AMT '63 Fairlane

[TooOld]

The last couple of build threads I started never got finished so here's hoping this one breaks the jinx .

This was started before Thanksgiving but with only a few hours bench time a week progress has been very slow . I have two AMT '63 Fairlane kits , one is 100% complete and this one which has the main parts needed for my build .


I'll be using the 289 HiPo motor from the AMT '67 Shelby kit .


And the chassis will be from this old Thunderbolt I've had laying around forever .


After stripping the suspension pieces I started modifying the front to add poseable steering . The bottoms will be drilled for pins before cutting the spindles loose .


Here's the finished front , the spindle was modified to lower the ride height 1/8 inch .   Also the 427 motor mounts were replaced so the 289 could be installed .


Stock T-Bolt chassis is on the left and the modified chassis is on the right . It needed to be narrowed 1/16 inch on both sides to fit the AMT body , barely noticeable in these photos . The rear wheel liners were narrowed and also reshaped to clear the interior bucket .


Those four holes around the front suspension are for locating pins on the new engine compartment , I had to make sure everything assembled exactly the same every time . I also pinned the chassis to the interior bucket which positively locates into the body .


And here's a closer look at the front steering .


To be continued . . .

[TooOld]

After removing the molded-in engine compartment from the body I added flanges to the fenders and made the lower section of the cowl , sorry no pics .
I used the engine compartment from the T-Bolt since it matched the frame/suspension and added the Fairlane shock towers to it . It was also widened about 1/8 inch and a few other details were added .


I think the radiator support in the AMT body was a carry-over from the '62 body because it's shaped wrong . I took part of the T-Bolt support and grafted it to the '63 body .


The top radiator tank from the AMT body will be used along with a scrap radiator to make a new one .


The new radiator .


The finished engine compartment .


A before and after comparison .
This is the stock AMT body .


This is after the modifications .


Engine compartment and radiator installed .


And with the engine set in place .


To be continued . . .

[mustang1989]

Lookin' good so far Bob. Did those steelie wheels come with this kit?

[TooOld]

Feb 4, 2020 13:25:12 GMT -5 mustang1989 said:

Lookin' good so far Bob. Did those steelie wheels come with this kit?

Thanks ! The steel wheels are in the Thunderbolt kit .

[TooOld]

For my hood hinge I'm going to use a standard U-shaped bridge hinge like we make for opening doors . Problem is when I added to the cowl panel it complicated things a bit so I needed to come up with a new shape that would clear everything and still not be so big it was ugly . I played around with a paper clip to find what would work , then made the hood hinge with brass wire & tubing .


Here the hinge is taped in place to "tweak" the final shape .


It clears the panel just fine so it can now be glued in place .


The hinge is glued in place and mounting tubes are glued to the hood .


Two small slots were filed in the firewall for the hinge to pass through .


Finished hinge .
The mounting tubes under the hood will be body color and the brass wire will be black .


To finish it off I'll glue some "faux" hinges to the brass wire like on my '60 El Camino .


Thanks for lookin' . More to come !

[Mr.409]

Very cool project, don't see many of these '63 Fairlanes built these days. You're doing excellent job updating this kit more up to today's standards, the Thunderbolt chassis and engine bay are big improvements. Great job on that poseable steering too.

[TooOld]

Feb 7, 2020 1:38:35 GMT -5 Mr.409 said:

Very cool project, don't see many of these '63 Fairlanes built these days. You're doing excellent job updating this kit more up to today's standards, the Thunderbolt chassis and engine bay are big improvements. Great job on that poseable steering too.

Thanks Niko ! My late brother-in-law had one back around '66-67 and it's always been a favorite of mine .
So not a much progress lately , been busy with other stuff . I did find some wheels and tires that I'll probably use and mocked it up to take a photo . Being built as a late 60's car with no engine mods , just wheels & tires and jacked up in the rear .

[fordrodnkustom]

Nice work Bob, this should be a great looking project. I admire that you are building a rare vintage kit.

[falconwagon]

Great looking Fairlane

[TooOld]

Thanks Niko and Carl !

Feb 10, 2020 19:01:37 GMT -5 fordrodnkustom said:

Nice work Bob, this should be a great looking project. I admire that you are building a rare vintage kit.

Thanks Ron ! This was a parts kit I picked up specifically to do this build , I still have a complete one to build someday .
I really like the custom wheel covers in t his kit .

[TooOld]

Been pretty busy this month , unfortunately not at my bench . Maybe March will be better .

I did manage to finish the chassis . Instead of red oxide primer or some other color I tried something different , it's just a black wash over gray primer and I don't really like it . If I thought I had time I'd start all over but guess I'll just live it this time . The exhaust was pieced together from the '63 Fairlane part and some Mustang pieces .


I did make some progress on the engine . Made a base for the air cleaner housing , added wire loom brackets to the valve covers , and made up decals for everything including the oil and fuel filters . I tried a decal around the air filter but it looked worse so it's gonna stay white for now .


There's quite a few pics out there of '63 Fairlane 289 HiPo motors but this is about the most original photo I've found so it's been my reference for the decals . I have a couple Mustang air cleaner decals but they're a yellow/orange color while the Fairlane has a red/orange color to it so I printed my own .

[TooOld]

[goofy62]

Sweet!!!

I don't think some folks realize the difference that some nice engine/engine bay decals can make.

Steve

[TooOld]

Mar 5, 2020 11:59:20 GMT -5 goofy62 said:

Sweet!!!

I don't think some folks realize the difference that some nice engine/engine bay decals can make.

Steve

Thanks ! And yes a decal here and there really does help . Luckily this engine is mostly black so all of my mistakes aren't too visible .

[jbwelda]

That mill is looking very business-like!

jb