Ford C-600 Flatbed

[Casey]

Thanks, guys.

The steering damper and linkage were cleaned up, the ejector pin holes filled, and both permanently joined to make final assembly a bit easier. I also cleaned up and prepped a few other small parts, found a parts box carburetor, distributor, foot-shaped throttle pedal, and a little box which should pass for a voltage regulator:

I started doing some scribing around the u-joint yokes, so we'll see how much difference it makes once everything is finish painted. I may have to make the slip joint functional, too, as the driveshaft seems a bit short. Here are the partially scribed and kit-stock u-joints/yokes:

I started the framework for the flatbed tonight, too, using rectangular tubing which was the same size as the ends of the framerails. Not sure if that size is correct or not, but it looks close, and it's too late to turn back now. I used my trusty aluminum X-ACTO miter box, a razor saw, and a double sided fine/extra fine sanding stick to cut and square up the ends of each piece, and while I only measured once, I only managed to cut one section too short. I build flat assemblies like this bed framework on a sheet of glass to ensure it stays flat, and I can use the edge of the glass to rest my miter box against, which makes for flat and square right angle joints. Here are a few shots of how the miter box, glass, and rectangular tubing work together:

I started by gluing (Testors liquid cement in the glass jar works great) the two main longitudinal rails to the head rail, and ended up with this:

After letting that dry for two hours, I cut the center cross pieces, which I spaced to align with the truck's two forward frame cross members and the rear leaf spring eyes at the rear. Once the three center cross members were glued in position, I cut more pieces for the outer cross pieces, again using the miter box and glass to keep each piece flat and square to the main rails as I glued them, working from front to rear. The end result is this:

I have yet to decide on a final bed length, so the truck's and bed's rails have't been cut to their final lengths, either. I am planning to add another cross member at the rear edge of both, as well as some kind of rear bumper and some type of setup to mount the loading ramps.

[Casey]

I had to test fit it on the truck's frame, too:

I did remember to test fit the framework with the engine and trans in place, and there is enough clearance...barely. I intentionally set the front cross rail back from the body support brace by the width of the rail, just to be on the safe side, but it looks like there are no interference issues:

And another test fit with the car in place:

Not much clearance over the rear tires, though.

[Clay]

Looking better and better Casey

[Casey]

Looking better and better Casey

Thanks, Clay, that's the goal.

I used square tubing for the remainder of the bed frame, so here's an updated shot:

I added these 45* braces at each inner corner of the wheelwell areas, since I'm not sure what I'm going to use for wheelwells yet. I think I should've added thicker braces instead of the smaller square tubing, but it'll be difficult to see them once everything is in place, so they'll probably remain:

'nother test fit on the truck's frame:

Hmmm, not much tire clearance back there :

I don't care for the round cylindrical fuel tanks, nor the twin straps which are molded as one with each tank, so I decided to make some rectangular tanks and fab up some braces for them. I had a thought to use LEGO blocks to form the tank shells around, knowing the blocks had square edges, flat sides, and the plastic would be compatible with styrene, so boding everything together wouldn't be an issue. Two 2x4 and two 1x4 blocks, bonded together, were used to form the base cube, then wrapped with a sheet of .020 styrene, and the wrap bonded to the base cube. This particular cube was wrapped with black styrene, the "nubs" on top of the two LEGO blocks have been sawed off, and the cube still needs to be covered on one side, but this shows the end result:

The .020" styrene was chosen because the scrap pieces I had on hand were large enough to wrap five sides of each cube, but the final dimensions turned out the be near perfect. Each cube fits the rearmost space behind each rear wheel almost perfectly, so these cubes will be used as fake storage bins:

I got lucky again, as the space between the storage bin and frame rails measures .040", so enough room for a .020" thick angle iron brace on both sides. I will use some slightly thicker styrene to wrap the fuel tanks, which will fit inside a slightly wider space.

[olsbooks]

Very nice job. So much appreciate the teaching aspect you are taking! Great stuff and I am taking notes!

[Casey]

Thanks, Jesse, and glad to hear you found it useful.

I wrapped four more cubes today, but made the two fuel tanks a bit smaller in an attempt to get them closer to a scale volume of approximately 50 gallons. I calculated the kit's fuel tank volume to be 45 gallons each, based on exterior measurements, and found some real tanks online which hold 50 gallons, so I worked toward that volume/size. I still need to:

• Widen the middle two storage bins so they fit better inside their slots
• Make some fuel tank support brackets and straps, then attach them to the truck's frame
• Add fuel filler tubes and caps to both tanks
• Cap the red/yellow topped cubes with styrene sheet

I just remembered I added some right angle strips to two of the storage bins, as you can see above, so I will do the same for the remaining two bins after I widen them.

