Casey429

With the absolutely WONDERFUL temperatures we've been having here in western PA, things have been at a standstill for me. The DM800 is no closer to being finished than my last update (October something?) due to a paint mishap. It's since been stripped, but it has been way to cold to paint as of late. I had the itch to build something, and stated rooting through the junk and spare parts. I originally built this AMT 359 box stock, painted like my dads 1:1 379. I'm not sure why i ever tore it apart, but several of its parts ended up on my yellow 359, which was one of my dads old builds from the '70s. After a quick bath in the purple lake, I mocked this up using the leftovers. The cummins is long gone, replaced by the 8V-71 from the yellow truck, which dad repowered with a Cummins (From his own build of T501) in the early '90s after we found some of his old trucks in my grandparents attic. I'm shooting for the look of the trucks that appear in the opening credits of Smokey and the Bandit II. Let me know what you think! (P.S. nobody I know in their right mind would replace a Cummins with a Detroit. I just don't know where the trans is that goes with the Cummins I took out, so in the "Screamin' 318" went! I think the trans may be behind my KTA, but that's another subject.)

You'd have to stretch the AMT to get that "Buzzin' Dozen" in there. Along with a bigger radiator as you pointed out. The earliest KW I ever saw with a DD V-12 was a '74 triaxle, shown here. (Actually almost bought a '76 tractor, missed out by a DAY. And a steal at $5K!) Good luck with the project, and show us some pics of your progress!

Anyone familiar with Tim's collection will recognize this truck. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1975-Peterb...1QQcmdZViewItem

This is actually an old build of mine. I bought it as a builtup off eBay and actually displayed it as was for a while. Then, the paint started to fall off. So I stripped it down and brought it back from the dead, to serve as the tow vehicle for my '56 Vicky. But alas, it was a curbside. I wanted to stick to the kit flathead, but with a little more kick. So it sat until about a week ago, when I finished it off with Revell '40 Ford heads, and the blower from the '57 Chevy.

Hopefully somebody like Dave Burkett of Model King will snap up AMT. It would probably be a wise move. Even if it isn't Dave, someone who at least has the appreciation for the hobby. Or maybe we'll get lucky and the newly re-born Hawk Models will grab AMT. If that doesn't work, let's all take up a collection and buy AMT ourselves . And if nobody buys AMT and it disappears into oblivion, the kit hoarders will have a field day. Just like they do with the old Jo-Han models. This is definitley not good...

I got an Alumilite casting kit for Christmas this year, and just got around to trying it out. I figured I'd start with something simple. So, I went with the Edelbrock flathead cylinder heads and two carb intake from the R/M 40 Ford Coupe. These will see duty on a '53 F100. After these turned out, I was feeling pretty brave, so I molded and cast these 8 lug slot mags. These will be destined for my '77 F-250. It was actually alot simpler than I thought. There's still a bit of a learning curve, but overall, I'm pretty pleased for a first attempt. Also a quick question, what could I use to ready these for paint? The wheels look dirty in the pic, and they actually are a little. I want to have the best possible finish on these.

You have some very nice stuff there, Jake. I'm keeping a lookout for the Ford TTB suspension.

Prety much self explanitory. This is drawn in pencil outlined with pen, and colored with Pentel markers.

I saw that issue of Hot Rod. Project X was a Popular Hot Rodding project car beginning the 60's. In it's current incarnation, It spots a 502 Ramjet and a 4L80E transmission. I like the way this is looking, especially after finishing my own '57. The only difference I see it that Project X is a 210 sedan, and yours is a Bel Air Coupe.

It's done! I'm really happy with the way this turned out. I will also never complain about BMF again. This car was a real chore compared to a Mustang or Camaro. I switched from the bright chrome to matte aluminum for this build. I've seen others use it and I think it looks more realistic. I'm also proud of the paintjob. The clearcoat was phenominal for it being the cheapo Walmart stuff. The car looks almost wet in person. The icky tan plastic actually came in handy on this one. I grew to like it, so I left the interior that color, and it really complements the piant nicely. the only modification I had to make to the car was to relieve the firewall to clear the magneto. This was because I changed intakes.

Looks like it's almost ready for the A-Main!

It's kinda hard to see through the ugly right now, but I can. It looks real good so far. I'm just amazed at guys like you that con pull off a suspension like that, I'd like to be able to build a static one!

I got some more done last night. I shot some Krylon white onto the roof. I'll clear it, then wait a week for BMF. Here's some mockup pics. I really like the way this is sitting right now. I think Mr. Arter may be rubbing off on me. The Keysone Mags also look nice monted on the cheater slicks out back.

I picked up an opened but complete '90 issues of the AMT Bel Air this weekend. Aside from the yucky tan color it was molded in, I'm liking it so far. I'm using the 409 from the kit, but I wanted something a little less exotic than the blower in the kit. (I have plans to use it, stay tuned!) So, I went through my parts stash and came up with a crossram from a derelect AMT '62 Bel Air. Add some partsbox carbs and stacks and you have a happy me . I also filled the axle pass through in the block. Since I filled the hole, I attached some styrene rod to the chassis to replace the metal axle. I also used the upper mounting location to drop the front down. For paint, I wanted something with a good 60's vibe. So I found some duplicolor left over from another project. It looks like it could have been a factory color, even though it isn't. I'll paint the roof white just to break it up. I also need some assistance here. I've painted the dash the body color, but have no idea how to detail it. Anyone out there have a decent pic of a '57 insturment panel? Thanks, any help here would be appreciated.

