AMT 1968 Fairlane 500 Junkyard Rescue

[fairlane1320]

I'm using an AMT '66 Fairlane chassis under a Modelhaus '68 Torino hardtop, converted into a Fairlane 500. This a replica of what my 1:1 Fairlane 500 looked like when it was new.

[LennyB]

43 minutes ago, fairlane1320 said:

I'm using an AMT '66 Fairlane chassis under a Modelhaus '68 Torino hardtop, converted into a Fairlane 500. This a replica of what my 1:1 Fairlane 500 looked like when it was new.

I have two of those bodies waiting in the wings for the same treatment. There is very little difference between the 66 and 68 chassis in the real world so it's a good fit.

I see your body has the same warp on the drivers side as mine do. Must all be like that.🙁

[Duddly01]

Very nice job getting the details corrected. 

[dino246gt]

I love saving old models!

You are doing it the justice it deserves.

Cool!

 

[Bainford]

Nice effort getting the details right. It's looking very good. 

[LennyB]

Thanks guys, appreciate the support. It's also a lot more fun this way.🙃

[LennyB]

Moving around to the tail end of business. The 68 and 69 Fairlane/Torino are the same in the rear aside for some trim changes. On the left is AMT's 68 Torino and on the right is the 69 Cobra.

 

The tail panel is concave not flat, but the Cobra is flat and AMT moved the lower section over to the rear bumper.

 

Have to fix both these issues. First by breaking down the rear bumper and then by creating a new tail panel from some .060 flat stock.

I put a piece of .040 x .080 stock down the center to represent the rear molding (it will be filed down to shape later). Then filed above and below that strip to get a concave effect. At either end I carved out a depression for the taillight frames to fit into. The frames are a bit thick but recessing them helps to improve their appearance. I can thin them down some but have to see if the kit taillights can still be used.

 

I took it one step further and created the panel that sits behind the bumper. Even thought of possibly putting in a gas cap and hinging the rear license plate.

 

And here is a mock-up of the rear. Still need to remove 69 from the plate.

Back to the chassis next....

 

 

[LennyB]

I know you all think I'm crazy for not just using the chassis from the AMT 1966 Fairlane or Revell 1970 Torino but what's the fun in that. The point of this rescue is to use just the parts from my junk box. So now it's time to rescue the chassis I started cutting up some 40 or so years ago.

Not sure what I used to fill he area once occupied by the mufflers but it looks like cardboard covered with Bondo. Well, that has to go.

And replace it with some sheet styrene.

The old "Promo" slots for metal axles need to be filled.

 

A little more cleaning and...we are getting closer.

 

 

One reason for jumping on to the chassis at this point is the very rear of the chassis has two tabs which originally slotted into the body. Needed to see how the chassis now fits with the rear body mods.

 

Tabs have to go and a ridge for the chassis to rest on was secured inside the rear of the body.

 

 

 

 

This chassis is not without it's flaws from the AMT factory. The gas tank is the wrong shape, it should be wider from side to side and it had what appears to be a partial retaining strap molded in. Also, for some reason they have the front of the springs mounted inside the frame rails. They belong outside the rails. And that's just for starters. I'm not going to go nuts on trying to make this correct, just happy at this point to finally make this chassis usable after all these years.

 

 

Next the grill...🤐

[FoMoCo66]

Looks good I've always had the idea of doing this but I've never seen anyone do it. I like the result a lot though. Good job 👍.

[customline]

I  think you're crazy, Lenny. 🙂

[LennyB]

5 hours ago, customline said:

I  think you're crazy, Lenny. 🙂

As they say it takes one to know one...🤨

[Moparman18064]

Loving the scratch work. Looking good.

[LennyB]

This week was devoted to the grill. As I have several 1968 Fairlane/Torino projects in the pipe and only one 68 grill in the junk pile I cast some extra grills. The grill is the same for all 68 models, Fairlane and Torino. Only difference is the crest in the center of the grill. Fairlanes had none, the Torino had a tri-colored bar and the GT had a GT emblem, what else.😶

 

 

So after casting the grill I removed the GT emblem from the center. Here I shot one with Revell Chrome. Way too much bling, and it shows every flaw.

 

 

Toned it down with a black wash but the Revell chrome doesn't take kindly to handling.

 

I eventually intend to separate the bumper and grill as that is the way they are in life. Then I can paint the pieces separately.

 

 

 

[spkgibsonfirebird]

Great looking project, I have a bunch of these kits to build, I'm still trying to figure out how to attach the roof on my '69 Cobra hardtop, it's way to long. 

[Duddly01]

So much scratch building getting great results.

[LennyB]

56 minutes ago, Duddly01 said:

So much scratch building getting great results.

Thanks Donald for coming along on the ride. For what seems like a simple concept there is a lot of scratch building.

7 hours ago, spkgibsonfirebird said:

Great looking project, I have a bunch of these kits to build, I'm still trying to figure out how to attach the roof on my '69 Cobra hardtop, it's way to long. 

Stephen, I know what you mean, I have several as well and not only is it too long it's not shaped right. It needs a lot of massaging to get it correct. Good luck with yours.