I also received some treadplate and rectangular slam locks from Don Mills today, too:

[Clay]

My kids would hate me if I used their Legos for this. Hell 99% of them were mime anyway

[Casey]

I didn't want to reuse the stock grille after I cut it free from the bumper, so I've been trying to come up with an idea the last few days and found something which showed potential. I thought two more ovals in the grille would harmonize with the oval headlight surrounds, so after some cutting, filing, sanding and gluing, here's what I came up with:

The two yellow pieces are air cleaners from the Revell 1/16 '34 Ford Coupe kit, and the bar connecting them is a piece of round (now half-round) styrene tube. I like the ribbed texture of (what would normally be) the air cleaner's filter element, but I think it might be too "Jet Age" '50s looking for a '63-'64 era truck, so not sure if it'll stay. Early '60s Studebaker truck grilles were not all that visually exciting, so there wasn't much to draw from as far as styling cues are concerned, and the cab's wide and long opening limits the grille's overall dimensions, too. The grille also has to either be very thin or set back to allow the cab to tilt forward without interference, so I might just make a basic stamped steel looking grille with four slots and call it good.

I added a 90* rail and another supporting piece of rectangular rid beneath it to the bed's frame so the treadplate decking would have a more finished border. I haven't decided how to finish the front and rear edges of the bed yet, so the rear edge still needs to be trimmed to length:

[tbill]

I think the truck likes the grille treatment, it looks as though it's smiling

this is coming along great, that deck platform looks terrific.

[1930fordpickup]

Still looks good Casey. If you are having clearance problems out back just add a few strips to the frame .That is what all the farm trucks around here do to make the bed fit.

Also the truck drivers might sound in but I think the car needs the engine closer to the front for better balance of the weight ( it is only plastic) . Also the car looks great , nice touch with the backwards body. Maybe that is why it looks so good the way you have it on the truck.

[Bgrgbldr]

Casey,

Nice looking rig great concept. On full size trucks most body builders use wooden sleepers between the bed and the truck frame. This raises the bed for clearance but also prevent the bed and frame from rubbing which creates both sqeaks and corrosion. These beds are usually mounted with large u-bolts. Another common practice it to install a metal sub frame under the main stringers.

If you would like details let me know

[Casey]

If you are having clearance problems out back just add a few strips to the frame .That is what all the farm trucks around here do to make the bed fit.

Also the truck drivers might sound in but I think the car needs the engine closer to the front for better balance of the weight.

Thanks, and I may just add a thin strip between the two frames. I don't want the bed to get too high off the ground, but I'll see if I can find some thin basswood strips to use.

According to what the info I found online about the Continental turbine engine, it weighs only 150 pounds fully dressed, so it would probably balance out well with the truck driver's weight on the opposite side. I still have a long way to go with the car, so, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Nice looking rig great concept. On full size trucks most body builders use wooden sleepers between the bed and the truck frame. This raises the bed for clearance but also prevent the bed and frame from rubbing which creates both sqeaks and corrosion. These beds are usually mounted with large u-bolts. Another common practice it to install a metal sub frame under the main stringers.

Thanks Gary. I have seen the long, square U-bolts used on cargo boxes, but wasn't sure how of if a semi-homemade bed like I'm making would be attached the same way or not, but I do like the idea of having the bed frame bolted in place. Guess I need to do some some Googling for images.

Once I decided to go with a flat bed, I was using this truck as a loose guide, and the truck I'm building has similar rear tires clearance from what I can see:

I'm hoping to get my hands on another C-series cab or kit to steal the wheel arches from, then transplant them in the back, in the hope they'll cover the little bit of tire which protrudes past the edge of the bed. I'm still debating adding full side panels under the bed to cover the storage bins, so if I do, I could work the arches in and gain a bit of extra width, too.

[hotrod59f100]

Vary cool idea with Lego's . I'll have to try that on a truck I'm making

[Casey]

I didn't waste any time removing the chrome from and narrowing the Dayton(?) wheels I got in trade from Steve Prideaux (great trader alert!). The dual rear tires were a loose, sloppy fit on the kit's rear wheels, so I removed some width from both the inner and outer wheel rings, and now the tires are a nice, snug fit on the wheels. I'm sure two rear tires (barely) touching sidewalls on a real truck wouldn't be the best idea, but no worries about that in 1/25 scale.

