truck, boat, and trailer

[Paul Payne]

Nobling, I just cut off the klunky hinges! The window surrounds are a work of art in themselves- the thinnest die cast sections I have ever seen, and the inner door skins exceed any kit I have come across. Ertl really outdid themselves on a fine tool. BTW, I guess I committed to the hemi, because I just disassembled the straight six engine and cut off the transmission! Now I just have to make everything fit! Another thing I will be doing is filling in the screw holes, and where they bulged out on the frame rails I will grind them down. After this one I don't think there will be any more comments about modifying diecasts! Checked my stash and discovered a brass strip and sheet- may try to fabricate door hinges from this. The inner and outer door pieces have recesses, so there is room between for the hinges to mount. We shall see!

[Paul Payne]

Well, there might be a slight change of plan on the boat. My good friend Alex and his wife plan on moving from the east coast to the west coast to be with their daughters (my god daughters). In the course of winnowing through about 40 years of house contents, Alex found and sent me a large amount of stripwood which I am now thinking would work as boat planking instead of the cedar cigar wrappers. We shall see!

Also, since the Dodge power wagon has become a major project in its own right, i think I will start a separate thread for it, with updated pictures.

[Paul Payne]

In addition, the disassembled Maisto 1936 Harley Davidson knucklehead will become part of this concept, possibly to be displayed on the Power Wagon's bed. So- 4 projects in one, plus some figures!?!?!?

[Paul Payne]

Got some primer on the hull- now the lines are clearer than before- will need to be sanded and a second coat applied before planking begins- decided to go with the cedar planking instead of the strip wood.

[Repstock]

Looks like the Truck/Boat/Trailer idea is pretty popular...At least you're working on yours!!

 

[misterNNL]

I just checked the price for the Dumas triple cockpit speedboat on line and it's listed for $ 69.25. That's only one dollar more than the currently available AMT drag team triple kit I saw at a hobby shop in Columbus, Ohio a week ago.

[Paul Payne]

Sometimes it really pays to work with glue bombs and junk, plus its recycling, right?

[tim boyd]

On 4/26/2022 at 6:30 PM, Paul Payne said:

Got some primer on the hull- now the lines are clearer than before- will need to be sanded and a second coat applied before planking begins- decided to go with the cedar planking instead of the strip wood.

Paul....not sure how I missed this thread up to now, but I will be following it with great interest from this point forward.   Great concept, and I really like your idea of starting with an old military boat model rather than working from scratch which is pretty much my take after looking at a few Dumas boat kits i bought a few years back.  Also, very interested in your Power Wagon as that is a topic I would have sure liked to have seen as a model kit. 

Also of interest, another one of the top-end builders who posts on this forum from time to time has just embarked on a very impressive big boat/trailer/tow vehicle project.  I won't name him as he has given me no indication, he wants to go public just yet, but his ideas are very creative and i think his project would be a great compliment and comparison to yours if it takes off.   

Best wishes for your project and congrats on your progress to date!   TIM 

[Paul Payne]

Tim, thanks for the kind words- a comparison would be a great idea! We met at the Hoosier model contest and I enjoyed visiting with you. The next step on the boat will be building the visible frames in the engine compartment. I am considering a V-16 Duesenberg engine using parts from the Monogram Duesey but also scratch building a lot. I guess small simple projects just don't exist for me any more...........................

[foghorn62]

On 5/10/2022 at 3:32 PM, Paul Payne said:

Tim, thanks for the kind words- a comparison would be a great idea! We met at the Hoosier model contest and I enjoyed visiting with you. The next step on the boat will be building the visible frames in the engine compartment. I am considering a V-16 Duesenberg engine using parts from the Monogram Duesey but also scratch building a lot. I guess small simple projects just don't exist for me any more...........................

Hi Paul, first of all, let me say that I am excited to see your project, and I look forward to following your progress!  I think your approach, using an old PT boat hull has a lot of potential, and the selection of a power wagon for a tow vehicle is a great choice!  I am most interested to see how you go about setting up the engine for the boat.  I have very little experience with boat models, and am forced to follow whatever I can find in pictures on the web.

