Chuck Most

I knew this was going to be cool watching the WIP, but sitting back and looking at the whole picture, it's even better than I thought it would be!

Very cool!

I started one with the wrecker from AMT's Peterbilt 359 years ago but never finished it. I'm planning on making one I have into a sleeper tractor like Dakota's, without the crane. Mine will be a bit more like an Alaskan Hauler- just a big, burly, heavy duty fifth-wheel tractor.

At the moment I've not seen them, but my local shop plans on bringing them in, and I do plan on trying them out. I'll be more than happy to share my findings once that happens.

Well, that's the plan at the moment. So far I've worked out the wheels and tires. A worn-out truck with a worn-out suspension and steering is going to chew up its front tires in pretty short order, so I attacked the tires with files and sandpaper. The first signs of grime on the front rollers, brought to you courtesy of Testors Dullocote and a wash of thinned Tamiya flat black. Rear wheels/tires were dealt with in a similar manner, but I decided I wanted at least four good tires on the back... ended up with six, so mission accomplished there! I'll probably start on the interior next- it'll be dirty, grungy, and cluttered, and more than likely just plain trashed in a few areas. The idea here is to just have fun and build something that looks the way a 2012 Lonestar might look around, oh, 2032 or so, after it's been through a series of cheapskate owners and a couple million miles of (hard) service.

Yes! This is the version I've been waiting for.

Looks like a Ferguson 35.

I might be able to jump in with a '79 Toyota.

Might still use the Ranger for this one though- the 'Yota will probably end up more 'mini' than 'muscle'.

Didn't one of these new-tool Revell Willys kits come with an Olds engine? Or am I thinking of the old SWC tool from the '60's?

Jeesh... the kit's only been out a month or so, give 'em some time for product development, will ya?

Works for me!

Getting into the home stretch now... I think I'm going to cut a windsheild from acetate- all of the kit glass I've been trying looks to thick an has a LOT of distortion. But anyway- headers are on, headlamps are on, drag link is on, and I should have the rad on pretty shortly, once I get the fan situation figured out.

A factory stock big-scale Maverick????!!!!! Did not even know of such a thing until just now, and I want one. You, sir, are a god among mortals.

All the Ertl IH kits had the V-800, but if you look closely you'll notice the Paystar kits have the IH logo engraved on the valve covers, which the Transtar (at least the most recent reissue) does not. Parts interchange between the Paystar and Transtar kit engines.

Front suspension is a done deal. I know there is no front spring perch- that area will be covered up by the grille, so I didn't bother. I'll have to touch up the radius arm pivots on the frame- the superglue fogged them up a bit. This is also the first good view of the seats- they're taken from an AMT '25 Model T kit. After wrestling a bit with how to install the alternator, I just thought 'why not have it mounted out of sight and spun by the driveshaft'?- so I just used a short belt/pulley casting to run only the water pump- still need to paint the inside of the water pump pulley. Oil pan sits a bit closer to the ground than I'd like- not sure I can fix that- everything is mounted up pretty securely, and I'm not sure I can take parts off without breaking anything at this point.

Only thing 100% set in stone for this one is... it will have yellow Accel plug wires with red boots. Sky is the limit other than that.

He passed away April 30, but just caught it in today's paper. Elon Jack 'E.J.' Potter Age 71, of Ithaca, MI passed away Monday, April 30, 2012 at Rosewood Adult Foster Care, Gratiot County, MI. Elon was born in Alma, Michigan on April 24, 1941, the son of Howard and Sheila (Huxley) Potter. E.J. graduated from Ithaca High School with the class of 1959. With his extremely vast knowledge and love of machinery, E.J. could be described as a self-made mechanical engineer. A true machine innovator, inventor, and racing legend, E.J. was probably best known, across this country and abroad, for his series of home made Chevy V-8 drag bikes. As an exhibitionist drag strip performer, he was commonly known as the "MICHIGAN MADMAN", during the rise of his career in the 1960's and into the early 1970's. It was at that time, he made several historic runs on his bikes, which he called "Widowmaker" and "Bloody Mary". E.J. became a record setter with his machines, including a 1973 entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. Following his drag racing adventures, he then became involved in the tractor pulling arena. Here, he soon became a leader in the sport, with his talents and abilities and love for the Allison aircraft engine. Many others came to him for advice, maintenance, repairs and sales of their aircraft tractor engines and jet engines. He won countless awards for his successful runs, including "World Champion" title two years in a row. E.J. was self taught in all areas of interest, with a constant desire to learn more. His favorite way to learn was usually trial and error. In later years, he further developed and marketed his earlier creation, the snow melter machine, which he named "Michigan Melters". E.J. was inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, for holding his many racing and tractor pulling records. He is survived by son Jack and Deborah Potter of Howell, MI, daughter Alison (Potter) and David Tiihonen of Howell, MI, grandchildren; William, Jennifer, Jacob and Emily and 3 sisters.

That is SO cool... not just the model, but the story. Looks quite a bit the way my grandfather's '32 Chevy sedan looked when he found it many years ago.

Oh... no pastel, evocative-of-the-Miami-Vice-title-card graphics or lettering on the car either. At least that's the plan at this point.

I'm good for it, but I've got a couple of EJ Potter tribute builds I'll probably tackle first. Anyway, yeah, I'm in.

Ixnay the body-color bumpers and that's more or less the look I'm after.

He passed away April 30, but I just saw it today in the Gratiot County Herald. Yes, I'm aware of Mr. Shelby's passing, as well. I built this a couple of years back, it is an Allison W-24 powered pulling tractor, based very loosely on EJ's 'Double Ugly'. Though most people remember EJ's V8-powered drag bikes, he went on to become very successful in the tractor pulling arena in the '70's. This model was done as a tribute to him.

What about the Terrastar? The cab looks similar to the bigger trucks, but is it identical?

Threw the main ingredients together- now it's a matter of sorting out the front suspension.