mackinac359

Oo! That kind of trailer would be interesting to see built. I've thought about building one, but just don't know where to start (not enough reference material found yet). Tim

Robert Great info! I would imagine the thinner CPVC would be easier to use ? Tim

Casey Nice. Tim

I noticed that the oil pan and front crossmember are a bit tight. With some fine tuning it will fit. You might have to reverse your oil pan. Tim

Jim Thanks I built a total of 4 "old No 1" trucks. 2 identical using matching resin wheels and kitbashed parts. These are the first two. One is in Denton at the plant. The other is here with me. The third is the truck representing how it looked before restoration. The 4th is fairly box stock with modifications and AITM rear wheels and is displayed in the home of one of the engineers at PB. The video display showed about 8 different models. They run various video presentation "slide shows" through out the year. Tim

Class 6 - 8 trucks. Often called "heavy commercial" at contests. Tim

Wow! Ambitious ! Tim

Chuck Thank you for posting this. Tim

Ray That white 377 is the sister to my blue 378 Alcoa Tire Truck. I bought both as built-ups on eBay, the 378 was silver and the 377 was red ? Purple? I can't remember. I got the 377 almost finished and lost interest. I might finish it yet. I actually built it as a long-frame daycab, then put the big sleeper on it. Tim

Geeze, I forgot all about the Kenworth K100 Aerodyne COE ! AMT's last COE kit. Tim

The blue/striped A64B was built for Stevens International to use for promotional purposes. It was on display at the iHobby show. Much to my dismay, they had reglued the mirrors on using superglue that fogged up the windows. When I got the truck back I replaced the windows and reinstalled the mirrors properly. Tim

Jim I keep them here. Tim ( running out of room )

I've assembled a page showing my builds of 2007. Tims Trucks 2007 Thanks for looking! Tim

I'll give it a try here.. AMT's first truck kit was in '69, the Peterbilt 359 (kit #T500.) The last new AMT kit was in '77/78 with the Mack Cruiseliner, GMC General and Chevrolet Bison conventionals. Most of the AMT product came out in '71-73, so most represent that time period. The AMT Peterbilt 359 (kit #T501) is a '75-78. The Ertl International Transtar CO4070 (kit #8000, 1st in the series) is a '73. The Transtar II CO4070B is a '75-80. The big difference between the Transtar and Transtar II is the cab height. IH raised the cab off the frame for clearance for a bigger radiator and larger engines. They also redesigned the air cleaner canister and snorkle. Peterbilt used Page and Page suspensions along with spring ride set-ups until the Western Unit Staibilaire air ride was developed in the mid 60s (AMT Kits T500 and T502 Peterbilt 352). The Staibilaire suspension was offered by Peterbilt until the early 70s when Peterbilt's Air Leaf and Air Trac suspensions were developed. (Sidebar: The Peterbilt Air Leaf was designed by Larry Sherman who also worked for International Harvester and designed the Emeryville conventional tilt hood and the Peterbilt 358 tilt hood). Freightliner bought the marketing rights to the Staibilaire suspension and used it for many years. The Silver State Specialties Peterbilts were approximately 1945-55 vintage. The 350 was more of the 50's vintage. There is no kit based suspension that would be 100% accurate for the time period. The tandem spring ride in the White-Freightliner Dual Drive kit would be something close as it is very basic. Tim

Try www.kitformservices.com too. Tim

Diamond Reo Giant and T-Line build them by hand.. very slowly. Strictly custom work. Most of the T-line trucks have been export. The C-116 and the Apollo-116 are the same. The Apollo name was a marketing gimmick. The Royale and Royale II windshield is shorter than the Cruiseliner, but the cab sides and door shape are similar. Where'd I learn all of this? Diamond Reo was my 2nd favorite truck builder as a kid, so I collected as much information as I could on them. Tim

Sterling, the name, was used by Sterling in the 30's-50's when White bought them, called them Sterling-White and then dropped them as a truck line, building a few off-road cranes then dropping the name completely. Freightliner/Daimler-Chrysler bought the heavy duty truck line from Ford and revived the Sterling name. One the Diamond Reo COE's, there were several versions over the years: The original COE cab that was a carry over from Diamond T. (Dave Natale has the Frank Gortsema daycab version of this Diamond T cab). Then in 73 the Royale was designed, a new cab that looked similar to a Kenworth K100. In '74 a new version of the Royale the Royale II debuted, it was styled similar to the Raider conventionals. When Diamond Reo Trucks went out of business, Osterlund (sp) bought the name and only built conventionals using the old style hood (Apollo-119 series). (Too bad they hadn't used the Raider hood). The Diamond Reo Giant was not available in COE form. Diamond Reo was about to become Diamond T Trucks again, but a copyright issue emerged with the name. The trucks are built today as T-Line trucks. T-Line Trucks The AMT kit represents a 1973 Diamond Reo C116. The original box art (green D-Reo on a mountain road) was originally a Diamond Reo advertisement. The original artwork had a Diamond Reo sleeperbox, twin back-of-sleeper exhaust, 10-hole polished wheels round air cleaner and some other subtle differences. Diamond Reo used to use a sleeper box similar to a Kenworth or older Peterbilt sleeper with a raised salem fresh air vent in the doors as well as the Mercury sleeper. Tim

Glad I could help! Tim

I have on several builds made my own glass out of clear plastic or acetate. The windshield looks so much better when done with thin plastic. For the headliner I have used Plastruct sheet with a square pattern on in. You can just barely see the windshield in this view. I also cut open the door and omitted the interior tub making a floor that fit the full width of the cab. Tim

Welcome back! The Peterbilt chassis looks good. Tim

Diamond Reo was formed when White merged Diamond T and Reo. White bought Reo and Diamond T in the 50s eventually merging production to the Reo plant in Lansing, Michigan. For several years the factory produced both Reo and Diamond T as separate lines but then merged the company in 1968 (67?) as Diamond Reo. (not R.E.O. or Rio as some say). The Big Four was a marketing gimmick that White developed after it sold off Diamond Reo. Autocar Freightliner Western Star White. At one time the following brands fell under the White umbrella: Diamond T Reo Freightliner (marketing only) Autocar Sterling (Sterling-White) Western Star (White-Western Star) Diamond T, Reo and later Diamond T used the Autocar designed "Driver Cab." This cab was developed by Autocar and used across the White line-up. The cab was freshened over the years and remained into production as the Heritage Cab used by Western Star until the late 90s. Tim

Looks good! Tim

Marco The Sneaky Pete kit is pure fantasy. Tim

I think the steps are supposed to look like these: (Robby Gaines photo). The kit steps are a bit thick. Tim

Wheels that fit the Autocar: Spokes: From the AMT Diamond Reo. 10 hole Alcoas: White-Freightliner, White Road Boss, White-Western Star. You could drop down a tire size and use the spokes from the GMC Astro/95. Or.. check with Dave Natale at AITM or Dan at Plaskit for resin parts. Tim