GTMust

I like the way Stacy is modifying his Cougar on "Gearz". Whatever you do with the bodywork, taking out the front shock towers, upgrading the front and rear suspensions and dropping in a Boss 429 would be neat. But then...... he's already done it! Looking forward to following whatever you decide. Tony

Take a look at the way John Teresi did his headers on the Nascar Matador project. He got them looking real with a "bluing " process over the chrome. Just like you'd see as the heat changes the color. Lots of fantastic ideas come from his builds. Tony

Thanks Brad. Appreciate the kind words. Tony

Great tip. Hoo wooda thort? Tony

Right Mark, my '85 GT has the CFI with an AOD. My '86 GT is a five speed with the SEFI (I think) injection system (the same as the '87 5.0's onward). I only have basic knowledge of these systems... not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination... always need the service manual beside whenever I've got a wrench in my hand! I envy all you guys that really know what you're talking about when it comes to these "technical" terms! Are you confused enough yet Jerrod? Tony

Even though the deadline for the Fox build will be open ended after July 1st, I gave myself a challenge to get Backyard Billy's '85 GT clone finished in the original time allowed. So here it is. Most of the car you've seen before but here a some latest pictures of the finished project. I don't claim to be a super detailer, just an average builder, but I'm quite happy with the way this one turned out..... after having to fight with it a couple of times! Hope you like it. Tony

Tony. Don't keep me in suspense........ picture... pictures, please! I found the dual snorkel air cleaner for Billy's car and just have to add it on. Then one final picture.... and it's done...... I think! (At least for now.) Tony (as well)

Wow, that resin body is a project in itself, before you even start building the car! I don't envy you turning this "sow's ear into a silk purse". Is it just the photo or is that rear end warped? I'll keep glued to this one because a) I know you can do it and it's a neat British sports car. Tony

Would you believe my 1:1 '85 GT still has the original style 2 into 1 into one dual tailpipe exiting on the driver's side under the rear bumper cover? The 4 cylinder exhaust that comes with the turbo four Monogram kit is actually correct for the '85 302. And yes, I forgot to mention those 10 hole wheels..... one of the aftermarket resin companies did make them but I don't know if they still do. Making an exact replica of an '85 Tang is going to be difficult as you also have to change the style of the body side moldings if you substitute an earlier front bumper cover and a miriad of smaller details around the car. At best you will finish up with a slightly customized version unless you go crazy with parts swapping, scratchbuilding and extra detailing. Not that I want to put you off...........! Tony

I too have a 1985 and a 1986 Mustang GT (Both with T-Tops) and I recreated one of them in the Fox body CBP thread. I started with a '79 body and hacked out the front grille to represent the '85 front end. (No kit has been issued, that I know of with the '85/'86 front grille.) The SVO is completely different and would take major surgery to modify it. If you can find a '79 through '84 model, it's much easier to change and you can still mate it up to the main SVO body as long as it's a Monogram 1/24 scale kit! But you'd be better starting with the earlier body. I've done a full step by step of my two Mustangs builds on the CBP thread, so you could check it out there. There are still a lot of details on the Monogram body and interior that you would have to change to make it 100% accurate. The SVO kit comes with the turbo 4cyl, which has to be changed out for the 302. I used the one from the "New Monkees" convertible kit as it is correct for an '85 with an automatic CFI fuel injection and dual snorkel air cleaner. If the car is a 5 speed, it would have the later style SEFI injection system which can be had from the later Monogram Mustang kits up to '93. The expert on Fox Mustangs is Whale392 (Brad) and he can correct any mistakes in this text and fill in any other detail information you may need. But first read all the posts in the Fox body CBP build thread.... all 28 pages...... just about anything you need to know will be in there!

If you look at the Lozier "in the race" picture above, you'll see that the spare tires, headlamps and side tanks have been removed during the race. You could be right that they were acetylene tanks for the lights when it was driven on the road at night, but that would be a lot of acetylene, and I don't think the lights burned very much. And the filler and lines on the tank don't look right for acetylene. Other antique cars that I've seen with acetylene lamps had a storage tank the size of a modern thermos. I'm stumped on this one. I have a choice...... build the car in race trim, but that would also mean leaving off the spare tires on the back.......... or build it as per your photo with the spare tires, side tanks and headlights. I think I'll go with the race version for now and leave those items off. If I find out what those tanks were really for I can always add them later. Tony.

