Autocar reborn

[gotnitro?]

1 hour ago, Mopar - D said:

Nice progress Jeff I can see you are doing a good job on keeping your squirrels out of your way. 

Hahaha yeah the snow started spitting here over wknd, they hauled outside to squirrel away more food. Its easy to stay focused..for now cause this build is so fun searching for the Easter eggs I need to add.  Reminds me of your Dan gurney build,  so many details coming together 

[Mopar - D]

Jeff any updates?

[gotnitro?]

16 hours ago, Mopar - D said:

Jeff any updates?

Not much since last post , been trying to iron out few details around wing tower .  Finally settled on specific truck to build should make for interesting model

[gotnitro?]

Tinkered w Autocar today, working on the wet tank / cable pulley boxes for the side wing . I quickly realized my last frame mod wouldn't allow to me use parts I had available.  I'd screwed up the measurement needed for the parts to fit between cab and dump box . That mistake now forced me to fab up my own parts..not difficult,  just more work than I planned . 

There's a large wet tank mounted on the top of  the horizontal cable box that pulls the wing inwards. Heavy brackets attach this large assembly to the frame along with the vertical tower that houses the other pulleys and equipment.  

I built a narrower box and wet tank to fit behind the cab . I really didn't like how cramped it turned out...so out came the razor saw . Adding a section of scrap frame rail stretched the frame out again. 

Here's the parts roughed in..much more detail is planned . It was very tight ..

Normally I love demo..but this caused issues later that might require a new frame ..not certain yet . 

The wet tank, and pulley boxes 

Mocked up on the truck..and I noticed my cut wasn't square . The new cut caused a bowed frame , and humped up. I absolutely won't settle for leaving this , so this chassis has become a mock up frame . I'll use a new set of rails after getting the major work done 

Thanks for following 

 

[Mopar - D]

Jeff nice scratch building and I know you will be able to fix your frame with out much effort. I’m looking forward to seeing more details. 

[Lordmodelbuilder]

Subscribed.

[gotnitro?]

Well sadly the donor frame was retired . The older plastic didn't approve of my squirrels fondness for power tools. They wanted to correct the bow and arch that developed . We sat around listening to country music awhile and got back to work. Enough crying over it...that waters down the bourbon 

I had another nearly intact parts truck w new frame parts..here I go again. This time I built the front end parts leaving the rear frame  parts off . Mocking up the cab, wing tower and bed showed me where the rear tire would line up similar to my photos . I just shifted the loose crossmember back till satisfied.  The old chassis wheelbase was 165..the new one lands around 186 . This actually looks better overall. 

Well the axle wanted to live right in line w these molded on bolts..easy to match other side ...but you can see my mounts are short now .

Buddy sent me a few photos of plows w fishplates  for this purpose.  I used a strip of 030 for mine. 

Test fitting everything together ❤  nice and level, frame is square and so clean. Now to figure out the box pivots again. Heres the new layout. Theres a small frame cut needed on the end  but I'm leaving it awhile 

Thanks for following along , be back w updates after I dry out the turkey tomo and resort to box mac and cheese 🧀 

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends on here too! Hope everyone has a great holiday 

[Mopar - D]

Wow Jeff it’s amazing how the new frame cleaned up the issues that you were dealing with. Glad to see you back on track with your build. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. 

[gotnitro?]

Spent a few hours working on the plow , notably the plow hitch.  The stock autocar frame doesn't have any extension forward of the radiator,  so I used pieces of the retired frame for small extensions. 

I worked out a pattern for hitch side plates, using the mk 1 eyeball. Judging the ground clearance off the front wheel , and width off the grill. 

Building the framework once the sides shape was determined was simply stacking angles/ tubes . I really enjoyed building the skeleton for hitch, now the remainder of the  plow fittings can be installed / fabricated . Heres the start of the hitch assembly. I reinforced most of the fittings w angled plates , later ill add  meng bolts .

A very important detail i wanted to capture was the alignment of the hitch to the radiator.  The top rail will have several work / driving  lights fit. The lights will be level w the autocar emblem on the grill shell. The upper angled plate is just mocked up, I wasn't sure how wide I wanted to leave it during mock up.

A good friend thats building the same truck cast the proper type rear wheels for this project. He's sending me a set and some driving lights to light the snow covered roads .

Thanks for following along! 

[Sam I Am]

Wow Jeff, you are moving right along. Sorry the box didn't work,  but I bet if you leave it on the bench you or the squirrels will come up with some ideas. 

[gotnitro?]

7 hours ago, Sam I Am said:

Wow Jeff, you are moving right along. Sorry the box didn't work,  but I bet if you leave it on the bench you or the squirrels will come up with some ideas. 

Thanks Sam , I'm really enjoying this build and the squirrels haven't side tracked progress.  The box already has a future..coming soon ! 

[gotnitro?]

Wknd update, tackled a few smaller items that I could bust out fairly quick. Studying photos showed changed to the kit fuel tank steps. I used some curved sheet for mounts, then deck plate for the treads. 

