69 AMC AMX Big Bad Blue

[satterwhite78]

A Johan kit that I have had for some time.  Actually I friend of mine was going to throw it out with some other odds and ends. Glue stains on the body, a blob for an engine and a fender chip.  About a year ago I started on it with the purchase of MM #28127 Big Bad Blue paint and off and on sputtered to really get going on it until  I saw Sport Surburban"s Big Bad Green AMX http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/116160-69-amx-big-bad-green/ and got motivated again.

I decided to add an engine bay since the original was lacking the correct bay and a donor chassis with more detail that was reduced to the correct wheelbase to fit. The decals are from Keith Marks, Tires from the AMT Tire Pack and rims from a AMT 70 Chevelle

 

[PARTSMARTY]

I absolutely love your build.Mopars and AMC'S rule-awesome plus!!!

[charger74]

Amazing save, its a real beauty ????

[restoman]

I like that. A lot!

Nice job!

[crazyjim]

Very nice job.

[D. Battista]

Nice job...!    Love the blue..!     I have one to restore that's missing parts.that my friend gave me too....

Again Very nice model..!

[JerseyRed]

It's a nice color. I like the body line on the quarter panel over the wheel on these. The wheels are a nice touch and complete the car.

[cobraman]

Looks very nice.

[mredjr]

Great job Chuck! Bring it with you Friday night to the hangout.

[espo]

Beautiful build of a much under appreciated car.

[landman]

Nice save of a nice car.

[Snake45]

Wow, that looks GREAT! Well done and model on!

[Sixties Sam]

Nicely done AMC! It's good to see the old kits saved! The blue is great, and I like the wheels.

Sam

[bbowser]

Clean paint and foil work, well done!

[DumpyDan]

AMX beauty.....Well done man

[MrObsessive]

Gorgeous, gorgeous car!  Absolutely LOVE the paint!

I'm assuming you used the chassis and engine bay out of the newer tool '67 Mustang? They're very similar in appearance and one that I'd like to use to build mine if I ever get around to it.

Of all the cars I've ever owned, I'd have to say this one was my favorite with my current Challenger coming in a very close second. I certainly never saw myself coming and going, unlike my Challenger which I'm seeing more and more of on the roads these days.

It's a nice color. I like the body line on the quarter panel over the wheel on these. The wheels are a nice touch and complete the car.

One thing I can tell you about those quarters is that they were EXPENSIVE to replace! At the time I owned mine (mid '80's into the early '90's) they were running something like $2000 PER SIDE to replace! Now this included not just the quarters, but the roof section that blended into the quarters as you see. Seems as though AMC destroyed the stamping presses that made those not long after they quit making them. One had to use a junker car if they needed to do any bodywork back then. Nowadays you can get replacements and I don't think they cost anywhere near $2K.

Needless to say, I was VERY cautious where I parked mine when I owned it, and I wouldn't let anyone drive it 'cept for my sole mechanic that worked on it. It could be quite a handful as it was very quick off the line (390 4 spd car with 3:54 axle) with no power steering and drum manual brakes on all fours! I'd love to have another, but pristine examples run upwards of $40-50,000 these days!

[vintagercr]

Great looking build!

[Sport Suburban]

Yours came out very nice! What donor did you use for the engine comp and chassis?

I'm honored that my build inspired yours. My Big Bad Blue 70 AMX may have to get finished soon!

 

[slusher]

Super nice AMX..

[charlie8575]

Very nice save. What did you use for the engine bay and chassis?

Charlie Larkin

[TooOld]

Great color on a great looking model !  Nicely done .

[satterwhite78]

Yours came out very nice! What donor did you use for the engine comp and chassis?

I'm honored that my build inspired yours. My Big Bad Blue 70 AMX may have to get finished soon!

 

Very nice save. What did you use for the engine bay and chassis?

Charlie Larkin

The engine was a left over johan. The engine bay quite possibly came from the AMT 66 Fairlane or Cyclone which didn't need any coaxing, a natural fit.  The chassis on the other hand was a much harder endeavor. Originally I wanted to use the AMT 67 mustang chassis, front and rear suspension was very detail and a almost dead on for an AMC undercarriage but the AMX interior tub just didn't work with the chassis donor and the chassis wheelbase is longer. I found a somewhat generic chassis plate with dual exhaust and the rear axle molded in as with the Johan chassis plate there is no exhaust. I removed about 1/16 in the middle of the chassis to correct the wheel base. After thinking about it I feel like the chassis choice kept more in line with the model overall instead of a over blown detail adventure.

The engine paint on the other hand.......     Years back you could go into Advance Auto, CARQUEST, etc, etc...and find a can of AMC engine paint. Trying to get and find the turqoiuse metallic shade of AMC, other than order a can of AMC engine spray, is a feat with in itself.  I probably sent more in paint and purple power that what I have in the build..Lol. Of the AMC builds I have, none of them are the same shade. Most of the blocks start out with a testors light blue as a base coat with some type of metallic green over spray to get the color effect. Call me cheap!  I did find find a bottle on the clearance aisle at HL called  "Pebeo" Prisme Carabbean Blue  in a 45 ml bottle that has come the closest with the basecoat.

Hope this answers some of your questions and truly appreciate all of you taking the time to look......Chuck

[donb]

Beautifully done. What great looking model! Just beautiful!

[shoopdog]

Top notch build!

[ChrisR]

Looks great!