Chariots of Fire

Pintle hook was made of brass with two pieces. The bottom and the part that opens. Then I made a mold for the parts and cast them in resin. I did have to add some 0.010" plastic to the side of the upper part because it was too fragile for drilling. But what you see is the resin casting. It opens up. The front one is the same thing but it was made solid and doesn't open up. I finished up the rear 3 pulleys (sheaves) and they are now mounted at the back above the pintle hook. Will take photos to share before the painting is done.

Work done on the winch but with a few details to go. PVC pipe section, plastic sheet stock went into the build. Now to get the pulleys made up and installed at the rear of the frame. Will mean cutting off the top of the pintle hook bracket but that is how it was done on the real rig anyway. I found some mylar coated wire for the cable. 24 gauge. Seemed to work close enough to the actual size. Better than the embroidery thread I had used earlier.

Haven't done any real weathering on it yet. Just trying to get the basic building done. I'll do the underside of the fenders, put some dirt and dust on the back of the fuel tanks, and dust up the frame. Need to do the decaling first, though.

I had the same issue with the Monogram hollow back tires. Since I had several extras, I sliced off the front sidewalls of the spares and glued them to the back of the tires and then sanded down the edges. Made all the difference in the world on how the tires looked.

Both sides are complete now. Fuel tanks done and installed. The auxiliary transmission is in place along with all connecting driveshafts. Will have to take a pic of the underside to show them all. The cable has been run from front to rear on the left side. The winch build will be next which will take the slack out of the cable.

Well, the engine is done and has been installed in the chassis. Things are beginning to get wrapped up as far as the basic truck is concerned. The winch and body will be the next things to get done. In the meantime work has begun on the running boards, battery boxes and then the fuel tanks. The running boards are made of standard treadplate for the top. To get the treadplate on the face of the running board, I rough trimmed a piece of aluminum foil, embossed it on a piece of the treadplate and superglued it to the edge. After it was dry the edges were cut with a new Xacto knife blade. It's about the only way to get a nice crisp edge. The battery box is just some sheet stock built up. The top edge was rounded off and the same foil technique was used to round off the edge. Then the face was cut open and a piece of brass shim stock was made into a door with a hinge at the top and a pin latch at the bottom. Now it's time to finish up the other side.

Got the 8 blade fan and pulleys done today. Made a paper template of the fan and taped it to thin brass sheet stock. One cut on the long side of each blade and a cut on the opposite side of each blade did it. Ends were just rounded off. After cleaning up the edges, a twist with a pair of pliers on each blade and it was done. Pulleys were made of aluminum and turned to shape.

Glad you like it. Got to try and make up an 8 bladed fan and some triple pulleys for the fan belts.

Couple of pix to show progress in the Hercules DXFE diesel. M-20 publication has some good photographic detail to use as reference. It's no where near the perfection of a 3D printed engine that is posted elsewhere on the board but a lot of it will be hidden behind the long hood of the M-20. Still has a fair amount of work to be done.

Nice and neat production, Jeff. A unique rig that you don't see every day.

Oh, Man! What a beautiful engine. I am about to start a Hercules Diesel from the 1940's. You've moved the bar way up for me! Love what you have done.

Here's a look at it with some paint. Beginning to look like something.

That's just a film that should polish out quite nicely after the paint has really dried. Don't clear over it. That won't do any good. The polishing will remove the film and the shine will be there for sure. Been there, done that many times when painting on a humid day. Oh, yes. I use Duplicolor all the time so I speak from experience.

I use both an electric dremel on a long shaft and a cordless one for some things but when it comes to pin vise size drills I go back to the pin vise. Lots more control in small difficult areas to drill in. I use carbide drills that have a 1/8" shank for the pin vise. Very, very sharp but they are brittle so it pays to be careful when drilling to keep things lined up properly.

Welcome aboard, Mate! Nice work on the Camaro. This is a great place to exchange ideas and see all kinds of builds.

Thanks be to God for a steady hand and reasonably good eyesight!! The ALPS decal was a good alignment "tool".

Did some adjusting last nite. Fixed the passenger side windshield, added the wipers and the strip around the fenders that fits against the hood.

The cab finally got some paint and the dashboard is in place. Still work to do on the inside of the cab with seats, pedals, levers and steering wheel. The louvers on the hood sides are done and the hood is now set for latches that will hold it down in final position. Progress is slow but progressing. Windshield glass is in place but the right side piece needs to be removed and reset. Photos really reveal flaws that are not apparent to the eye!!

The ALPS works pretty good as well. Have made dozens of plates for several of my builds. Fire and police plates are sometimes different and neat to do.

I'm not doing the windshield swingarm bracket. But I did do the cowl vent and will do the wipers.

Will be interesting to see the printout.

I love a play on words! One of those things which tickles my sense of humor!

Work continues. The side vents for the cab were finished and installed. Hinges are soldered to the inside so that they can be opened or closed. It seems strange to see the direction that they open in but that is what was done. I would have thought they would open from the back so fresh air would get to the cab as the truck moved along. No so according to the publications I have. The drip edge on the cab was done as were two grab handles. The dashboard was painted and the gage cluster was done on a decal. Common pins used as knobs and switches. Headlight buckets were cast and pinned for mounting. Little things have been adjusted as the build goes along. I found out that the hood only is hinged at the top and not at the sides, even though every photo shows a clear line of separation. So I have to put in some interior braces to keep the sides from folding. (wasted some small hinges making them fold!). Every time there is a new learing curve!!?

I have the dash gage layout done in decals. The instruction plates will be separate. Knobs and switches will be made from common pins. Almost ready for installation but right now I'm working on the side cab vents. One is done and opens and closes. Other side tomorrow (maybe). Cowl vent also opens and closes.

Very nicely done! Does the Ford emblem on the hood sides get BMF? Great wheels, stance and color choice.