I finally got around to angle cutting the frame rails, adding a c/m on the end from I beam then installing the dump bed pivots. The rear susp is waiting for bolt details and the overload stops above the spring pack..or whatever their called.

The wing tower pulley, lift cylinder and wing rod strut mounts were fabbed up, and temporarily installed w a bar that'll be welded to the frame rail.

Lastly the truck wouldn't have any electrical power without its battery box . I tested out my new machinist square from micro mark to cut straight lines . I covered the top and front w plastruct diamond plate . Wrapping the hinged sides w angle cut sheet finished it up .

Thats it for the wknd ..gotta wire up a new  kitchen outlet tomo. We've been updating the old wiring in the house room by room. Turning off the main panel for a few minutes  while adding the breaker will keep things from getting exciting  ! 

[Bills72sj]

Just caught up with your build here. I love all the effort you are putting into the mods.

[Mopar - D]

Great progress Jeff all your scratch building is coming along nicely. Looking forward to seeing your next update. Good luck with your electrical work on your home. 

[rekcirb13]

Jeff,

This Autocar build is gonna be, as we say in Boston, "wicked awesome"! How did you make the horizontal angle braces on the lower dump body? Makes it look like the real thing. 

Bob

[gotnitro?]

Bob- those braces are 30 thou strip beveled to fit against body 

Thanks for the feedback! 

[gotnitro?]

Wknd update ! I've been updating several parts that I'd built incorrectly.  Most prominent was the fuel tanks, the kit parts needed the straps sanded off and relocated . I feel like I'm rivet counting again... new steps and mounts were added too

A big surprise happened Friday when a package arrived from the west coast  ! Ryan Pedone had cast a new pair of solid steel wheels up for his truck, and sent me a set. These wheels were very common on plow trucks..they fit the 24s perfectly 

I was starting to get distracted by new project photos..so a mock up was in order.  This helped refocus the crew  ! The 5 hole rear wheels hadn't been swapped yet 

[Mopar - D]

Jeff it’s great to see your progress updates on your Autocar plow truck. Your attention to the little details are what makes your building awesome. 

[gotnitro?]

Thanks Dan sometimes I spend too much time changing a perfectly decent part , for small gain. We're building a truck from a fleet ..getting them close enough has been our motto. 

One area we've been chatting about being noticeably different is the hood/ grill. Ryan found the ad from auction site,  and it cleared up some questions we were having.  The kit truck is a 6 series AC , the reference truck is a 7 series. Pretty close until ya start looking closer . Slam lock doors are obvious, then the elephant in the room..the square hood / grill .

Here's one of the trucks I've been picking details from..and staring at the non tapered grill 

So..short of remaking every kit part , or ordering a DC cab / hood , i decided to experiment.  Taking .040" strip and filling the tapered section of the upper grill, then sanding the curved top back into it..and I have a modified grill. The vertical sides will remain tapered to avoid a weird profile looking at the truck. Its one of those small changes ya might notice, or not .

Checking the shape w hood 

I'll have to foil cast the original emblem to replace the one sanded off..I forgot to foil cast it before sanding away. 

Finally the cab guard was replaced. We chose to model a truck with one, and I had already removed it . 

Just enough space for the plow supports to fit under it. The other side will have the exhaust stack .

Thanks for any feedback or criticism! 

Jeff

[Mopar - D]

Great progress Jeff. Looking at your reference picture are you going to be adding the window wiper on the passenger side window? I also see that they left the holes where the original head lights were. 

[gotnitro?]

Wow Dan , I hadn't noticed the pass side wiper before..but now you've mentioned it..I'll see what the rodents say . I did spot the headlight holes in the bumper ends, have those planned. Another smallish detail I wanted to include is the diamond plate panel over fenders, the photo shows it extending down side ! 

That truck didn't have the cab guard or cold temp shutters..but plenty of easter eggs to ponder 

Jeff

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Looks Amazing! Excellent scratch building as usual!

[gotnitro?]

Thanks Brian ! 

Huge milestone reached this weekend,  the paint started flying  !!! Stopped by my local lfs , and found exactly the colors I was hoping for, tamiya chrome yellow and racing green  ! The chassis is in final color, the cabs gonna be a few days .

You can see my cab lurking , I used silver base to seal the previous red paint from bleeding thru..THANKS Sam !!!! I added a filler panel under the cab before paint . 

Here's a mockup w everything before the final primer coat and yellow goes down.

Getting to this point seemed ridiculous fast, but really enjoying building this plow. The blue cab and hood really let me down, something caused bulges in the doors, and 3 spots dead center in the hood. I think these new parts came from Kelly Ingram,  so glad I had them

 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Almost ready for snow!!

[gotnitro?]

59 minutes ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

Almost ready for snow!!

Seems funny now that I'm working on a plow, and our weather is unseasonably warm. Forecast of mid 50s all week..not complaining..been taking the Mach 1 for trips in Dec seems like ealry Christmas