Building the 1970 Ford Coca Cola Box Truck Scale Model Kit From AMT

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NOTE: The instructions for this kit are at the end of the blog ~

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Hello! I'm Mr. Ed

Blog Created: 10-12-2023

Last Updated: 9-26--2024

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For Best Results, Use Testors Plastic Glue

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Greetings ~

I've had this kit for about a year at this time. My son has a vintage toy business so I managed to get this kit for $20. The regular price was $49.95. It's 1;25th scale and was made by AMT, kit no. 1048/06. I have seen listings for this kit all over the internet ranging in price from $19.99 to $90.00. So I figured I got a super good deal on it.

When opening the box, I found it is packed very well. All parts trees are in sealed plastic bags. The box was still factory sealed also. This kit comes with the options of an opening rear door, operating rear power lift and the hood tilts open and closed. There's a lot of parts involved and they are all cast in white as most all AMT kits are plus there's chrome parts and the clear pieces in red, blue, amber and clear. The rubber tires are large.

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Opening the Box ~

The box bottom has the parts diograms and other information printed on it.

All of the parts are in factory sealed clear plastic bags.

I laid all the parts out on the hobby table.

The decal sheet is big.

The first parts to assemble is the two halves of the engine block.

It's best to use a hobby razor knife to trim the parts.

It's also best to paint the parts while still on the parts trees.

I painted the fan belt pullies silver and the belts flat black. To paint the tiny belts, I used a toothpick instead of a brush. I dipped the toothpick into the paint and rubbed it on the belts carefully. It works better than a paintbrush.

I glued the valve covers onto the engine block.

The fuel injector is glued on the top of the block.

The radiator is painted silver. Both sides.

Then the radiator frame and housing parts are painted gloss black.

While I have the gloss black paint open, I painted the dashboard gauge panel.

More work on the engine.

The starter is glued on the side of the block.

The fan belts are all painted.

The cross members are all glued to the frame rails.

Clamps are used to hold the truck's frame together until the glue dries.

The clamps are removed from the frame.

The painting of the frame begins - - gloss black.

The axle springs are painted gloss black.

The frame is almost painted.

The cab floor is also painted gloss black - both sides.

Tires ~

The tires are cut out. 1> All six tires has plugs in them. These are soft rubber tires. 2> The rubber plugs has to be cut out. 3> I cut the plugs out using a hobby knife. 4> the plug is out. The knife is used then to clean the hole out and trim excess rubber.

1> Check the rim to make sure it's cleaned up. 2> the chrome inner rim with the tire. 3> fit the rim into the tire. This shows the inside of the tire with the rim. 4> This shows the outer side of the tire with the rim.

For the interior colors, I used...

The truck parts are cast in white.

The interior will be a two-tone combination that will appear as the old 1970s cheap leather colors.

The interior insert is dark brown.

The dashboard is dark brown with the gauges and heater ports painted silver. Also I painted a silver trim around the gauges area.

The circled area is a seperate panel that I painted gloss black with silver gauges and glued into place.

The center console is also painted light brown.

The seats are painted light brown as well.

The steering wheel is painted dark brown with the center spokes and horn button painted silver.

Now it's time to get the body parts spray painted. I begin by using masking tape to cover all the areas that I don't want to paint.

NOTE:

Model companies tell you that you should always use their masking tape for these projects. However, I've been building models for well over 60+ years and I have only used their tape twice. I have found that, as long as you use a good brand masking tape, it works just fine and is a lot cheaper. But make sure that the tape is pressed down tightly and that the paint can not bleed into the areas where you do not want it to go. That all that matters.

We'll be painting the cab, hood and battery box halves which is what is shown here.

For this truck, I am using Testors spray paint, in the color of Revving Red # 1857-MT.

I got out my trusty old paint booth box.

First was the cab. This painting of these parts takes two coats.

After spraying, they are left to dry.

After the second coat dries, the tape is removed.

There isn't any decent paint chart with this model. It says simply to follow the colors on the box cover. I did that the best that I could. Not all sides are shown on the box cover.

The battery box halves.

I took out all of the rear box panels and spray painted them.

Next, I have to install the rear springs. But the holes in the frame do not go all the way through. So they need to be drilled out.

Lucky for me I have a micro-drill set.

If you do a fair amount of model building with cars, trucks, airplanes, boats, etc., It's nice to have a tiny set of drills. The holes can also be opened up using a slim hobby knife. But the drills make it so much easier.