Tim, you'll have to let us know next time you're going to be on KDKA! I'll definitley tune in. (Note to self: find working AM radio).

Not too much fuss, Bill and thanks for the comments. Except for my decals, which were useless, it went off without a hitch. As soon as I put them into the water, they fell apart. And, the red and blue badge that goes on the grille was missing altogether. Plus, after doing some research, I found out the R/T was not avaliable with the 383 engine. So, it is now an SE with R/T doors and hood. It looks al little dusty in the photos, but it actually looks really good in person, trust me! I need to clean the camera.

It's finally done. I posted this as a WIP back in november, and actually finished it within my two week deadline. I was waiting to get some outdoor shots, but the weather wasn't exactly cooperative. And then I just forgot. Ever forget something? Well it happened to me . So, with the daylight gone, I snapped these pics on the workbench under a neon light. Thanks for looking. All comments welcome, positive or otherwise.

I like it!

Posted these a while back in the truck section. Since art has a section of its own, here's another look. an '05 Peterbilt 379 EXTH in tu-tone brown, 60" sleeper The same, 36" sleeper, adorned in Tim's favorite: "Winslow Stripes" Yeat another in blue, another 60" sleeper '05 Ford F-550 Dump, "Possum Lake Dept. of Public Works" '05 F-450 Wrecker, fictional '03 Dodge 3500 service truck, fictional Bobcat dealer And one never before seen. this is a '78 Mack R600 service truck. I was planning on bashing this in 1/50 scale from diecasts, but it never got beyond plans. Paint scheme is identical to that of a '78 Mack dump my dad had.

I met Verne Troyer (aka Mini Me) at a car show, nice guy. Other members of my family have met famous people. My grandfather and uncle once owned a bar that Franco Harris and Jack Lambert visited on separate occasions. My grandfather also tailgaited at Steeler games back in the 70's with a local celebrity, John Connelly, the owner of the Gateway Clipper Fleet. (Funny story about that, but I'll save that for later.) My dad also met Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the Pocono Raceway back in the mid 90's.

Oh an I forgot to add, the Superliner was used to pull a 55 ton Rogers lowboy. It could pull a D9, completely assembeld and not break a sweat. Also, I have this pic of a 1977 Pete with a KT450, just to give some ideas.

The KTA 600 was a great engine, the stuff of legend, raw power equivalent to that of a DD 12v71. They were installed in a numer of trucks including Pete's, KW's, Freightliner's, International's and Mack's. They also saw duty in construction equipment. They were so powerful, the only transmissions that would be warrented behind them were Eaton Fuller 8 and 13 speeds. The 600 could be installed into a 359, but it has to be an extended hood, to cram a big enough radiator in there. Other versions of the KT could also be had, the most common being a 450. A buddy of my dad's had a built KT in a 1980 Mack Superliner. It began life as a 450, but was fitted with a cam and turbo from a Mantiwoc crane, among other things. It put an estimated 950 HP to the road. It was replaced with a 425 Caterpillar a few years back after it spun a bearing, but it is a crated up and it may go back in the truck one day. Another buddy has two matching 1982 359's with KTs, and they still run to this day. One time an inexpereinced driver, who was not supposed to be in the truck, fried the wheel bearings on a trailer, locked the wheels up, and didn't even realize he'd done that. The trucks are that powerful. The engines were fitted in trucks up until the mid to late 1980's, I beleive. Nowadays they're fairly scarce, due to the high cost and low availabilty of parts. They're still very popular in truck pulling circles. BTW, I have one of those resin KT's myself, and am itching for something to stuff it into.

The Charger is now wearing a suit of Duplicolo Cordova Brown, kinda close to '71 Dark Bronze Poly. Combined with the black R/T stripes, and a black and white interior, I think it will have a good 70's vibe. I've also decided to change the wheels. I went with some generic 5-spoke mags, painted up to look like American Racing TTO's. I'm still working on the chassis and interior, but it's coming along. So far, it's painted, but I need to modify the exhaust to fit the headers before I go and put it all together. Thanks fer lookin'

Another iron in the fire, just what I need. But, the weather we've been having hasn't helped either. The rain gives me a perfect excuse to build! So, I dug this out of the stash. This is my first time around building this kit, and from what I've seen an heard, it's pretty good. I'm building it in the stlye of a '72 Roadrunner my uncle had. The psuedo 383/727 (Uncle Ron's was a 340/4-Spd) is adorned with chrome valve covers (R/M '69 Super Bee), headers (modified from an unkown SBC), and a chrome aircleaner. It'll have a set of MRC Cragars shod with Firestone Wide Ovals. I'm hoping this will be a quick build, I'm shooting for under two weeks.

How would I go about doing this. I figured blue with some white to lighten it, and a little green to get it close to the color. What do you guys think. If someone could post a picture of a blue engne, that would be great. Also, would this color be correct for a '71 383 in a Charger R/T?