AMT 1968 Fairlane 500 Junkyard Rescue

[LennyB]

 

I was up in the attic this weekend and pulled down some of my old parts boxes that have not seen the light of day in over 30 years. One such parts box is this one filled with 1968-1969 Ford Torino and Cobra parts. Lord knows I built a lot of these back in the day and while I have a lot of NOS kits it might be fun to see what I can do with this lot.

 

Gave me an idea for a build. I wondered if there were enough parts here to build up a 1969 Cobra.  There were two Cobra bodies and a host of other parts. The body on the left looks like it had a run in with a soldering iron but the other looked OK.

 

Three interiors, one on the left looks good, one in the center is from a HT/Conv and the one on the right is from a modified stocker and is still dirty from the last race.

 

Five chassis, one on the left is from the modified stocker, next three are original Torino and the one in the back is from the Cobra issue. I could go with that but that would be too simple. Might try to finish the second from the right where I started removing the molded in exhaust and rear axle years ago. We shall see.

 

 

Many bits are original Torino pieces but they all fit the Cobra. The Torino and the Cobra are all from the same family. On the left is the original Torino kit and on the right the Cobra issue from 1990.

 

I think the first order of business is replacing the wheel opening moldings we lost when AMT "repaired" the modified stocker castings. You can see from the pic below a comparison of an original Torino kit with the Cobra issue. They didn't quite get the wheel opening right and left the trim on the cutting room floor.

 

And if this plan works out I have a Mustang and a Thunderbird box as well. 'till next time.

 

 

Edited February 19 by LennyB
After sleeping on it I decided to turn this into a 1968 Fairlane 500

[Chinacar]

Save the Cobras! I look forward to your build. 😁

[LennyB]

After sleeping on it I decided to build this as a 1968 Fairlane 500. Why a Fairlane 500? Why 1968?  Well this fastback body style was only available for two years 68 and 69. It was also only available as a Fairlane 500, Torino GT and a Cobra in 1969. AMT produced the Torino both years and the Cobra, so why not do something different.

[NOBLNG]

1 hour ago, LennyB said:

After sleeping on it I decided to build this as a 1968 Fairlane 500. Why a Fairlane 500? Why 1968?  Well this fastback body style was only available for two years 68 and 69. It was also only available as a Fairlane 500, Torino GT and a Cobra in 1969. AMT produced the Torino both years and the Cobra, so why not do something different.

Cool project Len!😎 I wish I had boxes and boxes of parts.😕

[LennyB]

3 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Cool project Len!😎 I wish I had boxes and boxes of parts.😕

It's a blessing and a curse. I've been stashing stuff in the attic for decades and I don't even know what I have anymore. I found a second box of Torino stuff and I know I have more I've yet to find. I guess it's a good problem.

[slusher]

How will you remove the molded in exhaust?

[Kenmojr]

I agree with a post above, "Save the Cobras"!!! Should be an interesting thread.

[customline]

To be different, I think you should go with the Fairlane 500.....wagon ☺️

Edited February 20 by customline

[LennyB]

7 hours ago, slusher said:

How will you remove the molded in exhaust?

Carl, we have lots of options.

 

A:Modified Stocker chassis that AMT already removed the exhaust. But it still has the promo style rear axle that I don't care for.

 

B: Chassis I started modifying some 30 years ago but never finished. Still has tailpipes and intermediate pipes and some axle left to be eradicated.

C: Chassis from MPC 1970 Cyclone that I modified many moons ago and includes brass rear springs and shackles. But I built this for a 1969 Cyclone I was building out of a 69 Torino modified stocker kit and never finished. Might just keep those two together.

 

D: Also have the chassis from an MPC 1971 Cougar in the parts box which I could graft the rear section onto one of the Torino chassis. But as the gas tank only holds 16 gallons we would be loosing out on our cruising range, so maybe that's not a good idea.

 

 

WDYT?

[LennyB]

6 hours ago, customline said:

To be different, I think you should go with the Fairlane 500.....wagon ☺️

Jim

Shouldn't you have that hand elevated with an ice pack on it????🩹

 

Anyhow, would you settle for a Ranchero?

 

 

Totally forgot about this one. Probably started about 15 years ago to replicate a full size one I was restoring. Back half is AMT 1966 Fairlane newer issue and nose is AMT late 60's Falcon promo.

On the 1:1 vehicle the Ranchero was a Falcon in 1966 and a Fairlane in 1967. All they did was swap the nose. Rest of the vehicle is essentially the same except for some annual upgrades.

[customline]

7 minutes ago, LennyB said:

Jim

Shouldn't you have that hand elevated with an ice pack on it????🩹

 

Anyhow, would you settle for a Ranchero?

 

 

Totally forgot about this one. Probably started about 15 years ago to replicate a full size one I was restoring. Back half is AMT 1966 Fairlane newer issue and nose is AMT late 60's Falcon promo.

On the 1:1 vehicle the Ranchero was a Falcon in 1966 and a Fairlane in 1967. All they did was swap the nose. Rest of the vehicle is essentially the same except for some annual upgrades.