I put the drill onto the hole and turn it smoothly and it drills right through the plastic.

I then took the truck box panels out of the paint booth.

The rear axle is now glued into the rear springs.

The axle is really tight and needs to be forced into the holes on the springs. Luckily I also have some hollow punches that I made years ago from pieces of pipe.

Using the punch, I manage to tap the springs onto the axle.

I used clamps to hole the axle and springs on the frame while the glue dried.

Now it's time to do the tires and rims.

There's six tires to do. After cutting out the rubber inserts, they are ready.

I used a hobby knife to gently cut out the rubber inserts.

I will do the two front tires first.

I will need the chrome rims.

Also I need the rings. These need to be removed from the tree using a small wire cutter. Do it gently, they can be broken easily.

The two front tires are finished.

Now the rear end is glued in place.

Next the front springs are glued on.

Then the steering box is attached.

The steering box lever is glued on.

The front axle is assembled.

The break drums are glued to the front wheels.

Now a real pain in the backside starts ~ The front wheels

I had to use my clamp stand to hold the axle upward for the glue to dry.

After messing with it for about 15-minutes, I got it done.

NOTE:

Sorry! I had some health issues to address and am finally back to working on this model.

The front wheels are ready to put on.

The wheels are attached to the front axle and then the axle is glued to the frame.

The hubs are glued onto the rear wheel drums. There's two sets of these hubs included in the kit. One is the standard white and the others are chrome. I am using the chrome hubs.

The rear wheels are going to be a pain in the sitting down area. The rims have to be installed properly. Then glued together to make the double tires setup.

While the wheels and tires dry, I assembled the fuel tanks.

Two fuel tanks are assembled and ready.

The next thing is to assemble the air-ride driver's seat.

Well, that didn't take long.

Next I glued on the steering column to the dashboard. This is weird. In the instructions, the steering column is listed as "chrome". It's not! It's a plain white piece. It's on the tree with the steering wheel and dashboard. The steering shaft IS chrome however. So be aware.

Next I had to glue the firewall to the interior section. The interior was warped as the kit is an older one. The sides are bowed outward. This is a problem.

I ended up having to put a clamp on the interior piece and draw it inward.

Then I managed to glue the firewall in place. This may pose a problem when installing the interior section into the cab. We'll see.

I started to mount the rear tires. The metal axle is too long. It needs to be shortened.

Ifound out that the axle was too long once I tapped it in. I had to pull it apart to cut it off.

After trying to cut it off with the bandsaw with a metal cutting blade, I tried to cut it with a hacksaw both with no luck. That little metal axle is tough. I finally got it cut off with the grinder.

Tire tires are all on now.

Next, I start on the interior by gluing the seats in place.

The firewall came loose and I had to re-glue it.

The dashboard is now glued into place in the interior. I had to clamp it again as the interior was warped and the dash wouldn't fit.

The battery box is then glued together. Also the luberfiner is glued onto it. What is the Luberfiner? Is that a German word? This kit was made in Germany.

The interior is clamped while the glue dries. It's was warped so badly that I had to draw it in to line up with the firewall and dashboard.

What a pain to deal with!

I finally found the CB radio. It's on the tree with the truck box parts. Not with the interior parts. Good call guys! I painted it gray.

Next is the fuel tanks steps. there are slots to mount them into.

Each fuel tank has three steps to mount.

Then the mounting brackets are glued on.

Next the two parts of the radiator are glued together.

The radiator is then glued to the truck's frame.

By now, the hobby table is a mess. I need to sort it all out so I can continue.

The engine is installed and glued into place.

While gluing the engine in, the long section of driveshaft is put in.

The CB radio is glued to the dashboard.

Now the fuel tanks are glued to the frame. There are tiny holes to put the tank mounts into. However, they do not fit properly. So I just glued the tank on and held it in place with a bottle until the glue dries.

NOTE:

When building this kit, the first thing to remember is that the "fun" of it all will wear off quickly. With the warpage, mismarked parts numbers, some of the instructions making no sense whatever and just simply a royal pain in the ass, the enjoyment of building this kit wavers in only a few steps. I just want this thing finished as quickly as possible. I really want to simply toss it all back in the box for a future project. However, I know that if I do that, it will never get built. So, I have to be a good little soldier and get it done. All I have to say is, "AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

This is how this kit should have been presented ~

Next, the second fuel tank is glued on.

