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!
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
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 THICK!!
The original fan-belt mix - no means of determining which are belts & which are pulleys
So I painted all the "belt-ish" bit with semi-matt black - then masked everywhere & painted the remainder with gloss black.
Voila!! - also did quite an amout of chiselling, scraping, filing of the part to better show the differentiation. And who (??) will get to see this??
Voila!! - also did quite an amout of chiselling, scraping, filing of the part to better show the differentiation. And who (??) will get to see this??
another view
assembly & fan mounted on engine front
I wasn't happy with the exhaust manifolds either, so broke them apart to do a better job
Now properley glued together, and all the seamlines & poor joins treated
some creative rubber-band clamping
Did the gas recycling filter too
completed the step with the radiator sub-assembly
Engine assembled - just needs a sump
Mounting the pipes around the engine - discovered that the breather from the RH crankcase head went nowhere - photos showed that mounting to the post at the front of the engine.
modified the post to accept the hose - drill, 0.8mm brass rod, etc
Then discovered that there's no way the hard plastic hose will fit...... went searching for 2.8mm rubber tube....
Then discovered that there's no way the hard plastic hose will fit...... went searching for 2.8mm rubber tube....
Days later, all I could get was 3mm rubber round from Clarke Rubber, so bought & used that - same drill & 0.8mm brass rod used, but at both ends. - a touch of silver too
breather installed - still missing some wiring here?!?!?
Aha, next step adds the distributor, wires & coil
Nah - not that passionate about the Mustang - so then I installed the motor in the chassis
Better, but there are many more wires present on photos that I have seen..........will I...????
The parts for step 77 - for the engine bay
and installed
Radiator & RHS engine bay wal installed
LHS Engine bay parts - and a speaker!!
the LHS features the shocker - After the RHS work, I decided to do the same here to avoid stripping thread with short screws.
Speaker installed
LHS added to chassis
voila
Washer water bottle - but it's near empty - how do they expect you to fill that??
Step 79 parts - battery looks pretty good
and installed - the chassis brace is just a push-in job
Step 80 feature the serious electronic components - here with 9 of the 10 connecting wires installed on the chip
the final connection of the speaker gets plugged in, then the whole thing get mounted, and the wires routed through the inner guard, where leads 1-5 get connected to parts installed much earlier.
The next 2 steps provide the LHS guard & the front brace, shown here
and here's the 2 of them screwed together.
The next issue presents the RHS guard, so you get to screw that together too....
and then get to mount that whole front assembly to the body (step 84)
starting to look like a Mustang...
the next ieesue presents the air intakes, on the left...
and on the right - Word of warning here, the screws provided for the lower intakes are too short, so if you try to make them too tight, there's not enough screw in the plastic vent, and it will (did) strip the hole....
Next step get you to retrieve the bonnet that you got in issue #4 (yes, FOUR!!) and have been storing safely!!!
This step provides all the bonnet hinge mechanism - the plastic parts need to gentle cleaning up. - Be careful which screws you use as the instructions are mis-leading, if not, wrong!
This step provides all the bonnet hinge mechanism - the plastic parts need to gentle cleaning up. - Be careful which screws you use as the instructions are mis-leading, if not, wrong!
LHS hinge attached - looks pretty good
Careful handling of the bonnet is required to get it in place - be careful when FULLY opening as there's very little clearance at the rear of the bonnet with the body cross-beam.
Also get to bit the bonnet pins, and they align nicely.
Bonnet fully open
The following step get you to start the headlight installation, then installation of the car front to the main body.....
Some cable management required
looks much better for the "face" being added
Boot lid badge - instructions are to just "push" it in......
but there's a hole in the centre, so I found a suitably tiny screw & washe
This is really somethiung that should have been done BEFORE the bonnet pins were installed - so I removed the brackets and did it outside of the car - much easier!
In place, but I've left the cable just a tad too short......can fix!
Rear panel preparation & boot hinge
boot installed - it fouls the rear cross beam.....hmmmm
Next Step, tail-lights installed - more cable management required
Voila, cables managed & reinforced with superglue
Grille & wiper mount plate.
These wipers were over-chromed to hell, with an on-screen surface of about 4mm!! Looked ridiculous, so I reshaped them severely - lots of whittling!!
Then painted the "blades" with a semi-gloss black - used a Posca pen - much easier than a brush.
front window & trim in place - might need some delicate super-gluing at the sides to keep it flush
Aerial in place - Drama! I thought I'd be clever & put the screw in before mounting, just to ease the thread - and the screw sheared off deep in the hole..... and it's soft so getting a grip on it was VERY tough - had to gouge out the aerial base (took several minutes) before I extracted it - again not a long enough or tough enough screw, so reinforced it all with superglue!!! UUGGHHH!!
rear window & trim in place
Door trims!
inside showing the door-trim push-in ends - i've given them a cover of superglue, so they won't budge - some didn't want to stay 'home'
bottom door trim in place - a touch of superglue here too after scraping away some of the chrome
top door trim in place
Use some sort of a pad to protect the door mirror..
Ensure that the hole in the hinge is all the way through & clean - use a 2.2m tap
You need to be able to screw this door-mount screw ALL THE WAY IN!
Comentários
12 20 June, 22:06
bughunterYou tend to do big projects with many parts, right? That means a fine detailed model 👍 Impressive!
Are the electronic components and cabling part of this kit series?
14 July, 20:24
Roger TrewenackHi Bughunter, all part of the de-Agostini subscription based kit - I'm not adding anything extra unless I absolutely have to, this thing is SO BIG, and so HEAVY!!! I think my glass shelves may struggle holding this!!
Big Projects?? I seem to turn them into BIG projects....
15 July, 05:51
Album info
I acquired this "kit" from an Acquaintance of Harry Edmond, and had to source a couple of the magazine "issues", including the body of the car.
Now complete, I can begin.....
July 6th - up to step #60.....steering
July 13th - completed step 75 - motor completed?!?!?
July 13th - Chip & some wiring installed
July 15-16th - Working on the body, bonnet & lights, boot & tail-lights
