Oldmopars

I like it, the logo look great. I also like the white wheels. It makes it look like an average working trailer, not some show piece.

Very nice, I am doing the same dozer and lowboy, however mine are rebuilds, not new. It will be cool if you do all three.

This is just more evidence of my ADHD. I have had this one on and off the bench for a couple of months now. I got a little more done, but been slow on the updates. I got some paint on the interior and the cab. Lots more to do on the cab. Engine is detailed for the most part, may still do some light weathering. Still need to weather the interior and make it look like it is slightly used, not factory fresh. The straps on the fuel tank and the clamps on the intake hose are both aluminum tape, as are the air tank straps. The yellow and orange tint on the lights is done with colored Sharpie. It turns out good, tinted and still clear. I went for the Grey plastic look for the bumper and fender guards on the cab to give it the fleet truck look. I want it to look like it is a working truck for a construction outfit. Maybe next month I will finish it.

I already have plans for a solar panel. It is not going to be a strictly 70's correct van, more of a 70's van that someone found in good shape and is using today. So like if I found a low mile original 73 Chevy camper van and started using it today. It may have 2 or 3 solar panels. My theme is more Ultimate Adventure than "70's" van. I just really like the 70's era vans and want to keep the 70's feel.

Can you imagine being in the military and being told you had to ride that crazy contraption? I would go AWOL.

Looking good.

Been plugging away at the Ultimate Adventure Van. I have most of the interior camper stuff build and painted. I made a table and covered it with a map, cleared it and hit it with some Future to make it shine. I then trimmed it with foil to have that shinny edge. However that is not shown in these pictures. I chromed the sink, added a faucet and the stove. The stove is shown with the cover down, when the lid is up it acts as a firewall to protect the van interior walls. This is what all these vans and many small camper had. All cabinet doors are rounded like in the Westfalia style campers. The fridge is still square as they all are. I have the roof in what may be the final primer coat. One more sanding and it may be ready for some color. The side window will have flat glass mounted on the surface and I hope will be black or at least tinted. Still looking for some dark tinted clear plastic. I am thinking I may find a plastic bottle or something from the dollar store that will work. I plan to print some kind of era correct floor, but my printer died and I need to replace it, so that will have to wait. Final shot is a mock up, still a ways to go.

I have a soft spot for wagons and this one is outstanding. The wood grain is top notch and the color/paint is perfect. Incredible job!

I love it, I am a huge fan of quirky cars of the 60-80's. This turned out fantastic, love the color combo, just right for the era. And the interior is perfect. Great job.

I think you did a great job. This is one reason I have not done any VW kits. I know them too well and all the corners they cut to make the kit bug (pun intended) me. It has been years, but at one time I knew them so well, I could look at parts at a swap meet and tell you what year range the parts fit, even crazy little obscure parts like an E-Brake sprag or a trim clip. I was ill. Yes, most of the mods he did do apply to the 63, I think the window change happened in 65. However the kit tail lights are right for a 63 I think, but not the front turn signals. The book he refers to will be your friend, that and Google.

Well, I have been doing some more research on my Fire Fighting theme. I want it to look like a Fire Fighting Dozer truck and trailer combo, but was not sure about the color. Forest service green did not seem right, but I was not too sure there were any red dozers. I did some looking and found several examples of where the truck, trailer and dozer are all red. So, that is the direction that I plan to go. I love the first picture and wish I had a Transtar II to do, but my F2674 will do.

So, I have been working on the cab. I got it smoothed out and the windows cut. Still lots of finish work to do. I added a trim line to break up the massive face that it has. This gives some contour to the top. I also made a little "Bird" to go in the V. It is the company emblem. I made it out of styrene and covered it with foil. It polished up nicely. It will get glued on after paint.

So, I have doing some more work on this. The cab was giving me fits. I had the basic shape, but was not sure how to make it into a styrene cab. I tried cutting a sheet the size of the front of the cab and heating it, then bending it to the right shape. This resulted in a failure. The sheet wanted to warp and not form evenly side to side. It would have taken 3lbs of bondo to correct. So, I came up with a second plan. I cut strips of 1/16th in Styrene and assembled them like planks on the under structure. This went much much better. I now have something smooth enough that it will only take a very thin skim coat to smooth out. I am working on the interior next. It has an over the cab sleeper. It is big enough for a double bed. So, I will fill the space with a double bed. There will be a ladder that goes from the drivers area to the sleeper. Should have plenty of space to be able to move around with ease. I found a set of bumper off a 41 Plymouth that once cut and put end to end are a good fit for the front. I taped a set of lights on the front just to see what they would look like. Not sure if I want quads or not, or if I will turn them 90 degrees. However some simple pods and the quads could look cool. Now that I have the cab done, I am thinking I will redo the trailer part. I needed to sheet it with styrene to get the look I am after, so I think I will just use the floor and make new sides and roof. It will be less work and easier to make everything line up correctly. This will also allow me to make the side skirts as part of the side of the rear. Fewer parts, fewer seams. The area covering the front wheels will get cut out and blended in with the rest of the side skirts. So, here is where I am at now.

