The 1966 Ford Mustang
My favorite uncles horse

This is the box art for the '66 Ford Mustang I'm building. It can be viewed on Scalemates.

• Brand: AMT
  
  
• Title: 1966 Ford Mustang VRC Hobbies Exclusive Release
  
  
• Number: 704/12
  
  
• Scale: 1:25
  
  
• Type: Static Model Kit
  
  
• Released: 2019 New Parts
  
  
• Package: Rigid Box Top Opener
  
  
• Topic: Ford Mustang >> Cars Vehicles

I started the build of the 1966 Mustang Hardtop today, Thursday, June 23, 2022. I laid out all the part sprues, (which, according to Doug Whyte of Model Car Muse Should be called runners), to give all the parts an inspection.

The parts are in very good condition. There is not a lot of flash. The body is really clean. On first inspection there are no mold lines or flaws. We'll see how it looks after the primer is applied.

After inspection, I washed all the parts in warm water and Dawn Dish washing Detergent to strip off any left over mold release.

After the part sprues were dried, I started by removing the engine parts from the sprues. This kit has three version: Stock, Custom, or Drag. At this time, I'm planning to do a mix between Stock and Custom. To be fully open, I'm really thinking I'd like to put a Hemi under the hood. Um...a Ford with a Plymouth/Dodge Hemi?

After this photo was taken, the majority of engine parts have been sanded to remove any flash from them. I will most likely be installing the custom intake manifold, two 4-barrel carburetors and the custom air cleaner; however, I'm not totally happy with the custom air cleaner and might look for aftermarket version. I'll also be using a third-party distributor because the one that came with the kit doesn't look anything like a distributor. The first problem I possible see is that the Detail Master DM-3201 Distributor Kit I already have might be too big, even though it is a 1:24/1:25th scale, so...I need to do some research.

While inspecting the interior tub I noticed there are four injector pin marks that the seats will not hide. I'm thinking about using flock to put carpet on the floor; however, I'm not sure. I've never used flock and would like to try it. Either way, I think I'll have to sand them off or fill them.

Something I noticed, and shown in this picture, is that the center console shows the legend next to the shifter for an automatic transmission. However, looking at the floor there is a clutch pedal. I will assume this gives model builders the option of doing either a standard or automatic transmission by either removing the clutch pedal or removing the automatic gear shifter legends?

I have not decided, manual or automatic, at this time. However, I do lean toward manual transmissions. We'll see.

Before starting to assemble the engine some of the chrome parts will be stripped of chrome. I snip them from the sprues and wait to remove or repair any plastic left from the sprues until the parts are stripped. The parts being stripped at this time are:

• Fan
• Alternator
• Fog lights
• Manual and automatic shifters
• Side mirrors
• Rear exhaust ports

I use Dettol First Aid Antiseptic liquid to strip chrome parts. I find it works well, does not have a nasty smell and is safe. I use a plastic blister from something that was displayed on a card pack. After covering the parts with Dettol, I cover the 'blister bowl' with tin foil to prevent spillage and place it to the side. It takes approximately 24hrs to strip parts, but that's Ok, there are a lot of other activities to do while the parts are soaking.

After approximately 24-hours, I wash the parts and lightly brush them with an old toothbrush to remove any small amount of chrome that remains. I let the parts thoroughly dry. I then clean and/or repair any plastic that might be left over from the sprues and prep the parts for applying a coat of primer.

NOTE:
AMT chrome parts are more heavily chromed than other kit manufactures. Using Dettol with AMT chrome might take longer than 24-hours. In fact, in this case, after 24-hours there was still a few small spots of chrome left that could not be brushed off, therefore, I put them back into the Dettol and will check them later.

Most of the parts have been removed from the sprues, sanded, de-flashed and made ready for primer. I'm still waiting for the chrome parts to finish stripping. As stated in the previous picture comment, AMT chrome is more difficult to strip than other model manufactures and using Dettol as the stripping agent might take longer than 24-hours.

There are some parts on the sprues that are not referenced on the instruction sheet. These two parts look to be a spare tire cover and a convertible roof that is folded down. I can only assume this kit is the same kit used for the convertible version. I assume the roof of the hard top could be removed and the body converted to a convertible, but my skills are not at that level yet.

Most of the parts have been primed. As you can see, I used paint stirrers and place blue painters' tape, sticky side up, to spray small parts or parts that do not have a place to hold it. Some parts have to be flipped over so the other side can be painted (like the hood), but that's Okay.