I believe I am probably the guy Tim Boyd was referring to who has just embarked on a boat/trailer/tow project, although I am not too sure about his “top end” reference.  I have purchased the Dumas Chris Craft Cobra kit (which I found extremely over priced for a box of sticks and a set of plans, but I digress).  I have assembled the hull, and stopped until I decide how I want to proceed. What I have in mind, is sort of an Americanized version of the Riva Aqurama Lamborghini.  I have in my possession, three 3D printed Chevy LS3 V-12s.  I am planning to use two in the boat, and one in the tow vehicle.  For that, I have chosen one of the 47 Chevy kits from Galaxie Limited, but I have ordered a convertible conversion kit for it from Jimmy Flinstone, and I am planning to install wood on the sides and deck on the order of a 48 Ford Sportsman.  I haven’t given much thought to the trailer yet, but I imagine I’ll make something out of brass tubing, as I am comfortable working with that material, and it should be quite strong.

I’m just in very early stages of this project, still trying to figure out how to mount the engines in the boat, with marine cooling, water intake, exhaust, what the power output to the propeller shaft looks like….  I’d be very interested in seeing what you are planning along those lines.  I’m adding two pics of my current project status, and also one of the Riva Aqurama Lambo engines installed.

TS

[Paul Payne]

A very tasty project indeed! I too am figuring out the engine mounting and marine plumbing as I go- I might just wear out the internet looking for reference photos! If I find something useful I can either post it here or pm you. Des that work for you?

[foghorn62]

1 hour ago, Paul Payne said:

A very tasty project indeed! I too am figuring out the engine mounting and marine plumbing as I go- I might just wear out the internet looking for reference photos! If I find something useful I can either post it here or pm you. Des that work for you?

That will be fine Paul!  If you just post here, others will have the benefit of the information as well.  I’m all for sharing information whenever I think I have something that others may find useful.  I’ve done a lot of searching already.  I’ve found a few things related to marine cooling systems that I’ll post soon.

TS

[Paul Payne]

Sounds like a plan, Tim. I have learned so much from other members sharing ideas and techniques. BTW, I used fishing lure spinner propellers for my 4 blade props, since I could not find props small enough on line.

[tim boyd]

22 hours ago, foghorn62 said:

Hi Paul, first of all, let me say that I am excited to see your project, and I look forward to following your progress!  I think your approach, using an old PT boat hull has a lot of potential, and the selection of a power wagon for a tow vehicle is a great choice!  I am most interested to see how you go about setting up the engine for the boat.  I have very little experience with boat models, and am forced to follow whatever I can find in pictures on the web.

I believe I am probably the guy Tim Boyd was referring to who has just embarked on a boat/trailer/tow project, although I am not too sure about his “top end” reference.  I have purchased the Dumas Chris Craft Cobra kit (which I found extremely over priced for a box of sticks and a set of plans, but I digress).  I have assembled the hull, and stopped until I decide how I want to proceed. What I have in mind, is sort of an Americanized version of the Riva Aqurama Lamborghini.  I have in my possession, three 3D printed Chevy LS3 V-12s.  I am planning to use two in the boat, and one in the tow vehicle.  For that, I have chosen one of the 47 Chevy kits from Galaxie Limited, but I have ordered a convertible conversion kit for it from Jimmy Flinstone, and I am planning to install wood on the sides and deck on the order of a 48 Ford Sportsman.  I haven’t given much thought to the trailer yet, but I imagine I’ll make something out of brass tubing, as I am comfortable working with that material, and it should be quite strong.

I’m just in very early stages of this project, still trying to figure out how to mount the engines in the boat, with marine cooling, water intake, exhaust, what the power output to the propeller shaft looks like….  I’d be very interested in seeing what you are planning along those lines.  I’m adding two pics of my current project status, and also one of the Riva Aqurama Lambo engines installed.

TS

Yep Tim....I plead guilty.  Yours' and Paul's project have some really cool parallels and contrasts.  Can't wait to see them both take shape.  TIM   

[foghorn62]

On 5/12/2022 at 7:28 PM, Paul Payne said:

Sounds like a plan, Tim. I have learned so much from other members sharing ideas and techniques. BTW, I used fishing lure spinner propellers for my 4 blade props, since I could not find props small enough on line.

Hi Paul, I’ve been searching around for information on how to set up plumbing for a marine cooling system, and came upon this diagram, that helped me understand how the sea water pickup feeds a pump, which circulates sea water through a heat exchanger, and then dumps the sea water through the exhaust system.  The water pump on the engine receives the cooled water from the heat exchanger and pumps it through the engine block, then out through the exhaust manifolds, and back through the heat exchanger in a closed loop.  I’m also including a pic of the Lamborghini engines in the Riva in early stages of installation so you can see what such a system looks like.  Hope this helps.

