AMT 1966 Mercury Cyclone GT...restomod of a 43 year old AMT kit

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

This project dates back to July 2008, when I finally scored an AMT 1966 Mercury Cyclone builder. It was lacquer crazed worse than the 1970 Camaro but I was determined to do something with it. Then, a few weeks later I won an Ebay auction for AMT '66 and '67 Cyclone builders. The '66 had never been painted but the original builder got a little crazy with the glue that resulted in some damage around the headlights and taillights, both delicate areas.

Tonight, I tackled some of that damage and while I was at it, I took the Dremel to the fender openings to remove material from the backsides and removed mold seams. Not quite finished with the repairs, but I shot a light coat of Tamiya Fine Surface Primer and checked my progress.

I grafted in the engine compartment from an AMT '69 Torino and will be using its chassis too. The hood is from the 1990's issue of the AMT '67 Cyclone with the scoops made functional. Wheels are Salt Flat Specials from the Revell '57 Chevy painted Testors Gunmetal metallizer and modified to fit 23" Pegasus and custom 19" aluminum sleeves. I have new chrome from The Modelhaus front and rear and paint will be Tamiya Metallic Red overcoated with Tamiya Clear Red.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Edited October 19, 2009 by Marc @ MPC Motorsports

[Dragon7665]

Looking Good Marc Can never go wrong with me, when any Merc is involved!!

[gilsdropshop1]

nice set up love the wheels also! gave me some ideas

[mikelo]

Great start so far. Looks like you will have another winner. Keep us posted.

Mike

[george 53]

Marc, this is gonna be a fun build, I can tell already! I LOVE to bring old models back from the grave! As long as they're not TOTAL glue bombs, I can 99% of the time bring em back.Believe it or not, I got both a 66 an a 67 to try to resurrect too. Hope they come back as nicely as yours. Keep it up, caz your doin GREAT!

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

that looks really cool already! those wheels look awesome too.

any chance you would be interested in covering the hood in carbon fiber decal? it would look cool with the gunmetal wheel centers and red paint.

Dave

Believe it or not, I have been thinking about a CF hood treatment. This would be a rather easy hood to cover in a CF decal. I've done it before on a Cuda AAR hood. Scale Motorsport has a red CF decal that might be cool too.

Might look pretty cool here, but it might force me to go a little more "modern" under the hood. I was going to just go with a dual 4bbl FE motor. Might look at an EFI setup for the ol' FE.

Edited October 28, 2008 by Marc @ MPC Motorsports

[mercuryman]

that AAR hood looks awesome! man, i can't believe how good that hood looks done that way!

i thought regular grey toned carbon fiber for this one actually, but red may work too. the grey ties into the wheel center color though.

for induction, how about something like this in a lower profile?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v720/dav...section8560.jpg

Dave

Thats Friggin SWEET! How'd ya do it?

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

for induction, how about something like this in a lower profile?

Dave

That's cool, but with the FE and the basically flat hood, there's not much room. I've been at the bench whipping something together that I think you guys will like. I'll post pics later in the week.

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

Muscle cars need muscle under the hood to live up to the image. Not wanting to modify or remove the shock towers to fit a SOHC 427 or a Boss 429 and the "new" cammer motors don't have the torque to push this big old hot rod. So, I decided that this Merc will have a Ford FE motor with modern EFI for driveability.

I took a few liberties here, but I modified the EFI setup from the AMT Phantom Vicky to fit the vintage FE.

I used the base engine from an AMT '69 Torino Cobra with heads and exhaust from the AMT '60 Starliner custom. The base of the intake manifold came from the Torino kit but is not identified on the instruction sheet. Then, I modified the Phantom Vicky intake to fit. It clears the hood and the intake will get fed cold air from the hood scoop.

In theory, this intake setup could supply the FE motor with enough air and fuel to work properly. But since it's a model, we can do almost anything we want. Once I add a distributor, ignition wiring and a radiator hose it should look convincing.

Enjoy!!!

[mercuryman]

Muscle cars need muscle under the hood to live up to the image. Not wanting to modify or remove the shock towers to fit a SOHC 427 or a Boss 429 and the "new" cammer motors don't have the torque to push this big old hot rod. So, I decided that this Merc will have a Ford FE motor with modern EFI for driveability.

I took a few liberties here, but I modified the EFI setup from the AMT Phantom Vicky to fit the vintage FE.

I used the base engine from an AMT '69 Torino Cobra with heads and exhaust from the AMT '60 Starliner custom. The base of the intake manifold came from the Torino kit but is not identified on the instruction sheet. Then, I modified the Phantom Vicky intake to fit. It clears the hood and the intake will get fed cold air from the hood scoop.

