Biggu

So for me I find sometimes the nice chrome on these kits is too bright and as I had 38 years driving trucks, mostly gravel trucks pulling a pup or our low bed truck and trailer. Neither of which had chrome tanks. Our newer units had nice clean aluminum tanks that didn’t stay nice, clean and shiny ….. but I do see some highway units with beautiful tanks. So with that said I did decide to leave these tanks chrome. But I was less than impressed with the seam on the tanks. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t hide the seam. So I sanded the seam and of course took the chrome off. So to cover that , I found some ‘chrome’ automotive tape and cut the appropriate size of the tank ends and put it on the end to make it ‘chrome ‘ again. Now it isn’t perfectly chromed BUT if you look at a real chrome tank, after a long trip the ends do take a bit of a beating from road grime rocks, sand etc. so for my application and my old eyes this seems to work for me and for the most prt hid the seam ….

Added a few ‘bolts’ here and there and installed the rear ends and made sure all four rear feet touched the ground

Gary , as the other guys have said this build is beautiful. And an interesting bit on the f/a. I built this kit when it first came out many many years ago and of course didn’t notice the f/a issue. I just very recently purchased the Sprite version but have yet to crack it open. I was also thinking of front floats…. Do you think an aftermarket f/a might make life easier for some of us? I have a couple and will have to measure and compare of course but maybe it might be easier for those of us who don’t have the engineering skills Just a random thought. Love your builds and always fun to watch and a learning experience. Jeff

Thanks Brian feel free to add anything that comes to mind. This one will be a fairly ‘plain ‘ build as it goes but I am always open to more ideas and thoughts. Thanks for checking in…

I find that some times the chrome is a bit bright and some parts chromed shouldn’t be. Case in point is the hubs on the rear wheels. Its obvious they can’t not be chromed as the hub in this case is part of the rim. So careful de-chroming needs to take place. So I carefully de-chromed the hubs and ten painted them satin black. I also decided to de-chrome the air cleaners and will paint them cab color with chrome hold down strips and some CTM photo etc screen on the air intake.

So the rear brake chambers are just not good for me and in my eyes totally unacceptable as earlier mentioned. So I found Kootenay 3d , a local fellow who does some printing of truck parts. When I saw his brake chambers I was sold. So I purchased a few sets and after seeing them for real will be getting many more sets . They are wonderful. And very well detailed. Altho a little care is needed when working with them the results are light years ahead of what comes in the box. I used the stock mounting brackets and it turned out well and at least they look the part

No I don’t think I will. As I ‘thought’ the molded kit ones looked ‘ok’ considering where they are located. As a second thought looking at it now that may have been a very good idea. It’s a little late at the moment as I have it all installed. So I would say it may have been an oversight.

The next part I thought could use a little help was to add a little ‘fluff’ to the front axle by adding some bolts for some visual candy and should look ok under a splash of paint

So with a start I modified the crossmembers a bit to accept air plumbing. Not Peterbilt certified but a little artistic license and nothing earth shattering here really ..

I must confess, I wasn’t going to post this project as a wip but I have been ‘convinced’ to actually do it as a wip. My long time friend Brian Kerr suggested that I actually should participate. LOL. So here goes. I have been building model trucks off and on for a very long time. Built all of the original AMT trucks back in the day and for a kid they turned out ‘ok’, and over the years like most of us I have found some honed skills. My skills pale to a lot of you guys here but I have fun and life is short so what the heck. This truck has the blessing of SWMBO, and in fact it was kind of her idea…. She said one day “ if we were to buy a real truck and go driving on jobs around North America, what would we get?” So this is something that may possibly be something I would love to drive. But, be it known my first love is gravel trucks but I wouldn’t mind sitting behind the wheel of a nice Pete. So with that prelude I bought the “Amt” Peterbilt 378 Long Hauler. Knowing it’s a pretty good kit and looks cool when done, as I used one to convert to a gravel truck and the over all finished truck looks pretty good to my old eyes. My plan is to detail this a little more than I normally would by adding some CTM photo etch, different drive tires, 3d brake chambers ( the box stock Italeri brake chambers SUCK , as they are way undersized and only one set of spring brakes. Not for me ) and then the new 3d printed 60 Series Detroit. I will plumb the air system and add a few engine details. I’m not a pro builder by any means but I’m having fun and As I worked all my life with trucks, it is a subject I know a little bit about. I’m not sure what trailer I will put behind it be it a flat deck as I have the gorgeous Mobeius High Boy ( but I need to find some old school Lincoln logs for a load ) or possibly clean up and detail the old AMT Bullshipper. But I have a way to go before that decision has to be made…. This is the kit …

I’m in love ! Man this is out of this world. Jeff

That is a beautiful build ,Ron. Very cool old iron and back in the day they had some style even the homely trucks. They had their own style of grace unlike some of the ‘plastic cookie cutter’ units of today that all look alike. I can’t imagine how some of these old rigs were to climb in and out of. You hit the nail on the head with this. I particularly like the way you placed the air lines and electrical. Looks perfectly real. Good job. Very nicely done. Jeff

As Gary said, an absolute MASTER. Class of engineering and precise fabricating. Jaw dropping accuracy. Very pleasing and most fun to watch Jeff

Absolutely no worries, Brian… you can call me anything you want as long as it isn’t late for dinner ! Lol. Oh. I see about the measurements. I well recall the T 600 you did in company colors. That was a beauty too. Do you make your own decals ? Jeff

