AMT ‘69 Cougar Eliminator

[NOBLNG]

I built the engine for this a few years back and then put everything back in the box. Recently I picked up another body shell that is molded in white. I had thought they were identical, but just noticed that the white one does not have molded in wipers or holes for the rear spoiler. Can anyone tell me when that change was made? I’d rather use the white one as the drip rails are much more defined. All comments welcome as usual. Thanks.🙂 Edit: I notice that the instructions call for the hood scoop and spoiler to be flat black, but they should be body color on a ‘69.

Edited October 7 by NOBLNG

[LennyB]

Greg, nice choice, I have a few of these I want to build some day. Before they came out with the Eliminator AMT produced this as an XR7 #6533, that is probably where the white body originates. Also came as a CJ428 #6529. Too bad I didn't read this 30 minutes ago I just came down from the attic and could have checked. I'll let you know next trip.

[NOBLNG]

Thanks Len! I really like the looks of these Cougars, but I am going to have to research some build threads on here. I was just trying to place the firewall and I realize that there really aren’t any positive mounting points for much of anything on this kit.🥴 The instructions just point to the general area where it belongs…I guess it would only keep a kid from installing it backwards or upside down.🤯 Lots of flash and warts on it too. I guess that’s to be expected though from an older tooling.😕

Edited September 27 by NOBLNG

[Bainford]

I seem to recall that AMT made a funny car with a stock Cougar body. Perhaps the white body is one of those. 

[LennyB]

1 hour ago, Bainford said:

I seem to recall that AMT made a funny car with a stock Cougar body. Perhaps the white body is one of those. 

Trevor, I believe the funny car was a 67/8 body.

 

Greg I did find this on the net. Didn't watch it all the way through.

 

[NOBLNG]

On 9/27/2025 at 7:07 PM, LennyB said:

Greg I did find this on the net. Didn't watch it all the way through.

Thanks Len, I’ll watch it later tonight. I dug up Donald’s (Duddly01) fantastic build thread of this kit: https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/194034-amt-1969-cougar-eliminator/  However, I am not correcting much of anything on  kit….I’ll be lucky to finish it.😬 The body and engine are nice but the interior and Chassis are absolutely awful. 
Edit: I watched that nice video and am disappointed to realize that my Boss 302 Eliminator kit has the 428CJ hood decal.😕

Edited September 29 by NOBLNG

[LennyB]

8 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

Chassis are absolutely awful. 

Might be able to use the AMT '67 Mustang chassis. 

[NOBLNG]

On 9/27/2025 at 7:31 PM, LennyB said:

Might be able to use the AMT '67 Mustang chassis. 

Thanks Len. I had explored that possibility briefly. The main problem with that is that the Mustang has a multi-piece interior with the carpet and trans tunnel molded to the chassis. It’s not impossible to cut the bottom off of the Cougar interior and graft it to the Mustang chassis but…one thing leads to another.🤔 The new tunnel would interfere with the Cougar dash. The wheelbase would have to be lengthened also….so I am just going to work with the AMT parts and rebuild the engine bay I think.

[NOBLNG]

The first thing I want to do is get some more positive mounting points on everything. The interior nestles fairly nicely into the body shell and that I suppose is the key for locating the chassis fore and aft. The chassis/floorpan does have two positive mounting points to the interior. I would like to get some positive mounts to the body, then I can work on the engine bay. I’ve pinned the dash and added some pins that will double as front seat mounts. 

[LennyB]

3 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Thanks Len. I had explored that possibility briefly. The main problem with that is that the Mustang has a multi-piece interior with the carpet and trans tunnel molded to the chassis. It’s not impossible to cut the bottom off of the Cougar interior and graft it to the Mustang chassis but…one thing leads to another.🤔 The new tunnel would interfere with the Cougar dash. The wheelbase would have to be lengthened also….so I am just going to work with the AMT parts and rebuild the engine bay I think.

Ahh, now I see the light😄. Actually I'm running into that issue with my 63 Mercury. Started by removing the console, then it became the floor, then it became the firewall....what did I get myself into😒

[NOBLNG]

Well I went to trial fit the engine in place and discovered an error with my placement of the plug wires and exhaust manifolds.😬 You’d think I built this as a kid or before I had access to the internet, but it was probably about six years ago.😳 Anyways, I corrected it but there is still a bit of interference. The engine was sitting cock-eyed so I had to re-drill the hole in the oil pan and shave the shift linkage because it hits the trans tunnel.🥴 I will persevere.