Thank you John..... your comment is much appreciated. Rob..... I've tried to find pictures, or a list of vintage racers that were in the Indy parade, but could find no reference to the Lozier. Even the Indanapolis Museum has very little information that I could find. I'm guessing that the actual #33 car was raced at different events for a number of years and eventually scrapped. Only the "winning" cars were kept for the museum. Tony

That was my first assumption as well, but why aren't they on the #33 car when it's racing? That's when you'd think they would be needed most as the engine would be more stressed at racing speeds. And why on both sides of the car? Two tanks that size would carry a lot of oil(?)....... Here's another car (Harry Grant in a different racer) showing the tank on the riding mechanic's side as well. If you enlarge the picture to 400% you can see a filler cap in the middle of the tank and two lines coming out of the top at the rear and disappearing under the mechanic's seat, apparently in the direction of the rear of the car.

Thanks Harry. I'm still trying to figure out what those rocket shaped side tanks are for. They're not on the car in the race photo, only on the posed one. Anybody have any ideas? Tony

I think I've got the woodgrain where I want it now. Red oak..... maybe? Who knows but it's time to start adding details and I can't play with it any longer! I've installed the seats, the gas tank with hold down straps and racing numbers on a seperate panel attached to the frame. I think that how they did it? The wheels and hubcaps are on and the top cover of the differential is finished and in place. Not perfect, but after the rear mounted spare tires are located, not much of the diff will be seen. It's coming along...........

Maybe it will start a new trend in the forum. I for one, would love to see more antique/vintage car, motorcycle and truck stuff. Tony

Super sweet! Another great build you have every right to be very proud of. All your builds are a great inspiration to me....... Tony

With four Mustangs and a 1984 Ford van with less than 60,000 miles, what else could I be? Cheers, Tony

It takes a lot of guts to rip into a diecast like you've done and fit it with some high end parts (those wheels for example). Lots of respect from me and a great finished product. Tony

I agree, as far as I'm concerned, let this debate be over and the majority rule. I just hope that a lot of other members don't start posting links to their websites for their builds and this forum just becomes an index of links, whether their sites are for profit or not. No hard feelings from me and I hope there's none on the other side of the issue. Tony

Ahhhhh.... memories of my youth! Don't pull this one apart in a couple of years... it's a beautiful classic! I need a set of 1/24 scale Minilites for my 1970 Trans Am Mustang race car. Do you have a set of resins that would work for me? If so, please PM me with a price. Thanks, Tony

Beautiful build Curt!! I'm a brass car lover. Here's picture of a racing Mercer that may help you with your racer version. I believe it was an entrant in an early Indianapolis 500 (I haven't checked this, but it should be easy to do) and is now located in the Simeone Foundation Race Car Museum in Philadelphia, PA. I used it as the basis for my 1/32 scale build of the same car. Hope this helps. Tony

Send me a PM with your address Jim and I'll get them to you in the mail as soon as our mail strike(!) is over. Tony.

I've got an idea....... Why don't we all start our own websites and use this MCM forum to post links to them? Even better, let's post all our builds on another magazine's web site and just post a link on this forum to visit it. But I don't think the administrators of this forum would appreciate that..... I guess you still don't get it, do you? (I have visited your site and it's a great site and I enjoy the build...... but that's not the point. It's a matter of principle. Perhaps one of the administrators should comment on this subject. I, for one, will be happy to hear their opinion.)

Whoops.... that's not exactly what I had in mind, Mark. The FIA body is more like the Revell Cobra 427, I know. No, I'll be using the stock 62 Cobra body without modifying it. Actually I was referring to the paint scheme concept, different numbers but the same general idea. I will also use different wheels (alum mag. type to be selected) and wider tires instead of the kit wires and skinnies. I haven't yet checked the suspension detail but some lowering will also be in order.