Force

The original T500-500 California Hauler kit from 1969 did not have a sleeper but back then you could send in a card to get one from AMT, unfortunately the sleeper tooling is gone or beyond repair so the recently reissued kit #866 doesn't have any either. Another thing that's different with the recent reissued kit compared to the original is that the tanks are shorter than in the original kit, otherwise it's pretty much the same kit as the original issue. The second edition T 500 kit wich came around 1971-73 included the sleeper and this sleeper in resin can be found at American Industrial Truck models marked as 36 Inch Restrite Sleeper. Here is the boxart from the second edition T 500 kit wich included the sleeper...the sunvisor is also gone as it was on the sleeper sprue, but you can find one in resin at Auslowe Model Accessories in Australia.

More of my pictures. This is taken out in the Mojave Dessert near Phelan Ca. Taken somewhere between Barstow and Needles on the I 40 back in 2011. Still on the I 40 near Needles. Approaching Kingman from the west on I 40. Now Route 66 towards Kingman. More to come.

You are right on that. No one uses tube type tires anymore...not on working trucks anyway. Over here in Sweden they use 8.25-9.00 X 22.5 inch rims almost exclusively as it's almost impossible to find tires for over here for any larger wheels. The tires could be either 12.00 or 295/80R and sometimes when frame hight are an issue they can use 55 or 60 profile. Lots of trucks here also uses 385/55R-22.5 steer tires on 11.75 X 22.5 wheels even for highway use, they run cooler and lasts longer.

Click on the link below, scroll down a bit and there is a list of truck engine colors I put together from several different sources for my own references. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83917&page=3

AMT had 10.00-20 tires in most truck and trailer kits and 11.00-22 tires in a few, Ertl had 11.00-20 tires in all their truck and trailer kits and that is the tires used in most of the AMT trucks today, the rim diameter are the same for both makes except for the AMT 11.00-22 tires, and as KJ says, also the Moebius rims, meaning that the kit wheels are not true to scale. Most modern trucks here in Europe uses 12.00-22.5 and that size are also used in the US, but I have also seen that 11.00-24.5 wheels are common on US trucks, all these are tubeless tires on one piece wheels, the 10.00-20, 11.00-20 and 11.00-22 are tube type tires with split rim wheels with lock ring.

Thanks! More of my pics from my travels to the SoCal area. Southbound on I 5 north of L.A. Down Town L.A. in the afternoon sun. Westbound on US Hwy 58, Alta Wind Energy Center just west of Mojave Ca.

Yes they are not that easy to find at decent prices, the one I got wasn't that bad tho'. I got one of those the other week...forgot about that.

A few trucks seen at the 2011 Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale AZ.

I have seen somewhere that it was a 13 speed so I would go for a Fuller Roadranger. For engine pics just google for Cummis NTC 400 and you will find some.

This eBay find came in from Canada yesterday.

After what I have found out the BJ truck had the standard 180 inch wheelbase. And yes the Cummins "big cam" NTC 400 is 855 CI, but the Cummins engine in the K123 is a NTA 370 wich looks slightly different than the NTC. You can use the NTC 475 Twin Turbo from the Revell AG Peterbilt 359 and KW K100 and skip one of the turbos and you will have a NTC 400, if you don't have that one you can use the NTC 350 from an AMT Peterbilt 359/White Road Boss and Western Star/Diamond REO and modify the aftercooler to look like the newer ones on the NTC 400.

Looks like an old Swedish built Åkerman excavator on the trailer behind the Mack

For a 69 Peterbilt the engine should be White as most of the engines in Peterbilts were white up until 1985...or in some cases Alpine Green, Silver was for the 8V92

I'm in for a couple of the Yellow 16's.

Here is a view seen from the I 15 just before Cajon Junction Ca. Another view from Cajon Junction, we have now changed route to the US Hwy 138 towards Phelan Ca. Still on the US Hwy 138.

