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Family Truckster #3 - Oct 2023

The third and final Family Truckster for us, we are pulling out all the pics, videos  and details to get this one as close to the original as we can...

Starting with a peach of a 91 Mercury wagon.  Why not a Ford?  Found this car in amazing shape, then made it a Ford.

Taillights from a donor wagon make the switch from Mercury to Ford.  Rear windows are made smaller, new front clip designed with the classic 8 headlight look, and fuel filler is relocated.  All stripped down and ready for paint...

Bodywork and Paint completed - now shining in Metallic Pea...

Greenwall tires created using Portawall tire rings - once mounted you can't tell they aren't factory greenwall tires.  Also, the "crown" hubcaps are done and ready to mount - these are made from molds created in-house and cast in plastic, then painted gold.  The hood fuel filler is not just a door, it actually has a working gas cap!

The oversized roof rack is made from 2 roof racks, extended higher with aluminum spacers - plenty of room to hold a lot of luggage, and maybe a person?

All the window/door trim is reinstalled and the woodgrain vinyl is in place.  The side molding crown and air intakes are attached, dual taillights installed, and the front end is assembled - 8 working headlights...

And it's finished !!!!   Just in time to debut as a Featured Display vehicle at the 2023 SEMA Show in Las Vegas...

It's all about the details:  As you can see above, building the reshaped rear cargo windows was quite a chore - topped off by having to redesign and shape the factory trim to fit the new glass.  In the same area we have the fake air intake vents on both sides - often replicated incorrectly, we spent a lot of time looking at screen shots and taking measurements to get them right.  The "crown" emblems on the quarterpanels and hubcaps were carefully carved from clay, molded, then cast in plastic before being painted and applied.  The single driver side mirror is from an LTD.  the custom made hood ornament and grille are also replicated from screenshots of the movie car.  The huge iconic front end with 8 headlights and a reshaped front bumper took a lot of time to get right (and yes, all the lights work).  A great detail we paid attention to was the absence of a fuel filler door on the driver quarter panel.  In the movie it's absent, and a lot of replicas will simply put wood grain over it and it's still functional.  Scotlea took the time to remove it, hide the actual filler (not going to tell you where it's at), and put the filler door in the hood (no it's not functional there but sure looks like it).  The roof rack was extended and raised, then rewrapped in vinyl.  Of course, double the taillights.  And to cap it off, we had floormats made to match the woodgrain trim pieces (not in the movie, but it works).

The interior is mostly stock, except for the rewebbed seatbelts courtesy of SeatBeltPlanet.com.  In the movie, the seatbelts are dark brown, but this car came with matching tan belts.  Simple swap for SeatBeltPlanet.  The rest of the interior is nearly mint as well.  Check out the cool rear cargo buddy seats!  A custom engraved plaque adorns the dash.

Under the hood, this car is all stock and in amazing condition - runs and drives perfectly and comfortably.