AMT 66 Mustang hardtop

[Sixties Sam]

Hey, guys, I just finished this 1966 Mustang hardtop built from one of the many releases of the AMT kit. The kit went together well, but is very inaccurate. Based on photos from real 66’s, the front wheel wells are the wrong shape, and have no shock towers, and no diagonal braces. The exhaust system has a transverse muffler that no 66 ever had, and on and on. But it was still a fun build.

I wanted to build a model of the first generation Mustangs when they were a neat, sporty little car, before they became the muscle cars we all know and love. I was a teenager when the Mustang came out, and like every other kid in America, I wanted one. But, of course there was no way most of us could own one until several years later when Mustangs began showing up in large numbers in the used car market. This model represents one of those used Mustangs that a kid might have bought in about 1970. It was at a bargain price because it was a basic hardtop with a 3 speed stick and a 200 c.i. 6 cylinder engine under the hood. Yes, it’s a six! I ditched the 289 V-8 that came with the kit and bought a resin kit of the 6 banger from Ken Kitchen of Kitchen Table Resins (great guy to deal with, BTW). I decided to add a bit more detail under the hood than I usually do, so this one is wired, has heater hoses, fuel line, brake line, and battery cables. I made some shock towers from balsa and plastic, and tubular braces from the towers to the firewall. The real braces were stamped rectangular shape, but I’ve seen photos of some with tubular ones. I Dremeled off most of the exhaust system and made it into a single pipe and muffler system. I weathered the chassis and engine just a little, since this is supposed to be a 4 year old used car.

So there it is, not up to the standards of many models on this forum, but not too bad for an old man!

Chrome trim on door panel is thin craft wire glued on.

Just a little rust and dirt underneath - it's a used car!

Here it sits at the Starlite Diner. The new owner took it there to show it off to his buddies. I hope you guys like it!

Edited October 21, 2010 by Sixties Sam

[mikeD1]

that a killer stang !!!!

how many plug wires??? lol

i willbe doing one in baby blue sometime!!! lol

thanks for the input about your car!!

mike

[Sixties Sam]

Thanks, Mike. I did get a used Mustang in 1971. It was a 67 convertible with a 289 automatic. Shoulda kept it!

Sam

[mikeD1]

how many spark plug wires??? lol

[Sixties Sam]

how many spark plug wires??? lol

There are just six plus a coil wire. There's a fuel line in there. Maybe you're mistaking it for a plug wire. I used a prewired 6 cyl. distributor.

[my name is nobody]

Very nice looking Mustang.

[mikeD1]

thanks sam!!!

what red did you use ???

i used pepper red on my 65 !!!! lol

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

Very cool and if I had known, I could have hooked you up with a vintage AMT annual chassis that came standard with a single exhaust molded in.

[W-409]

Wow, that weathering looks very good! First when I read that "Look what's under the hood", I thought that there is somekind of big block engine with twin turbo or something. When I saw that "six shooter" engine, I was suprised... But anyways, nice Mustang, I like that paintjob, it's something you see very rarely, stock Mustang! But engine detailing looks very good, this is so clean build, and that diorama looks awesome with all those nice cars. Thank you for sharing this!

[davyou5]

Awesome! And I really like the Diorama with it parked next to many of the other classics.

[Sixties Sam]

thanks sam!!!

what red did you use ???

i used pepper red on my 65 !!!! lol

It's Krylon Banner Red gloss, from the spray can. I polished it with toothpaste and put on a coat of Turtle Wax.

[whale392]

I had to take a double-take at the drive-in pic, as it looked quite real. Great build and killer diorama.

[Modellpularn]

I had to take a double-take at the drive-in pic, as it looked quite real. Great build and killer diorama.

My thoughts exactly!

[Scalper]

Nice looking mustang. A lot of room under that hood. Diner shot is very well done.

[Chuck Most]

Love that inline sixer!

[kelson]

I agree with everyone else it's a beautiful build,are the other cars in the diner your builds as well or just promo's added to the scene?

[Sixties Sam]

Thanks, everyone, for the kind words. They're much appreciated! Curtis, the other cars at the diner are my old builds from the 1960's. They are a 65 Galaxie, 62 Dodge Dart, 68 Galaxie, and you can see just a tiny bit of the roof of a 62 Merc Meteor. The green 49 ford on the far left is a recent build, posted here about a month ago.

BTW, did anyone notice I forgot the lower radiator hose? I glued it on after the photos were shot. I also added an outside mirror on the left side.

Sam