[LennyB]

I've come to the conclusion that I have really gone down the rabbit hole with this one. Trying to make something presentable with this chassis when using the 66 Fairlane chassis would be so much easier just brings out my stubbornness. But I'm gonna stick it out and stay with the original plan of just using parts from the junk box. The reason this chassis is so flawed, aside from being a promo style chassis, is the fact that it is the evolution of the 1962 Fairlane chassis. The 62 shown here on the top and the 69 Cobra on the bottom.

Among all the weird things going on with this chassis is why AMT put those two ears on the front corners. Other then maybe strengthening the chassis for the promo, they don't belong as the real car doesn't have anything in this location. Unless you count the splash shields on the bottom of the grill. So I removed the ears, 1962 style cross-member and simulated lower control arms. Right now I'm waiting for an order of plastruct to build the front end back up. That front cross-member was recycled from my 1963 Fury project. Waste not, want not.

Also want to address the front radiator and support. The radiator AMT provides is for small block applications. I found this front core support in my parts box. Not sure of it's origins, might be from the MPC 1971-73 Cougar.

With a bit of trimming it fits right in place. Also now gives me something to mount the front grill to as I want to separate it from the bumper and have it hang off the core support like it should. What also needs to be done is the ridge on the inner right fender needs to go as the battery in a big block car is mounted perpendicular to the core support. It also needs to be a larger group 26 battery.

Time to do a little interior work. As this is a Fairlane and it could be ordered with bucket seats, I'm going to go with a bench. Which by the way is what the Cobra had more often then not, one bench weighs less then two buckets. Starting with a second back seat I removed the two filler panels on the side.

 

 

Then I found a seat rear in the parts bin that I have no idea of it's origins. It is a bit big but we can cut it down to size.

 

 

 

 

Have to clean up the ends of the seat when things dry and add the side trim and a release handle.

 

Final bit of business for today is the dash. For all versions of the 68-69 dash AMT depicts a car with A/C. More added weight so we are going to exile the A/C to the parts bin. Even though the dash is more accurate in the original 68-69 releases, I'm going to use the Cobra dash as I have more of them available. For this dash we have to sand off the simulated wood-grain and fill in the A/C vents.  Also removed the front section of the console as that is going in the trash next.

 

As the glue dries...on to the next.

 

 

 

[Bainford]

Coming along nicely. Good attention to detail. Watch out for that rabbit hole, some of them are deep. 

[LennyB]

So I waited over two weeks for some "U" channel plastruct to arrive so I could start fabbing the chassis front suspension. When the bits finally arrived I didn't like the way the parts worked and scrapped that idea. Instead I went to the parts junkyard and pieced together some parts and came up with this.

 

Other then the yellow sway bar which is from the AMT 68 Shelby Kit I have no idea what the parts came from. I need to extend the exhaust, add tie rod end links and I still need a center link for the front end. Unless I want to go crazy and add power steering.

 

Working on the interior as well. Took the console out of the tub.

 

Added some detail to the seats which was a bit silly as you probably won't be able to see most of it but I couldn't help myself. Added the hinges to the sides of each front seat as well as a release handle on the drivers side to adjust the seat. While I was at it I added an ash tray to the back of the front seat. 'Cause back in the 60's everyone let their kids smoke in the back seat.😵

 

And that "U" channel did not go to waste, added to the bottom of the front seat for rails as seats don't really sit flat on the floor.

 

The kit door panels are completely wrong in so many ways so they have been cut off and new panels will be fabricated.

 

But that is a story for another day, especially since I haven't gotten that far yet.🥴

 

 

Thanks for stopping in.😀

 

 

 

[FoMoCo66]

I like the result of giving the promo more more detail. The seat also looks really good. Nice job man!

[LennyB]

13 minutes ago, FoMoCo66 said:

I like the result of giving the promo more more detail. The seat also looks really good. Nice job man!

Thanks Ace, I appreciate it. 😄

[spkgibsonfirebird]

I like how you made the rear seat the front bench seat, I think it's from the AMT '65 or '66 galaxie kit, the front suspension is coming along great. One of these days I'll pull out one of mine and start working on it. The front seat would be a great item to cast in resin. 

[Mike Slapattack]

The chassis has a great factory undercoat texture. How did you achieve that?

[LennyB]

17 hours ago, spkgibsonfirebird said:

I like how you made the rear seat the front bench seat, I think it's from the AMT '65 or '66 galaxie kit, the front suspension is coming along great. One of these days I'll pull out one of mine and start working on it. The front seat would be a great item to cast in resin. 

That's not a bad idea. But I should have done so before adding the adjuster handle. And now that you mention it just realized I forgot to add the seat back releases. Oh, well. Always something more to do.😬

 

As far as the Galaxie, don't think the parts are from that, have one sitting right here as my next project. Other then the sway bar and the black section of the cross member the rest is from scratch as far as the front end goes.

[LennyB]

3 hours ago, Mike Slapattack said:

The chassis has a great factory undercoat texture. How did you achieve that?

Mike, I would call that dumb luck. Had a can of Rust-Oleum Rusty Metal Primer sitting in the garage. Just used that. It goes on a bit thick which is why I used it to help hide some of the surgery below the mufflers.