With that problem solved, I drilled the rear wheels' inner bore a bit deeper, mounted them to the axle tubes, placed the rearend under the rear leaf springs, and dropped the flatbed frame in place...and found I hadn't gained much more tire to bed clearance. I'll need to add some sleepers as Andy and Gary suggested above, as the bed's width is fixed, and raising the bed slightly will provide a reasonable amount of clearance. I still may remove a semi-circular section of the bed rails over the rear tires, but I need to find some basswood for sleepers first. I used some .070" popsicle sticks between the truck's frame and the flatbed's frame, and just barely got enough clearance between the bed rails and rear tires:

Doubling the sleeper thickness to .140" gave ideal clearance...:

...but 3.5" seems awfully thick for sleepers. I was thinking 2" thick at most, so that's .080" in 1/25 scale. Hmmmmm...suggestions and advice would be most welcome at this point.

I was looking at the interior tub last night and though it looked way too plain, even though you can't make out much detail in the cab area due to the full window "glass" and it's overscale thickness. That never stopped me before, and it won't now. I decided to freelance a bit and add some texture on the door panels, as well as giving them a bit more thickness. I grabbed some ribbed board on batten styrene sheet I bought for another project, cut some rectangular pieces for use as faux ribbed door access panels, and glued them in place. Next I filled in the area around the ribbed panel with .020" plain styrene sheet so there'd be some height/depth differences between the two areas, and topped off the forward edge with a piece of half round styrene for a little extra detail. In all honesty, I cut the piece of .020" styrene a little too short, so I need something to fill in along the top edge. The dashboard's bottom edge has a half-round shape, so it seemed like a good idea at the time to use some half-round. I'm not sure if it'll stay as is and be matched on the driver's side panel or if the gap beneath it will be filled and blended with the surrounding panel area, but here's what the passenger's side looked like with the now primed bench seat in place:

The driver's side with both door panel pieces glued in place:

The engraved floorboard detail was not the best, so out came another piece of ribbed styrene, this one with different rib and gap spacing. I'm attempting to pass it off as a heavy, ribbed rubber floor mat, so thank goodness for that thick window "glass." I made the floor mat two pieces, which I will leave loose until final assembly:

I stuck with the kit-stock Ford wheel, since both Studebaker steering wheels I had looked too small, but I was able to get it joined with the steering column yesterday, so that awaits final detail painting. I removed the door handles and window cranks from an AMT '60 Chevy pickup's door panels, and might re-use the kick panel vents in the cab, too. The rear package shelf could use something, but I don't want to add the usual interior junk, so maybe an aftermarket rear window defroster or similar...TBD later.

[Bgrgbldr]

Some good information about mounting bodies here:

http://www.ustruckbody.com/literature/011806BodyInstallationManual.pdf

You might also consider a sub frame assembly. I have seen flat beds mounted on 2 or 3 2x4s stacked on on the other. Your cab interior is looking great.

Gary

[Casey]

Perfect. Thanks, Gary. That reinforces the fact that I made the flatbed frame wrong, at least as far as how I was thinking of attaching it to the truck's frame. This is my first "big" truck project, so it was expected to be a learning experience, and I've already learned a number of things which I will put to use on my next build.

I picked up some basswood to use for the wooden sleepers and added another thin styrene strip lengthwise under each main rail of the bed frame, so I have just enough clearance between the rear tires and deck once the sleepers and bed frame are set in place. This is a dog's eye view, so the clearance between tire and frame is a big exaggerated, but the two are not touching:

The treadplate deck has been bonded to the frame, cut to length, and both ends squared up. I need to add some loops/brackets for the ramps (which I also still need to make), and add a few more details, including a winch to load and unload the car. I'll have to do some research (I've been lurking over at Hanks's 'site) into which type of winch would be correct for the early '60s, but I don't plan on adding too many things to the deck area.

I also started thinning the fan belts, but I'm not sure how much further I'm going to go with this, especially since the belt loop I've already started actually consists of two belts. I have an idea for creating a better belt and pulley system, but I think I will wait until the next C-series build to try it out. After twenty or thirty minutes of tedious work, one section of the belt is done at least.

[afx]

Casey, you have inspired me to build a Ford C600 race car hauler. Picked up the Stake Bed kit at our model meeting yesterday so I'll be following your build. Keep up the excellent work.

[Casey]

Thanks, JC, but I'll warn you-- these C-series Fords can be addictive.

I decided to finish the belt and pulley piece today, mostly to see how thin I could get the belts without any breakage:

The macro setting is not my friend. It looked better with the naked eye.

