1957 Reo Gold Comet

[1930fordpickup]

Another piece of art( yes another truck cab they will never give us in Plastic) from Charles.  

[DrKerry]

1 hour ago, Chariots of Fire said:

Thank you Dr. K.  Glad you are enjoying the builds.  I find it a lot of fun to do.

 

I always enjoy what you build! The detail in doing what you do is kool!

[Chariots of Fire]

1 hour ago, 89AKurt said:

Wow..... ? Will be following this one.  This triggered my fading memory, took a picture of this in my town and posted 2008:

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Wow!  That one has seen some work!

[redneckrigger]

Used to drive one of those exact trucks with a flat bed on her hauling hay in from the fields about 50 years ago. Amazing thing is that old truck is still around and in better shape than I am. The grandson of the farmer still has it, and actually has it for sale at this moment in North Adams, MA. If that one you are building was a faded green flatbed, I'd swear you had a shrinking machine!

[Chariots of Fire]

It's been a chore to get all of the little things taken care of that would really show up in a finished model.  The belt line under the door windows and along the hood has been especially troublesome because I had built the hood and cab separately and then mated them together.  Re-sculpturing has been the only way to take care of it.  Anyway I think we are getting there.  

The hood lines are now reasonably uniform and straight.  Today I got the door handles made up and installed.  Ordinarily I would not put them on a cab before it is finished but in this case I'm pretty sure they can be cast as is.  It was done for the IH Loadstar.  The fenders most likely will be cast separate from the hood and cab but will be cast with temporary spacers so that they can be evenly mated to the hood and cab as a unit.  Then the spacers can be cut away.  There is no reason once the casting is done that the hood and doors could not be cut open and made separate either.  That will allow for a lot of engine display as the whole hood and grill raise up as one piece.  Kind of neat thinking about the possibilities.  I still have to add the door hinges, give it another coat of primer and see where the remaining flaws might be.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Top notch work!!

[redneckrigger]

Simply stunning!!!!!

[Chariots of Fire]

Worked up a dashboard, found a seat and steering wheel that will be the right kind.  Last is to do the floor pan, running boards and some inner door panels.  Templates made for windshield, vent windows in doors and rear window.  As soon as the floor pan, running boards and door panels are done I'm shipping it all out for casting.  We'll see what happens.

[kilrathy10]

Beautiful job on this one, Man... Everything is looking very good... You've been quite busy, I see... Awesome....

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Sensational job on the cab Charles!  I'm a big fan of scratch building and I'm very impressed by your incredible skills.   Another piece of art in the making!

[leafsprings]

Excellent work, everything looks spot on!   Thanks for tackling this project.  I'm ready to write a check for a couple!

[Chariots of Fire]

Here's an update on where the work has gone so far.  I mocked up a frame and set some tires in place just to get the feel for what it might look like.  The cab and fenders are done.  I finished the basics of the floorboard today and the dashboard a couple of days ago.  Still to go are some running boards.  Clear stock has been cut and fitted for the glass.  The seat is a resin casting from another project but I think it fits the bill.

These are the parts that I am looking to get cast.  The bumper is included.  I just forgot to put it in the photo.  Runing boards will be included as well.  Tires and wheels will not.

I tried to make the parts to go together as easy as possible.  The dash fits snugly just below the windshield line.  The floorboards have a positive location point with the vertical firewall and the back of the cab.  The bottom of the floorboards fit flush with the bottom of the cab.

The fenders have a flange around them that fits against the inside of the hood.  The projections on the front of the fenders fit into the notch of the grill.  The fender flanges also fit between the sides of the body and the sides of the floorboard so everything can be glued together pretty solid.  Very little adjustment will be needed to make sure the fenders are square and level.  

Edited May 12, 2020 by Chariots of Fire

[Chariots of Fire]

The initial work on a Reo is finished and is all boxed up ready to go to AITM for casting.  As soon as a resin pop is available I will post the results.  Headlight inserts will not be part of the package but everything else will including the floorboards and dash which are inside the cab in this photo along with templates for the glass.  Also decals for Gold Comet and Reo will be included.

[Biggu]

THIS is SPECTACULAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chariots of Fire]

I sent it out to AITM this morning.  Looking forward to the first pop!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Beautiful. What is the suggested donor-kit  chassis?

[Chariots of Fire]

2 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Beautiful. What is the suggested donor-kit  chassis?

I think the chassis from the AMT Ford Snowplow kit would work. You would have to change the rear axles from tandem to single, though. The chassis I show above is one from the AMT American La France kits.  I think that would work also but it might need some adjustment up front because that particular frame was for a cab forward apparatus but the rear axle is a single.  Knowing all of that maybe the right thing would be to combine the relevent components from each kit.  Your choice, really.

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 minutes ago, Chariots of Fire said:

I think the chassis from the AMT Ford Snowplow kit would work... Your choice, really.

Thanks. Would the later AMT Diamond Reo chassis be at all appropriate?

[Chariots of Fire]

Good question, Bill.  I don't have one but it's certainly a possibility.

[Hermann Kersten]

I followed this project Charles, and it is really a piece of art what you showed here.

I'm sure the  resin pop will should be of a good quality because the original is made with high quality.

I am also looking forward for the result of the resin cab.

 

Hermann

[Chariots of Fire]

Thank you, Hermann.  It will be a while before I get the results back.  I have another project to start and that is to convert a West Coast long hood Sterling into the short hood version with louvers in the hood sides rather than the chromed trim.  Sort of like this one.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Man...that Sterling dump is a beautiful old truck too. I'll certainly be watching for your build thread.

[Chariots of Fire]

The Reo is now in the hands of AITM.  Molds will be started on Monday.

[Chariots of Fire]

Got word that the first resin casting of the Reo has been done and is on its way here.  I'll post pics as soon as it arrives.

And I sent back the revised Sterling cab and hood.  So the short version may be available at AITM as well.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Chariots of Fire

[Biggu]

VERY cool stuff going on here !