Foxer Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) My daughter's boyfriend just bought a 1993 Chevy P30 Food Truck to start a business and I'm wondering how much scratch building it's going to take to make a 1/25 version of one. I expect there will be a lot but I'm curious if there's maybe some resin body out there that could give a head start. I am really flying blind as far a trucks are concerned and know nothing of what the chassis of a P30 consists of ... something that would be close in kit form I could use. Any information about the P30 anyone could tell me would be a great help. I'm just starting research today. I only got one shot of the outside of it today ... Thanks for any help or guidance! Edited June 21, 2013 by Foxer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 I'm not really sure if anyone has made anything like that in resin or not Mike, but I can at least let you know for a frame, most of those style trucks as well as most RVs, just have a normal 1 ton pickup truck frame, engine, and suspension, just lengthened to fit the whatever body is going to be on it. You could get away with probably using the Ford F250/F350 frame and the wheels from the dually kit, and source whatever engine the 1:1 has in it. The main body shouldn't be too hard to build from sheet plastic, but the biggest pain in the you know where you will have is the front end/hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 There is a plastic 1/25 scale Dannon Yogurt delivery truck promo you can occasionally find on ebay, but they are usually rather pricy. Last time I was looking was a few years ago and they were running between $75 and 100, and I don't recall if it was a Chevrolet. If you are willing to go with a smaller scale there are a few decent plastic or diecast toys around 1/34 scale that might work for you. I agree with Matt on the chassis, these are the same as the 3/4 ton (P20) or 1 ton (P30) trucks with a different body. The Ford is the only detailed dually out there, the Chevrolet being basically a promo. I assume this has a 350 under the hood, so you will probably want to find one of those to replace the Ford's 460. These are really just a big box, everything including the interior is usually just flat panels so scratchbuilding shouldn't be too bad except for the grill. The grill on most of these trucks are pretty basic so probably not too much of a job if you can scrounge some headlights and such from the parts bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayers Garage Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 The one in the picture is a Grumman bodied truck. They used a GM chassis with Grumman's aluminum body atop it. I can't tell from the pictures but it looks like the wheel bolt pattern is 5/10 lug. That 5 on the front and 10 on the rear. If so, it used a heavier chassis than the pickups did, with a solid beam front axle and leaf springs on all 4 corners. If its an 8 lug truck, then it used normal SLA independent front suspension carried over from the trucks. I offer this answer as a person who worked for the Postal Service for a long time doing fleet maintenance and repair on those trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 That's some good info, guys ... I really appreciate it. This will give me a good head start for research. Just what P20/P30 meant was news to me. I'm sure a sports car person ... but ANY vehicle interests me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris02719 Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 There is a 70's Grumman available here http://www.uptown-automotive.com/viewCars.php?id=18. Hopefully you can use that as a starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 That's some good info, guys ... I really appreciate it. This will give me a good head start for research. Just what P20/P30 meant was news to me. I'm sure a sports car person ... but ANY vehicle interests me. That is Chevrolets code. C = 2 wheel drive pickup / SUV, K= 4x4 pickup / SUV, G= van, P was used for their stepvans. 10 = 1/2 ton, 20= 3/4 ton, 30 = 1 ton, later they switched the 10, 20, 30 to 1500, 2500 and 3500. Ford and Dodge have similar coding systems for their trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 (edited) There is a 70's Grumman available here http://www.uptown-automotive.com/viewCars.php?id=18. Hopefully you can use that as a starting point. That looks very close! Can't see the front grill in their photos but the shape of the front/cab looks close .. that looks like a winner to start this! Thanks, Chris. Any idea who actually makes this? I see where the start for this resin casting came from, anyway .. an Ertl bank! Edited June 22, 2013 by Foxer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayers Garage Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 The most significant difference between the resin body on that link and the picture posted above is the front end. The resin body being earlier has the front fenders parts of the body with an aluminum hood. The later trucks like in the picture above used a fiberglass single piece unit that lifts up in its entirety, exposing the entire front of the truck rather than just a hood opening. From my perspective I liked working on the later trucks since the large front access the newer design offered to the engine area. My postal fleet had a bunch of them that we had to maintain. They had 6.5 liter non turbo diesel engines with 4L80e overdrive transmissions and 19.5 inch wheels and tires. The earlier trucks like the resin example used 6.2 liter non turbo Diesel engines with turbo 400 transmissions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 I'm going to go with the resin body. The proportions look good and I'll have this thread on how to get it looking 90's ... Thanks Kevin, and everyone else again for getting this narrowed down. I never thought I could