AMC Community Build

[Chuck Most]

You see quite a few Jeeps around here with the diamond plate body sheilds- I think this is the first time I've seen someone try it on a model.

[Dirkpitt289]

I LIKE IT!!

[Casey]

I changed my entry, updated my earlier post, and started working on the AMX GT last night. So far I've collected a Johan '69 AMX kit...:

...and the ribbed sidepipe covers from the Revell '67 'Vette kit:

I started sanding the body, removing the mold seam ridges, cleaning up the edges, and finished by sanding off the molded-on ribbed rocker panel moldings. I was a bit worried that this tooling hadn't held up well over the years, but I came away quite impressed with the Johan body. The details are very sharp and it was crisply molded, with little to no flash anywhere.

Before:

After:

I did some test fitting of the bumper/grille/headlight buckets and hood, too:

So far so good. I will need to remove the hood bulges and fill in the two holes, not mention acquire a '76 Gremlin kit to use the rear quarter of the body. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the AMX roof and simply shorten and slightly lay back the A-pillars or go with a completely different roof, in order to better capture the look of the AMX GT show car:

Edited February 13, 2012 by Casey

[gray07]

Thats a cool car Casey.

[38special]

Is it ok to join in still . i started on amts gremlin. It will be a compact demolition derby car.

fresh

started to bend up

[38special]

Some more progress and the motor/ wheels and tires i plan on using

body is bent up with diamond plate strap over the body seams to simulate welding the panels together

I am scratchbuilding a front suspension so i had to make new strut towers. they are still rough

My motor ford 2.3 and wheel/tire

[Chuck Most]

Here we go! The influx of Gremmies is upon us.

[Dr. Cranky]

No, kidding, I'm really liking all the body damage and panel modifications. Keep it coming.

[Casey]

Tonight I removed the hood bulges and filled in the two existing holes using some pink googly eye pupils:

I filled any low spots with superglue and baking powder, so it will look uniform once primed:

Since this'll be a curbside build, I will probably glue the hood to the body and make it all one nose piece, as the AMX GT appears to have a molded in/closed cowl panel, too.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Casey

[jeffs396]

KEWL!!!

[38special]

Alright guys i'm stuck on a color to paint the gremlin. its either going to be pink or possibly white. If i did pinkt hen i was maybe going to paint the numbers and lettering in black and possibly some flames on front in black and maybe a outline in a lime green.

If i did white i was going to paint my weld strap black and paint the numbers and lettering a aqua color.

any ideas? Oh yea i've got to paint my amt pacer wagon the same color(both are going to be on a team compact derby contest this fall)

[Casey]

any ideas?

I'm just interested in seeing how you get the paint into all those newly formed nooks and crannies. What type of paint are you using and how do you apply it?

[Dave Van]

Owning two real AMC's down from five....I should build for this thread.....but I have finished two AMC's within the last month so they kinda count.

First is Booth's Gremlin P/S. Box stock other than seats from parts box. Tamiya paint and Penngwen decals.

Next was a Matador NASCAR racer of Jocko Mcj......I can't spell the rest of his name!!!

AMT kit which I added correct roll cage, window straps and some other details.

Testors Inca Gold and Testors Blue with Penngwen decals.

I have one more AMC on the bench now another Matador of Bobby Allison.

Love them AMC's

[38special]

I'm just interested in seeing how you get the paint into all those newly formed nooks and crannies. What type of paint are you using and how do you apply it?

FOr the body color i use the cheap walmart grey primer spray paint to do the base coat and then i just use valspar spray paint for the body color. Then the numbers and lettering i'll use either the acrylic brush paint in the craft section or i'll use model master acrylic brush paint. It just depends on what color i'm going to use. After the paint is finished you can take your knife or something and scratch the body up and the primer will show through to look like sheetmetal

[Casey]

I removed the ribbed rocker panel trim from the right side tonight, then decided to see how well the Revell '67 Vette sidepipes would work with the '69 AMX body. After removing some material from the backside and slicing off the bend at the front end of the sidepipe, they were held in place for a test fit, but I think they may be a tad bit too short when compared to the original car. I may be able to get away with extending the top edge a bit, though:

I also discovered the top edge of the headlight buckets were molded in a very odd way, so those will probably need to be re-done completely. Not a big deal really, since the headlights are molded in place, so those would've been drilled out and replaced anyway. Ditto for the molded in parking lamps. I think I will tackle creating the hod scoop next, since that can be done without the rear half of the body in place.

Edited February 19, 2012 by Casey

[Casey]

The Gremlin body has arrived and will be going under the knife shortly.

Edited February 25, 2012 by Casey

[Casey]

The Gremlin body section is going to need widening in order to more closely match the AMX body (which will comprise 70% of the body as a whole), so I've cut the tail panel vertically and lopped off the rear body areas on both bodies:

The windshield surround is going to be tricky, as it looks like the top of the windshield just barely wraps up into the roof, the A-pillars are leaned back and slimmed, and the roof is not all that close to either donor body's roof.

[hotrod59f100]

Now that's a cool idea Casey.

[Casey]

After a little more work, one of the Gremlin body sections is now attached to the AMX shell. I decided to keep the entire AMX rear wheel arch intact, though I did need to remove the crease behind it, and the lower rear quarter panel areas will need some trimming and re-shaping:

The red area is where some C-pillar material will be removed to both lower the rear edge of the roof and decrease the height of the rear window, the purple line shows where the rear quarter window openings will need to reshaped, and the areas edged in orange are where the window opening and pillars need to be thinned.

Edited February 25, 2012 by Casey

[Chuck Most]

Shaping up nicely!

Now I just need to get off my keister and get back at my own AMCs.

[Casey]

Thanks for the comments.

Tonight I separated the two rear Gremlin roof sections from the C-pillars, removed a little material to lower the rear of the roof a bit, and reattached them:

I also shortened the AMX's roof section to mate with the Gremlin sections, since the Gremlin's roof contour is a little closer to the AMX GT's roof:

The roof will need some contouring as it's a bit too flat as it sits, but I still need to fill the gaps in the roof and tail panels first:

I smoothed out the C-pillars, so after I fill the roof and tail panel gaps, I can begin work on the full tail panel, including the addition of a semi-recessed rear bumper, recessed tail light buckets, and a new fuel filler cap:

[Chuck Most]

For some reason the back end of the concept kinda reminds me of a '73-77 Chevelle Wagon. Only more pleasing to the eye.

[Dave Van]

Very cool!

[PursuitGT]

heres my gremlin , with 14 inch work equip wheels

[CorvairJim]

For some reason the back end of the concept kinda reminds me of a '73-77 Chevelle Wagon. Only more pleasing to the eye.

Oh come on, Chuck! I used to have a fantastic '73 Chevelle Laguna wagon, and I thought it was a pretty darn good-looking car! With a worked 4-barrel 400 SBC with dual exhaust and a TH400 with a 2,000 stall converter and a shift kit it was the fastest grocery-getter in the neighborhood. We're talking 13 second 1/4 mile times on pump gas at over 100 mph. BTW: This was our family car at the time, and those speeds were recorded with two (empty!) child seats strapped into the back seat!