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'59 Chevy Advance Scout Truck - African Airstream Caravan


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Finally some extended bench time in and was able to get the exhaust made, painted and installed. I made it with aluminum tubing and the muffler was made from a larger diameter tube with aluminum flat sheet for the ends. Here's a few pics.

Before paint.

UnpaintedExhaust1_zps50d16b7c.jpg

After paint and installed.

ExhaustPainted_zps89eb1a19.jpg

Next on the agenda is to do something about the spaces between the interior tub and the inside of the cab body. Looking from underneath these gaps need to be covered. Here's another picture.

Underside1_zps97d1a0af.jpg

I've started fiddling with the beginnings of the aluminum camper portion. I at least now have a game plan in mind. Still trying to work out the details of having the top lift off to show the interior similar to my Carney Wagon. This will be much more involved than the Carney Wagon since the sides of this camper curve. Think I need a few more cups of coffee to work this out.

Thanks for following along and comments welcome.

Edited by gasser59
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Thanks so much Chris. Your interest is appreciated.

I did some work on the under carriage to cover up the gaps on the inside of the body and forgot to take some pictures. I'll post some tonight. As with everything else, it was more involved than I first anticipated.

Edited by gasser59
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nnltruck_chassis_close-vi.jpg

Here's how I filled in the floor voids on a number of these '55 Chevy pickups. I did a few back when the kit was new and followed directions from a source at the time. Later I've been told that the side step would only be the length of the door. It was fairly easy to do, I just added the plastic to the outer edges of the existing interior bucket.

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That is exactly what I did Tom although I added a double layer of 0.03" styrene sheet between the frame and the interior tub and shaved off the small humps on top of the frame to account for adding the sheet styrene. If you've built this kit, you know the humps I'm talking about. I added the square channel to the bottom of this styrene sheet that goes out to the sides of the body and matched the same angle as the firewall. I'll post a picture in a bit.

Thanks Danno. Appreciate you following along.

Edited by gasser59
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Yesterday I received some new tires in the mail from RodneyBad that will work out just perfectly with a little finesse. These tires are from a Mercedes G kit and are just the right height, width and the thread pattern is generic enough to look the part. The builders on this forum are amazing with their generosity and that is why it feels like family. Thanks so much Rodney.

Here's a couple of pictures showing how I'll need to get them to work. The rim diameter is a bit too large so I cut some sheet styrene to fit the inside of the solid tire and also had to add a thin piece of Evergreen to the outside diameter of the inner hub. I'll let th pics help diagram what i've done.

NewTires1_zps5ee1bc47.jpg

NewTires2_zps24e43398.jpg

NewTires3_zps94e06b39.jpg

Here's how they look on the front. I like the fit compared to the original photos.

NewTruckTires_zps4d91e75f.jpg

Plus I got a bit more work done on the camper base.

Floor1_zps39e061f1.jpg

Its coming together slowly. Comments welcome and thanks for following my progress.

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The shell is starting to take shape. I plan on building the frame just like a vintage Airstream is constructed with metal ribs and cross members. The aluminum square tubing has one long rod inside a 1/16th aluminum tube so this thing should be really rigid and structurally sound. There will eventually be eight cross members. The aluminum skin will be attached with Scale Hardware rivets. I have 300 on hand and think I'll need another 200 to complete the shell.

I'm still hoping to have the top lift off and the inside walls, cabinetry, bathroom and galley components visible. We'll see how that goes. :D

Shell1_zps2bec2f60.jpg

Stay tuned and comments welcome.

Edited by gasser59
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