Edited September 30 by NOBLNG

[NOBLNG]

This thing has been fighting me every step of the way so far. I have removed the nubs on top of the front wheel wells and shortened the tub to chassis mounting pins so that the interior will sit right down on the floor pan. I have also moved the engine slightly forward since I think the  braces in the engine bay will interfere with the air cleaner.🤯 The hood WILL close completely now, but I will have to recess the braces into the wheel wells. I guess I wouldn’t have had to do all this if I had glued the firewall to the body like the instructions suggest?🤔 It’s a shame that with all the re-issues of this kit that AMT didn’t see fit to update the chassis and interior because the body is really nice.😕 But….I think I am gaining the upper hand now. Thanks for bearing with me folks!🥵

 

Edited September 30 by NOBLNG

[LennyB]

Greg, you're making me less and less wanting to build one of these.😞

[NOBLNG]

14 hours ago, LennyB said:

Greg, you're making me less and less wanting to build one of these.😞

Don’t stray like I did…just follow the instructions Len and it should go together nicely.🙄 I’ve only found one really critical review…everyone seems to say it’s a nice, although dated, kit.

Edited October 1 by NOBLNG

[NOBLNG]

I plugged and re-drilled the hubs on the big & little mag wheels from a Revell ‘66 El Camino today and yes…the new holes are pretty much on center unlike the originals.🧐 I also shaved the door handles, drilled and pinned some resin pieces that I cast, and drilled for some 1mm aluminum tube door locks.

Edited October 7 by NOBLNG

[meechum68]

That is awesome! And your not even done, and I think it would be killer in Yellow/Black interior.

[NOBLNG]

I’ve got the chassis pretty much finalized but still have to add the rear shocks. I got rid of the kit hood hinges and installed magnets instead. The front ones I mounted directly below the hood pins. I had to move the radiator support forward a bit for the magnets to line up. A good source for the steel shims that I inset into the hood is a jar lid that measures 0.01” thick. Once the perimeter is removed it is thin enough to be cut with scissors.🙂

Edited October 5 by NOBLNG

[NOBLNG]

Since I glued the rear suspension in place I had to separate the tailpipes so that I can fish them into place after painting. I lengthened the driveshaft slightly also.

Edited October 5 by NOBLNG

[espo]

Going to be a great looking chassis. 

[NOBLNG]

Scratched up some shocks from 1mm aluminum tubing and 3/32 styrene tubing. I don’t even think they need any paint….to be trimmed to length on final assembly.🙂 And I added a slightly better upper rad tank.

Edited October 5 by NOBLNG

[Keef]

On 9/29/2025 at 11:34 PM, NOBLNG said:

I’m rebuilding this kit that I built a few years ago. Could you give a little info on what you did here? I’m guessing it was to close up the gaping holes?

[NOBLNG]

On 10/5/2025 at 4:42 PM, Keef said:

I’m rebuilding this kit that I built a few years ago. Could you give a little info on what you did here? I’m guessing it was to close up the gaping holes?

  Sure thing Keith. I don’t know if I really screwed something up or what…but most folks don’t have many issues with this kit.  I found that the  interior tub (and therefore the trans tunnel) sits above the chassis floor pan. So there is a gap between them when viewed from the bottom. So I trimmed the rear locating pins to move  the tub downwards until it sat down tight to the floorpan. Also, the only locating points for the firewall are those two posts that are supposed to be standoffs (with no positive location points) from the interior tub and no connection points at the bottom edge of the firewall. So I trimmed them a bit and added a .030” sheet that I glued to the posts and the lower edge…now I had a large flat plate to glue to the front of the interior tub. So yes, the white pieces in the first pic are to close up the gaps.

Now to get everything to sit nicely into the body shell I had to trim the nubs on the front wheel wells so that the firewall would sit up tight to the cowl. There is a little gap required between the inner and outer fenders or the hood hits the shocks and won’t close….so I recessed the fender brace/shock mounts into the fender wells. I’ve seen more than a couple of builds under glass where the hood does not close flush.🧐 The inner fender wells are completely wrong for this car but I don’t want to get into correcting them. See my previous link to a great build that does address this issue if you are inclined. Any more questions, feel free to ask here or PM me.

Edit: the hood not closing flush could be from shock interference if the nubs are trimmed, or more likely from air cleaner interference.

Edited October 7 by NOBLNG
Clarification

[LennyB]

Nice work Greg, some stellar improvements there👍

[sak]

This kit must've been farely advanced for its time. Most of the kits released before and after had one-piece floorpans. And another thing, if the wiper blades and arms were deleted, did the kit include them as seperate items?

[NOBLNG]

22 hours ago, sak said:

This kit must've been farely advanced for its time. Most of the kits released before and after had one-piece floorpans. And another thing, if the wiper blades and arms were deleted, did the kit include them as seperate items?

I only have the body shell with no wipers so I don’t know if they were included separately…I doubt it since there are no locating points? I wouldn’t call any of the chassis/interior advanced.😬 The engine is quite nice, but this kit is probably the tenth or so re-issue. I don’t think anything other than the engine and wheels/tires were up-graded. Oh well, it is what it is. And that’s what building these older kits is…an exercise in problem solving and perseverance.🥵🙂

Edited October 7 by NOBLNG