Aaronw

So I take it the Hasegawa kits would be the ones to get if you want a microbus? Did anyone ever make the later style, we had a '72 bus when I was a kid but have never seen one offered as a kit.

Nice job, I like this kit and wish I had bought a few more when they were available. I did this one a couple of years ago as a National Park Service patrol car.

Ok, so the block would work from a 429 in a car, but the rest would need work. I assume the 460 in the dually would be the best option then. Thanks

Ok, I've found a little more info on the mystery motors. Apparently the Cummins was the C series, a 464 cid inline 6 available with 160 or 180 hp. The Ford UK motor was a 363 cid inline 6 called the Dorsett.

Thanks,for the additional info, I missed some of the later posts. I've got another motor to ask about, apparently in the late 70s the C-series had another motor change when a 370 and 429 replaced most of the gas engines. From what I can find this is the "385" motor and would be the same as the 460 from the Ford F-350 dually kit. Would it also be the same 429 used in some of the late 60s / early 70s Mustangs? Thanks

Nice to see this done, all the extra little details like the halyard rope on the ladder and the axe mounts really add to it.

That is an interesting motor GMC Twin 6 running There is a guy with a GMC site that has a decent section on the GMC twin 6 http://www.6066gmcguy.org/TwinSix.htm

I've been reading through a book on Ford trucks I bought. According to it, Ford dropped the 401SD in 1977, the 477SD and 534SD were dropped in 1981. Since these were the standard / optional engines in the C900, from 1982 to 1990 all C900s would be diesels (so actually C9000s).

I don't think I really have the space to start collecting shop manuals for my models. Any chance I could get you to make a copy of a couple useful pages like an exploded drawings or dimensional data? I'm sure I could find something around here to swap for that.

and now for something completely different Bug with trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56XL0TysIn0...feature=related

Sure you can PM me, but you are already getting advice from two of the guys that helped me. I haven't seen him on the site for awhile but there is a poster who goes by Monkeyclaw who was also quite helpful. Just think like an air bubble when you plan your molds.

George, setting up the part right for the mold is more important than vacuum or pressure. If you do it right the air can escape and you get very few bubbles. The guys on this site were a great help for me figuring out what I was doing. I got a pressure pot and one of those cheap harbor freight vacuum things, but have not found the need for either, although admittedly I just don't use the pressure pot because that is just one more thing to do and I've had good results without it.

Is this the one from a few years ago that comes with an 80's 5.0L V-8 instead of the stock V-8?

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Maybe it is a regional thing and I'm the oddball but when I see people write mute point it drives me crazy, mOOt point. Back to my hole.

I don't know how big you want to go or what you consider cheap, but I made my own this summer for $200 or so, 24" wide, 20" deep and 18" tall. I shopped around and mine is bigger with a much more powerful blower than anything else with a similar price. Grainger has a bunch of squirrel cage blowers at decent prices. They have awesome service, my blower was in my hands within 24 hours of ordering it. I bought a 485 cfm Dayton shaded pole blower (aka squirrel cage) for $144 + $6 for a 8' cord. It is fairly quiet and seems to do the job. It is part number 1TDR7, if you want a little bigger you can get a 549 cfm blower for another $20 1TDT2. I used a cheap furnace filter to catch the paint particles and 1/2" plywood to build the box, I used a piece of 3/4" plywood I got free out of the scrap bin to add support where the fan meets the booth, since it is fairly heavy.

Thanks, so I guess the C & F series must have run the mysterious Cummins V / VT series engines and the even more mysterious UK build diesel. I guess I'll have to find some pics of Cat engines to see what the difference is between the injector pumps. From what I have the 1140/45 was 522 cid, the 1150/60 was 573 cid and the 3208 is 636 cid so it seems possible they all used the same block which would save a lot of time and trouble.

Very nice, I like seeing what warbirds did after their service. It is really amazing what a varied life many had after being retired, quite a few WW2 bombers became executive transports, some became cargo haulers, many more became firefighters. Quite a few fighters became racers and some were used for aerial spraying. In turn many of these converted warbirds became the only examples of the plane and were restored to their military appearance and now reside in museums. As far as OT, it has racing, it has a car name 2 out of 3 isn't bad. You can add my vote to an "other" area, I also build more than shiny things with wheels.

I agree with 2/3 of Dave's post and like Jairus' idea of a separate controlled OT forum. Dividing up the models into too many areas tends to have an unintended negative effect on the subject matter due to a lack of activity. A few broad areas (race cars, trucks / commercial, customs, factory stock etc) makes more sense. Also the multiple race categories can give the impression the site favors them over other builders (who do they have multiple categories and my stuff is lumped in with "everything else"). Personally I'd be just as happy with everything lumped together. I also like the idea of an "other" category where someone can show off the combine model the scratched together, aircraft etc. Many of the builders on this site build more than model cars and its nice to see the full spectrum. As far as off topic I've seen it done on several sites where the forum is locked, members have to agree to abide by the rules of the OT section to access it, and they can be banned from that section (but not the rest of the site) if they can not handle the forum but are not a problem outside of the OT area. This has two benefits, one if you don't want to see it, don't sign up, second it keeps the OT stuff off the rest of the site so those who are not signed into the OT forum don't have to see it. If a seperate OT site is set up "the rules" can be debated there and not bother everyone else, so if it allows / does not allow politics, religion, video clips, photos of your pet salamander etc will only be a matter for those who sign up to worry about. If Harry doesn't want the headache then maybe one of the people who wants an OT forum will step up and offer to be a mod. Without an OT area we will continue to see OT posts and flames about OT posts.

