As I’m stuck here at home today with a bad case of the stomach grumblies, I decided to dig out the Mustang Turbo Cobra kit and see what I’m up against. The previous owner had removed a ton of pieces from the sprues, but fortunately it looks like everything’s there. This kit is a proper ’79-’82 Mustang, so it’s a bit more anatomically correct to be a tribute to my first car, an ’82 Mustang GL hatchback.

I started building the 2.3L 4-cylinder (since that’s what came with mine). I’ll put the optional 5.0 V8 together later for a future project.

I already have a model of my first Mustang, but it was built in ’88 or ’89, not even the right kit, and was done in a hurry and quite haphazardly. That kit was an ’84 Silver Anniversary kit I found at Firestone of Alamogordo (of all places), and I found some wheels from some other kit that were kind of close (if 6-lug 15x10s with 12 holes on BFG T/As can be considered “close” to 5-lug 14x7s with 10 holes on Goodyear Eagle GTs, that is). I’d also taken some liberties and added a sunroof and trunk spoiler, which neither came to be since I traded the car in on an ’85 Nissan 4×4 before I got that far. I also didn’t have any rear window louvers on the kit, however the new kit has some so I won’t have to scratch-build them.

I just hope I can find that color again – one of the few things I got right! 😉

So, here we go – here’s my car:

And here’s the kit with my build from back in the day next to the pile of pieces of the new kit:

The biggest thing I’m anxious to correct is the engine compartment – I SO messed up on that first kit. I mean, who paints a radiator hose silver, anyway? LOL!