Mustang II has defeated me....

So I bought this kit some months ago at a garage sale because my sister had a 1978 Mustang II when we were growing up. It was her first car, was pale yellow, had a tiny 4 cylinder engine and three speed automatic.

 

I always liked the shape of the car, but the performance was quite lacking for something carrying the Mustang name.

 

This one promised to represent a little more "performance modified" example.

 

As I showed earlier, I started painting the body with a white primer that had gotten too cold, and the paint came out like atomized tooth-paste.

Not exactly the finish I was hoping to start with. Plus you can see where the red in the plastic is already starting to seep through, and had turned the white a pink color.

So I started sanding it all down, got it smooth again (I thought) and went to one of my secret weapons..... Silver spray paint. I find that silver spray paint usually creates a nice barrier and prevents the "bleed through" of the plastic underneath.

 

So I set the new silver body and hood aside and started on the rest of the kit.

Which is where I started to encounter other problems.

 

The chrome plating on some of the parts was horrible. It's a little hard to see here, but one of the front wheels is half white, and half chrome. Again, out came the spray paint, and figured I can deal with aluminum wheels as opposed to chrome plated wheels.

The interior built up pretty nicely, and the 5 piece roll-cage went together without too much fuss.

Next came the engine.... And more headaches.

I have the block and heads assembled, with the oil-pan, intake, and carbs on top.

The engine pulleys don't line up correctly, and won't even contact the water pumps in the correct place..... So I decide I'll just glue the hood on, and not even worry about the engine.

My patience was running thin, and I just want to get this one done.

 

So out comes the silver body, with three coats of a light yellow to match the color of my sister's Mustang....

 

The body looked pretty good. Still needed a little work to get out some bigger flaws, but was looking like it might be done soon...

 

 

And then there is the hood

 

Apparently even with the silver barrier coat, the red still came through the 4 coats of paint...

So last ditch effort, I decide I'll just complete it with the hood off. I can re-work the pulleys and get that to look okay. Maybe add some spark plug wires, and detail the carbs a little and add some interest.

 

Nope...

 

See this little hole on the bottom of the oil pan....?

It's supposed to line up with this little peg on the cross member....

But the engine won't sit far enough back. The transmission tunnel is on the way.

 

Again, neither of these is a major hurdle that I can't overcome... I just don't have the patience to try anymore.

This little Mustang has fought me more than any kit in recent history.

 

I keep telling myself I am glad I didn't pick this kit as a place to start when I got in to modeling, I may have never gotten past this one.

 

So it will go back in a box, and someday, a long ways off, I may decided to pull it out, strip the paint, and start over.

More likely,  I will cannibalize it for wheels and tires, and a few other bits, and call it done with.

 

Certainly, I am ready to be on to the next project.

And heading towards a kit I know will go together much, much easier.