Longbox55

I don't know, you would a surprised at how much light commercial Don actually has in his catalog. Not only does he have several variations of tool box type utility beds, but also several other pickups beds, including beds for the '58/'59 Chevy Fleetside in both short and long forms.

You might want to wait to how the bed Casey is working on comes out. While the old AMT annual beds are out there, they do not fit up very well with the contours of the newer tool cabs, particularly at the bottom. The newer tool kits tend to "roll under" at the bottom , something that the old kits do not have. The Revell '64/'65 seems to have a little more of a curve in that area of the cab than the AMT '60, either way, it is noticeable. The old tool bed also has the tailgate and front bed panel molded in, I have one that has its own floor (unknown year kit, but has the early trim), and one (original AMT '63) that has the floor as part of the cab. The one with the separate floor was wider than the Revell by about 1/8". I haven't checked the '63 for a width comparison, but that kit is going to get rebuilt rather than scavenged for parts.

Unfortunately, they also include some the worst drivers too.

Interesting. Still not sure what to make of the Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon/Escalade redesign. Got to see them up close at the Chicago Auto Show a couple of weekends ago. The front looks good, but the rear almost looks like they drew a box, then called it a day.

The conversion kit shown is definitely from the Tahoe.

X2. This is one of the best on the market for model use. http://bondo.com/products/automotive/body-filler/bondo-professional-glazing-spot-putty-801.html It can be found at any auto parts store.

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53953

Other way around. The steel floor was standard, the wood floor was the option, RPO E81, Fleetside only. Stepsides had wood floors, no option available.

Around here, most of the dirt tracks would build their own water trucks. Nothing fancy. The tanks were almost always round, and the one truck I'm the most familiar with (an early '60s GMC), had flat ends on the tank. One like that would be very easy to replicate in scale. The sprinkler on the back was fairly simple as well, a length of pipe with holes drilled in, and a small pump that IIRC, was run off a PTO.

Just one of the many reasons I hate February.

If you're into old Chevrolet vehicles, here's a few that are good recourses; http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits.html No better source for option lists and color availability, as well as color callouts for trim and interior that the folks that built them. Covers Chevrolet from 1913-2006, plus some Oldsmobile and Cadillac models. http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/index.htm This one is mainly pre-1960 Chevrolet shop manuals, but is still an excellent source for checking the details that a brochure will not show you. This site also has Owners manuals 1929-1960 as well as manuals for individual units (radio, A/C, carburetors, fuel injection) and a couple for the military specific 1942 Chevrolet trucks. http://pc.dupont.com/hcl/?locale=en_US DuPont Historical Color Library. Has scans of original DuPont color chips for most GM vehicles 1929-2007. Also has paint chips and codes for other brands that used DuPont paint, including Ford, Chrysler, Studebaker, Kaiser, Hudson, Nash, Willys, and AMC, plus big trucks and imports. Very interesting site. I've browsed it, there's plenty of unusual paint codes that were low production/seasonal that do not show up in other listings as being available, plus, with a little searching, you can cross reference the codes to find what colors were used under different names in different years/brands. http://pugetsoundvintagechevrolet.org/Programs/6%20cylinder%20engines%20with%20photos.pdfFor those building 1937-1962 Chevrolets with a 6 cylinder, this is a very good source for the differences in the engines. http://1954advance-design.com/Web%20images/PPIP/PPIP-1912-1966-EngineColors.html Chevrolet engine colors, 1912-1966.

Are you doing a stock truck or a hot rod/restored truck? Most hot rods and incorrectly restored trucks will have the wood in the floor nicely stained and varnished (guilty ). However, a correct finish for a factory stock GM truck would a simple flat black finish over the wood and skid strips.

I'll agree with the money making part, but not on who they want to win the title from what I've seen in the last few seasons. The big push has been to get Kyle Busch or Denney Hamlin, and now Matt Kenseth, a title for JGR, and by extension, Toyota. We'll just have to see what happens this season as far as Austin Dillon goes, especially since he is going to be driving the #3.

Point taken. I just wish that they would make up their minds how they want to do it, instead of changing things every year simply because the same team seems to winning them all or the teams(s) predicted to be the "odds on favorite" fail to win it.

That's no lie.

No. seen far too much of Nascars catering to Gibb over the last few years, especially after Tony left. Especially with the illegal parts infractions that got handwaved through. I suppose you might be onto something with Dillon, but if Nascar really wanted Junior to be the champion, it would have happened already.

The real question is if this version fails to get the results Brian France is after (*cough* *cough* title for Joe Gibb Racing*cough*cough), what will the next version of the chase be?

Just did a quick look, seems that there was a 16" option in 1/2 ton Blazer, Suburban, and pickups in the late '60s/early '70s. It was part of the 5400# payload package, and used a 6.50-16 6 ply tube type tire. There was also a 15" 6 ply tube type as well as a 15' tubeless tire with the same option. In addition, the Wide Base Wheel option (16.5) was available on both 2wd and 4x4 trucks at least up to '70. Only available on 4x4s after that, up to '73. '74 that option was changed to the much more commonly seen 10.00-15 tire, mostly seen mounted on the 8" "Blazer Rallye" wheel (my favorite GM truck wheel, btw. Have them on my 1:1 '55).

16s started popping up in the early '80s on GM, I want to say sometime around '83/'84 (I'll have to check on that to be sure), but even then, they were only on 3/4 ton and 1 tons. 16.5s, however, were available as an option on 1/2 ton 4x4s in some years, mainly early-mid '70s. Again, I'll have to refer to the spec guide to get the exact years/RPO codes. Also, as mentioned, all GM 1/2 ton full size 4x4s are 6 lug though '87, as are 1/2 ton 2wds at least back to '27, and 3/4 ton 2wd approx. '27-'45.

Yes, on the Cameo, the inside of the bed was the secondary body color. The '56 Cameo could be had with the 265 V8, same as all other '56 Chevrolet trucks (RPO 408). BTW, a little fact about the Cameo; There is no identification in the VIN that signifies that a given truck is a true Cameo or not. The only thing the VIN will tell you as far as what it is would be the wheelbase/nominal load capacity. In the case of the Cameo, they are part of the 3100 1/2 ton, specifically, model 3124.

Chevrolet and GMC used wood floors in the Stepsides through that last year for them in '87, and it was an option on long Fleetsides from '67 to '80 as RPO E81. Yes, the '55-'58 Cameo did have a wood floor. It was the only truck in the lineup that had a bed floor painted body color. All other models had a flat black paint on the bed floor.

From what I understand, clearing over Alclad will alter the "chrome" effect, making look more like silver paint.

Keep an eye on the clearance racks, both at the big hardware chains (Lowe's, Menard's) and Hobby Lobby. Usually around this time of year, they will clear out any older stock they have, even if it is an item that's still available. I scored 2 of the Dremel Stylus from Menard's a few years back for $35 apiece from their clearance rack. Kept one, traded the other to W-M-D. Funny part was that a few weeks later, they had them back in stock, same part number and everything, but at full price!

I remember those! Never did get around to getting the entire series, the only one I have is "Vexar", which is Roy Fokker's VF-1 S Valkyrie.

Interesting, but it would have been better if they had used a GM bed rather than a Dodge.