Chuck Most

Love it! This has got to be the most interesting version of the AMT T coupe I've seen someone build to date.

I can't find my original post, but here's a draft I had saved in one of my folders with most of the contents. I came up with these tips and ideas when the kits were about a year old, but almost all of this stuff still applies now, except for some of the stuff regarding incorrect part number callouts on the instruction sheet, though that wasn't fixed until the second run of the 53 Club Coupe if I recall correctly. These tips are for stock and custom- if you plan to build the model all or mostly stock you can just skip the part about modifications. BUILDING IMPRESSIONS: The engine is nicely done, but it is wise to test fit as you go, as some of the holes will need to be reamed out a bit in order to receive the pins on the parts they locate. The assembled engine locks into the chassis in a very positive manner- two holes in the oil pan receive two molded pins, one on the front crossmember, the other molded to the top of the tie rod. A rectangular tab on the bellhousing fits into a similarly-shaped slot on the trans crossmember, and the front engine mounts sit on two flat pads on the frame rails. Slide the wheels into the tires from behind, so as not to mar the printed white sidewalls as the ‘paddles’ molded to the wheels will scrape against the tire bead as they are pushed home. Also, it would be wise to chase out the mounting bosses on the wheels to clear out any plating residue, eliminating any chance of the bosses splitting when the plastic pins (front spindles) or metal rear axle is inserted into them. The frames in all the kits seem to have a slight warp, but fitting it to its mounting holes in the floor pan and clamping it in place as the glue sets solves that problem. The decals set very well with no need for setting solution, but be very careful when positioning them- once in place, they hunker down good and fast, and don’t like to be moved once off the backer and onto a painted or foiled surface. The way the completed chassis/interior assembly slots into the body is quite satisfying- the two assemblies fit so securely you won’t need glue. I will recommend sanding off the mold lines on the sides of the radiator (a must anyway), but go a bit further and sand a little bit more material off the sides, and possibly the inside of the core support as well, the radiator is a TIGHT fit into the core support. Don’t forget to foil the window trim molded to the clear parts! The windshield almost snaps into place- the rear window unit can be a bit fiddly. Best course of action seems to be removing the mounting posts for it molded to the headliner, and then splitting the rear glass unit into its three components- backlight and rear quarter glass. The rear window seems easiest to install by slipping the bottom edge home, then gently working your way up, pushing the window until it seats into place. The majority of the chrome parts fit well, but the front bumper tends to want to lean back if left unsecured while the glue sets, which will give the bumper a sad-face look when you look at the car from straight ahead. Tape the center of the bumper down as the glue sets, being mindful that the bumper is horizontal in front, and along both sides. Also, keep in mind you will likely need to open up the mounting holes for the side mirrors and wipers a bit to ensure they settle into place properly. PROBLEMS: We’ve all seen the kits with bad flash- not much can be done about that now, though Dave Metzner has said the manufacturing facility has been made aware of the problem, and told not to let it happen again. All the kits out now have bad air cleaner decals. A request with an SASE to Moebius will get you as many corrected sheets as you need. The cut lines for the rear fender skirts are too far forward. This will be fixed on later reissues of the kit. In the meantime, filling the existing vertical cut lines and moving the front one roughly 5mm rearward and the rear line about 3mm rearward is the best fix. Watch out on the part number callouts for the side mirrors and wing vent glass- the part numbers are flip flopped side to side. The instruction sheet is mostly pretty good, but some subassembly diagrams only show one side, leaving a bit of guesswork regarding parts location on the side not shown. There is a very helpful color guide, but no color callouts in the actual assembly sequence. CUSTOM MODS: In short- if you wish to lower rear of the car, be prepared for a lot of grinding. You will probably need to raise the transmission tunnel so the driveshaft will fit into the snout on the differential- you might also need to extend the tunnel all the way back to gain clearance for the differential snout. You will also need to modify or omit the upper piece of the rear crossmember which traps the driveshaft and exhaust system. Lowering blocks can be made from simple slices of rectangular styrene strip, but depending on how low you go, you might want to look into de-arching or otherwise modifying/replacing the leaf springs and shocks, so as to gain ground clearance and not violate the ‘scrub line’. Like most early IFS cars, bring the nose of the Hudson down too far and the front crossmember will be dangerously close to the ground- a thinner crossmember, mounted higher up in the frame, or a GM or Mustang II front clip will need to be adapted if you want the car to really hug the pavement. The engine bay will accept pretty much anything short of a Cummins turbo diesel, but for most V8 swaps at the very least you will need to remove the mounting pins for the stock engine, and more than likely move the transmission crossmember rearward. To avoid possible interference with the V8’s left valve cover when installing the chassis into the body, you may need to trim the battery tray back a little bit depending on what V8 you use and how it is positioned in the chassis. Keep in mind- Hudsons were available with GM Hydramatic transmissions- so early GM overheads were common swap fodder for them, though again, pretty much anything is fair game.

Hey, if the fiancee likes it, that makes your job that much easier....