The underside of the box is painted gloss black.

The fuel tanks are in place. Actually, they went on pretty easy which surprised me.

The battery box is now glued in place on the frame.

There's a slot in the battery box which is lined up with a tab on the frame. This is placed on the driver's side right behind the fuel tank.

The frame work is pretty much finished.

The floor inside the truck box I painted a dark gloss brown to look like oak.

The walls of the box has wood sections also.

The center sections I painted a light tan to look like a lighter wood.

Now I begin painting the oak walls of the truck box.

Then the inside of the hood is painted flat black.

The underside of the front wheel wells are also painted flat black.

Now the dashboard is glued in place.

Then the center console and gear shifter is glued in between the seats.

The chrome grill and headlight frames are all glued into the front hood section.

The clear headlight lenses are not glued in yet.

The upper parts of the inside of the box is all painted.

Now I begin painting all the pieces to the rear loading lift gloss black. First these two parts to the lift are glued together.

Now I paint all the parts to the rear loading ramp gloss black.

Next, the two rear wheel mud flaps are painted flat black.

Now I begin painting the small trim sections on the truck. The best way to do this is to use a tiny paint brush and, after shaking the silver paint, I dip the brush into the lid of the paint jar as not to get too much on the brush head.

A lighted long-arm magnifying glass is great for this job.

The tiny logos and handles are all painted on the truck box.

The hinges and hardware on the box's side door are painted silver as well.

I am starting to assemble the truck box.

Now I have to get the rear door put on. First up...gluing the door slides into place.

Once the slide rail is mounted, I clamped it to wait for the glue to dry.

NOTE:

In the instructions, it says you can break the rear overhead door into sections to make it a working door. This means that each section can be snapped off and then you apply a strip of tape to hold it together so that it can slide up and down.

You can do it if you prefer, however, if the tape lets go at some point, it will be on the inside and will be a royal "B" to get back into place. Plus, I found on another one of these that I built years ago, the door really does not work very well. It's hard to raise and lower and it keeps wanting to bunch up. So, one this model I have decided to glue it shut. If I ever want to have an opening door for display purposes, I will use the side door.

I broke only the top section of the door as it is too tall for the slides if left in one piece.

I added small dabs of glue up ad down the side ends of the door and inserted it into the slides. The top section I glued at an angle.

Then a rubber band is placed around the end of the box to hold everything in place until the glue dries.

The side door will be operable.

The rail that holds the hinges of the side door is glued in place.

Next, the tail light's red lenses are glued in.

Next, the grab handles are glued to the rear door frame. One on each side.

The box light frames need to be painted silver so that, when the colored lenses are installed, they will stand out and not blend in.

While I have the silver paint out, I painted the F-O-R-D lettering on the hood.

The rear door frame is now glued into place.

I had to rubber bank the rear section of the box to hold the door frame in place while the glue dried.

Next, the box roof is glued on. I had to clamp it down.

While the box roof is drying, I painted the window trim on the cab silver.

The windshield wiper arms are painted also.

I have to drill holes in the roof of the cab for lights, horns, etc. This is where my micro drill set comes in handy.

If your a modeler or hobbiest, this is a must. It's a set that I put together that is a hand drill with tiny micro bits. It works great on plastic or wood.

Inside the cab roof are small indentations when to drill the holes.

The micro drill makes is easy to drill the holes.

Then the roof running lights have to be done. Each one os two-parts. The chrome base and the clear lens. For old hands, this isn't easy at all.

Next, the running lights are glued to the holes in the cab roof.

Now I start assembling the side mirrors. This is going to be a pain in the backside.

This is as far as I'm going with the mirrors right now. I will attach them later on to the cab doors.

NOTE ~

Leave the mirrors for the end of the truck's assembly. They will stick out and while assembling the rest of the truck, you will always be hitting them and knocking them off. as hard as they are to put together, there's no need to keep doing it over.

Now the air tanks are glued under the interior shell on both sides.

Next, the air horns are glued to the top of the cab.

The air conditioner screen is glued to the unit.

Now the glass is glued into the cab, starting with the rear window.

Then the side window glass pieces are glued in place.

Finally, the windshield is glued in.

