Warren D

Starting the next project, a GMC General Wrecker. I like the look of the former Jamie Davis General so here goes. AMT General kit and a Holmes wrecker off a First Gear Mack wrecker. I used the same wrecker body for the Brockway wrecker I did a couple of years ago. This one will have a weighted bumper out front and a few other little things. It will be basically patterned after Jamie's but as I'm not up to scratch building a Holmes 1601, it'll have a 750 lattice boom. First thing i'm finding is the AMT kit has some issues, biggest one so far is no locating pins on the front springs and the left side front shock needs a new mounting hole on the frame, it's off by about 1/8 inch. I'm sure there will be other issues as I progress.....

Looks great!

Very well done!

Calling it done:

Calling this one done. AMT Autocar Dump kit with AITM Brockway 361 cab,hood, tanks, wheels and tires. Paint is Testors Aztek Pearl metallic blue, silver blue is custom blend of the blue pearl and silver pearl. Dump body is Pollyscale silver. I have yet to get the metallic pearls to photograph well. I added exhaust exits to the back of the dump box as I remembered growing up.

Title says it all.

Great job! I like those, always wanted to build one. I want a real one, too!

Very well done!

Looks good!

Came out great. I've e-mailed them several times in the past year or two, I've wanted to get one, no one ever replies.

Progress shot. Chassis is painted along with the cab. Fenders have also been painted and ready to install when the cab is ready. Dump box almost ready for the frame, once on will need to pipe the exhaust to the dump body. So far so good, colors are silver blue pearl and dark blue pearl, both metallics.

Nice color choice!

Very well done! Those single screw COE's always looked dangerous to me, must have been a rough ride with that short WB.

I'll be taking note of your mods for when I get to mine.

It might qualify for it's own zip code!

Quick update, this is a mock up to check fit of the dump box and cab with the oversized rubber. Dump body has been painted, need to add some detail paint. I was going to try the chrome paint Mopar D used on his SuperBee fleet but after doing some test shots, I wasn't sure I could shoot a vertical surface without it running or sagging. I resurrected some old Pollyscale silver and got it to go through the airbrush, came out with the look I'm after. The dump body is a bit off the back of the frame so it looks like a short extension is in order. Cab is not the one for this build, it's from the on-hold Convoy build but it's all in one piece as opposed to this one which won't see the fenders mated to the nose until after paint. A/C unit on this one is too high, if I go with a/c I'll have to find a lower profile unit.

Good start, I always de-chrome the engine parts. Not sure why they chrome certain parts, maybe a carry over from the car kits.

X2!

The 361 comes with seperate fenders, they were still in the bag when I took the pic.

Well, my hawks must have been on a break 'cause the squirrels got through! This is what happens when the paint for the dump box is late, I got to thinking about some of the exhaust heated dump bodies I've seen and this is the result: Two holes cut, screen installed and "covers" fabbed and installed.

Dave at AITM reccommended the A-cars for donor kits. I've done most of the Brocks with the A64B as a donor and it certainly is the easiest conversion. The Pete wrecker chassis worked but was a bit tougher.

Dump box is almost ready for paint, chassis is being modified for the Brockway cab. After doing several Brockway conversions to Autocar kits, this one is somewhat familiar territory (though it's the first Autocar dump kit I've used, previous conversions have been the A64B tractor kits). Work on the chassis continues until the battery boxes, air tanks and fuel tanks are mounted. Once all the extras are on, it'll be off to paint.

No, the fronts will be fine. Thankfully, last years Widow Woman Brockway 361 stalled at the decals and I have a complete cab with fenders I can use for mock up. It's the rear suspension that's the problem, I can't narrow the suspension enough to get the tires under the dump body. I've got an idea which should get it to look right but it'll require several hours. Once started, there is no going back so I'll have to make it work.

I'm off and running and just a day in, have encountered my first issue. I intend to use some oversized wheels and tires from AITM as shown below. I checked fender clearance, etc on an A-Car dump I built in the mid-late 70's. Everything looked good, I checked the front fit this morning and it looks like I may have to move the cab back a touch and therefore the dump box but we're only in the 0.10" range so no big problem. I noticed the fronts sit at the outer edge of the fender so I decided to check the duals in back. The results aren't good, I'm still trying to see if they'll fit the width of the dump body. If so, major mods will be required. I picked this build as I wanted something easy for a change, maybe I should just build one straight from the box.....

Interesting subject, well done!