BK9300

Glad Ken likes it! I’ve also had occasion to talk with Craig off and on about ‘what is this’ kind of questions. No, I won’t be doing a wear saver - don’t think I ever had any pics of one. I had intended to add the protective hose for the ram hydraulic lines up front, and, in looking at pics of the underside of the truck, I see I need to do that for the fuel lines, too. Might have to be a split hose at this point but split would be hidden! Thanks for the observations - always appreciated

Beautiful build - looks very cool in its shop!

Another crisp looking build - you pay a great deal of attention to the paint, finishes and decaling of your builds and it shows up in your photos. I like the outdoors photography you and others do - adds a lot.

Fine looking mockup! Good luck with ideas tomorrow.

Didn't get to the tank straps today, but did make headway on the tank's fuel line/return line. Also got the start of the tranny cooler connections, then immediately got sidetracked into trying to better understand how the ends of the two hoses from the tranny actually needed to be routed to the cooler. This was a problem because of the front plow lift group/bumper assembly. Had to temporarily set the lift group in place, and position one of the frame side braces in position, to determine the best route to the fittings (no pictures from real truck for this). So, while I didn't get the hoses finally connected, I figured out a hose routing that worked and got excited by how the lift group looked in place, and took a couple pics of the mockup - bonus! A few things going on here - fuel line fittings attached to fuel supply/return lines and a couple of 'oops' items. I'm not, never have been, a truck driver - so don't always pay attention to otherwise important details. The driveshaft section from output shaft to steady bearing is not quite in phase - I understand that's not a good thing on full size trucks! Secondly, 'someone' backed another truck into the exhaust shroud before this one could even get out of the shop. . . Fittings in place - Best I could come with today for hose to pipe connections for the tranny cooler lines; also got the right hand mounting bracket painted black - I noticed in an earlier picture that I had not painted it All this was set up to finally determine the end routing for the hoses to tranny cooler. The two hoses will come up from under and then up beside the plow lift to truck frame connection - no pic from the real truck for this, but did see several versions of this online and in some Western Star's Builder Body series of publications. Always a problem to solve - in doing these temporary placements, the plow lift group will ultimately need to be brought forward a bit further - that meant the side braces needed to move forward as well - that meant the brace plate along side the frame now conflicted with pass through air line from the front brake pods. So, if you look closely, that line has been removed on this side, and will need to drill a hole in the brace plates for both air lines and reattach them. Again, if I kept looking at pics from real truck, that is exactly how it is supposed to be. Anyway, all makes for a good mockup! Hoses for plow lift cylinder will come out of (and go back into) the rectangular cutout in lift group. Going to have just enough room beside the cooler fittings to set in the Western Star hood hinges that I hope to make in the next little while (then I'll cut back the kit frame's much lower hood hinge pivots) Time for dinner! Take care, and as always, appreciate your comments and or questions.

Great update, Charles. Very trick, how you made the winch operable - good engineering!

Still waiting for my sander decals, too - unfortunately, Terry got them mailed to me just before the postal strike up here started.

Tough looking truck, all business - nice job!

A very fine collection of customized trucks and trailers, very fine.

Very fine looking build, Dave. I heard STS is very busy - will you have to wait long for your decals?

Firstly, thanks for the compliment. Second, so many good things going on in your builds! - far cry from inadequate

Very kind of you, Jürgen! Much appreciated.

Thanks very much, Jeff - far more praise than might be deserved, but thank you!

Great job on the Pruitt Kenworth, Steve. Always more surgery on your builds that add so much when completed.

Great idea with the spare tire! In the 70’s, a pickup my Dad had at work had a spare tire held up underneath the back end by small chain and bracket. Was not fun getting the tire out on the side of the road!

Really like the paint/decal combo on this - totally get the shaky hands bit. Good looking truck.

Didn’t know this wrecker existed - going to be a great combo with your modified General.

Do overs seem to be part of any scratch build - you’re making good progress, Paul

Tremendous amount of extra work being done here - really pays off. Great colour choice!

Really like the build up of your engine (the whole car is coming along great) - where did you find decals for your blower belt?

A bit of painting this morning, a few hours work at the bench this afternoon, and more progress. Hoses glued to rad, fan painted and attached to engine, rad glued in place and fuel tank epoxied in place on hangers as well. Fuel lines tomorrow and in between chores tomorrow, might get started on attaching the tranny cooler lines to the cooler. Had epoxied the fan in place, then CA glued the bottom hose to the rad, then used styrene glue to set rad in place. Put the truck frame back in the rotisserie so I could slip the bottom rad hose over the brass pin on lower front of the water pump. Hose is somewhat visible in this pic. Upper rad hose was CA glued to the rad and slipped over the brass pin in the molded fitting on thermostat housing Better view of fan Fuel tank epoxied in place ('brass' fittings have been painted and should be attached to fuel line and return line, and in place in back of tank tomorrow). Still need to figure out a semblance of a plate and wiring for fuel sender Can just see parts of the fan through the rad screen; better side view of trans cooler fittings and attachment to right side of rad frame. Second attempt at tank straps - using some thin, tough, clear plastic from some packaging as the straps; on the left is a test strap with 'bolts' for the bottom end of the strap; next three pieces will be actual straps (still need to figure how long they really need to be), then there is the rubber component of strap and finally, another test strap that has been covered with Hasegawa chrome film. Top end of the chromed straps will be 'bolted' in place using Top Studio aluminum bolts. Tomorrow's work should be fun (not!) I've tried to be careful handling the frame, engine, rad, etc., during the build, but it looks like lots of tiny paint wear has taken place. Uncertain at this point if I risk a mess doing paint touch ups, or maybe very tiny amount of metal highlighting to accent the worn parts. Hope in the next week to get the truck up on all wheels - that will be a mile stone for sure! Nothing more for today. Thanks for stopping in to have a look!

Hard to tell from your photos for sure, but driver's left leg rests lower than his right leg. Not sure how you might adjust the left leg higher, but that might make up a lot of the 10mm - might need to bend the ankles a bit too, to bring his backside forward a bit!

All good stuff, and - no mess!

Some delicate surgery going on here - will be quite the conversion overall when you're finished!

Not familiar with this type of truck, but looking forward to how you put it together.