mikelo

Hopefully I can help a little. This new model is, as far as Kenworth is concerned, a brand new model to be between the T6 and T700. This is an all new line. It is not replacing any model at this time. This is also, as I see it, the most colaberative effort between Kenworth & Peterbilt. There are several parts and ideas from both manufactures. This model will be available in 2 styles, with sleeper and without. There have been some out on the road for testing and all have had very good reports. Some of the highlights are how quiet they are inside along with the ride. This does appear to be the direction for the future with PACCAR. The big change is the method of fabrication. Both the Peterbilts and Kenworth have similar cab fabrication lines that, while they share some of the older parts, are fabbed in a completely new way on totally new lines. As far as I am aware, they will continue to make all the current models. I know they are trying to intigrate the two companies more and more. And yes, the big push behind these trucks is the gas milage. You have to take into consideration a company owning a fleet of these trucks. If they are travling from one end of the country to another, or not even that far since these trucks don't make any money sitting still, the cost of fuel cuts into your company's bottom line. Every little bit helps you get a return on your investment. As far as the 2 companies are concerned, Peterbilts are are a little more economically packaged. By this I only mean there are option packages while Kenworth you can order whatever you want. This is where my job comes in. I have to get all the options laid out on the chassis to get everything to work. Essentually, every truck gets custom designed before fabrication. Here are a couple of pics I took at work prior to the release (hence the blackout tape and missing parts). The yellow one is actually one of the ones at the show. Oh, and yes, I think the real truck looks better than the ad pictures. I am not sure what they do to them, but they do tlook different. Mike

Very cool car. The story behind the car is as cool as the car itself. Not sure if you have seen it, but it had been in the works for a while. Here are some links. Pfaff is a car designer and has his own website. http://murraypfaff.wordpress.com/ Here is a hubgarage page. http://www.hubgarage.com/mygarage/Murray/vehicles/56514 Here it is in Hot Rod magazine. http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_1107_1959_chrysler_imperial_speedster/viewall.html Mike

Very nice! Great job on the chop job! Turned out great. I also like the 1:1 car that inspired this one. Keep up the great work. Mike

Wow! I would offer to take some detail pics from the assembly line, but it looks like you have the details down. Amazing job. Please keep us posted. Mike

No problem. Here are a couple pics we have at work. They limit what we can do on the internet @ work. It is really easy to post pics, especially with photobucket. There is usually a img code that has "img" inside of brackets. Copy that, paste it here and it pops up. Now that I can see the video posted above, I can say that truck has dual steer with a steerable pusher up front and a tridem set up on the rear with a tag. Drop me a line if you need any info and I will see what I can do. Mike

I can look into this more if you would like, since I work at KW in Chillicothe, but normally on a W9 you can go up to a tridem axle set up on the rear (for drive axles on the rear). They make both steerable and non-steerable pushers that can be added along with dual steer (under the cab and works with steering wheel). If you want to go with the most axles, you could go with dual steer, 3 steerable pushers, tridem and a tag. If you would like to turn, it is recomended to remove the dual steer. If you are going with an different model of Kenworth, there are many more options. They make some pretty big trucks. Try looking up a C5 10x10. Mike

The exhaust are the same on the real 1:1 AAR Cuda & Challenger TA. The dealers even even had to instal the tips after delivery. Mike

Here is a link to the original Vette he mentioned in the article. Maybe it will give you some ideas. http://www.motorburg.com/?p=317 Mike

Looks close in color to this one. check out 69 Dodge 515 GTB built by Steve strope. Mike

One thing I learned when starting my new job is the full size frames are almost completely assembled before painting. Even the wire harnesses, fuel & air lines are run prior. So it should work in scale as well. Mike

Sorry it took so long. I used the wheels from R/M 67 Chevelle on mine with thte centers painted the same yellow as the car. Loks like Paul and I used the same tires. Mike

