mackinac359

Looks like mid '70's perfect. Tim

Great work ! Tim

NICE ! Tim

Nice !

Nice to see one with the doors opened. Tim

The springs on both kits are not the right shape. The 377 front spring is more of a heavy-duty spring you'd see in a 357. The 378's is totally wrong in the leaf count. With that said - I'm not about to make all new springs on every build - that would drive me insane - so I overlook them. Tim

Italeri kits are typically nice to build. When it comes time to install the cab and sleeper,temporarily install the hood first. Then align the cab/sleeper as a unit to the hood, cement the cab/sleeper in place, that way the hood won't fight you if you install the cab/sleeper first then the hood. The overflow reservoir tends to foul out with the underside of the hood and requires some careful placement (trial and error). Tim

"Northern Lower" refers to the top of the lower peninsula, not to be confused with the upper peninsula. People in the U.P. aren't from northern Michigan and people from northern Michigan aren't from the U.P. - Even though the Traverse City TV stations insist on calling the U.P. "northern Michigan." (uh-oh, I'm in rant mode..) Tim

And this is why I won't ship built models anymore. No matter how well it is packed, they end up dismantled. Good save. Tim

I'm thinking you will need to scratchbuild the hood sides and top and the radiator surround. Tim

Road Commissions are very brand loyal.. ours was IH for years until the lead mechanic retired, then they went with Peterbilt - but slipped and bought 5 Navistars 4 years ago (and hated them, nothing but problems), and just ordered 6 more Peterbilts (which should be in soon). Pete's are pretty common in the UP for Road Commissions. Western Star has been making inroads (pun intended) in northern lower). Tim

Yup. Tremendous brand loyalty in many truckers. Unfortunately, the market isn't favorable for the one or two truck operator these days and brand loyalty may become a thing of the past as the large carriers make purchasing decisions based on fuel efficiency and the purchase price. Tim

Completely different truck. The Australian trucks you posted are not the same platform as the T680 or 579 which debuted 2 weeks ago. The Aussie's in your pics are on the traditional cab platform. Completely different animals from the new trucks and their north American cousins with the traditional cab. Only the sleeper is shared on the T680 with the Aussie model you posted. Tim

The Aussie version has the traditional cab, not the new cab.

Sure are some nice trucks posted !! Tim

If the emissions technology hadn't have messed up the designs - back in the late 80's Peterbilt tested super-aero 372 COE and 377's and got 10.75 MPG on 700+ mile runs. The older engines could do it with aero (80's style) but all the emissions changes caused the engines to be less fuel efficient. The aero-372 is looking pretty good considering todays designs. Tim

These photos are by Eric P. and are copyrighted to him. (From www.hankstruckpictures.com) Eric's photography captures the shapes better than the stock studio-altered photos on the Pete website. The side view of the sleeper 579 looks much better than the stock photos. The lines and shapes look better. My predicition is that the 597 will sell better than 387/587. The daycab version is more pleasing to the eye. The NGP doesn't have the bloated sucking on a lemon look that 387/587 suffers from. Complaints: The air cleaner intake screen - I've disliked this on 587 as you can see the fastener 'dummy' holes giving an unfinished look. A chrome plated screen trim needs to be offered to dress it up. The bulkhead door on the sleeper looks out of place with the cab, almost cluttering it up. A 70" sleeper without the doors might look better, but then the baggage door will look out of place - maybe they should start painting the aluminum jamb instead of leaving it raw so it blends in. The CARB sticker has to find a better location. Once more are built and the various configurations wash out, the look will change - I want to see one with cab mount exhaust. Tim

We must remember, this is aimed at the aero-market - to go head to head against the Cascadia and the like, not as a LargeCar. 579 has huge advantages over Cascadia and Prostar - first being the ease of repurposing after the initial life as a highway truck, the Unibilt sleeper can be removed and converted into a daycab for a second life. Tim

Everything is a departure from the traditional lines of the 351. The drop-down "Chevron style" grille is definately different. There are daycab photos on the Peterbilt website. Tim

Kenworth customers won't buy a Peterbilt and Peterbilt customers won't buy a Kenworth.

New cab shell that is shared with Kenworth. New hoods, grilles, chassis skirts, interiors. The cab is wider and taller. The only thing shared with the traditional cab siblings is the sleeper. Keep in mind that this is an aero truck and not the replacement for the 389. Tim

BEAUTIFUL !! Tim

The Alaskan Hauler KW is the same as the Watkins and Movin'On editions with added parts and no chrome plating. The added parts are the hood top, sides, radiator, grille, bumper, radiator guard, mud flaps, fenders, headlamps, LP tank, headache rack and some other bits and pieces. Some of the runs had the W9 hood with a section of the fender not molded completely. Tim

Try here plus any of the "Peterbilt vacation" fotki pages off my site www.timstrucks.com - if you can't find what you are looking for, drop me an email and I can dig through more pics. Tim http://timstrucks.site.aplus.net/PB_detail.htm

Reference material such as photos of the firewalls? Tim