This is supposed to be a distributor. I would have never known that if it wasn't for the reference number (304) on the sprue. I can't believe it was chromed...why? Maybe I've led an isolated life, but I've never seen a chrome distributor. Because AMT chrome is so thick, maybe there would be more detail if I stripped the chrome, but I'm not going to bother and will use an after market distributor or make my own.

The scale of this model cannot be correct or at least not consistent. The distributor is on the top front of the engine and whether I use a dual carburetor or a single carburetor, once the air cleaner is put in place there is not enough room to place distributor wiring using an aftermarket distributor. Therefore, I decided to make my own distributor.

I measured an actual distributor cap and calculated what 1:25th scale would be. I then picked material that was close to what the actual size would be. I used Evergreen #224 0.125"/3.2mm Tube for the distributor cap and cut a length that is equal to what 1:25th scale would be. The one shown with the black wires is the actual size and the one I plan to use on the engine. I then used 9-lengths of black 30awg (American Wire Gauge) wire wrap wire. The wire I use is in a kit of six, 100-ft. spools of multi-color (Electronix Express #00853782006537 (ASIN: B01CK9GZV6)) , placed them in the tube and used a drop of Gorilla Glue to hold them in place. I allowed a-bit of wire to stick out the end. That end will be sanded flat. I will then drill a hole in the center of that end to insert an Evergreen #211 0.040"/1.0mm rod as the rotor shaft. I show a mockup of the rotor shaft inserted. The distributor will be painted, boots will be added to the wires and viola...a distributor!

I made my own distributor because, as shown in a previous photo, the one that came with the kit looks nothing like a distributor. I have several aftermarket distributors; however, they are too large, even though they are 1:24/1:25 scale.

The body received the first coat of paint. I'm using Tamiya XF-70 Dark Green . It can't be seen on this photo; however, the underside of the roof has been masked and will at some point be painted white, or cream.

A first coat of paint has been applied to most of the body parts (Tamiya XF-70 Dark Green ), the chassis (Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black). Other parts such as the underside of the hood back side of the radiator were primed.

I'll be using the kit engine even though it has a large hole in the oil pan so the axle can pass through it. I also stripped off the oil filler cap and pipe and will add one of my own.

The engine in the 1966 Mustang did not have a oil filler pipe like the one on the kit engine. I cut it off the engine leaving a-bit of the pipe on the cap. I then drilled a hole in the valve cover the size of the pipe and installed the oil cap on the valve cover where it belongs on a Mustang engine.

The second coat of paint is on the body and body parts. The body needs to be sanded and a clear coat applied and sanded. I'll then apply my version of bare metal foil.

I painted the dash the same color as the body. In this picture I started doing some detailing of the dash. I'm using Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow for the interior color and some of the dash. I created a wash and started filling in some of the dash recesses. It looks really bad now; however, it's only the first pass.

The dash is being detailed. The chrome trim still needs some work, along with the radio. The gauges also need to be highlighted.

I installed a PCV valve and piped it. The hose needs to be touched up. My scratch built distributor was also mounted. I had to mount it at an angle so that the air cleaner will clear it. I think I have the height of the distributor a-bit too high, but the reason I scratch built my own was because the one that came with the kit (see a previous photo) looked nothing like a distributor and using an after market distributor kit from Pro Tec or Detail Master were too big, even though they are supposed to be the correct scale. I said this earlier and I do believe that the scale of this kit is not accurate.

The interior tub is painted with Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow. I'm thinking I might do the tuck-and-roll section of the seat and the trim on the door panels (not seen in this photo) in Tamiya XF-70 Dark Green, to match the body. The floor is masked and will eventually get flocked with Bisque Tan (#824) from Model Car Garage.

The front seats have also been painted with Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow. Like the back seats, I'm thinking I might do the tuck-and-roll section of the seat in Tamiya XF-70 Dark Green, to match the body.

There is something wrong with my Tamiya X-2 White. I airbrushed the interior roof with it. I mixed it 50-50 with Tamiya thinner and sprayed at about 14 psi laying down several light coats. It looked really good. I came back in about 15-minutes to remove the masking tape and saw that the paint was pooling. I tried spreading it out with a brush and you can see the results. So...I have some work to do to fix this mess.

The font seats have been painted and will now have more detail added so they don't look so toyish.

