Ford Mustang GT500 '67

Always good to start a new project with a clear & clean work area - This kit was already started by the previous owner, but abandoned for many years - I have since dis-assembled it back to the bare parts by reversing the assembly steps. I'll be cleaning everything as I go. 

The bare components after being cleaned up. 

During assembly I noticed that the bumper didn't sit truly on the body - the RHS mount was ~1.5mm longer that the LHS!! 

Marking the difference, then filing away the offending length. 

So, what a great start - I've had to use a file, a 1.8mm tap to clear out some of the threads, some superglue to reattach the headlight lenses which were only clipped in (after one came out). 

Step 2 parts, subsequently cleaned up. 

Decided to indicate some disc brake usage on both sides of the disc, just enouigh to be seen through the wheel - will have to remember to do this on the other 3 discs. 

Front wheel/hub assembly - decided to put some Aquadhere on the logo to protect it 

Using the 'mini-me' workmat to hold the completed components. 

Here the parts are being cleaned up, but I've noticed how prominent the seam lines are on the plastic parts. An "Assembler" of this kit might not have worried, but they're pretty obvious... 

Scraped away the seamlines on these parts, which will require them to be repainted, and I'll be using the new DSPIAE Silver  

Re-silvered, now looking much better. The quality of the plastic mouldings is pretty poor, considering this is supposed to be a high quality kit.......or is it?? 

Pulled the driving lights apart completely as they were VERY poorly assembled (by De Agostini) and the ?? glue was showing in the lens. Scraped away relevant chrome plated surfaces then glued all together, carefully 

Driving Lights in & focussed 

Front grille complete 

All the exhaust pieces 

Scraping away silver plated seam-lines, then repairing them 

Exhaust assembled, waiting for a home! 

RHS front wheel & disc & stub-axle, etc 

LHS Seat completed - I can't believe how many steps the mag goes through to assemble this!!!  

LHS Door completed.
had stripped the window winder, so had to CA glue in a toothpick, then drill, and screw again - All OK! 

test fit of the exhaust on the chassis - but no screws yet....... 

RHS Door completed - have lost the 1/4 vent clamp somewhere!! 

Fuel tank & exhaust test fit - ya dont get the screws for another 2 steps - you'd be very frustrated if you waiting for each issue!! 

RH Seat completed 

chassis assemblage - much sturdier that it was, now with all the screws properley tightened. 

Attaching the Exhaust system 

End of step 24 - I am sanding away the seamlines on the diff, and gluing the joins with SMS Ultra thin cement, then a coat of semi-gloss black - so it'll look good when displayed over a mirror! 

Diff finished & installed - came up quite well - painted with Tamiya Semi-gloss black 

Mudguards installed (out of DeAgostini sequence!!) - I discovered a broken part for the rear leaf spring - now on order! (from within Australia!!) 

More of the chassis floor installed. 

yet More of the chassis floor installed - it's actually quite solid when all the screws are tightened & the plastic filling sections are installed as well. 

Drive shaft assembly - more work on seamlines & filling - lots of clamping required - fortunately I HAVE LOTS of clamps!! 

Completed, painted & installed 

Transmission housing installed, plus cross-brace 

Front piece of chassis installed 

front mud-guards in too 

Starting on the steering, connecting track-rods etc - I put a touch of CA glue on the back of the bolts after I adjusted the tighhtness/movement balance 

final piece installed, waiting insertion 

and in the chassis with bottom-mounts 

then installed top-mounts - the installation order being slightly different to the instructions - especially if you have ALL the parts at the ready. 

ONE-Piece exhaust with seamlines coated with silver - more labour required...... 

Exhaust reworked & recoated - happend to be the exact colour of the DSPIAE Metallic Silver Pen.. 

exhausted in place 

I noticed when I got this kit that the gearstick had been broken - I can fix that!! 

Gearstick reparation toolkit 

and repaired - just have to trim off the excess .8mm bronze rod & recoat the chrome 

SMS Hyperchrome pen did the trick 

Gearstick in place 

Pedals installed & aligned with microswitch for accelerator & brake activation. 

Rear of the dash showing the accelerator & brake pedal switches 

Dash cleaned up 

and test installed 

Not happy with the alignment of the Shelby dash-badge - I think the sticker might be a bit crooked, so I set about modifications as getting the sticker off might not be an option 

Success!! - Much delicate scraping, knifing, then re-chroming, and eventual gluing in position 

Dash now complete 

and connected to floor 

Flashback - the RHS door window was missing the quartervent handle - bought a new part & rectified that!! 

Here's the catch - who remembers these? They were all the "rage", once!! 

Had to repair the seatbelt buckle after the seat belt broke. 

Front seatbelts in place 

All the floor mats in place - this was a VERY difficult step!!! !;^) 

Rear seat base 

rear deck base 

LHS side part 1 

and part 2
This is such a tedious process - imagine getting these weekly - how frustrating 

rear back interior fitted - I find myself longing for the installation of the interior rear-view mirror - so I can hang an air-freshener off it - The previous owner must have been a smoker - I can smell it with every part I'm reinstalling - Using "wet-Ones" to clean each part...... 

rear deck flip-over with hinge - the glue that the De Agostini part-assemblers use must be a a2-month-glue as so many parts have come apart revealing how little glue they used - a lot of fresh glue in place now! 

Voila - same here 

see 

Rear completed with seat back 

and seat cover, in place 

Roll bar & seat belts 

rear seat base 

rear deck installed - hey, it's a station wagon!! 

Next comes the steering - all the parts laid out 

The previous assembler had screwed through the wires, instead of routing the wire around the post - I increased the space behind the post, tested, sealed the bared wires, mounted and re-tested the wiring - AOK!! 

The completed steering column 

Next step is to mount that cabin internals onto the chassis 

careful insertion and testing eentually got it all fitted - 4 screws securing the cabin to the chassis. 

Next Step is where the kit was up to with the previous assembler - was missing the RHS boot trim 

Nice new parts - odourless!! 

Boot walls mounted 

Spare tyre on the boot mount 

and in the boot!! No screws, it just sits there with one locating pin. 

Now for the radiator, which had been assembled before - now cleaned up & rebuilt - had to trim the fan mount (silver) in the middle of the radiator as it had about a 15 degree lean on it!! 

- a ridiculous amount of instructions for such a simple 

which was covered by 3 issues of the magazine!! - so I spent some time deburring the fan blades, which are overley think!!