get something so close to start! The engine is so hidden I'm not going to bother. The chassis will probably never be seen so I'll just get the wheels looking right. I see there's plenty of Monogram F350 on ebay to get the duel wheels but it's 1/24 and they might be too large for this. The price on them is good so it's probably worth getting one to see firsthand. The interior is going to be all the fun on this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris02719 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Im not sure who actually makes the thing. I stumbled on it a while ago while looking for a w/t grill for a chevy truck. As far as wheels and tires, besides the monogram f350 you can check with bnl resins, I also believe that modelhaus and rmcom also carry dually rims. Been a while since I was on the hunt for some, so I dont recall what styles they have etc. I can tell you that if you do use the monogram rims that the rear hubs kill the look of the rims. Hopefully this helps a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris02719 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 And definately keep me posted on this one. This sounds like a fun project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Im not sure who actually makes the thing. I stumbled on it a while ago while looking for a w/t grill for a chevy truck. As far as wheels and tires, besides the monogram f350 you can check with bnl resins, I also believe that modelhaus and rmcom also carry dually rims. Been a while since I was on the hunt for some, so I dont recall what styles they have etc. I can tell you that if you do use the monogram rims that the rear hubs kill the look of the rims. Hopefully this helps a little. First of all, the W/T grille is not what this style of truck has, the W/T is a single headlight version of the grille found in the late 80s early 90s AMT Chevy pickup, not a grille for a box truck. Second, you may think the rear hubs kill the look of the F350's rear wheels, but sorry to tell you that is the way the 1:1 looks! I should know, I have the 1:1 of that kit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris02719 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I was referring to uptown automotive as far as the w/t grille, I realize fully that the grill is for a pickup and not a box truck, just happened to be what I was looking for when I found the box truck. As far as the hubs on the dually rims go, I still feel that they look undersized in most applications, such as this one. The hubs would definitely not match the ones in the photo of the real truck that started this thread. Just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Hamilton Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 (edited) My daughter's boyfriend just bought a 1993 Chevy P30 Food Truck to start a business and I'm wondering how much scratch building it's going to take to make a 1/25 version of one. I expect there will be a lot but I'm curious if there's maybe some resin body out there that could give a head start. I am really flying blind as far a trucks are concerned and know nothing of what the chassis of a P30 consists of ... something that would be close in kit form I could use. Any information about the P30 anyone could tell me would be a great help. I'm just starting research today. I only got one shot of the outside of it today ... Thanks for any help or guidance! My daughter's boyfriend just bought a 1993 Chevy P30 Food Truck to start a business and I'm wondering how much scratch building it's going to take to make a 1/25 version of one. I expect there will be a lot but I'm curious if there's maybe some resin body out there that could give a head start. I am really flying blind as far a trucks are concerned and know nothing of what the chassis of a P30 consists of ... something that would be close in kit form I could use. Any information about the P30 anyone could tell me would be a great help. I'm just starting research today. I only got one shot of the outside of it today ... Thanks for any help or guidance! I used to sell those. The body on the truck in the picture is made by Utilimaster, not Grumman. If I were doing this build, I would contact Workhorse (the maker of the chassis that was the GM P30), and Utilimastere Corp. They may be able to send you some detailed drawings with the various dimensions. Or, take a boat load of photos of your daughter's truck, and work from there. These trucks were pretty much custom ordered for height, length, and width. One thing about them, they were slab sided, so scratch-building a body should not be all that difficult. All the glass was flat too. That truck looks to be a 14 foot unit, with a 6 foot inside height, standard front doors, 12,000 GVWR. This information is for the current truck, which is not very different from the one in the photo. Body: http://www.utilimaster.com/ProductDetail.aspx?id=388 Chassis: http://www.workhorse.com/Portals/0/products/Chassis/W42.pdf Also, find out which company did the food coach conversion. This should get you started. Edited July 24, 2013 by Ron Hamilton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted July 26, 2013 Author Share Posted July 26, 2013 Thanks so much, Ron! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Hamilton Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Thanks so much, Ron! Thanks so much, Ron! Anytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted July 27, 2013 Author Share Posted July 27, 2013 Just a confirmation that this IS a Utilimaster. I got some more photos and and online info .... the front confirms it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss2000 Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 I had one of the ERTL banks, it was closer to 1/32 scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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