It is a 58. While the current reissue has a lot of nice custom parts, it does not have the pieces from the Elvira edition. The parts mainly consisted of a 5 spoked chain steering wheel, a skull head shifter, spider web grill and custom hubcaps. Mike

Here is an old one I did when the kit first came out. It is Aluma coupe yellow. Different lights make it look a little lighter. Mike

I think it looks good enough for me to get one. I really don't want to bring up the tire debate, but having worked in a tire store for a number of years, I had to explain the numbers on tires several times. The number you are refering to, the second number in the size, is the aspect ratio to the width of the tire. It is possible to get wider tires and have the same hieght tire. We had to do this all the time for customers who wanted better handling, but not mess up thier speedometer. There is a formula for it that works better for wide low profile tires, but generally, when you increase the width (the first number, which moves in 10s), you decrease the hieght (the second number, which moves in 5s). The easiest example I can remember we did all the time was moving customers from 155/80r13 tires to 175/70r13s. These tires were exactly the same hieght even though it looks like the second size would be lower profile. Sorry. Like I said, I used to be an old tire guy and tire sizes usually confuse people. Regardless, I think the kit looks good enough for me to get one. My biggest problem is usually tires that are not wide enough. Mike

Congratulations on passing the course Richard! Mike

Looks great so far! Like the color. I like how you added the DEF tank. Are you going to put the DPF system on there as well? Mike

I thought was a 1/4 scale Kenworth, but it may be 1/2 scale. It stopped by work and was really cool. He had all the details (including small versions of the warning stickers) and the best part was it was powered by a Cummins diesel engine from a wood chipper! He drove it all around the plant. http://www.tja.ca/mini-kenworth.php Mike

Yea, KW has been quite a few of the NG ones here in Chillicothe. Looks like the new hybrid for trucks. Not sure where they can fill them up at, but there has to be a growing demand. It has to be easier than plugging it in for a week to charge the batteries if it were an electric model. lol Mike

Just got this today. I can say the propane powered trucks do not look all that different from from the regular ones. One odd thing is the engine itself looks smaller than the normal ones we run. I also have a story and pics of a T6 haulin a giant potatoe for Idaho (in case there would be any intrest). Kenworth’s latest vocational product line for ready mix operators and construction businesses will be on display at the annual World of Concrete Show Jan. 23-27 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Kenworth’s World of Concrete booth (C5413) will feature a four-truck lineup devoted to mixer trucks this year. Leading the way is the Kenworth W900S natural gas mixer, which is equipped with the Cummins Westport 8.9-liter ISL G engine, Allison 4500RDS 6-speed automatic transmission and McNeilus Bridgemaster mixer body. Rated at 320 hp and 1,000 lb-ft of torque, the ISL G uses a maintenance-free, three-way catalyst and is 2010 EPA and CARB compliant without the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology or a diesel particulate filter (DPF). Mike

Yea, it was a press release, so anybody can find them. I think it was an article on the trucking company, so I am sure they have a release as well if it is not on their website. Mike

They were photos from a bulliten we got here at Kenworth. They look to be very recent, compared to most of the ones we get. I didn't realize the B1 was so secret. I had a friend who worked on building them and my dad is in the airforce. They must not have been too worried about it as this is how they shipped them. They didn't even bother with a tarp. They look decomissioned to me. Yea, I like that little COE myself. Mike

I would too! It would probibly look like that short video where the 747 lands on the highway on a jeep. Mike

Thanks. I will have to look him up. Mike

Here are a couple of pics we got in a bulliten. I thought some of the loads were interesting (as well as the trailors). I like the COE. doesn't look like anything recent. Mike

As some of you may know, I have a job working at the Kenworth Chillicothe assembly plant. I would really like to do a model of one of the trucks we make there (T8, T6, T700 and W9), but I can not find even a close to current kit of any of the KW line. Am I just not looking in the right places? I mean, I was figuring I would have to scratch build the DEF system, but the W9 kits I see have round headlights. Are there any resin parts to update kits since the cabs haven't changed since the 50s? Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Mike