Now all you need is a C-Series. You know- something nicely in the middle of both.

This is the Tamiya kit, fitted with the 1UZ V8 from a Celsior (LS400), Fabulous Profound wheels from Aoshima, and Testors Lime Ice paint. I blacked out the head and tail lights, and this is the first kit I've ever built that included adhesive masks for painting the window borders- have to say I like them being included, as they really do make it easier to get a nice clean edge. I used my other Michigan Drag Car plate because why not.

The long-lost powerplant for the proposed "ultimate" GTO- The Prosecutor.

It does kind of have a "gator face" look to it... pretty obvious once someone points it out.

I've bought quite a bit from Japanese vendors via Amazon and I can't complain. I've never been charged for any other fees beyond shipping and handling. Only thing is it might take a little while for the item to get to you, so I'd suggest not waiting until a week before you need whatever it is you need before ordering. That being said, I've never gotten an order past the latest "expected" date.

It's a prototype for the Eagle that got out of hand.

I had this old AMT kit kicking around for about a decade, doing a little bit with it here and there. The AMT kit doesn't really build into an accurate '39, but I decided to go that route anyway because all I wanted was a halfway decent shelf model. It is mostly box stock aside from the front axle (from the Rides Magazine '40 Sedan Delivery), wheels and tires (I think they came from a diecast Dodge coin bank) and most of the engine parts. It's far from perfect, but I did get that halfway decent shelf model I was after, and that's one less unbuilt kit on the pile. I'll call it a victory.

I started with an incomplete Tamiya 300ZX. The engine is a Ford 351 Cleveland (5.8 liters, hence the "580" designation) fitted with a pair of turbos from Hobby Design. The car has been lowered and uses BBS wheels from Aoshima. I repurposed the rear wiper on the front, and used the left-hand dash provided in the kit but retained the JDM fender lights just because I could. You can barely see them in the pics, but the racing buckets from a '90 Mustang LX were also used.

I'd narrow it down to the Volare or Dart, then flip a coin.

Motormax did an L 4-door as a Horizon. They look OK as shelf models but I can't comment on how the interior or engine bays look, though going by other Motor Max products I'd guess the engine is little more than a plastic "pancake". It also kind of floors me that the only K car we got in kit form was the Dodge Daytona. Yeah, they were lame-o, boring, cheap transportation boxes, but the things were everywhere, and I think they would have done reasonably well. Then again, I'm one of about 12 people on earth who find muscle cars lame-o and boring, so what do I know?

Ah, the L-Body. I always wondered why Chrysler went to the trouble of developing the K platform when they already had this, and by the time the K car rolled around, the L platform already had three years of real-world reputation built up. Was the K just cheaper to produce and easier to adapt? Personally, I think the L was the superior design. It was a more advanced design than anything Chrysler had done to that point, and you could even call it refined, by the standards American compacts of the era. Then again, Chrysler borrowed heavily from their European operations for this design, so maybe that's part of it. I have quite a bit of experience with the MPC L-body kits (Dodge Omni/Charger) but for whatever reason I've never nabbed one of these. From the looks of your photos and what you say in your review this looks to be about on par with those. No optional wild flares or scoops though... AMT didn't seem to have the same affinity for IMSA-nightmare body kits that MPC did during this period of time! Lame as some think these cars are, I'm actually bummed that nobody ever kitted the 4-door Horizon/Omni version. I remember those things being all over the place as a kid. My uncle actually had two of them at one point- an orange '78 and a two-tone blue '81.

Really nice work. I have no idea why, but the 352 you build makes me think of Goliath from Knight Rider. Goliath was a 352, but it didn't look anything like your model. Might be the lack of brightwork- which I have to say looks pretty good on it.

Very cool! Always nice to see one of these rare birds built up.

I have this same sheet somewhere- a coupe were missing when I got it with a box of decals and spare parts years ago, but I'm amazed that after 55 years the adhesive is still sort-of hanging on.

Very cool! I've wanted a nice set of these for quite a few years.

Well, it wouldn't work for it's intended purpose. But it would make for one scary fun carnival ride if you worked out the bugs.

Could be that he was so taken by the idea of creating a cart differential that he never really stopped to ponder if such a thing was needed in the first place. Or just mounting the wheels independently was too simple of a solution. Maybe he had some use in mind for the resulting "flywheel" on the back... kind of makes you wonder.

Actually.... this is exactly what I thought. The "not what you think" made me think "hey.... I'll betcha it's exactly what I thought." Assuming that isn't an edited photo- much respect to anyone who possesses that much artistic verve with the hedge trimmer.

Nope... but hot rodding a 1:1 sure might be.

Best build up of this kit I've seen in quite a long time. Possibly ever. I even like the lack of whitewall tires.

Nice little tidbits of info, and since I have a few of these I might give a few of them a try. But since we're on the subject of annoying little mistakes... it's Moebius, not Mobius.

Love the bug eye Rex! Great job on what looks to be a nice little kit.