Biggu

Thanks Brian, no not really, the taller headache rack is more for the rounded or aerodyne style sleepers, and the lower one is much more suited for the flat top sleepers.... the taller one would have worked but I think in this particular case the lower one looked just a little sharper ..........

I obtained a ‘work’ platform from the boys at 3dConcepts for the headache rack and winch. Got it installed and the sleeper sits on it and lines up to the cab perfectly.

The engine is installed and filled the spot quite well. And everything seems to fit ok

There is an OH&S requirement here in BC as well the BC Motor Vehicle act and Commercial Transport act makes it a requirement or law . And as a safety item, its a really good idea. And most of the racks or a lot of them are made by Peerless right here in British Columbia. I’ not sure of the regulations in the USA.

What a great up date , Steve. I’m thinking I need to get new glasses , as I sure don’t see the oddities you do, the whole build looks great to me and the improvements you are making is turning this into a spectacular build.

The 3dConcepts Air cleaners installed and the modified air intake as well. And the exhaust pipe as well

A comparison of the taller and shorter headache racks. I picked the short one

It’s time for a mock up. The paint has been laid, it is Stop Light Red MM enamel and went down very well. I wish they hadn’t stopped making it ……. But I digress. Anyway here is a shot of a mock up… showing the changed out rims and tires. Just trying to make it a little different than a run of the mill box stock build , I have two different Peerless headache racks. A tall one and a short one, this shows the taller one a d looking at it , I decided it was too tall and opted for the shorter one which to my eyes looked better with a flat top sleeper. I also used the automotive ‘chrome’ tape for the lower aluminum body panel that was on ALL of our trucks.

In my experience with heavy haul they need a winch and a decent headache rack. So once again 3d Concepts “ to the rescue” as they say. Karl at 3d is an Alberta crane operator and has huge working knowledge of winches and has now put a number of different ones in his catalog. The one picked is a Braden TR12 which I believe is a 75 ton winch and a Peerless Headache rack which the real ones are built in Penticton British Columbia ….

With the engine change , as mentioned , I also changed out the turbo as once again, to my eyes the Italeri kit ones look a little under sized. To me they look too narrow so I thought I would change it out for an old school AMT turbo off one of my 40 year old junk yard engines. So that’s what happened, a bit of a test as it had to be cut-off the old one taken apart as best as possible. Apparently I used some glue back then 🙄… re assembled and slightly modified. And it fit just right. But with that as it is bigger than the standard kit one I had to seriously modify the air intake for it. Not anything like some of the mods other guys are doing on this site but never the less it needed to be completely cut into pieces and remanufactured with different measurements. Annnd……. It fits !!

Thanks Scott, and yes Karl and the boys have some great stuff and sounds like lots more to come. Thanks for checking in

Yeah go for it , Landon. I like them and will get an other couple sets. They paint up easily as well. I don’t think you will be disappointed. Thanks for checking in.

Thanks pal !

Thanks, Brian..... painting the air cleaners just changes it up a little bit............... the weathering is a bit of a challenge, but over all I'm fairly satisfied.... thanks for checking in.. I appreciate that...

. All the running gear was installed and as with the changes the kit wheels had to go. So the drivers are 2 hole Budds that I got from Jamie at Mo’luminum years ago and originally were for my other Western Star build ( the Arrow Transport one ) but they never made it to that build …. So here they are. The floats and tires are from Paul at STSupply, and once they were installed the frame needed ‘dusting ‘ up as this isn’t going to be a mud runner but one that may have been on the odd gravel road during the last few weeks

So with all the changes on this and the extra a/m I thought well may as well try some printed Donaldson air-cleaners. So with my fairly significant order to Karl at 3d Concepts I added a set of air-cleaners. They are very nice and detail up nicely. Although as with most if not all printed air cleaners and unlike the kit ones there are no locating pins which in the big world is not that big of a deal. So I had to take a few seconds and think about how to mount them so they didn’t look like a glue bomb… so I took a piece of channel stock and mounted it on the cab sides. Then a trial fit, it was discovered the air intake was a tad long to fit my application…. So I easily sanded it down to the correct length. The resin that Karl and Michael use is very easily sanded and in no time I had everything in place….. the air cleaners were painted a wash on the screen and my go to chrome tape ….. the pics don’t do justice and the chrome looks way better in real life , but here are a few pics to show

What a beauty !!!

Oh goodie another heavy haul. This is gonna be great.

So , as I watched Brian’s world class build of his Western Star and his checking the fitment of parts got me to thinking I had better do something of the same. I got to thinking about the issue Brian had with the dog house. As my truck does not have a set back f/a I was ‘fairly confident’ things would be ok , but I did change the engine and was a little bit concerned about engine height. As this engine came from a Pete 378 the firewall and dog house is a little different than the Western Star. Anyway. I slid the engine into place then set the floor pan/dog house into place. A fairly tight but good fit , just like our real ones ….. also note that I also changed out the turbo once again I thought the Italeri turbo was under sized and way too thin , so into the old parts bin and I found an old AMT Cummins and liberated the turbo from that engine and used it here Looks better to me and there is some slight modifications for it as well but that is on another update …

Thanks Brian , it was a very precise and deliberate operation to burnish it down but I am happy with the final results as in real life it does look more like aluminum.

That sure looks like a heavy duty tractor, JM. Great job ! And, you make your own decals. Way ahead of me buddy. Can’t wait to see the new hood !

One thing that kind of bugs me a bit about the Italeri kits is the chrome. It is beautiful but to my old four eyes MUCH too shiny for an operational truck. For a show room model or show truck , it is wonderful but that kind of shine doesn’t last ling in the real world once on the road …. So I looked for a solution with out using those fancy paints I have no experience with ….. I decided to use real automotive ‘chrome’ tape …. It isn’t any where near as shiny but shiny enough to be somewhat convincing ( to me at least ). So I stripped the battery boxes and prepped them for paint and then took some of the tape and covered the battery box cover. The battery box itself will be painted cab color that’s why I stripped the chrome

So as I was changing things , I saw some really nice replacement seats from 3d Concepts here in Canada. So, what the heck I placed an order for these beauties. They are nicely detailed and have separate arm rests to pose as you like. I added the little W for fun. These are nice seats and a little wider than the stock ones that to me seem a touch under scale, maybe not but these most definitely look the part

So with a few added details to the engine it fit nicely. Even tied in with the rad. So that was a win.

Thanks Steve. Very generous comments … I appreciate you and the other guys dropping by… I will have another update soon.