Biggu

After a good discussion with Ron, who is building the same kit , he mentioned that it appears there are 6 carriage bolts on the front axle spring pack rather than 4, which makes total sense as there should be a couple bolts ‘between’ the front dual spring packs to keep the spacing and to keep them from compressing into each other thus wearing bushings, and the springs themselves causing a potential failure. Makes perfect sense, but very difficult to ascertain by the lousy photos, but studying the VERY few I have, it certainly does appear there sure could be a couple carriage bolts between the spring packs, so I will make that happen. So with a center bolt shared by each spring pack, it essentially gives each pack 4 bolts to hold each pack to the front axle by sharing the center bolt . I think thats a reasonable explanation…… thanks for pointing that out Ron, I may have missed that.

With the drop front part of the frame , I’d say Kenworth. Kenworth had a torsion bar suspension back in the day. So that’s my assumption is Kenworth…….

Lol you’re right. I forgot to mention that. I’m trying to emulate your skills , Brian. Your outstanding work on the P&S truck pushes me to try harder ….

Ok. Well now that I have the rear spring packs ‘fixed’ with a little extra details , I looked at the front spring pack. This truck was a very complicated engineering feat back in the day. It was very heavy and needed to carry a significant load . So with that the VERY heavy rear spring pack with an ‘overload’ set was required as that is where the bulk of the weight would be carried. As the truck had a short wheel base of 11 ft 8 inches a lot of the load weight would fall on the front axle as well as the weight of the 16v71N of 4800 lbs (dry ….. add oils an it is over 5000 lbs ) a large set of springs were required up front as well. A huge heavy 9 leaf main pack and 16 auxiliary leafs ( over loads ) on the rear, could not be used on the front axle so as to accommodate some modicum of driver comfort but still needed to carry the weight, a side by side double pack of 9 leaf sets per side was used. So it was a shallower set bit could still support the weight required. The kit springs are there an represent the double pack “ok” but also needed a little attention. So I assembled them as per, then sanded off the molded in U bolt ‘detail’ and added some rod , a base plate and bolts. Thos will tie in with the axles when the time comes. Yes the rods are way too long but better to have more than is needed….

I do agree. I guess there is only so much that can be done with injection moulding and it is incumbent on us to add the details as we see it, I just hoe we can see it🤔😉

FUN , is the main objective

Thanks, Ron, that is kind of what I had in mind, but being covered in little yellow shards of plastic, and staring at this stuff for hours, makes a guy have second thoughts......... Ok I will keep at it... hopefully it will pay out.... oh I am now sanding and cleaning the batteries.... I HATE black plastic..... when I sand it , it's like sanding coal, it's all over the place, and makes everything seem dirty... and yes I use water when I'm sanding.... can't we just have regular white or grey plastic, please??

Well it has been a while since some sort o up date . Once again this isn’t a huge update such as Ron does but more of one to say that, yes I’m still at it. It appears most of my time is doing sub assemblies and prepping for some paint but also not getting too far ahead to where I can’t run hoses etc … so it is spending time looking ahead on the instructions, doing some, leaving parts off but trying to remember to make sure those parts are put on the truck later on …… I know …. I need a doctor……. Anyway I have been sanding seams and cleaning up a bit of flash etc. as an example here is the rear spring pack. First pic is just assembled off the sprue….. second pic is the spring pack seam sanded and cleaned up with a top plate added and 4 bolts to hold the ‘U’ bolts. I think it makes a difference …..or am I wasting my time … this little deal took over an hour …..

Not to highjack Brian’s thread , but surprisingly those lights were quite resilient , and they were well needed, as when cutting a center pass on a 3 lane with dry snow the wing became invisible and people would actually try and pass on the right , we had several wings hit like that. I never understood why people would pass a working snow plow on the right. ……. Now back to Brian’s spectacular build…..

Like all the guys are saying, Lee this is a really cool build and will really be an eye catcher when all decalled up. Had no idea L&E had been here for over 100 years. Thats really interesting …… up here in the great white north , back in the day this combination of tractor and trailers were called an ‘A’ train ,5th wheel, pintle, 5th wheel with both trailers , Lead and Pup the same length , this gave way of course to the B train and now today the Super B’s. And then the set up with a long Lead and a short pup was known as a ‘C’ train.

Looks like a lot … must’ve been fun.

Thats all great …….. until you get a flat …… at lest with duals you can still ‘limp’ the truck to a shop , loaded or not … duals for this fat boy …. Please. 😋

Can I order a large beer and a bucket of popcorn too please? That will go nicely with this build. ……

Talk about raising bars !!!! Holy, is that new grille ever nice ! I love the looks of that. Beautiful scratch building. Very impressive ! This is going to really look cool. I love where this is going.

Sweet. Thanks Brian

I'm in , Lee....

Thanks for that Brian, IF I dive into this, I mat rely on some of your expertise now and again, if that's ok, being new to this I'm sure there is a learning curve....

From what I have seen it looks really good, and can be somewhat addicting.... I have been a flight simmer for years and have some cool birds, but it is or can be a bit on the dull side as once in the air, you are kind of alone, where as dealing with traffic, seems to me to be a bit more interactive?

By looking at the video’s on you tube , I think ‘addiction’ is a very good description, it looks addictive as it is SO detailed and with a few addons it makes it incredibly realistic. Trouble is , a guy could spend a lot of money on controllers etc….. but it is better than some other habits, I’d say.

Love the ‘ for immediate release’ very cool way to present a very sharp well executed build . The truck looks spot on , the color choice is perfect and combined with the period correct trailer , finishes this build perfectly. Beautiful job, Ron ! I love it.

I drove for 38 years and never got to drive the NEW Pete or any other new truck ….ever

Another FULL update Ron ……. You are blasting along at a great rate. And all the added extras haven’t slowed the build, its looking great , buddy

This is cool…… I see there is a square quad headlight up grade for the KW cabover too. I really like the shorty version. This has great possibilities , looking forward to seeing this one come together ….

72 views …… and …… nobody?

Steve, I totally agree with all the guys, and can only add to the observations , by confirming that what you are doing is REAL modelling and not just ‘assembling’, modelling takes a multitude of skills, to fulfill a vision . Your attention to details and scratch skills turn your rigs into beautiful representations of the real deal. A pleasure to watch come together. Keep going , Mate.