We continue with trucks I have seen under my travels to your country, we are in the year 2011 still, Here is one we met on the I 40 between Barstow and Needles. I like big trains too so I took a picture of this train with 6 Diesels, the picture is taken after the I 40 somewhere between Needles and Kingman. Another old truck taken in Hackberry Az after Route 66.

Yes 428 are available in kit form. But 332, 352, 361 (Edsel), 390, 406, 410 (Mercury), 427 or 428 are all FE engines and has basically the same outside appearence, so it doesn't matter wich one you use, things that can differ are valve covers, exhaust and induction setups.

Very Nice Chris!!

I also have kind of hands on experience of the FE's, I don't own one myself but a couple of my friends in our car club who I share garage with have several of them, so I come in contact with them often. If you haven't seen the engine in the AMT 1960 Galaxie Starliner Custom or 2n'1 kits I suggest you take a look...it's one of AMT's last developed new tooling kits and the engine is very nice...I think you will revaluate your statement after you have seen it.

A Ford FE engine is a FE engine regardless of wich displacement it is and you woun't see any difference on the outside except for different valve covers, intake and exhaust systems...so if it's a 352, 361, 390, 406, 410, 427 or 428 they all basically looks the same as they all are based on the same block and head designs, some special versions were available such as the Side Oiler, High-Riser and SOHC but they were not produced for very long. I don't agree with the statement "All of the small scale 427's are junk"...as not all 1:24 and 1:25 FE engines are "blobs and lumps of cheesy old tooling with poor proportions". The best looking and most accurate FE engine in my opinion in the "small" 1:25 scale is the one in the AMT 1960 Ford Galaxie Starliner kits...If you haven't seen one I suggest you take a look. particulary in the Custom or 2'n 1 kits where you get lots of goodies. The FE engines in the AMT 66 Ford Fairlane 390 GT, 66 Fairlane 427 and 67 Mercury Comet aren't that bad either, and Revell did a decent High-Riser 427 in the 64 Ford Thunderbolt kits...these are 1:25th scale, if we go to the 1:24th scale you have the ones from the Revell/Monogram AC Cobra kits. wich are not that bad. When the 7 litre engines were banned after the 1967 season they returned to the GT40 Mk I and won LeMans again 1968 and 1969 with 5 litre small block Ford engines.

Well all 335 family engines 351C, 351M and 400, has basically the same outside appearence so it's hard to tell one version from another, of course a 2V and 4V can be picked out but otherwise they looks basically the same. But to tell a 335 family from a Windsor family engine is easier as all 335 family engines has the whater outlet/thermostate housing at the front end of the engine block itself just in front of the intake manifold pointing straight up, and the Windsor family has the outlet/thermostate housing going out from the front of the intake manifold pointing forward slightly angled up.

In 1981 Volvo bought White wich in turn owned the Autocar brand, and folded the Autocar brand in the year 2000, Volvo sold some of the Autocar model manufacturing to GVW Group LLC in 2001 and they are doing 3 models, ACMD, ACX and ACTT.

Scale Modeling By Chris has a couple in resin. http://www.scalemodelingbychris.com/smbc_partsp1.htm

You don't do it the easy way do you. Putting a Chevy engine in a Ford is difficult as the front part of the body with the suspension of most Ford cars isn't made for a rear sump...putting anything larger than a 289-302 in a 62-65 Fairlane is cramped...even a 351 Windsor is a hard fit...and they had to modify the engine bay, especially the spring towers and upper A-arms severely to fit the FE 427 to the Thunderbolt's. I own a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe so I know what I'm talking about.

Well Mack hasn't been fully US owned since 1979 when Renault Trucks of France bought in as part owner of Mack and bought out the rest 1990, and Volvo bought Renault Trucks (and Mack) the year 2000. The truck market is hard and Volvo is with all their acquisitions now No: 2 behind Daimler-Benz who still hold the No:1 spot in sales in the World...by the way, Daimler-Benz owns Detroit Diesel, Freighliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses in the US.