So, I have come up with a theme for this build. Last year right after we moved into our new house, a wild fire came through and burned 75% of our 15 acres, however due to the awesome fire crews our house and about 50 other houses were saved and only 2 structures were damaged. They used dozers to create fire line and divert the fire away from our houses. So, they are heroes in my book. The main crew had to move on before I could get back into my house, but the mop up crews came through after and I was able to thank them. So, I am going to build this as a tribute to the fire crews that saved our houses. They worked really hard and deserve to be recognized. https://kimatv.com/news/local/conrad-fire-in-selah-reaches-4000-acres-monday

Well, looks like I can reasonably close. I am happy with how it turned out. Thanks for the pictures, this will help me with the rest. That second picture looks like to owner made some changes. I see 2 AC Delco alternators and 2 electric fans. Neither of these would have been stock during the years these engines were made. Still good to get these pictures.

Everything after the 36HP looked the same as far as the block. The heads changed when they went to the Dual Port heads on the 1600, the 1600 also got an Alternator and in the 70's Fuel Injection. The easy way to ID a 36hp engine is that the Generator stand is molded as part of the block. After that it is a separate part bolted on with 4 bolts. You will also note the the 36hp Fan shroud is different, it is more round, the later ones had a flat spot in the center at the top. Yes, the 1300 was unique to 1966. However, in a 1:24/25 scale, it is impossible to tell the difference from any 1200-1600 single port. All engine1200cc and up, starting in 1960 had the removable Gen/Alt pedestal. As for the other bolt on parts, they changed so much you would have to be an expert to know what belongs on each year. Add to the confusion, what was available in the USA was different than what they got in Europe. In Europe you could get a 1300cc all the way to the end, but in the USA it was 1966 only. Throw in the 50 other countries and odd specs for each and it become more difficult. All this to say, the 1966 engine will look just fine and be "Correct" for your 1960 Beetle.

I don't know how set you are n making it accurate, but one thing to keep in mind is that the size of the side and rear glass changed in 1965. All the glass got bigger. This effected the amount of metal between the glass and the drip rail. It also effected the front and rear windows. If you look at the pictures below, you will see the difference in the size of the windows and the shape of the sheet metal above the front glass. It does not curve down, but goes straight out. I wanted to show you so you would know. I am a huge VW nut, owned over 30, mostly Beetles. When I see a VW going down the road, this is one of the ways I can figure out what year it is. So, this kind of thing is important to me. However, if this is just a fun build, and that is great, press on. Carefully compare the size and shape of the windows.

Someday, I am going to treat myself to one of these. Maybe a birthday or Christmas gift to myself. But better be soon as the prices seem to just keep going up.

I can not begin to tell you how jealous I am. I low that kit and have never been able to find one at a price I was willing to pay.

This is where I am currently at with it. Still need to be detailed some more, but it is getting there. I am doing some painting today. But, as you can see, I just used the pictures I posted and "Guessed" at what the pan may have looked like. I feel that it is at least reasonably close seeing as there are no pictures to judge it from.

That looks awesome. What you going to put on it?

Well. I got got the pictures you see, the rest I guessed at and used other flat engines to get ideas from. I know my engine is not 100% accurate, but it is close enough. Anyway, there are no pictures that I can find to prove me wrong, so its good enough. Its probably as accurate as many of the kits we are offered, or better.

This is going to be cool. You don't see many "conventional" trucks in Europe. I know it has to do with the laws and such, but I wish there were more. Even the T143H is shorter than most USA conventional trucks.

There is a guy on E-Bay that sells several different utility boxes and loads of other cool stuff. I bought one of the utility boxes and asked for him to leave off the doors. He did and sent the doors separate in a bag. His doors do not match my truck. However he has great stuff, it is all sheet stock and Evergreen, but for the price I could not buy all the stuff and make it myself. Here is a link to one of the boxes. https://www.ebay.com/itm/rescue-utility-truck-body-1-24-1-25-scale-Diorama/222507744700?hash=item33ce7ebdbc:g:MMsAAOSw-09Z8eri Just check out his store for more stuff.

You might want to post this in the 2019 B.R.B.O thread, this is from last year and is, well dead.