How to build a 1984 20th Anniversary Mustang GT350 Convertible
by: Alex Martin

Hello, and thanks for visiting my 1984 GT350 Mustang Convertible kit build.  As you are probably aware by now, there was only one plastic model kit of a 20th Anniversary mustang produced.  It was made by MPC in 1/25th scale in hatchback form.  I wanted to have a model to match my real car, which is a convertible 5.0L CFI.  I bought a 1/24 scale '84 mustang convertible kit put out by Monogram which I was going to convert to a GT350, but it just had too many things that were not correct.  The most noticeable is the lack of a front air dam with integrated fog lamps.  This kit also has the rocker panel trim which the GT350 lacks.  Also, instead of a SVO-style single thin-line impact strip, there is the wide moulding that runs from the back edge of the front fender to the front edge of the rear fender.  There also is a "5.0" stamped on the fender where the GT350 "running horse" badge goes and "GLX" is imprinted on the deck lid next to "mustang".  Some other very minor details missing are the GT-style dash panels and interior trim.  The biggest bother for me is the front air-dam, or lack thereof.  So, one day, I decided to tackle this project after thinking about it for the past couple of years.  What I had originally thought of doing was to use the airdam off of my 1/25th scale 1984 SVO and graft it onto the convertibles nose.  Problem is since the two kits are different scales, the SVO being the smaller of the two, I would have to do some serious stretching and shaping of the SVO airdam.  I scrapped the idea and started hunting for an alternative.  I learned there was a 1/24th scale Monogram 1985 SVO that looked like it might be a perfect match.  I really don't like butchering another model to make another so I didn't jump to the project right away.  After searching for a while, I came across a 1985 SVO kit that was missing some parts.  So, now I had pretty much what I needed to start.  There was one other issue I hadn't thought about, though.  How would I do the GT350 striping?  I bought an old MPC GT350 1/25th scale kit and planned on using the decals out of it.  When I opened the box, I found a real surprise...there were TWO sets of decals inside!  Imagine the luck!  And so, armed with a set of sharp knives and extra band-aids, I begin my adventure!

Materials:

Monogram 1/24th scale 1984 Mustang Convertible #2222 (for the majority of the build)

Monogram 1/24th scale 1985 Mustang SVO #2243 (for the airdam)

MPC 1/25th scale 20th Anniversary Mustang Hatchback #1-0768 (for GT350 decals)

Good set of X-acto brand hobby knives or similar
Finishing sandpaper assortment
Fine toothed file or emery board
Assorted paints
Glue (duh!)

ALL IMAGES OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW
 

First order of business is the front nose assembly.  Below are pictures of the 1984 mustang nose and the 1985 SVO air dam.

Using an exacto knife, I first removed the lower part of the '84's nose along the bottom edge of the body impact moulding.

Then, I separated the  '85 SVO airdam along the bottom edge of it's body impact moulding.  I actually left a little extra material just to be safe. You can always take material off, but putting back on what you cut off could post quite a challenge!

When the parts are separated, here is what is left.  Note that the SVO airdam is not as "bowed out" as the headlight panel from the '84 mustang. Also, the outer front corners of the SVO airdam are ever-so-slightly wider than the '84 headlight panel.  I used a file to carefully shape the airdam to match the contours of the headlight panel. Notice also that the filler panel on the SVO airdam will need to be trimmed to match the mustang wheel well opening. This should be done AFTER the parts are permanently attached. Also the images below show the airdam before I did the final trimming to it.  It still has part of the original bumper strip on it.

You can see here the "bow" when the parts are dry-fitted.  To correct this, the SVO airdam should be shaped to the impact strip and not the other way around. It is important that it is done this way or else the nose won't fit right on the car. To shape the airdam, I simply heated the part with a hair dryer and adjusted it in small increments until everything lined up.  Be very careful not to burn yourself or the plastic!  It will warp very easily!  If you do get any small warps, it will sand out pretty easily.  Sand down the mating surface of both parts accordingly to achieve a good fit.  Constant dry-fitting is always a good idea and will net the best results.

Using the finishing sandpaper, smooth out all of the surfaces that were shaped using progressively finer and finer sheets.  Once the finishing is complete, it's time to permanently attach the two halves.  I would suggest also dry-fitting the parts to the convertible's body to ensure proper fit and alignment.

So, now you think it's downhill from here, right?  Actually, there is still work to be done.  The convertible's body needs to have some work done to it.  The first thing I did was remove the "5.0" badge, rocker panel trim, and body side moulding.  I used an exacto blade to slice off the numbers then used sandpaper to smooth things out.  I also removed the "GLX" on the deck lid.

This next part requires patience and careful execution.  I used a small file to remove the side body moulding and rocker panel trim. Please note that there should be a raised body-line left intact that follows the fender lips.  If you need a good reference, walk out into the garage or driveway and observe your nice anny sitting there in all it's glory!  You can also use the '85 SVO kit body you got the airdam from for reference.  Any door edge lines can be cleaned up with a hobby knife blade.

Now it's time to get crrrrrrrazy!  Originally, I was going to glue a  strip of plastic onto the side of the car to make the thin red body strip that GT350's all have.  I didn't think it would look right, so I decided to carve it into the body!  Using a good straight-edge metal ruler as a guide, I grabbed my hobby knife and scribed a couple of deep lines into the side of the body.  I estimate I went about half-way through the thickness of the plastic.  Once I had the lines down, I used a pocket knife to widen the grooves I had just scribed in.  The pocket knife was used since it is thicker than the hobby knife blade.  Although not a work of art, I think it came out quite well!

Well, we're almost there!  Now that the nose and bodywork is pretty much done, it's time to attach them.  It's pretty straight forward...glue the nose to the body. :)

Before I send you off on your own, there is one last bit of work to be done.  The lower radiator support on the kit's frame MAY need to be trimmed to clear the bottom of the air dam.  Trial fit the pieces and determine how much to trim off if needed. On mine, it only required about a 1/16" cut away from the front.  I later found that simply trimming the sides of the radiator support would have sufficed.

From here on out, the rest of the build is as you would build any other model.  I'll be posting more pics with details soon.  If you would like to know anything about the rest of the build details, drop me a line at fiveliter8_@yahoo.com. You will have to remove the "underscore" between the "8" and "@".  I do this to help prevent spamming.

Continue to page 2 for the final product! (FEB. 20, 2003)

1984 GT350 page 2