mackinac359

Chris IF you're doing a 378, you might as well cast the springs, hood, headlights and the battery box covers too! Tim

Another 70's look! Love the COE Tim

Jerry Nice 70's look you have going. Tim

Thanks guys ! As for the color choice, A Peterbilt always looks good in red. The 2007/08 models "official" brochure color was red. For 2005-06 the fleet was blue. Tim

I started a new thread because the in progress thread ran askew. I finished the 365 after work today and shot some photos. The Kit Form Services supersingle steer wheel and tires are sweet. The rear wheels are the kit wheels with the holes filled and new holes drilled to mimic 2 hole rims. The DPF (diesel particulate filter) and the new exhaust standpipe are made from Evergreen plastic tube and covered with Bare Metal Foil. The batterybox cover was made from Don Mills treadplate. The 377 kit cab was reworked for a modern style, I sawed off the molded on fenders. I used the Unibilt air bags from the kit sleeper to make the Unibilt Daycab mounts. The careful eye will note that the right mirror is REALLY crooked. The glue set before I realized it was crooked. I attempted to break the glue bond but ended up removing a chunk of paint I decided to live with the crooked mirror rather than risk removing a bigger chunk of paint and having a mess on my hands. I have more photos up on my site www.timstrucks.com Thanks for looking! Tim

Alas.. I'll just sit here and build mini-PB's ! IF my server would cooperate, I'd post finished photos of my 365 project. I've been trying to upload pics to my server all eevning. :x Tim

Oh lord no! The guys who are the engineers at PB are extremely talented and well educated. You'll even find that some are architects. I would have been in the marketing end of things, advertising, promotion etc. Tim

Josh Very true, and who is to tell if I would have been hired by PB or a dealer.. I'm sure if I would have lived in the Bay Area of California at the time (1975+) and showed my love for all things Red Oval I could have gotten on in some form or fashion. I'm content building them in small scale. Tim

Josh I was in broadcasting from 1978 until 1993. Everything from DJ to general manager. Radio is to blame for me not pursuing a career with Peterbilt. I got sidetracked by "the glitz and glamor" of being a DJ. :roll: Tim

State Police? No, county sheriff's office. I am the administrator for the county jail. To answer the question if my mom got any better? Nope, several days after that photo was taken (two years ago today) she passed away. Throat cancer. She was a constant smoker for most of her life but hadn't smoked in 15 years. The cancer was not detected by her doctor who figured it must be asthma and never looked further until it was too late. Tim

Ron I have no professional connection with the truck manufacturing industry or trucking itself. I am just an outsider looking in. This photo should show what my real job is.. I'm standing beside these then brand new '05 units after I had applied the graphics. Nasty photo.. I think I just sneezed. Actually I wasn't in a good mood when this photo was taken as my mom was not in good health and I had a lot on my mind at the time. Tim

Dave Thanks! The 365 is new for this model year. Here is a photo of one: Mine is different from the photo with mine having a smaller fuel tank, straight standpipe, Victory Red color and other differences. Tim

Jim Thanks! Tim

I wanted to build an '08 new style Peterbilt but couldn't decide which.. since a couple of hoods I made (389 and 367 SBFA) are out being cast so I will have copies, I'm pretty much down to a SFFA 367 or 365. I chose the 365. The 365 replaced the 357-111 and has a 115" BBC. The basic kit is the good ol' Pete 377 (Revell of Germany version). I reworked the end of the frame for a straight truck rail. The hood is scratchbuilt from sheet plastic. The fenders are from a spare 378 hood (damaged). I cut off the molded on 377 fenders from the cab sides and replaced the lower section of the cab. The door handles and windows were reworked for the modern style. Since the 377 kit doesn't come with the correct battery box covers, I made one out of Don Mills tread plate. Laying beside the battery box is the RH exhaust. Note the white plastic standpipe. The standpipe mimics the fat pipe with tapered bottom and defusers of the '08 style exhaust. I will cover the pipe with Bare Metal Foil. The DPF will be mount on the RH under the rail. The hood is basically 5 pieces of plastic. Top, left, right, thin top of hood spine and the front piece that became the grille. With just the right amount of careful sanding I obtained the proper slope to the hood. The grille crown/surround will be covered in Bare Metal Foil. I don't know what the final outcome of the truck will be.. factory new or in-service.. stay tuned! Thanks for looking! Tim

I won't bid on the 378 this time.. gotta pay the homeowners insurance this month. :roll: I can't believe the price the 378 kit goes for. The WORST part about this is that I KNOW most of these kits were bought when the kit was discontinued and sold at $19.99 by several on-line retailers. Like a dummy, I only bought 3 at that price. :cry: Come on Italeri, reissue this kit ! or.. include the hood, chrome parts and springs in the 377 kit as a "2 in one" kit. Tim

There are several choices... AMT White-Freightliner SD, AMT Ford Short Hauler, AMT Ford Stake truck.. or I believe Daniel at Plaskit has the springs and axle cast in resin. Tim

Fantastic! Tim

Rob Is this resin or scratchbuilt ? Tim

But where was Snowman's Kenworth and Fred the dog ? :?: To a truck-nut the TransAm was just background clutter. The "rocking chair" scene with the Bandit hiding with the line of trucks on the freeway is a real time capsule in 1978 trucks. Notice that several of the trucks are brand new from the Peterbilt dealer. No, I've never seen this movie. :roll: Tim

With warm weather the highways will be infested with orange barrels and orange trucks... After 16 days of not having anything on my workbench, I got some inspiration while following a road crew painting the lines on the highways . No, not the painting truck but the truck shadowing the workers with the big crash attenuator hanging off the back. I got the idea last Saturday morning and as soon as I got home I dug out an AMT Ford Stake Truck and sifted through the parts boxes to find a tandem axle suspension (from an IH Paystar), then scratchbuilt the attenuator using various photos that I Googled.. and then scratchbuilt the arrow sign from plastic. I stripped all the chrome from the kit except on the mirror heads, headlamps, turnsignals and roof lights. I also shaved off the FORD and badge from the front to allow for a smooth surface for the black chevrons. I need to clean my reference marks off the bumper.. (oops). Back in the mid 70's I remember seeing road maint. trucks in Wisconsin with the multiple stripes emblazoned on the front of the cabs. I've always wanted to try the all stripes look. I really took artistic liberties on the crash attenuator and the arrow sign The little Ford kit builds nicely, however, I always have a problem with mounting the engine. The instructions are very vague on the proper mounting. This is the third version of this kit I have built I converted one kit to a Mack N series COE, another into a tandem axle tractor with a sleeper-and some fancy trim, and now the "shadow" truck. More photos on www.timstrucks.com Thanks for looking! Tim PS: You'll note I had to sneak a Peterbilt into the photos..

Scott Great idea! I see more KW's with this sleeper than the bigger sleeper. Tim

Bub Slick ! Tim

That will look great hooked to the KW. Tim

Dave The 353 (which replaced the 351 flat fender SBFA) was a model unique to itself. The standard specs were "heavier" than 359. Different radiator/grille/crown, butterfly hood, flat fenders (not diamond tread, but painted with anti-skid black on the top). SFFA 353 had its own headlight brackets too (taller to clear the fender). 353 also had a BBC of 117" where 359 was 113", 119" and 127". Tim

Unique and cool! Tim