Dieselhead

Coming together great! Can't help but think the Tamiya M1A1 Abrams kit would go great with this!

I know there's quite a few classic wrecker groups on facebook, and a few Holmes-specific ones at that. Unless you want to fork over the dough for a manual, maybe asking one of those groups could help you, at least with the 1:1 reference side of things.

Nice early pete!

Hoo boy, this is gonna be a big one. This might interest you, a good bit of detail on the M911s. http://www.vannattabros.com/truck.html

359's have different cabs, called "little window" or Unilite cabs, which are far removed from the newer styles. Another good one is the fact that due to center point steering, 359's generally have smaller track width up front than both 79's and 89's. And of course, if we're talking 1/1s, powertrain options are just about always a dead giveaway.

D9 track of a similar vintage (H and G models) would be wider, for the "normal" width about 2" wider on the 1:1, whereas D8H track would be about 22". However, the true width difference depends on which spec of track is modeled by each respective source. D9 track would also have more links per side.

I'd say 5 holes or daytons would be pretty accurate for an 80's work truck. You could also do the alcoa fronts and 5 hole/dayton rears, I've seen that on some trucks too if you'd like the extra chrome up front. Looks like a great beginning regardless!

I can't give you any certainty, but just about every W900L conversion hood I've seen has been intended for either an RoG donor kit or the AMT W925.

I think we may be supplying our own decals for this one if you wish to get the Cat branding back on. Caterpillar is very quick to send out cease and desist letters and if I was a decal manufacturer, I wouldn't touch that with a 12 foot pole. Regardless, I'll have to pick this up. Looks like an interesting build, would be very fun to grime up as it should be.

What engine/transmission did you end up going with? You'll certainly need some serious power to turn those tires!

Man this is cool. I'm loving all the fabrication and problem-solving involved, this is a really unique project! I wish you luck with it.

Man that looks great. What technique do you use for your nice bends in the tubing? Mine never come out that uniform.

A 1978 truck would've been closer to the 6.2, even though the 6.2 didn't become available until 1982. That said, nothing is stopping you from saying the truck was engine swapped down the road. They're V8s so you could set the exhaust up however you want, but from factory they were a passenger side exit located behind the rear axle, as is standard on most pickups.

Looks like you've got a real monster on your hands. Do you have sources for the rest of your running/dump gear or is that all going to get scratched?

Very impressive, Sergei. That looks great.