Moebius 71 Ford Ranger Pickup XLT Completed 9-5-15

[SteveG]

My friend Dave at Moebius Models was kind enough to send me an advanced copy of the 71 Ford Ranger kit. So lets take a look at doing a basic build up. Regardless of the subject matter car, truck or otherwise. I follow the same three rules .... or lets call them guidelines. Rules sound kind of harsh for a hobby.

 

First, every parts is as important as the next one. Second, test fit everything. Last but not least, assemble as much as I can before painting. That last one has backfired on me a few times, I've built myself into a proverbial corner more then once.

 

As you can see I've attached most of the suspension parts to the frame. Glued up the major drive line parts and even put the brake booster halves together. I'm going to hold off attaching the rear axle until after painting and the exhaust is ready to go in.

 

 

As the interior will require a lot of detail painting I've only attached the steering wheel to the column and rear interior wall to the floor. To keep the interior square the I attached the interior sides with tape while the glue dried on the rear panel.

 

 

Since the firewall will be body color I went ahead and attached it the cab. This is great time to check the hood fit. Mine had the slightest twist to it. Nothing that some hot tap water and some counter twisting could fix.

 

 

I went ahead and attached the inner side panels and the rear panel to the bed floor. I also attached the inner panel to the tail gate. This is one area where the engineering of this kit really shines. The bed parts all fit like a glove, better then any other pickup I ever built.

 

 

My sample has some pretty good sink marks on the transmission pan but it was nothing I could take care of with a quick swipe of some catalyzed glazing putty. After I took a quick break the putty was ready to sand. A few minutes with some sanding sticks finished it off.

 

 

Next time up I'll break out the Duplicolor primer. Now I just need to decide on a color scheme ..... Stay tuned .....

 

-Steve

 

 

Edited September 5, 2015 by SteveG

[Atmobil]

ooohh....I WIP thread on the new pickupkit, great!!!

Will follow this closely.

[tbill]

following. look forward to seeing it build, and getting mine in the mail

[Eshaver]

Well, for Ford C-6 fans this is good news . All my Ford trucks were manual gear boxes . Only a 78 Ford Van I had once was equipped with the C-6

[rsxse240]

YIPPEEE!!!! It's almost here!!!

So far it looks VERY promising! You didn't mention anything about difficulty in assembling other than the trans, so I presume it's got very little flash and everything fits well?

I've already got mine planned. Candy pearl orange with cream pearl two tone, tan and cream interior, 360 FE with edelbrock intake and carb....

[slusher]

Soo good to see one of these finally being built. Will follow along for sure...

[Danno]

[AzTom]

Looks great Steve.

I had a real 68 and a 69 I want to build. I think I'll buy at least one of each issue they do.

[Eshaver]

I have had a 69 F-350 as a wrecker . That beast had a 390 and a HD 4spd 440 Holmes crane . I then bought a 79 Holmes 500 crane . It was the gas hog 400 M . Then fer awhile , I had a 1990 460 gas job, it had a Century Flatbed .

[hjracing]

Wow! The very firts "On the Workbench" for the Moebius '71 FORD F100!

Keep it coming!

Edited May 19, 2015 by hjracing

[Davewilly]

very cool This is a kit I want! I am a chevy guy....But I really just like having all the pick up truck kits I can get.....I just like to build them!

[hjracing]

I want to see more!

[exesivefire]

I'm really excited for this kit to come out, I'll be watching this one.

It was disappointing I couldn't make it to the meeting the other day, even more so when I found out I could have seen this in person.

[kilrathy10]

Oh, this is cool, cool, cool....Looks great....Thanks, Dave from Moebius....

Edited May 28, 2015 by kilrathy10

[thatz4u]

Oh, this is cool, cool, cool....Looks great....Thanks, Dave from Moebius....

To this I can only add, please continue with this build, 'nuff said.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

I want one!!! Looks great!!

[SteveG]

Sorry for the update delay ... I haven't been able to spend much time at the workbench over the last few weeks.

Here's the body parts with the first coat of primer. First impression is that the body parts will need very little clean up if any. I'll know for sure once I sand it all down. For now I masked off the nameplates on the hood and the tailgate until I decide which decals I'll use. I'm leaning toward foiling the hood " FORD" but using using the tailgate decal. I'll have sand the letters off If I do.

The interior parts fit together perfectly and don't need any clean up. These parts will go right into the paint line .....

The chassis is now completed other then painting and installing the wheels and tires. I will drop the engine and trans assembly in next.

Even without any aftermarket detailing the engine looks pretty nice to me. The heat riser and oil vent tube are a nice touch. I don't recall seeing any stock 70's Ford Trucks with Chrome valve covers but I left them as is so you can see how it build ups from the box. A Ford purist would probably strip the chrome off and paint them Ford engine blue.

Speaking of the oil vent tube, boy is it tiny. I painted it while still on the tree and thought for sure I would either loose it or break it before I could attach it to the breather cap. Luck must have been with me for a change.

Next step is to finish prepping the body for it's two-tone pant job. I'm already working on painting the interior parts. Hopefully I'll have another update soon......

-Steve

[mikemodeler]

That is coming along nicely, making me really wanting a couple of these!

[Danno]

Mmmmmmm.

[slusher]

Awesome work so far...

[hjracing]

Nice update, keep it coming!

[Len Woodruff]

Yes keep the updates coming. I am looking forward to the 2 tone paint job.

[thatz4u]

Nice update, thanks

[kelson]

I like what I see so far.

[66belair]

That looks like a really nice kit. The details are awesome.