Maindrian Pace Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Supposing, perhaps in the past, you did something that you are not very proud of. Like slicing up a rare kit to make something trendy, ugly, and almost immediately dated just because it was in fashion. In the early '90s, my grand plan was to take an unusual subject and make it into a fully detailed, smoothed-out, pastel colored, (including bumpers and grille) modern interior/turbo engined pro-street hoopty. Kind of like what a Galaxie would have looked like if it slammed through Boyd Coddington's shop in 1990. And it would have been a mild custom too, with smoothed bumpers, custom tail panel with '68 Torino coupe taillights, shaved this'n'that, and all kinds of other questionable touches. Then I lost interest - but not before cutting the doors and trunk out, destroying the bumpers and grille, and fitting an early '90s Thunderbird interior. Subtly radiused and re-flared rear fenders - actually not that bad. Ruined bumpers - Don and Carol to the rescue. Something you probably didn't know - kits said 427, promos said 428. About the only mod I did to this poor thing that I actually still like is the Thunderbolt scoop on the stock hood. It plays well into the planned street sweeper build. We'll have to see what happens to all of this.
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Well, the damage is done, so it pretty much gives you license to do what ever grabs you.I'll be watching to see what you do with it.I have a beautiful unbuilt example of this same kit to do very soon, & yes, it will be bone stock.Good luck!I hope it goes well for you. Steve
Travis T Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Man I want one of those. My mom has her second car, a 67 Galaxie 500 two door hardtop that she bought in 1968. The promo even has the right wheel covers!
kelson Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Looking forward to seeing your build,i'm planning on rebuilding a 68'Galaxie XL paint/glue bomb as my next project,wasn't aware of the difference in the engine callouts on the promo and kit.
Maindrian Pace Posted January 28, 2016 Author Posted January 28, 2016 This car was bad enough that it was beyond my ability to do anything about it, so I had to wait for some improvements in skill before I could take it on. Opening doors blow, they just weaken the body for no reason and are tricky to make work. I can see opening the trunk, but I want this to come together with a minimum of fuss. So everything was glued back on - The trunk lid was re-shaped to match up to the rear bumper: And new vent frames were added from a '65 Galaxie parts kit. These are actually more accurate than the original kit frames, which are too rounded at the top. I thought I had shaved the 1/4 panel GALAXIE 500 lettering off, But a look at my promo and convertible kit reveals that they never had it. As good as AMT was in those days, they did occasionally overlook some pretty basic things.
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) I thought I had shaved the 1/4 panel GALAXIE 500 lettering off, But a look at my promo and convertible kit reveals that they never had it. I think it may have been an "XL" thing Mike. I'm seeing just as many '67 Galaxies on line without the lettering as with it. The trunk badge is different on the XL & it seems most of the photos I'm seeing with the XL trunk badge are missing the lettering on the quarter panel. The kit does have the correct XL trunk badge, so the lettering may not have been correct in the first place. I'm no expert though, this is just a preliminary observation. I'm confident someone more knowledgeable about '67 Galaxies will debunk or confirm this theory. The photo you have posted is not an XL. This is what the XL trunk badge looks like. Steve Edited January 28, 2016 by StevenGuthmiller
blunc Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) dang, I keep looking for one of these kits at a price I can afford (hasn't happened yet) so that I can build the "what if" I photo-chopped down in the Auto Art thread. I will be watching this build. Edited January 28, 2016 by blunc add text
Maindrian Pace Posted January 28, 2016 Author Posted January 28, 2016 Steve, I think you're onto something there. I never put 2 and 2 together, but I bet you (and AMT) are right.Mike, That thing's crazy! I like it, a Fairlane sized Galaxie.