TS

[Paul Payne]

Wow, somewhat complex!

It appears that additional heavy timber next to the keel and between the ribs is used as an engine mounting bed. The engine is then bolted to these using a mounting pad bolted to the wood and in turn the engine mount plates are bolted to these.

[David G.]

Wow!

You have a crazy amount of work going on with this project, it's fascinating to watch it all come together.

Keep up the great work.

David G.

[foghorn62]

40 minutes ago, Paul Payne said:

Wow, somewhat complex!

It appears that additional heavy timber next to the keel and between the ribs is used as an engine mounting bed. The engine is then bolted to these using a mounting pad bolted to the wood and in turn the engine mount plates are bolted to these.

Some great stuff here Paul!  The cooling system may seem daunting, but it’s really not that bad.  Your third and fourth pics with the blue engine show really clear pics of the trans, shaft coupling, and mounts.  On the blue engine, that little cylinder tank on top toward the front of the engine is the heat exchanger.  Other than that, most of a marine cooling system would be hoses.  As you pointed out, the engine appears to be mounded to a beefy cradle which is mounted to the hull.  Our friend Tim Boyd has built quite a few boat models, and has an extensive Fotki file of pics.  If you want to spend a little time studying them, you may find some helpful hints.  About half way through the first page, you will find several pics taken during the builds.  https://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyds-124th--12/boyd-model-boats/boyd-boats-/
 

This is getting fun!

TS

[Paul Payne]

And it will get funner!

[kermn8r]

Paul,

 

I hope I can add to the topic of cooling.  The attached photos show a friend's old jet boat.  On the view of the starboard exhaust manifold, you can see a hose running from the bottom of the boat to the intake manifold.  I didn't get a photo of under the engine, but I believe this is a water intake.  You can also see a hose going into the end of the exhaust manifold.  It doesn't show in the photo, but it comes from the water pump.  I also included some other photos of this boat, which show some of the cooling system if you look hard.  As this boat was run in fresh water, it did not use a heat exchanger as there was no concern getting salt water into the engine internals.  The boat's transom, where the boat ends,  is at the brown line.  The rest of the stuff in the background of the photo with a tank and hoses is something else from his yard.  

Being a jet board, the engine is mounted with the front of the engine facing the front of the boat and the rear connected directly to the jet pump.Notice that the exhaust manifolds are oriented in the same way as in a wheeled vehicle.  Also, he was using exhaust manifolds that were routed out the back of the transom, rather than the more common header like wet stacks.  In the photo of the blue engine above, the manifolds are mounted backwards, which leads me to believe this engine was set up for an inboard V-drive, with the rear of the engine facing to the front with a shaft going forward to a V-drive.  Another shaft would come out of the bottom of the V-drive and run rearward to the prop.  The engine in the photo below that is also set up for a V-drive, as you can see the housing for the shaft to the pop below the shaft coming from the engine.  

BTW, I am really digging that Power Wagon.

[Paul Payne]

Walt, thanks for sharing! More great reference photos! Thanks also for the comments on the Power Wagon- wait until I post it in Under Glass- it's almost done................... Plan on taking it to the Hoosier Model Club show and flea market.

[Paul Payne]

Now that the Power Wagon is finished, I've started back up on the big boat. I started putting in some ribs where they would be visible in the engine compartment, and made a start on the V-16 engine- by cutting off the cams, combustion chamber, and intake and exhaust ports- from two Monogram Duesenberg engines! My friend Alex had included a length of plastic rectangular tubing which will be perfect for the new cylinder banks- just needs to have the corners sharpened a bit. It's not styrene- tried a little liquid styrene cement and it didn't soften it at all. More pix when I get more done!

[Paul Payne]

More progress- got the last of the ribs glued in, ready to paint the engine compartment. Also much more work on the engine- both cylinder bank together, a block created, and cylinder banks attached with white glue for a mockup and test fit in the hull, and with the main deck in place. That engine has turned into one long stroke, torque producing monster! It will definitely need a cabin elevated above the main deck to house it!. I also started reinforcing the deck underneath with some sprue, and started to remove material from the sides to be vertically flush with the sides.

[foghorn62]

Looking good Paul!  The ribs look great, and that engine is going to be a beast!  You’re making great progress!

TS

[David G.]

Clever work splicing the engines together. It has a kind of Steampunk vibe to it.

David G.