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The trucks that built Boulder Dam


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Getting away from the fire apparatus for a bit. Jeff Harper and I are doing a "consulting joint project" to model two Mack AP's that were used in the constsruction of Boulder Dam in the early 1930's. The AP rock dumps were the beginning of off road heavy haulers. Later in the construction process the dump bodies were removed from some and were refitted with cement mixers. We are making the same chassis for both rigs starting with the Monogram Mack AC kit for frame, axles and rear wheels. From there in it's a lot of scratch building. Certain parts are being duplicated by molding and casting such as the front fenders, rear tires and headlights. The chain drives of the AC have been exchanged for delrin operating chain and sprockets. Front wheels are from the Ertl R Model Mack. Here is the progress so far. Jeff informs me that his rig is coming along with much the same work having been accomplished.

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Edited by Chariots of Fire
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Very cool build idea.

I was wondering what the huge gears were for, then I clicked on the next picture and saw they were not gears, but rather interlocking(?) rear tires. :D Looks like you made a lot of progress on the dump bed so far. :)

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Here are some pics of the Mack AP chassis with the body in place. These trucks worked in a pretty hot environment so they did not use sides to the hood. Instead they used a heavy duty wire mesh just to keep debris away from the engine and to allow for additional cooling. Next thing is the protective shield for the upper front of the body that kept rocks from falling on the driver's head!

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Neat truck, this should be good to watch. What did you use for the front tires? They look like a good possibility for a long stalled Mack AC rescue I have.

My Dad's step father helped build Hoover / Boulder dam and later the Shasta dam.

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