint (or almost anything that doesn't dry immediately) on the end of the pin and close the latch. This will leave a 'bullseye' on the jamb.

I like the heat-stained suspension parts.

[Romell R]

Outstanding work Clay good to see you're still working on this one.

[Pro Wrench]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkzVsU_uwFE&list=PL452584DA042CCCFA

[underdog1495]

Another great model Clay