NOTE ~

When gluing the glass pieces, be very careful not to smear any glue onto the glass. First, put very small dotes of glue on the corners and edges. Once the glass panels are set in and the glue dries, then put a small line of glue around each piece to keep it in. With only the small dabs, once the model is finished and displayed, the glass can let loose and fall off. It's important to glue it in proper while the cab is open and you have access to the inside.

Next, the air conditioner unit is glued to the cab roof.

Then the grab bar handles are glued on each side of the cab right behind the doors.

Next I glued the outside air filter cover to the hood.

The two cab mounts are glued onto each side of the frame.

NOTE:

I found that the cab will not fit with the engine in place. Yeah, weird! But the kit had warped enough from years of storage that the cab just would set properly. So I had to remove the engine. I will display the engine separately. If your building this kit, you will probably have better luck.

Now the glass is installed in the cab. The windshield, rear window and two side windows are all separate pieces.

Now I glued the cab onto the frame along with the hood.

I then set the box onto the frame to check to fit. I DID NOT glue the box on yet. I have the decals coming later.

Now the front bumper is glued on.

Next I put the decals on.

The decals to this kit are old but they still work.

Make sure that the pan used for the decals is large enough. The water should be slightly warm.

Press the decals on so that the ridges on the box shows through.

Very lightly use a paper towel to dab the water off so that the decals are mostly dry. Look for bubbles and press them out.

The trailmobile logo goes at the front lower area of the box, next to the lower side light.

Then the decals are put onto the cab doors.

On the other side of the box, the decals are cut to fit over the side door.

Decals are also places on the rear door of the box.

NOTE:

After the decals are placed, it's best to leave the model set overnight to make sure they dry completely before continuing construction of the model. You don't want the decals moving or tearing while your working on the truck.

Now the two truck box rails are glued onto the frame.

There are cut-out areas that must be right at the end of the frame.

While the glue on the rails dry, I finished the decals. First I put the decal on the passenger side cab door.

Then I put on the "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" decal on both sides of the box.

On the other side.

The decal at the front top of the box.

NOTE:

To allow the decals and the glue on the rails to fully dry, I left them set overnight.

The rails are now painted gloss black.

Now the box lights are glued on. The box front, top and bottom are amber. The rear top and bottom are red.

I'm 73-years old and my hands do not work too well anymore so these tiny parts are a real pain to work with. But it has to be done.

The running lights are all on the side of the box.

Happy birthday to me,

Happy birthday to Mr. Ed,

Happy birthday to me!

In case you didn't get it, today was my birthday. Now, back to the model...

All of the running lights are on.

I started now on the hydraulic lift.

Then I glued on the rear step plate.

Next I glued on the two rear side frames and the tail lights.

Now the headlight lenses are glued in. Also, the front license plate is glued to the front bumper.

Now it's time to put the box onto the truck. I ran a heavy bead of glue all the way down both frame rails.

This is good! I'm in the final stretch now. The model needs to set for several hours now for the box glue to dry on the frame.

Now the mug flaps are glued on behind the rear wheels.

The air intake hose is glued to the engine.

Next, the hydraulic lift platform is assembled and glued into place.

The side rear view mirror is assembled and glued onto the passenger door.

I need to make a dolly for the Coke bottle cases. The cases came with another model kit, not this one. Since there's no dolly, I am making one from some tiny wood dowels.

While the glue on the dolly is drying, I finish the side mirrors.

Back to the dolly.

Since the truck's engine will be displayed outside the truck, I need to make an engine stand from wood.

The dolly is done.

The engine stand is finished also.

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The model is finished ~

Wow! I can't believe it! Over months of toil and heavy construction, the truck model is finally done. I'm so emotional. I need to go and see my therapist.

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The finished Model ~

The truck goes well with the Chevy Nova Coke wagon that I built last year.

I put the truck with the Nova station wagon in one of my car cases for display.

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Finished ~

Okay! The kit is finally done. All in all, not a bad kit. Lots of parts. Nice decals, Fairly easy construction. Since this was a vintage kit, there was a few warped parts. But they weren't too bad so everything worked. I had to build the engine and display it separately because the cab was warped slightly. But that was alright. I got a deal on this kit but if you find one, don't pay any more than $40 for it. It's not worth any more than that. You should be able to build it in around two weeks or less. It took me a lot longer since I had other things to do and had to keep putting it aside. Have fun and good luck! Talk to ya on the next project ~