mackinac359

Nice color. Tim

Sources tell me that the tooling for the Cruiseliner is in the process of being repaired so that the kit is viable. Remember several years ago it was targetted for reissue but test shots proved the tooling was damaged. (The Peterbilt 352 was issued instead, much to my delight). There are a few others that are being investigated for '08 reissues. Tim

Dan I found it interesting that they charge for downloads of their brochures. Ouch. Tim

Too cool ! Tim

Jim Autocar is not out of business, they are alive and well as a company producing the former Volvo/White low-cab forward COE's trucks. They acquired the brand from Volvo when Volvo was forced to sell off the refuse-type trucks after Mack was purchased. Here is the link Autocar Trucks Tim

Lee You'd need to be a customer.. or know someone or.. call and ask if you could see it and the '39. Tim

In addition to plastic as reinforcing inside the frame rail, you can epoxy brass into the rail from about 1/2 inch before the splice to 1/2 inch after the splice. Tim

It was delayed a month due to licensing issues that have been sorted out. Tim

STUNNING !!!! Just beautiful. Nothing like raising the bar several notches ! Tim

Looks like a nice flat-faced rooster cruiser ! Tim

I moved this up as I added finished photos. Tim

Your body building work is always impressive! Tim

Nice work on the fuel tanks. It has been so long since I have built this kit that I have forgotten any issues. Tim

Looks really nice! Can you repost with larger photos? Tim

I'm not sure if they discontinued the fenders/hood conversion or not. If they have, you could make a set out of flat Evergreen or Plastruct plastic. Tim

353 was originally a wide-front 351 butterfly hood. Basic spec's were similar to a 359 at the time with the front axle and rear axles being heavier spec'd as standard. 353 could be spec'd to quite the heavy-hauler with tandem steer models available from the factory. 353 was available in set back front axle and set forward front axle. To build a 353 using the AMT, Revell of Germany or Revell USA snap kit, you will need fenders, convert the hood to a butterfly hood. Change the air cleaner pipe panel from angled to squared off. The top of the hood would have a single center piano hinge. The hood side panel seam would be in the same location as the raised rib panel seam on the 359 hood. Sand off the raised rib and scribe in the panel seam. 353 fenders in the Revell Alaska kit are incorrect. The shape is more KW than Peterbilt. 353 fenders are shorter at the rear. Virtually all the "dress up" options on a 359 were available on 353. 387 (the original, not the sleek highway truck) was the big brother to the 353. Designed by JB Selvidge (same who designed the ultra setback 346) for coal truck use. 387 sat taller off the frame, had optional 40" wide frame rails, taller frame rails, fenders that extended under the cab (as running boards), full grille and headlamp guard standard, heavier spec'd axles and suspensions. In the two photos, notice that the grille/radiator crown is the deep-core radiator shell. Much deaper than the AMT kit grille, but about correct from the Revell of Germany kit. The Revell of Germany kit has the deep core grille that should have been on a fiberglass hood 359, not the aluminum hood version. The AMT and Revell USA grille is more correct for an Aluminum hood. Here's a 353 I recently built using the Revell USA snap kit. The fenders are from Sapulding Trading and Shipping. The front tires are from AITM/Dave Natale. The rears.. out of the parts box. You can see where I scribed in the hood panel seams and cut the squared air cleaner panel. There are all sorts of possibilities when it comes to the 353 or 387. Tim Tim

Decals.. go with the decals! Tim

The kit was released in 1971 so one could assume it is a 1970-71. The L-series remained virtually unchanged until the end in the 90s. The grille changed in the 70s with a larger surround, a larger bumper offered, then in the 90s a new grille and rectangular headlamps. Also in the 80's the "FORD" changed to a blue oval. The side of hood nameplates changed in the 90s to the more modern style. Tim

Thanks guys. The trucks are #1 and #1. (two of the same). The red/white truck in the 1st photo is a 1939 Peterbilt 334. This truck was purchased by Peterbilt and resorted quite some time ago. The truck is from Peterbilts first year in business. Tim

I started this project on August 31 modifying the AMT Peterbilt 359 kit. I used the fenders from the Revell USA snap kit, along with the air cleaner and dash from the kit. The model(s) represent a 1980 Peterbilt 359. The real truck is on display in the welcome area of the Peterbilt factory in Denton, Texas. The truck was the first truck built at the plant in 1980. It was sold to a steel hauling company in Houston. 20 years later Peterbilt bought it back and restored it from the ground up. It was restored for the 20th anniversary of opening. The restoration is now 7 years old. Old Number One My Ol'Number One in progress Finished dash with the shiny Bare Metal Foil coated with Testors Dullcote. Extra battery/tool boxes were added from other AMT 359 kits UPDATE 9/26/07 Finished! Rear mudflaps are from WhiteFang at www.whitefangmodel.com The photo below shows the subtle change to the grille shell I made, I sanded the AMT shell flat then scribed in the missing panel seam and covered it with Bare Metal Foil. The Peterbilt logo on the hood is by JBOT decals. Note the location of the step on the rear of the front fender. I relocated the step further up on the fender skip, all the model companies located the step at the bottom of the fender. Here I am standing next to the real truck. Thanks for looking. This was a most enjoyable build, combining parts and some resin brings the AMT 359 to life. Tim

Nice dirty dumper! Tim

I think Dave Natale at AITM has the short hood too? Tim

SSS only made the older 1940-1950 style PB's. Clint Freeman is the only one to have made a 358 that I can recall. Tim

The Ryder Short Hauler has always been a favorite of mine. Looks good! Tim

Jim The Mackinac Bridge is just 2 miles from downtown St.Ignace. The truckshow parade of lights traveled through St.Ignace, then across the Mackinac Bridge through Mackinaw City then back north across The Bridge then back through St.Ignace. St.Ignace is on the northside, thus in the UP (Upper Peninsula). Speaking of The Bridge, back in the mid '80s when I managed our local radio station myself and a DJ did a live broadcast from the top of the south tower - 550 feet above Lake Michigan/Huron. Tim