It was Jeff , Brian ?and you are correct the internal braces were for exactly as you mention. Some times the sand we put in the truck cud be quite wet and heavy , if guys were a bit ham fisted with the loader operation the heavy weight could bend the box sides as you surmise . The trick was that if the sander was in the configuration as you are building and the screens were damaged and removed , was to gently tilt a full bucket of sand so that it slid down the side walls of the box gently on to the chain preventing a heavy drop right on the chain itself. Like I mentioned earlier, personally I liked the screens but for some reason most of the guys didn’t. …….. Are you keeping a log of all your measurements for this build by chance? It is just so stunningly good I can’t not keep coming back to it and every time I do I see more detail I missed. Incredible skill ls buddy Jeff

Brian , those screens are PERFECT!!! I do recall they had a ‘D’ handle on each one to facilitate lifting them up. Personally I liked them but a lot of guys didn’t as they had to actually get out of the truck to push small lumps thru. A few guys who were not adept at precision loader work would try and scrape the lumps off with the loader but invariably hook the hinges with the bucket and bend things so bad they screens had to be taken off. Never to be seen again. Just out of curiosity as this is so detailed and accurate, are you giving any thought to the chain protector we had in some of our trucks? The big angle iron that was suspended over the chain to prevent the same un-adept loader operator from dropping a heavy wet bucket of sand directly on the chain thus compressing the chain tight against the bottom plate so tight that the chain would not move and then the load had to be hand bombed out enough so the chain would work? Usually if the screens were left on we didn’t encounter any chain jam but if tjey were not there then…….?

Brian, I currently have a Pete 378 highway tractor on he bench, and am trying my best to detail the GPT 3D 60 series, then some photo etch, and hopefully paint and then it may look like something... I also have a Pete 352 sorta started.... that will be a fairly detailed build, as I had done it as a kid, and not very good... I recall pestering my mom for the model and she bought it for me, and I did the best I could as a kid, but today, I know a little bit more, and have honed a few skills, so it will be a tribute to my mom for all the pestering I did as a kid to have this kit..... I showed Ken ( from the shop , you well remember him ) your build thread, and to say he was more than impressed is an under statement.... Looking forward to more updates as you post.. cheers for now J

It sure is GREAT to re-connect, been way too many years, I always enjoyed our model talks when you were in town and had a few spare minutes.... thanks for the kind words, coming from you it means a lot... this is actually my first post, as I wasn't sure anyone would be very interested, but I'm glad I did...

Brian, you certainly haven't lost your touch, this build should be linked to Henderson, I bet they would be blown away with your acute attention to the finest details, this is killing me, it is just stunningly GOOD, there is no detail you have missed..... I am in awe, my friend ! Jeff

Well, Hell's Bell's !! You have no idea how excited I was to catch up on this build, I was thinking about you just last week as a matter of fact... I told Cathy, I will post some stuff on your build but bet you wouldn't remember me... best not make any bets I can't pay it seems..... and YES, ALWAYS a half full tank... and a bent or completely worn plow shoe.....LOL... I love the 'Drain Daily ' printed on the frame rail.... Ken used to write that too....like it EVER happened?? I found the Henderson blades pretty good but again not nearly as heavy as the Frink ones, but they worked well, had a decent sized discharge chute , and we found that with the tall guard rail , it was easier and faster to bale in tight with a truck and one way to clean it, and with the deep discharge chute we could shove the snow way back, but in a tough winter we used the grader wing to step the windrow, so we could keep going with the trucks, seemed to work ok.... Your under body plow is PERFECT, excellent scratch build... so I am assuming you are going to build a 'Bowman" sander, the old school ones , we called "Cranbrook Sanders" , rather than the Tenco box? I remember that video day like it was yesterday.... I actually got 'caught' working !!!

Brian, I am MORE than impressed with your attention to detail, and your scratch building is off the clock.... the 'only' thing that may need a slight adjustment, is the cutting edge on the underbody and oneway.... they need to be ground down to about 1mm from the moldboard.................. because EVERY damn Time I went to get into a truck that is how I found the last guy left it for me ! Oh, yeah and a BIG frozen lump in the sander chute too.... are you modelling the good Frink One way or the somewhat flimsy Tenco one? Also as I was the first guy in our yard to be trained on the wing, I much preferred the first issue we had that was a front bumper mount, as I could see it much better, but I think they went to the rear mount as the front mount along with the oneway was a bit heavy for the front axle and we were breaking front spring packs, as our first set of front wings were steel and not the Plastic lined Tenco ones, and fed by the oneway, where as the rear mounts coule be fed by the underbody, We also found the Tenco front plows were very flimsy, as they were, as you remember, I'm sure, just basically and light frame with a nylon style liner and would bend under heavy pushing of wet snow when cleaning the no posts guard rails at speed, we eventually went back to the Frink style plows OUTSTANDING workmanship., https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&q=plowing+snow+in+the+kootenays#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ac0152e5,vid:lXpqIga1yHE,st:0 Here is me in action.... this is for fun only..... I miss being behind the wheel... Jeff

Cool builds

No detail over looked, the under cab detail is fabulous, and often over looked.... this is spectacular Jeff

Beautiful, just enough dirt and dust, and a little grease.... love it ! Jeff

outstanding ! Spot on ! And bone stock too, what a refreshing build, take a bow !! Jeff