Biggu

Tiny update, doesn’t look like very much but translates into a fair bit of bench time. I didn’t care for the chrome air cleaners as there are many builds with them as kit stock chrome. So wanting to do something a little different, I stripped the chrome, cleaned up the seams which is very difficult with chrome. Then painted them in can color, added my go to automotive tape for the hold down straps and then added the CTM photo etch intake mesh. Personally I think the pe mesh really makes the air cleaner much more realistic. Not sure the pics will do it justice. In real life it is beautiful.

Thanks Victor. I’m glad you are following along. Always interested to hear from anyone following along. Shot some paint on her today so when it cures and hardens up a bit maybe a pic or two. Comments are always welcome. Thanks again Jeff

Thanks Gary. I appreciate your comments. I must confess that CTM pe is really nice and fits beautifully. The engine has printed details that are fabulous. It is a bit of a shame a lot is hidden away . Hopefully another update in a few days. Thanks for checking in Jeff

I just LOVE this one, you nailed it perfectly, heavy haul is so cool ! Jeff

Wow, now THAT is modelling. I bet if you made your tracks available to the masses they would sell like wild fire ! What a fabulous improvement , Charles. I am watching this build with excitement and awe. This is going to be epic. Can't wait for more ….. Jeff

Like the other guys have mentioned, sorry to see you go but retirement is delightful. Thank you for a great product to which I have enjoyed working with over the years and your absolute OUTSTANDING customer service, you went out of your way for me recently and that was above and beyond. I wish you all the best Jerry. Thanks again, and very pleased things will carry on Jeff

OH, NO,Brian, don't get me wrong, today , automatics are THE thing, LOTS of the trucks have them and yes even our plow trucks, it is just 'MY" preference to have a stick... your automatic is well placed, and is very much like the real deal of today no question there for sure, and it looks good the way you set it up, and besides, its your truck, and you can set it up any way you see fit, and this is fit !

This build comes under the "Epic" title....your 60 series looks great, did you turn those pulleys? They look really good.... interesting what you did and your take on the automatic.... personally for me, and I am only speaking for me , I much prefer a stick, 13 or 18 speed is best for the way I went, as you can split the gears , automatics, were just starting to come in when I left, drove one once, and felt I wasn't completely in control. Just me tho...I felt with a 13 or 18 I was more a part of the truck, like an extension of me..... way back in the day we had an old school Allison automatic, and the down shift torque when the truck was empty was fairly severe and consequently it was in the rhubarb almost more than on the road........... it was used somewhat sparingly after that, and sticks were the more preferred....it took some skill to be a good plow truck operator, with all the stuff that was required in the cab.... plow controls, wing controls, shifting, steering, not spilling the coffee.... LOL!! ?

I like where this is going Steve.... looking really good..... Jeff

It’s inspiring me to get mine out and finish it …. Looking forward to the next update Jeff

I do recall that , pal but with all the research and the instructions ……. I will avoid the bumps as they are very hard on spring packs and king pins…….. just like I did with the real trucks.

Came into this world broke, may as well leave broke …?

Thanks Jeff. The fittings really do look good and are well designed bit are just a touch fiddly with big fat fingers but I sure will be getting more. And you are right about the pe. And I am really glad us truck guys are getting it as well. What a great time to be a scale modeller !! Jeff

Niiicee. I really like this trailer. Wish it was out there in ‘mass’ I would love to get one. Beautiful build Warren. Jeff

And this is the basic inspiration for this build altho not the same colors but some of the same bits here and there. The light blue and red trucks were parked at a rest area near Revelstoke BC back in June and the fellow in the red truck was from Quebec and couldn’t speak very good English , but was over joyed when I asked if I could take a few pics of his Pete. He was very proud of it. He was heading to Vancouver Island. No one around the light blue one bit it was REALLY nice.

I used the small interior upgrade set for the dash parts, I like the results. Even had to add the Peterbilt decal on the glove box door

So somewhere along the line I mentioned I was going to add a little pe to this build. I use the CTM stuff and I find it really nice and I’m not a hugely experienced pe guy but it sure adds to the build. So this is big upgrade set I will try to use mostly

Geez, Brian !

Love the Torque Thrusts !….

Probably not a lot this time Brian, it will be clean but not as clean as my Corvette. Ken said I need to slop up the engine with big oil leaks …. LOL

Steering box is in and power steering hoses attached. I will let this set up and then probably the front pulleys and a/c and alternator. Then rad. Thats the tentative plan anyway.

My next thing is the steering box…. I added CTM fittings to the box so that I can hopefully connect power steering lines. And made some caps instead of ‘heat swage’ the pins for the working steering. I have never had lick with the hear swage thing

Ok. We’re in … holy moly that was a tight fit !!! I teat fitted it 3 or four times buy was VERY careful not to break any protruding fittings. To follow the instructions they suggest to remove the small tab on the front engine crossmember so that the engine sits down flat rather than with a front lift. I did that and the engine sits nicely flat on the front cross member and the corresponding rear engine mounts. Looks good , BUT a lot of the finer details are hidden by the frame rails, sadly. All fuel and oil filters and ECM box are tucked away and can only be seen from under the truck. The engine looks every bit the part of the real deal. Also in hind sight or if I were to do this again, I would most definitely sand, or trim, or shave down the top part of the inner frame rail ( as it wouldn’t be noticed anyway) to facilitate an easier and less stressful engine install . As it is I installed the oil filters as close to the engine block as I could as there is a little wiggle room but the filters are still hard against the frame rail. Never the less I shoe horned it into place and it looks good . I dos this install without all the front bits on . I think I can install all the pulleys, fan, a/c, and alternator as the engine sits or I HOPE I can otherwise I may be diddled.

Brian , I wish I could have taken you for a ride. The best nights were a heavy snow storm with LOTS of snow and pushing that one way for hours on end and watching the discharge chute and the thousands of tons of snow blasting onto the shoulder. It was a rush and I loved it. The more snow the better. Also knowing in the back of your mind you were providing some safety to the travelling public. I took a lot of people for rides , you know the ones, those that said all we did was sleep in the trucks? I changed many minds over the years. Most said they didn’t know how we did it and said they couldn’t do it. I think you would have had fun and really enjoyed it. I would love to do it one more time. Lol Jeff

And here is a pic of the engine and transmission finally mated getting ready for frame install. Note that I didn’t put the filter decals exactly the same as they never are in real life , at least never were when I did an oil change. I think it adds just a little dan of realism. Also airline for the range selector