YES! Great idea!  I love a good Ranchero.  And nah, it's not that bad but I have to protect it from bumping it or getting it wet. Don't want it to start bleeding again 😫. Just an inconvenience until it gets some "closing" of the hole I created on the tip.  💩

[LennyB]

27 minutes ago, customline said:

YES! Great idea!  I love a good Ranchero.  And nah, it's not that bad but I have to protect it from bumping it or getting it wet. Don't want it to start bleeding again 😫. Just an inconvenience until it gets some "closing" of the hole I created on the tip.  💩

Yeah, I once put a drill through a finger, twisted the nerves all up. It hasn't felt the same since.😵

 

And this is what I was trying to replicate.

 

Edited February 20 by LennyB
Add Pic

[customline]

21 minutes ago, LennyB said:

Yeah, I once put a drill through a finger, twisted the nerves all up. It hasn't felt the same since.😵

I could write a book, Len 🥴.

[LennyB]

9 hours ago, Kenmojr said:

I agree with a post above, "Save the Cobras"!!! Should be an interesting thread.

Ken, sounds like a PETA Campaign

[LennyB]

Well, despite the fact we have this "Save the Cobras" campaign going on I'm afraid that one of the first things we need to do to turn this body into a Fairlane is remove the Cobra emblem. 😵 A bit of sanding will take care of that.

 

Next issue is the rear marker light.

The 1969 Fairlane/Torino/Cobra (F/T/C) has an illuminated marker light on the rear quarter panel. This was the first year for a lighted marker. In 1968 the quarter was graced with a red reflector which AMT did a terrible job recreating.

This is how the real thing looks.

 

It's actually square and recessed into the quarter. So I sanded off the marker and carved out a new one.

 

Basically took an old X-Acto blade and ground it to width and used it to carve the opening.

 

To finish the quarter panel off I needed to scribe a fine parting line as the end of the quarter had a cap on it surrounding the taillight. Not sure if this is going to stand up to a coat of paint but here goes.

 

 

Haven't decided if I'm going to try and make a small reflector or simply back it with BMF and paint over it.

 

Next I want to work on the side molding. On the Fairlane the molding runs the full length of the car right down the center body line. It has a red stripe down the middle. I thought of making the molding with two half round .025" styrene rods but no-one seems to make that size.  I don't know if this will work but I took two (4 in total) .025" round stock and laid them out side by side on some masking tape and ran a bead of cement down the middle. I'm going to let this dry for a day or two and then sand the top side flat. Hopefully when I turn it over it will bear some resemblance to a molding I want. We shall see...

[Duddly01]

Nice start to what should turn out to be a cool save on a cool old kit.

 

[LennyB]

22 hours ago, Duddly01 said:

Nice start to what should turn out to be a cool save on a cool old kit.

 

Thanks Donald, I have a hard time getting my head wrapped around the fact it's an "old kit" Seems like it was just issued yesterday🤔

[Duddly01]

48 minutes ago, LennyB said:

Thanks Donald, I have a hard time getting my head wrapped around the fact it's an "old kit" Seems like it was just issued yesterday🤔

I so know what you mean. 

[slusher]

rim enjoying and looking forward too the build!

[LennyB]

Starting to look more like a 68 then a 69. Working on the hash marks on the C pillars. AMT was close when they did the 68 but it went down hill from there. In 1968 the Torino had five thin hash marks on the C pillar. In 69 they went with three wider hash marks. When AMT did the 69 they simply removed two of the original hash marks so we just had three thins ones. When they released the Cobra they made them wider but they were still not correct and angled wrong.

 

 

So we have to remove all the hash marks as well as the mold line right above them. Starting with some half round .030" I laid out the first hash mark. It took a period of several days to get them all done as I allowed each one to set before laying down the next one, so I wouldn't disturb the previous one. I spaced them with the edge of a file as I went along.

I didn't try to cut them to size, just get them laid out first and went back to trim them later.

Still need a bit of cleaning up but that will have to wait until the cement fully cures.

 

Next moved on the the missing wheel moldings. A piece of .025" round styrene will do the trick.

 

That's as far as I've gotten for now. May not seem like much but it's been a week of gluing and waiting, gluing and waiting. On to the side molding next time around. Cheers.

[FoMoCo66]

I always love it when people meticulously ad back the detail it just makes it look right. Good work.

[LennyB]

Thanks Ace, I just can't help myself.

[LennyB]

It's been a slow week of progress waiting for the glue to dry. The molding has a red stripe running thru the center of it and I wanted to lay two half round .025" strips side by side to leave a center groove for the red. Well, doesn't seem like anyone makes that size in styrene. So I took two round pieces of .025" and laid them down on some masking tape and ran a bead of glue down the center.

 

 

After letting them set, I flattened out the backside and glued them on to the body.

 

And we have side moldings.

 

 

Now I'm waiting for the tail panel to dry, Oh well, off to another project.😀

[1930fordpickup]

Have you thought about using the chassis from the revell 70 Torino or cobra? 

I do like what you are doing here. 

 

[LennyB]

58 minutes ago, 1930fordpickup said:

Have you thought about using the chassis from the revell 70 Torino or cobra? 

I do like what you are doing here. 

 

For a different project yes. But for this one I'm just using the parts from the junkyard.