In theory, this intake setup could supply the FE motor with enough air and fuel to work properly. But since it's a model, we can do almost anything we want. Once I add a distributor, ignition wiring and a radiator hose it should look convincing.

Enjoy!!!

Did using the torino chassis and engine compartment help lower the stance any? I'm really enjoying wtahcing your progrees on this. Ernest

[Gray Smith]

looks great Marc, I don't think i've commented on it yet anywhere...makes me wanna quit on the hot rods for a while,

I'm really looking forward to seeing this one done, and i know its going to look good in red, and yeah go for the hood in red cf too(if you need some I can send ya a half sheet)

Later buddy..

Gray

[martman]

This project dates back to July 2008, when I finally scored an AMT 1966 Mercury Cyclone builder. It was lacquer crazed worse than the 1970 Camaro but I was determined to do something with it. Then, a few weeks later I won an Ebay auction for AMT '66 and '67 Cyclone builders. The '66 had never been painted but the original builder got a little crazy with the glue that resulted in some damage around the headlights and taillights, both delicate areas.

Tonight, I tackled some of that damage and while I was at it, I took the Dremel to the fender openings to remove material from the backsides and removed mold seams. Not quite finished with the repairs, but I shot a light coat of Tamiya Fine Surface Primer and checked my progress.

I grafted in the engine compartment from an AMT '69 Torino and will be using its chassis too. The hood is from the 1990's issue of the AMT '67 Cyclone with the scoops made functional. Wheels are Salt Flat Specials from the Revell '57 Chevy painted Testors Gunmetal metallizer and modified to fit 23" Pegasus and custom 19" aluminum sleeves. I have new chrome from The Modelhaus front and rear and paint will be Tamiya Metallic Red overcoated with Tamiya Clear Red.

Stay tuned for more updates!

A lot of work will result in a very nice build when done.

[dade]

thank you so very much ,i have around 6 of the commet and two of the gts,and you supplied with the motivation to build one thank you ,and the intake you have ,is from what kit may i ask ?

[mikelo]

I think that will work great. You have a good knack for blending the old with the new. Should look terrific when it's done!

Mike

[VictorSmalls]

I love it. Great ideas and the wheels really set it off.

[Avenger]

Making a hot rod out of it kick butt man. I have a cyclone to. A Stock Car.

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

thank you so very much ,i have around 6 of the commet and two of the gts,and you supplied with the motivation to build one thank you ,and the intake you have ,is from what kit may i ask ?

The intake is a modified part that came from the AMT Phantom Vicky kit.

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

Did using the torino chassis and engine compartment help lower the stance any? I'm really enjoying wtahcing your progrees on this. Ernest

Not directly, but the Torino chassis is a vintage metal axle chassis which makes stance adjustments easy. The chassis the car came with does not have the proper Ford engine compartment, but has the typical rounded wheel wells that are shared with the majority of kits from this era.

Interesting is the AMT '66-67 Fairlanes (sister car to the Cyclone) has the setup that I'm using, which was carried over from the Fairlane kits to the Torino kits of '68-69. It's a nice upgrade that still allows the metal axle chassis I prefer.

[dade]

The intake is a modified part that came from the AMT Phantom Vicky kit.

how ,and where can i get one is it a oop

[mercuryman]

how ,and where can i get one is it a oop

I may have one you can have. Let me look and get back with you. Ernest

[mercuryman]

how ,and where can i get one is it a oop

I found one, it's from the prepainted kit. It's yours if you want it. Ernest

[dade]

I found one, it's from the prepainted kit. It's yours if you want it. Ernest

aw my friend that will be great

[mercuryman]

aw my friend that will be great

I'll put it in yer box.

[dade]

I'll put it in yer box.

thanks a bunch

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

Well, nine months have come and gone since I last posted on this build. After a self-imposed sabbotical from the bench, I have returned to building and the Cyclone is once again front and center. The body work has been completed and after a couple of coats of Tamiya white primer it is ready for paint. It will be painted with Tamiya Metallic Red topped with Clear Red. Once some white rocker panel stripes from a Fred Cady '66 Cyclone Indy Pace Car decal sheet are applied, it will be topped with Tamiya TS-13 clear gloss.

My goal is to finish this and one or two other "in process" builds before I begin an "all new" project. All the "in process" projects are at a similar stage as the Cyclone, so they should be easy to finish if I can remain focused. If all goes well, I should have some color on the Cyclone tonight, so watch for some new pics.

Enjoy!

Marc