Monty I doubt the whole run is already gone, it is probably just the first batch to the various shops. Round 2 made a much larger run with the FL than the Model King and Stevens runs of the Mack DM600, DM800, R and Autocar A64B. Those had people lined up to get them and they were available for a couple years after being re-issued. If Round 2 actually sold the whole run within days I'm pretty sure we will see another batch. Still I wouldn't lollygag, these recent Round 2 kits are 1/2 the price of the limited issue Stevens & Model King kits. Yeah, the shopping cart at MR is kind of a pain. Good service, selection and prices though which helps make up for it.

I built a '60 Chevy 4x4 a few years ago. It wasn't really that hard, particularly if you are not too worried about being completely accurate. They were simple solid axle trucks with leaf spring suspension. I used a piece of brass tubing to make the front axle along with a resin differential. The transfer case was resin. The 1/2 ton trucks which is what the '60 chevy kit is used coil springs up front, but the 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks used leaf springs. I made the springs (front and rear) from styrene strips glued together. The front differential is usually off set unlike rear differentials, so if you take a rear axle out of another kit for the differential you will still need to make the axle to get the off set. The transfer case on those old trucks were pretty simple, you can probably cobble something together from styrene that looks close enough. Yes I forget to paint the bottom of the cab, it has been taken care of.

Dave I've got the Starliner and that issue of the '56 Ford truck, Thanks I'll look them both over. Ed, I knew you did the small Ford trucks, I didn't know you did the big stuff too. If you have shop manuals I will put together a list of info I'm after and see what you can come up with, thanks. I got my class B license in a 1971 Ford C fire engine with a Cat in it so I am rather fond of the trucks too.

I bought a couple of Ford truck books and it mentions the first Ford trucks got diesels in 1961 (H) and 62 (C, F). They don't get too specific though, it says the heavy trucks used a Cummins, I'm guessing maybe NHC-250? Is that engine old enough to be in a truck from the early 60s? Anyone know if it was used in any Fords? It also says the medium duty trucks used a Cummins V-6 or V-8, the only engine that I can find any info on that sounds likely is the V / VT series (Vim, Vine etc) but I find very little about these, not even a photo. Is anyone familiar with these engines? It also says the lighter medium duty trucks used a Ford of Great Britain built diesel and I can't find anything to even guess at what ths was. Later (1968?) they put Cats in the C series V150-V225 based on the Caterpillar 1100 series motors. In the 70s they replaced these with the 3208. Was the 3208 related at all to the 1100? I'm looking for options to use in the Ford C kit and other than the 3208 and NHC-250, I don't know of a source for these engines. Finally does anyone know of a good diesel engine history site? I like older trucks the best and I can't find a whole lot out there on what trucks ran in the 50s and 60s other than DD 4-71, & 6-71. Thanks

I'm looking for some alternatives to power a Ford C cab. The kit comes with the Ford SD motor, made just for big trucks, but the lighter models had smaller engines. From '57 to 63 they used a Y block displacing 272, 302 and 332 cubic inches. This was based on the on Ford cars Y block of the mid 50s. I am assuming the difference in displacement is well within a simple change in bore so no external change? It appears that I can get the appropriate motor from AMT's '56/57 Ford Victoria or their '57 Thunderbird. Any other kits I might find a donor from? From '64 on they used a beefed up version of the FE engine. It was available with 330, 361 or 391 cubic inch displacement. Again I assume this is within the range of the standard block? It looks like I can get this engine out of AMT's 1960 Starliner and maybe one of the late 60s Mustangs (390 is an FE block?) any other possibilities? I realize some of the add ons (carb, aircleaner etc) may be different. Finally, does anyone know of a Ford 300 cid I-6 in 1/25? Plastic, resin, diecast? Thanks

I found out pretty quickly age doesn't really mean much when it comes to this hobby. A lot of it has to do with connections (having people to ask), actually listening to what they tell you, some innate skill (some people just pick stuff up faster) and most importantly trying out something new. Many of the things we do is not that hard, but many people just assume they can't do it. I thought scratch building stuff sounded like the most boring tedious thing I could think of, turns out its fun and I look for opportunities to add a little something extra. I have seen quite a few models in the Jr class that are as good or in many cases much better than anything I can do. I'm a better builder at 42 than I was at 15, not so much because I've been doing this longer, it is really because I have become more patient and the internet gives me a whole lot more exposure to people to ask about stuff. Of course having a decent job helps too, it is amazing how much easier it is to do things when you have the right tools.

I did not know that.