PettyKW43

Does anyone have any pictures of the horizontal mount Cummins Diesel engines? Freightliner, Kenworth,and Peterbilt all had them in the 50’s and Freightliner into the mid to late 60’s. I am currently in the process of building a two story Freightliner bed bug hauler and am in need of reference pictures of the engine , particularly the oil pan shape . I have a couple of small pictures that show some of the hardware location but the pan side is the big obstacle. Also would love to see interior shots of a Freightliner so equipped!

I think the Alaskan Hauler KW will probably appear at some point ! I wish the KW/ Challenge Mixer would also make a reappearance, as been said probably a licensee issue but the Cat bulldozer made it back without calling it a Cat! Transtar cabover if done would be the Eagle II , way too many modifications to the original tooling to bring it back to the 4070a kit ! The W925 was always there in the tooling banks , battery box and sleeper were the only parts needing to be retooled!

I love this build , what did you do to change the splitter?

They should be as the hood was definitely different!

On most trucks the mirror brackets are not plated , I dip mine in Castrol SuperClean to remove the plating and then assemble them one piece at a time and paint them as a unit. If I want the chrome I will use a chrome spray . The nice part is you can get rid of all the mould lines and you end up with a good looking piece in the end with minimal effort!

In building this cab which is shared by all White Motor Corporation trucks ( also known as the Autocar cab) I myself use a thin strip of .010 as a locating tab but it isn’t necessary, I like the added strength especially with today’s model cement. Plus you can play with the alignment of the panels by sanding the backside of the cab extensions.

If you do run into any trouble after application of paint throw the painted parts into a bath of Castrol Super Clean , works great and if you are wanting to remove chrome plating this is by far the best solution to use. You can leave parts in the stuff for days, it won’t hurt the plastic and it cleans it right to bare plastic.

Not always, maybe I have been lucky in the last 50 years but I have mostly been building old AMT kits and never had a problem. But I will add that by the time I am done with most assemblies any residue that might be there is gone. However, it goes back to primer of all my parts , if on the first pass with primer I see edges of the plastic peaking through then I know that I should wash everything. I use plain old dish soap for that purpose, and have been doing it more these days since I have been using some of the Round 2 reissues . Most of the kits I am working with are 40+ years old and I don’t worry as much.

I look forward to seeing your project come together, the Astro was one of my favourite kits and have built a few in my time ! As with all AMT kits, test fit and prep are most important. Again do the main assembly of the chassis, engine etc then paint in sub assemblies!

I live due north in Winnipeg Manitoba, climate here is the same as South Dakota, when it’s high in humidity, I don’t paint , I wait till the humidity is down , it really doesn’t matter what paint you are using, prep is the most important part and making sure where you spray is clean and dry. I use air brushing, rattle cans and a full size spray gun depending on what I am working on ! Usually I prime everything, it does make a difference for coverage!

This is one of my favourite builds on this forum, it has inspired me on several different projects!!!!

What is the best way to paint? My guess is 10 different ways from 10 different people. I restore and customize cars for a living and in my line of work there are many different ways to achieve the same goal. But I will attempt my answer . In following your posts you are building a lot of commercial trucks and as such here is the method I use , my current build is a Kenworth K125 Australian Road Train (4tankers) The chassis is assembled almost complete ( less fuel tanks , rear fenders, engine and trans and wheels and tires and fifth wheel). I have primed it as a unit after all sanding and filling . The same for all 4 tankers. I will paint the chassis unit ( purple , tank frames as well) . Cab shell and tank bodies will be multi color so light color to dark, then clear as an assembly, . It depends on what type of paint you are using, hobby enamels I will use over bare cleaned plastic, but automotive paint needs an automotive primer or you will have a bad case of crazing plastic. I do tend to prime everything for paint coverage and adhesion, you end up using less paint in the long run . Any questions please ask , it’s hard to make up a general way to do it, every project has different variables! Been at this for 50+ years

True. Unless you are wanting the 79 version of the truck , the Power Wagon package as in the picture was offered starting in ‘77 . Plus if you are doing the truck as pictured, you will need to swap to a small block . Dodge dropped big block engines after ‘78.

Depending on how it’s recieved I could see Kenworth eventually dropping the W900 but for now it continues on , still my Favourite! Would love to see a model of the W990 though! Some might think it’s ugly but just like the T600 it is just a matter of getting used to it!

Depending on how accurate you want to be with your build , I wouldn’t look too hard for the 4x4 version of the Dodge kit . It comes with 4x4 components but they don’t represent what Dodge used on their trucks. The transfer case was mounted directly on the back of a shortened transmission either automatic or standard. You would have to heavily modify the parts that come with the kit, or scratch build them . As such why pay evilbay prices when a well stocked parts box will get you there! Since I have never had the the GM 4x4 kits I can’t say for sure what’s under them , but both used Dana 44 front axels and New Process transfer cases so depending what’s in that kit there might be a donor for those parts. And as for the box a couple of options, resin as has been mentioned, and old and expensive MPC kit or a fairly cheap Revell Monogram Ramcharger back half modified to fit plus it might also have the proper drive line pieces , even though it’s 1/24 it wouldn’t be too much work to make those components work! I used to own a 78 just like the picture and have wanted to build a model of my truck.

As another side note , the top was smooth until sometime in ‘67 when the v shaped bulge appeared. And yes a narrow nose hood could be had with an extended cowl panel but few if any were ordered that way !

That is a great build! The cut down Transtar II bumper is a great touch!!

Glad to help! It took me awhile to find them but strangely enough I found them by accident looking for something else on the Cummins web page! I was actually looking for info on the pancake mount inline six that I didn’t find. I am going forward with a little imaginerring!

48 long 35 wide 33 high . Should have read before I posted

You are right Brian, basic dimensions are as follows... 903 Cummins 68in long 39in wide 35in high . 555 Cummins... 48in high 35in long33in high . Physically they look the same , I was planning to downsize one of the 903’s to put into a couple of Dodge projects!

The available small Cummins V8 had similar architecture to the 903 found in the old Ertl 4270, and for modeling purposes I would use it as is but file off the 903 cast into the valve covers to do a period correct diesel variation, but a retro fitted truck could have any engine. The small Cat engine in the Louisville kits would be a natural choice but again filing of the badges off the valve covers!

As a side note Kenworth was still using the one piece sleeper box doors as opposed to a separate storage compartment door and also the back panel of the box was a ribbon shape much like the Mercury box! The change to the two piece door and flat rear box panel started somewhere in late 70 to sometime in 71.

There is a nice one shown in a video on YouTube with a V12 Detroit, in a 67Kenwotth

What I would do is add a small half circle of tubing to the front frame rail and blend it in, then take a coil spring from the parts box trimmed to fit between the bottom of the frame rail and the lower control arms. Front is done and at the back I would use the rear suspension assembly from any AMT 90’s stock car kit and this chassis is done. But on the Monte Carlo kits the rear suspension parts to convert are already planned for the kit.

Amt did miss the mark on the greenhouse of the 71 kit but MPC didn’t get it right either . If you look at the promo the roof is actually a too tall but the 1/4 window area is a bit more accurate. Solution fix’em both ! Nice to see the kit come back either way! As for the Demon , it wouldn’t be a big stretch to see them kit it at some point, tailpanel and front clip !