Fat Brian

Man, that thing is begging for a restoration. I saw another old truck today, a K123 like the AMT kit but with a mild stretch. I was creamscicle orange with the white stripes that dip to the bottom of the grille and big straight pipes.

The one thing I don't like about them is that they aren't quite right for a classic truck, the rears are fine but the front wheels are not correct for an old unrestored rig. What I've been doing is replacing the fronts with ones from the Revell snap kits, the rims fit the tires and are much better looking on older trucks. Here is an Astro with the front wheels like in the Revell kits: http://flipacars.com/photos/GMC/87/a8/10748_flickr-the-gmc-chevy-generals-bisons-astro-titans-crackerboxs.jpg And here are the fronts from the Moebius kits, the area with the holes is more conical and the lip of the rim is deeper: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2B-2CMELzgU/hqdefault.jpg

I had a 90s issue of this kit and I don't think it has a hole in the engine, I swear mine had a crankshaft that went in between the block halves and oil pan. Edit: here is a picture of the instructions showing no hole in the block. http://images34.fotki.com/v1606/photos/4/844424/13744977/AMT1958Impala002-vi.jpg

That's exactly what I was talking about.

On the 80-86 models there is a recess around the wheel arches while on the 87-96 trucks they just blend into the body. I wasn't trying to be pedantic, I was just noting they were different.

Highway, if you backdated it you would need to a switch the rear flares too since the wheel arches are different.

I have for sure.

Yeah, I work in Charlotte. I saw one with the exact same paint with a stretched frame today but the frame was red, that was what prompted this post. There is also a yellow 86" Aerodyne I see a few times a week. It just seems like very recently a lot of older iron has been running around.

Maybe the person this car is intended for wanted a numbers matching car used as the base, maybe he even already owned it and the story of how GMG got it is fudged a bit. It is tv after all. Richard is a lot of things but I don't believe stupid is one of them and if he could have built the car from a beater he probably would have. That being said, I rarely watch this show. The phony deadline "drama" is too much for me, I much prefer Counting Cars where they bring the car out when they get it done.

In the last year or two I've noticed a significant up tick in the number of older trucks on the highway. It had been years since I'd seen a cabover in these parts but now there are several older trucks, mostly K-100s and a 362, tooling around locally. I've also seen a few W900B models and some 359s, there's even an old Transtar II around. Is nostalgia factor driving this, the diesel scene has really blown up in the last decade or so, or have emissions regulations finally pushed owner/operators to resurrect older tractors that don't have to meet the new standards? Here's a pic of a local K-100 that has recently been burning up the road.

Yeah, some models of Peterbilts can be had with either a steel hood or a fiberglass piece. The fiberglass hood is smooth but the steel one has rivets holding it together. The Revell 359 and the California Hauler replicate the steel hood, sanding the rivet detail off makes it look like a fiberglass hood.

The 87-92 Monogram front end is correct for the 4x2, that design stayed pretty much the same until it was phased out completely. For the 4x4 early 350's had a leaf sprung TTB setup that was replaced by a leaf sprung solid axle. BnL does have good stuff, it's just deciding which direction you want to go. The grill is incorrect for a later model solid axle truck so it will need some attention if you go that route. It would be fairly easy to modify the kit front end to leaf springs for the early setup, the springs are almost completely flat and possibly even reverse arched a bit. There are some visual differences between the Dana 44 based 150 unit and the Dana 50 based 350 piece but it's nothing some strip styrene and putty can't fix.

Yep, it doesn't help that my stash is currently split between an up satirs bedroom and a basement space. It's difficult to know where exactly certain stuff is, expecially if it's been a while since I put my hands on it.

There is a 98 Chevy duallie snap kit that you could rob the wheels and tires from, there are plenty on 454s out there to put in it.

It would also depend on it the truck was fully assmbled in the factory or was purchased as a glider and finished by an outside upfitter. Basically, you can paint it almost any color and justify it being that way.

Due to MPC being out of business for almost 30 years, no, they never made a kit with modern tooling methods. But, they did make some good kits that stand up well today, the 69 Olds Casey mentioned being among them. It has a multi piece suspension front and rear with separate exhaust so it's close to newer kits. Their heavy truck kits like the DM600 and DM800 are noticeably crisper than their AMT counterparts as well. It's best to try to find a parts breakdown to see if it's something you would be interested in.

The Detail Junkies engine linked to is the engine that is the Welderup show car, it's a 5.9 Cummins 12 valve from a Dodge 3500 truck. I also scratch built a Detroit 4-53, I built the block and oil pan and borrowed the gear covers from an 8v-71 from a semi kit.

D but I would like it better in another color or with some pin stripes or scallops or something.

I don't care for A, B, or C completely. None of them stay consistent to their design theme, I don't like modern components on rat rods. I like the chop and drilled visor on B but the car is a bit too grungy for me but has chrome engine pieces. Give me C chopped like B with C's vintage engine and find some more period looking wheels and tires.

Check out this gallery of pics of a Ford Focus that was towed behind a motorhome while the transmission was in 1st gear. http://imgur.com/a/KxSI9

The box art has one picture of the built kit with the top, whether it's in the box or not I'm not sure.

Go over to the forums at Big Mack Trucks, those guys will know for sure what should be in it.

You can get the Monogram Grand National for a stock G body chassis and Buick interior. It has the turbo V6 but 1/24 V8s aren't hard to come by.

Mike, I thought the same thing about the store at University. It was huge and did all the gaming stuff and rc stuff but they closed about two years ago. I don't know why Charlotte can't keep a hobby store in business, it doesn't make any sense.

According to Wikipedia the Cummins NTC-335 was standard equipment in the B73, maybe a newer transmission was swapped in at one point.