GMC C6500

[Arnd]

Hallo all

This one here is a fun project just to get a bit away from the all day work and business.

I always liked this GMC and Chevrolet C series trucks a lot, two years ago I bought a GMC C6500 resin cab in 1:25 from P&P Vintage kits and when I got in my hands and I saw what a terrible work and what a low quality it is, I put it away far far back in my storage. It is incredible bad, twisted and warped.

Some weeks I found an old Chevy pickup cab from a Revell Midnite cowboy and then I decided to look for my resin cab, to cut it in pieces and to combine it with the pickup cab. And the GMC experiment started. It is still not perfect but the rest of the twisted and warped shape can be explained with the age and the miles this truck has on his back. It was hard working every day and night.

For the frame I decided to use the parts from the AMT Ford C600. The front axel and the steering system were reworked so that you can move them. The rear axel is from the IHC Transtar as well as the rear rims. I like them more because of the rounder shape which fits better to the original ones from the Ford. The front part of the frame was reworked to fit with the new bumper. Some tow hooks were added, too,

Edited May 19, 2015 by Arnd

[Arnd]

The step on the right is scratch build from plastic parts and it can be used as the holder for one of the air tanks.

[Arnd]

The next step were the inner fenders the hole to the firewall, self made from plastic stripes

I use an old International Paystar fuel tank, reworked a bit its shape added some details and fixed it on his place under the cab

The next step was the hood. I decided to hinge it like the real one. It is not perfect and not 100% like the real one but it works. It took me some time and 4 or 5 tries until it worked but it gives a real look to the truck

[Arnd]

The rear wall was changed to have a more realistic look.

The rear window should be reworked; most of the trucks I found in the internet have a small rear window. I am not sure if I will rework it on not, jet.

I changed the front part too. These big and sloppy gaps looked terrible. I cut them out and replaced them with same self made.

After the parts were glued to the resin cab the left gaps were filled with putty and then sanded. The first coat of filler was sprayed over the whole cab. After it dried well I will have to sand a lot to make the surface a bit more smoothly.

So long

Arnd

Edited May 3, 2015 by Arnd

[Petetrucker07]

Awesome work so far. This is going to be nice truck when your done with it. Looking forward to seeing more.

[guitarsam326]

Jaw dropping, very impressive! Looking forward to the finished product!

[plastic trucker]

I like this. Maybe I'll have to dig mine out and try to build it.

[Mopar - D]

Very interesting build and subject. Your scratch building is very impressive too.

[Drunken Goat]

Looks great so far

[gatorincebu]

Arnd,

A excellent way to utilize the resin cab ! Very creative!

Be Well

Gator

[Chariots of Fire]

That's some nice work. Have you thought of running some warm water over the hood to see if it will move a bit? You might be able to get the warp out of it by taping it to a wood block and then hit it was some warm water and then some cool water to help it set.

[Tesla]

This is building up nice. The hood hinges are very impressive.

[mackinac359]

Enjoyable project progress.

[Superpeterbilt]

Excellent work. We had an old Chevy rollback wrecker just like this when I was a kid. It was purple with " Shakedown" written on the bug shield.( Beverly Hills Cop had just come out, and my dad like to name his trucks after songs for some reason). This is a very enjoyable build to watch because it's off the beaten path. Keep up the good work.

[Arnd]

Hallo all

Thanks a lot to all of you for the grate posts on. Thanks a lot for this grate advice reworking resin parts with water, which sounds very interesting. My hood is already fixed to the cab. I will leave it like it is; being a bit wry gives it this special used touch.

I had some time and worked a bit on my GMC. I was a lot of work with many little things but not a lot which is really visible and changes the whole model. I reworked the rear part of the hood with the slits for the air ventilation it is from a Revell Chevrolet. The wipers seem to be under this part of the hood. Different to its location for pick ups. After some work it looked quite ok and fits grate to the cab and hood.

I changed the rear window to a small one like the real trucks have.

The front part was of the grill with the lights was reworked a bit and fits now a bit better to the rest. I added the hood release lever.

The next step was the interior. I reworked all the parts and combined all of them together. Some from the resin cab and some from the Revell cab. The start is quite ok, the door panels look grate.

There is a lot more work to be done but it is grate to see how this little thing grows up.

So long

Arnd

[kilrathy10]

This is one awesome truck....Great job on the details and the reworking of the cab....Looks magnificent.....That hinged hood is just too sweet....

Edited May 18, 2015 by kilrathy10

[Arnd]

Hallo all

I worked again this weekend on my GMC.

The wipers are from the spare box with some rework and being now 2mm shorter they fit quite well to the windshield. It will be possible to move them in each position you want.

The next step were the rear mirrors. It took me some time and tries until they looked quite well in my opinion. Not totally equal to the original ones but ok. The holders are made of some 1mm plastic tube, cupper wire and some mirror brackets from the spare box. I am not sure but now when you have a look at them they appear a bit too wide. I am not sure if should correct them or not. The old resin cab was quite useful during the fabrications time.

[Arnd]

I am not sure about the type of mirrors which would be the correct one for such a truck. I but some on the brackets for a test but I am not happy with them. I have to look for some others.

After that I went on with the interior. It is not really easy with it because of the cab’s shape. The dash with the steering wheel is one part with a holder on the firewall. The rear wall is the second part. The fool with seats and is the third one and the door panels are the forth part. All together are the interior. It took some time to fabricate all the holders and pins which keep all the parts on their right place.

The next picture is just a try to see how it looks like with a trailer behind it, but I will use something like a 20 or 28 feet one axel flat bed with this little one.

Do you have some ideas for the right engine for such a truck? No gas, I want to use a diesel one.

So long

Arnd

[guitarsam326]

Detroit diesel all the way in my opinion, maybe a 6v92t. I believe auslowe has them. Other than the Detroit... At CAT 1163 or 3208. This is a neat looking truck, i really like it!

[gatorincebu]

Arnd,

Looking god thus far. Your mirror brackets look good. We used to call those west coast mirrors back in the day. The could be chromed or painted.

The mirror part the frame ussually had rounded conrners.

I drove a C-60 in 1970 that was painted white and the mirrors were also painted white.

Be Well

Gator

[kilrathy10]

Dude!!! This is a great looking model, PERIOD....This thing is awesome....I think it looks good as is....

[GrumpyGrowly]

Looks great with the trailer. Nice work!

[Tesla]

This is coming together real nice!

[mackd]

Awesome work, and details are realistic. I like what I see

[BigBad]

Arnd, the only 2 stroke Detroit Diesel this line of truck got for a couple years was the 4-53, the 6V53 could surely fit but wasn`t offered in the 6500. There were no 71 or 92 series Detroits in these. Other than that, you could build it with the Caterpillar 3208, that one was available. Another available GM diesel was the 8.2 V8 and turbo, not sure they were Detroits though. Your build is coming along very well! It looks quite good!

Edited May 27, 2015 by BigBad