The dash has been detailed the best I could. This is the first time I ever attempted to detail a dash. This was not the best dash to start with because there was not a lot of detail and the detail that is there was not very well defined. I did the best I could. It was a learning experience.

The engine is almost finished. Spark plug wires have been added. The pulleys, belts and fan are mounted. I made a bracket to mount the alternator so that it's not just hanging in midair off the belt. After installing that and the air cleaner, the engine should be done.

The interior tub is masked to paint the back seats to match the front seats and to also paint a piece of the interior door panels.

The interior tub has been painted. Some detailing needs to be done for the door handles and window cranks. The center console also needs to be detailed and a shifter boot scratch built and added. After the detailing, the floor will be flocked.

The firewall is detailed. I'm not as steady as I used to be and I went outside of the lines several times. It's also amazing what can be seen on a photo or video and not when looking at it.

The center console is in the process of being further detailed. The outside frame of the console is done in the body color. The center trim is done in flat aluminum and I found a shifter in my stash to replace the automatic shifter that was part of kit.

The foot mat and pedals painted with Tamiya XF-1 flat black. It looks bad now, but remember, the floor flocking will cover a multitude of sin.

I started using my version of bare metal foil on the body. The body will need to be cleaned after the foil application. Several smears can be seen on the trunk lid.

I used my method of bare metal foil on the rear window, shown in a previous photo, the windshield and wipers, the wing windows, decorative trim and Mustang Logo's. It was a difficult job because the detail is not very well defined and it was very difficult to follow the profile of where the trim would be. What this proved to me is that my method of bare metal foil works quite well.

To see my version of bare metal foil please see my YouTube Channel video, 04 1966 Ford Mustang Part 04" or my Rumble Channel 04 1966 Ford Mustang Part 04 . The bare metal foil segment runs from 6:04 to 19:38.

This is the first time I ever did flocking. I used Elmer's white glue that I thinned slightly with a few drops of water, then brushed on the areas of the interior tub to be flocked. the flocking I used, shown in the next photo, was a-bit 'gloppy' and clung together in small lumps. The small lumps were easily broken up, but it wasn't a very pleasant experience. This is the tub before all of the excess flocking was removed.

The flocking I used was purchased at The Model Car Garage. I think it's very nice looking when it's done, however, it is hard to work with. I watched some other builders using embossing powder instead of flock and it looked like it worked much easier. The other thing is that some of the builders that used flock used a tea strainer and tapped the material through the strainer. I think that would be a better way and would avoid the clumping. I did not have anything to act as a strainer and therefore simply tapped the flocking directly on the glued surface from a small glass jar. I will buy a tea strainer for the next time and try it that way, I will also thin the white glue a-bit more than I did. The reason for more thinning is because I can there are some areas, particularly under the dash, that did not get enough flock material. All-in-all, this was a learning event for me and I certainly did learn a lot for the next time.

This photo shows the finished tub with the flocked floor. The flocking looks like real carpet, but like I said, some areas were a-bit light, like in front of the passenger side rear seat. The next photos show more areas that needed more flocking.

Here is another photo of the interior tub with the flocking done. A-bit of clean-up needs to be done on the center console and I have not dusted the interior yet because the glue is not fully dry.

This view of the interior tub shows some of the detail on the dash, but also the clean-up around the center console that will be required, and two areas under the dash where flocking did not adhere.

I made an interior dome light from a headlight from an old kit. I'm not happy with the interior head liner and it's even worse because of the rear window. I should cover the head liner with cloth or something to cover the clear plastic from the rear window, but because this is an experimental model that will not be on display, I'm not going to take the time.

The axles had to be shortened by 1/4" so that the wheels did not slide side-to-side.

I used Tamyia Black Panel Liner wash on the wheels to give them more depth.

The interior tub was mounted into the body. there is some flock on the body that I did not see when I took this picture. I was easily brushed off.

The interior tub was mounted into the body. There are marks on the side of the body, but I'm not going to fix them...again...because this is experimental build and will not be on display.

The next several photos is of the finished model; finished as much as it's going to be finished. The finished model is not very good; however, it accomplished the task I set out to do, and that was to try several things that I never did before:

• Dash board detailing
• Two tone interior seats
• Flocking interior carpet
• My method of bare metal foil

I learned a lot of great new methods with the building of this car. I plan to build another '66 Mustang one day. The next time I build one I want a level 4 or higher kit.

The finished build.

The finished build.

The finished build.

The finished build.

The finished build.