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Steve, I think you're onto something there. I never put 2 and 2 together, but I bet you (and AMT) are right. Mike, That thing's crazy! I like it, a Fairlane sized Galaxie. I think we need a "Galaxie Intervention" Mike. Now I'm also wondering about that full length side spear I'm seeing on some pictures. Was that a standard XL feature, or was it an option? I'm seeing XL's with & without the spear. It looks as if the kit could be done either way simply by leaving it alone, or foiling the "peak" on the body. I think we need more input. I'll be building one of these soon, so I'm also interested Steve
blunc Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Steve, I think you're onto something there. I never put 2 and 2 together, but I bet you (and AMT) are right.Mike, That thing's crazy! I like it, a Fairlane sized Galaxie.I like to think of it as a big brother to the Mustang...A Galaxie 500 Sport
slusher Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 I really like this so far. Looking forward to more.
Travis T Posted February 1, 2016 Posted February 1, 2016 For those of you looking for a 67 Galaxie, Motor City Resin has one now. That's what I am going to buy.
Maindrian Pace Posted February 2, 2016 Author Posted February 2, 2016 I think we need a "Galaxie Intervention" Mike. Now I'm also wondering about that full length side spear I'm seeing on some pictures. Was that a standard XL feature, or was it an option? I'm seeing XL's with & without the spear. It looks as if the kit could be done either way simply by leaving it alone, or foiling the "peak" on the body. I think we need more input. I'll be building one of these soon, so I'm also interested Steve I don't like the peak chrome, makes it too busy with the high-zoot ribbed XL trim. Mine won't be getting it, less is more theory here. Scribed new trunk and door lines: Finalizing wheels and tires - '65 Galaxie steelies, parts box rims, Johan slicks and skinnies. Quick and mostly dirty mock up - I have dog dish caps which may or may not go on, depending how Thunderboltish this turns out.
gtx6970 Posted February 2, 2016 Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) Friend of mine took one of these kits many years ago and pro streeted it.You should have seen the looks he got when he debuted it at a show. ( of course this was over 25 years ago ) But he still has it Edited February 2, 2016 by gtx6970
Bob Ellis Posted February 2, 2016 Posted February 2, 2016 I never knew the 67 Ford kits and promos had different engine numbers. I know the '65 Impala kit said 409 and the promo said 327. Interesting.
disabled modeler Posted February 3, 2016 Posted February 3, 2016 Nice save and progress on her....I dig these cars they have class and performance. I feel for you working on restoring it after being customized...I fight that same issue with most of mine being they were built back in the 60s.
Maindrian Pace Posted February 8, 2016 Author Posted February 8, 2016 Suspension attention: With the body more or less back in shape, I started in on the suspension. AMT went through a period of weirdness in the mid '60s with Ford suspension. The '65 was the most complex, separate upper control arms, steerable, rolling wheels. The '66 was simplified; rolling, steel axles front and back, no upper control arms. '67 was my least favorite - non-rolling wheels front and back with no provision to make them roll, (cheap) no upper control arms. I never had a '68 kit, so I don't know what they did that year. The '67-'68 AMT Mustangs and Shelby also didn't roll, and since everything I build must roll, (a thing with me) I've had to mod the suspension on all of these kits that I've built. So I decided to use most of the '65 suspension parts on the front of this '67. It was the same on the real cars, so it's mostly correct anyway. I cut notches in the '67 front wheel tubs to use the '65 UCA's: I needed to widen the front track to place the wheels where I wanted them, so I added a piece of the '65 lower control arms to the tips of the '67 setup: And moved to the rear. The rear ends on all of these Fords is supposed to be a 9 inch, but it looks like a generic blob. So I found a glue bomb 9" rear in the parts box, cut the center out, and grafted it into the '67 rear end/control arm assembly. I glued a strip of Evergreen to the control arms to keep them square while the center section was cut out, and glued it together with an axle in it to keep it square while curing. I don't usually get this tricky with suspension, but if it cooperates, it will be the only thing I have with posable steering.
louie Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 I absolutely love the Galaxie. Been watching since you started this post. Man,would I like to have one of these babies. Nice, Nice, Nice. Thank you. Jeff P.s. I really wish that Round 2 would Re-issue the 69 Galaxie as the last release is getting kinda pricey.
Roadrunner Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 Ruined bumpers - Don and Carol to the rescue.Who is Don & Carol?
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now