2007 Ford Interceptor Concept

[Peter Lombardo]

This is my latest “long-term†project…..the 2007 Ford Interceptor Concept. Sorry this is a long narrative, but it is the first posting on this build. So if you are interested enough to follow this to the end of the post, go get a cup of coffee or a beer, because we may be here awhile. The first time I saw this car I thought it was great looking. A tremendous improvement over the Crown Vic and old Ford Five Hundred, now known as the New Taurus, at least in my eyes, and that is usually the kiss of death for a concept….if I like, it will never see the light of day. Well, many people in the press said that it was too much like the Chrysler 300C so I am sure that contributed to the “still born†nature of the product. Well, the fact that many saw the similarities to the 300 got me to thinking. If the car appeared similar to the 300, then the 300 would make a great place to start to build a model of the Interceptor. Well, I can tell you that even thought they appear similar; in actuality they are quite different. Obviously the front and rear fascias are unique to each brand, but many other features are quite different too. First up, I needed to establish the side creases that give the car a long smooth side view. I added a few strips of plastic stock to form the high points of the creases. Then I filled in with putty to shape the contours. I determined that the roof is too high on the 300 so it needed to be chopped 2 ½ millimeters, which it was, and then the B and C pillars needed to be reshaped, they were. Then I used copious amounts of bondo on the rear deck to rough in the tail light areas and panel between them and begin the rough contours of the rear bumper area. Then I came to a tricky body adjustment. The only pictures I have to work from came from a web site that has Concept Cars of all makes…conceptcars.com. (neat site, if you have never seen it, take a few minutes and have a look) I took measurements of the cars side profile from a picture taken straight on. I noted the measurements from a few points that are easy to note, like from rear bumper to front of rear wheel well opening or rear bumper ending point to rear of front wheel opening. You get the point. I then took the measurements and calculated the distance from a few known points and converted the distance into a percentage. I then took the same measurements on the model and converted them into percentages. I then took the percentage measurement and used that, converted into the proper scale to determine the placement of features. I know that sounds crazy, but the bottomline was that the rear wheel openings needed to be moved forward 5 millimeters on the 1/25th model. The Ford rear wheels needed to move forward. You can see where I drew the cut lines on the car. I cut out the wheel well and moved it forward, taking the slice from the front of the wheel and moved it to the rear of the wheel. I realize that because I am working from pictures I printed from the website, I may be off a little. Yeah maybe, but I know I am very close and since this is not neurosurgery, I think I can get away with it. Next, I saw that the greenhouse (windows and top) is more narrow on the Ford then on the Chrysler. I measured out the two designs and determined how much needed to be removed. You can see the gap I cut down the middle of the roof, front to rear. Once cut out, I carefully cut the roof free from the body at the lowest point of each pillar. Then, put the roof back together. The roof, just barely sat on the body, so it was carefully super glued in place, and a thin strip of plastic was set in below the pillars and glued into place. It will be trimmed when all of the glue and putty dry. This will form the basis of the smooth flat surface where the door handles reside. I cut out the large grill opening from the Chrysler ( this just may end up adorning the nose of a 49 Mercury, maybe, not totally sure yet) and filled the area with an old leftover piece of a hood from some car I don’t remember. This is then covered with more copious amounts of bondo(my Dremel tool is really getting a work out on this one). The hood on the Ford is really unique. It has a large opening in the center that is filled by the air cleaner (or something like that) which is attached to the engine. The surrounding hood pivots forward and on the sides goes down to the upper wheel arches. All and all, this is going to be a challenging build, but I really want to finish it. By posting this car here on the forum, I can’t just walk away from it. I am committed to finishing the project. The interior on this car is really unique. The headrests are attached to the roof and the seats are slim, trim and different. They will be a real challenge, but you know, no pain, no gain. I will keep posting on this as time and work progress, and hopefully, not talk so much on subsequent postings but I wanted to bring this build up to date. Thanks for staying with me till the end of the post.

[Peter Lombardo]

[Trans Am Erik]

That is gonna look sweet! It was one of my favorites from the Auto Show. Good start so far, keep us posted

[MrObsessive]

Hey now! Peter you got my undivided attention on this one as it was one of my FAVORITE concepts of this past auto show season! I wouldn't count this one out just yet.......... Ford may go the route that GM's taken and look to Australia for a suitable chassis to use under this bad boy.

Ford NEEDS a shot in the arm such as this car as their other stuff is tanking or about to tank!

My only observation about your conversion.......(you might be working on this as you see this) The front wheels need to be moved forward just a bit as the concept has a true "cab rearward" look to it.

Just like the good 'ole days before front drive scrunched the wheels so close to the front of the door!

You maybe can "Z" cut the front fenders just behind the wheelwells and add material back or whatever you see fit. Just the same, I'm gonna be watchin' this one as it comes together! Are you going to make the hood open and add an engine, or keep it a curbside?

Keep up the good work!

[Rob Hall]

Very cool..very ambitious conversion. I really liked the Interceptor concept when I saw it at the Denver Auto Show last April...it's very low and wide.

[Peter Lombardo]

Bill, you are right about the front wheel opening as it is next on the list for adjustment. I absolutely will open the hood and have the engine in there as that is one of the neatest features of the design. I am glad to see that others like this car too. Maybe there is hope for Ford after all. I think Ford really needs a sharp looking large sedan to show they still have what it takes.

[made007]

great idea, this gonna looks good, its gonna be another great build, i know it