# Dirk's Spenser: For Hire 66 Mustang 2+2



## dirkpitt289 (Feb 17, 2013)

Piggy backing on Jan's Cars thread I thought I'd post my most recent car build. 

Of all the TV detective shows that have ever aired Spenser was and is my all time favorite. Spenser was created back in 1973 by author Robert B. Parker. The character appeared in close to 42 novels. In 1985 Spenser was brought to life by actor Robert Urich. The show lasted for 3 seasons and several made for TV movies on Lifetime Television.







Spenser had many great qualities I liked but for the sake of this venue it was the classic war weary 66 Mustang Fastback 2+2 he drove all over Boston I liked the most. From what I've learned over the years when the topic of the Spenser Mustang arose in Mustang circles is that the show had 2 or 3 65/66 2+2's that they used. In the series pilot episode (Promise Land) it was clearly a 66 with what is most likely a 289 V8, 4 speed transmission and a Pony interior. Mustang enthusiasts will notice that at times through out the series the car was a 65 with an automatic and standard interior. This of course can be explained by having several different cars for the filming of the show and which one was usable at the time of filming. The Mustang was pretty well beaten throughout the course of the show.

While Spenser never drove a Mustang in the books he was defiantly drawn to them in the series and movies. Season one he had the 66 Fastback. In season two the fastback met with a fiery end and was replaced with a brand spanking new 87 Fox body GT. In season three he traded the GT to a friend for another 65/66 green 2+2. In one of the later movies he was driving an Maroon 67 GT fastback Mustang. In another made for TV movie (Must have been a low budget one) he drove a Ford Probe.

I've wanted to build this car for some time now but was held back primarily due to the lack of the proper American Racing rims Spenser's car sported. Thanks to some fellow modelers the rims were found in someones spare parts box and should be coming my way soon. The last piece I will need to find and I think I know where to look will be the two front Pony seats.

The kit I will be using for this build will be the Monogram 66 Shelby kit I used as a donor kit for my on going 66 Carol Shelby GT-350 Convertible. With the Shelby parts gone I can still make a decent standard Mustang. Seeing as this build and the Shelby convertible are the same colors I figured this would be a good time to start this build.







_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coAQ1jjUa9k_


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## dirkpitt289 (Feb 17, 2013)

On the way home to night I stopped at the new Hobby Lobby in my area and picked up the new AMT 66 Mustang on a hunch. With an online coupon from my smartphone the cost of the kit went from $23 to $14. What a deal but the best part lay inside. The pony seats I need for the Spenser car. SWEET!!!!!






The quality of the mold doesn't come close to the old Monogram kit but I'm sure i'll be able to make it work


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## dirkpitt289 (Feb 17, 2013)

Time to kick this one into gear.

*The Parts*

Here are just a few of the parts trees and some of the issues that jump out. The chrome tree is first. You can see a little flash. The bumper guards will have to be removed from the bumpers as the Spenser car didn't have them






Here is the body. There is a huge trench on the right front fender that needs to be filled






Here is a close up of the trench. I think if you look closer you can actually see soldiers from WWI getting ready to breach "No man zone" 






Other points of issue with the body. More flash on the body then I've come across before but no big deal






More flash in the rear






Part of the body prep work will be to remove the engine badge and the "MUSTANG" name and fender badge.






The fastback has a few seam marks which have to be taken care of.






Another seam along the trunk and rear quarter end caps


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## Wayne Little (Feb 18, 2013)

Loved Spenser for Hire, wish it would come back on the idiot box down here...


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## dirkpitt289 (Feb 18, 2013)

hard to find. And for some reason they have yet to release it on DVD.


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## Airframes (Feb 18, 2013)

Never heard of the TV series, but I've always liked those big chunks of metal - ever since seeing 'Bullit' when it was first released.


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## dirkpitt289 (Feb 18, 2013)

Spenser's car was inspired by Steve McQueen's 68 Mustang from the movie bullit


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## Lucky13 (Feb 18, 2013)

Need to get a '68 Dodge Charger to do the baddies car... 
Never heard of Spencer for Hire, don't think it was showed in Sweden. 
Talking of which, how many TV detectives were there, with memorable cars??
Looking forward to this!


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## dirkpitt289 (Feb 18, 2013)

Lets see.

Columbo drove a 1959 Peugeot 403 Convertible

Miami Vice, duo drove an all white 1986 Ferrari Testarossa

Dan Tanna "Vaga$" Drove a 1957 Ford Thunderbird

John Wayne drove a 1973 Pontiac Trans Am in the movie McQ

Charlie’s Angels 1976 Ford Mustang Cobra II 

Hawaii Five-O 1974 Mercury Grand Marquis

Baretta 1966 Chevrolet Impala

Simon Simon 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

Starsky Hutch 1974 Ford Gran Torino

Rockford Files 1974 Firebird Esprit

Get Smart 1965 Sunbeam Tiger

Magnum P.I. 1981 Ferrari 308


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## vikingBerserker (Feb 18, 2013)

Ok Dirk, that was impressive. I remembered all the shows, but only half of the cars.


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## dirkpitt289 (Feb 19, 2013)

I remember most of them but the one that I completely forgot was the Charlie Angles Mustang II


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## Wayne Little (Feb 20, 2013)

dirkpitt289 said:


> hard to find. And for some reason they have yet to release it on DVD.



If they do I'm grabbin' it!


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## clifton (Feb 21, 2013)

What is your suggestion about range rover? can it replace to above car?


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## dirkpitt289 (Feb 25, 2013)

Here are the front and rear valence panels. The arrows indicate the holes that will need to be filled because the bumper guards won't be added. Also the radio will need to be removed and a blank plate will be added.






I love the seats in this kit. So well produced. Too bad they won't be used.






Here is the comparison of the Monogram seats and the new AMT seats. It appears that new ISN'T always better. 






How the seats fit into the interior tub. I'm not happy with the AMT seat so I'm going to have to figure out how to make it better.


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## dirkpitt289 (Feb 25, 2013)

I'm kind of excited about this part of the build. You see I've never weathered a car before and I figured since I'm trying to replicate a war weary car from the cold hard streets of Boston this was the perfect guinea pig. In the pilot movie "Promise Land" Spenser commented that he had been driving this car for over 20 years so with that in mind along with images from the show I decided to take some creative license.

Now before I move forward I wanted to settle an argument before it even starts. On several sites I've seen long drawn out debates on the subject of factory primer on these cars. This is not a model of a car that has just rolled off the factory floor or a restore. Its going to be a car driven hard for 20 years on the streets of Boston. If any of you have ever lived in or visited any New England state you'd understand. Almost without question a car from New England would have a protective undercoating which would obliterate and evidence of primer. There is no way a Mustang could last in that environment for 5 years let alone 20 without some sort of protection. So with that in mind we move forward.

After applying the flat black I noticed a date stamped into the plastic that has to be removed. Turns out this mold was created in 1985.











After I removed the date stamp and repainted it was time to take the plunge. Again this is a first for me. I took some steel paint and painted the brake lines and gas tank. Next I dry brushed over the entire chassis to create some ware on the undercoating






Next it was rust time. I dry brushed over the entire chassis again this time using Testors "Rust." I added some more rust in some of the areas that are notorious for rusting. In this case the rear well in front of the gas tank.






The rear end, leaf springs and front steering linkage also got the treatment.






Round 1 completed


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## Wayne Little (Feb 26, 2013)

good stuff Dirk!


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## Lucky13 (Feb 26, 2013)




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