I took care of a few other details, such as the too short driveshaft, to which I simply replaced a section with a piece of brass tubing to allow me to fine tune the length:

I robbed another C-series kit for the steering linkage, installed that, then added a square tube crossmember to the front of the frame and a small bracket on the body support to mount the surge tank. I didn't like how the tank rested on the intake manifold and I wanted a little more clearance around the carburetor, so, fixed:

I also got the rear axle tubes and leaf springs pinned together for easier final assembly, primed some other parts, and treated the cab to more bodywork. Hopefully everything will be in primer by week's end.

[Casey]

I decided to scrap the fuel tank brackets I previously made and replace them with some beefier brackets, and remembered the Lindberg Dodge A-100 pickup's frame consisted of T-shaped framerails, so I cut up sections of it to form the L-shaped tank brackets, like so:

I also rounded the top edges of and added filler necks to both tanks, so once the brackets are fully cured I will cut each leg to the proper length, add some straps, and install the brackets onto the truck's frame.

The kit-stock power steering pump/reservoir was not pretty, and looking at reference pics I figured I would try to come up with something better. I found some copper wire, drilled a hole in a piece of 1/8"(?) styrene tubing, inserted one end of the wire into the hole, then, with one finger holding the starting end of the wire in place, twisted the tubing and wrapped the copper wire around, leaving the end long and, for now, loose:

I'm assuming the wrapped tubing on the real thing is for cooling purposes, as I've seen the same thing done on severe service P/S pumps on police cars, so it should work. I need to make sure it isn't too large, though, as it would interfere with the upper radiator hose's path between the intake manifold and radiator. Here's a reference pic which shows the P/S pump/reservoir with the wrapped fluid line, though I think this is mounted to an FE-series engine?:

Yes, I wrapped it the wrong direction.

Speaking of the radiator, I added an outlet, so now there's a place to attach the forward end of the upper radiator hose. I still need to look over the reference pics a bit more and determine how/where the lower radiator hose runs, as there is no lower hose in the kit.

I had forgotten how much fun it is to drill out a distributor cap, too.

[Tesla]

Casey you're doing a fine job with this. You're attention to details is awesome! Great progress pics too.

[Old Buckaroo]

This "assembling of plastic" gets better and better every time I look at it. If memory serves me right the lower radiator hose would be on the right hand side fan forward view.

How custom do you plan on going with this ? I have a visor from a Freightliner coe that I bet you could fit to this !

[Casey]

Thanks, Dennis.

If memory serves me right the lower radiator hose would be on the right hand side fan forward view.

I figured it came off the water pump's lower right corner, but still haven't found a clear, right side image of the Super Duty engine. I can see the hose peeking out in this drawing, so that should get me close enough:

And not that custom.

[Casey]

I found some good reference pics of a Super Duty engine (link in C-series Truck Reference thread), and the orange arrow below points to the water pump outlet:

Here's a topside shot of the engine so far, with the Carter AFB-style carb (I think it was from the AMT '71 Charger R/T) pinned in place. I lost the governor at some point, and whatever I have in it's place right now (I think that was the kit-supplied distributor) is a little too large in diameter, so it's only temporary:

It's too late to change now, but I assumed that round tube running from the rear of the water pump to the intake manifold was a hard coolant line of some type...turns out it's a rubber coolant (bypass?) line. It makes no sense why the hole in the back of the water pump is so large, but again, I'll correct that on the next one I build.

Moving forward to today's progress, I cleaned up the fuel tank brackets, trimmed all of their legs to length, and installed all four brackets on the truck's frame:

I'm not sure if the filler neck for each tank is supposed to be located at one end or the other, so I can flip them side-to-side if need be. I will probably place them in the forward position unless that's a major no-no?:

I made a new P/S pump and a new reservoir out of aluminum tubing for added strength, then wrapped the copper coil in the correct direction. I still need to cut the main pump body to length, add a little detail piece on the right side, then make a cap for the reservoir, but so far so good. I didn't want to get into running the hardline to the steering box on this build, so I terminated the wrapper coil and tucked the loose end inside the aluminum tubing:

You can see how the lowest coil isn't snug to the tubing, so again, I will make a mental note and use brass tubing next time, soldering the lower end in place from the start.

I sprayed some primer on the grille, too:

[Casey]

The cab was scrubbed with Barkeeper's Friend, rinsed, then sprayed with Duplicolor's High Build Grey Primer:

I did some minimal scribing around and under the wiper arms, but I think I will just leave them as they are, and go all out with photoetched replacements on the next C-series I build:

There is a little more work to do on the nose area, but it's close to done:

I have something in mind for filling the single headlight bucket holes, but all the medium-sized googly eyes in the house have been used up.

The door handle mounting nub holes will be covered by the handles, even though I did a poor job of measuring twice before I drilled once...then twice...then a third time on an angle to widen the hole...you get the idea.

[Bill Edman]

Very nice