Kmb0319 Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Over Thanksgiving, my wife's best friend and her family visited and stayed with us. Her husband is a great guy, and we always have a good time hanging out, playing guitars and drinking together. He's also a car guy, so he enjoys looking at anything I've built since he last saw me. I asked him if there was anything he would want me to build, and he had an instant answer: Not for him, but for his dad. When Josh was a kid, his dad had a 1971 Ford Torino GT Fastback. It was a 429, gold with black interior, no stripes, hidden headlight grill. His dad sold the car when gas prices got crazy in 75, but he's never let that car go... he still talks about it to this day. He asked if I thought I could do a version of his dad's car, and he'd give it to him. I got the great Revell 70 Torino kit. I had to make a couple changes, and there was one I couldn't make; I sanded off the side vents and painted the lower rocker panels chrome to replicate 1971 trim, but the grill center/emblem was different, and there wasn't anything I could do about that. So, it's not quite a 71, but as close as I can get. The paint is Model Master One Coat Gold, semi-gloss black for the interior. I used a Morgan Automotive pre-wired distributor, installed my own battery cables, a heater hose, ran a hose from the master cylinder to the brakes, added a vacuum hose from the breather to the carb, and ran a wire from the windshield washer reservoir to the wiper motor. (The "wiper motor" is the oil filter...oops! I accidentally reversed them, and had installed the oil filter decal before i realized my goof, so I trimmed the oil filter down a little and made it work). On the interior, I flocked the floor, made seatbelts from masking tape and bought a set of floor mats. The only other non-kit item is the tires.. the AMT Firestones I used were just the right fit to me.. wider without being too big. I sent some pics to Josh, he said his dad is gonna cry when he sees it. I've built a couple other cars for people, but they were the cars they wish they had. This was the first time I've built one that was somebody's baby... much more rewarding. Anyway, it's my first completion of 2017. Hope you like it: Interior before it went in: Engine without the air cleaner: Done:
Chuck Mols Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Nice looking ride. Great backstory on it as well.
espo Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 I'm sure his father is going to cherish this build. Very kind of you to help.
donb Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Love this style Torino. Interior floor mats are a really nice touch. Gorgeous build.
Kris Morgan Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Very nice. Thanks for dropping our name on the pre wired distributor.
Rdkingjay Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Great back story! I love tribute builds and the stories behind them. Great job on the model and nice save with the wiper/oil filter issue. Interior is gorgeous.
NY Modeler Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Great build, and very cool for you to build it for your friends dad. Kudos to you...
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