Trying to decide on a Peterbilt 353 project

[ABC Auto Industry]

So, one of my planned models is a Peterbilt 353, but due to the difficulty of finding resin parts, I may have to scratchbuild the fenders myself. That aside, I was looking at pictures of old abandoned trucks used in the logging industry, and I'm trying to decide whether to build this truck as a logging truck or a mining dump truck. What do you folks think?

[Jim B]

I'd do a 353 as a logging truck, but that's just me.  And sense I don't have the talent to make the fenders, it's all an academic exercise anyway.

[Force]

I don't think the flat angeled fenders of the 353 would be a problem to scratch build from sheet stock, but the 353 also has a butterfly hood like the 351 has but with a wider radiator and grille.
The Revell Germany 353 is not right as the fenders are attached to the flip hood, the fenders on a real 353 are not as they are separate and attached to the chassis, the fenders in the Revell Germany 353 kit also is wrong shape and in diamond plate, but after what I can see the fenders should be smooth on the surface.

Here is a link to our friend and Peterbilt guru Tim Ahlborn's Fotki site with lots of pictures of 353's.
https://public.fotki.com/mackinac359/peterbilt-motors-cl/peterbilt-353/

[ABC Auto Industry]

2 hours ago, Force said:

I don't think the flat angeled fenders of the 353 would be a problem to scratch build from sheet stock, but the 353 also has a butterfly hood like the 351 has but with a wider radiator and grille.
The Revell Germany 353 is not right as the fenders are attached to the flip hood, the fenders on a real 353 are not as they are separate and attached to the chassis, the fenders in the Revell Germany 353 kit also is wrong shape and in diamond plate, but after what I can see the fenders should be smooth on the surface.

Here is a link to our friend and Peterbilt guru Tim Ahlborn's Fotki site with lots of pictures of 353's.
https://public.fotki.com/mackinac359/peterbilt-motors-cl/peterbilt-353/

Which makes me wonder a couple of things:

1. Is the fender angle on the 353 the same or different from the fenders on the Kenworth Alaskan Hauler kit?

2. Could I use the butterfly hood from the Kenworth Alaskan Hauler kit and slap Pete ovals on that? I know Tim Ahlborn once reworked a Pete hood with a Kenworth cab in his youth in an attempt to build a 359 with an 1100 Series cab before AMT actually updated their 359 kit.

And yes, I love looking at Tim's Fotki page. I'm especially fond of looking at the old 387s (not to be confused with the new aero 387), and the big bad 397s.

[Force]

6 hours ago, ABC Auto Industry said:

Which makes me wonder a couple of things:

1. Is the fender angle on the 353 the same or different from the fenders on the Kenworth Alaskan Hauler kit?

2. Could I use the butterfly hood from the Kenworth Alaskan Hauler kit and slap Pete ovals on that? I know Tim Ahlborn once reworked a Pete hood with a Kenworth cab in his youth in an attempt to build a 359 with an 1100 Series cab before AMT actually updated their 359 kit.

And yes, I love looking at Tim's Fotki page. I'm especially fond of looking at the old 387s (not to be confused with the new aero 387), and the big bad 397s.

1. If you look at the pictures on Tim's page for the 353 you will see that the 353 front fenders aren't the same shape as the Kenworth fenders, the Alaskan Hauler fenders are also diamond plate wich the 353 fenders aren't, maybe the Kenworth fenders can be modified but It's most likely easier to make them from scratch.

2. The butterfly hood on the Kenworth Alaskan Hauler is not right for a Peterbilt 353, it's a different shape as the Kenworth hood is more pointed at the top and the Peterbilt hood top is flatter, the layout is not the same, the 353 butterfly hood looks the same as the 351 hood but it's wider at the front, study the pictures and compare and you will see what I mean.
I know Tim himself had modified a 359 tilt hood to look like a 353 butterfly hood on one of his builds, it's in his Fotki albums of Peterbilt builds if you look around.
If you don't care about functionality it's a quite easy job with some sanding, filling in the cutout for the air cleaner and scribing in some new panel lines.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Force

[ABC Auto Industry]

8 hours ago, Force said:

1. If you look at the pictures on Tim's page for the 353 you will see that the 353 front fenders aren't the same shape as the Kenworth fenders, the Alaskan Hauler fenders are also diamond plate wich the 353 fenders aren't, maybe the Kenworth fenders can be modified but It's most likely easier to make them from scratch.

2. The butterfly hood on the Kenworth Alaskan Hauler is not right for a Peterbilt 353, it's a different shape as the Kenworth hood is more pointed at the top and the Peterbilt hood top is flatter, the layout is not the same, the 353 butterfly hood looks the same as the 351 hood but it's wider at the front, study the pictures and compare and you will see what I mean.
I know Tim himself had modified a 359 tilt hood to look like a 353 butterfly hood on one of his builds, it's in his Fotki albums of Peterbilt builds if you look around.
If you don't care about functionality it's a quite easy job with some sanding, filling in the cutout for the air cleaner and scribing in some new panel lines.

1. On second thought, I also found a 3D model that somebody did of a 353 that can be bought as a print-ready model. Problem is, such a model costs like $900, and I don't want to pay that much just to get fenders and a hood.

2. OK, looks like I'll have to mod the hood, then. Based on what you said, it doesn't seem like a gargantuan task, although I'll be honest, I've never attempted this before.

On a side note, there's a construction company in my town that still has a black 353 dump truck in its fleet. I don't know what engine it's packing, but I know it has quad round headlights and six-spoke steel wheels.

[Force]

4 hours ago, ABC Auto Industry said:

1. On second thought, I also found a 3D model that somebody did of a 353 that can be bought as a print-ready model. Problem is, such a model costs like $900, and I don't want to pay that much just to get fenders and a hood.

2. OK, looks like I'll have to mod the hood, then. Based on what you said, it doesn't seem like a gargantuan task, although I'll be honest, I've never attempted this before.

On a side note, there's a construction company in my town that still has a black 353 dump truck in its fleet. I don't know what engine it's packing, but I know it has quad round headlights and six-spoke steel wheels.

Yeah the price can be the problem with 3D prints.
As for the hood, I don't think it will be a big problem, if you don't want it to be functional you can do it as a lift off.
Here is a link to the hood modification Tim did.
https://public.fotki.com/mackinac359/peterbilt-model-gal-3/tandem-steer-353-ca/353-tandem-steer.html

[Biggu]

https://stsupplyco.com/collections/model-kits-resin-cabs-new/products/1-25-scale-revell-peterbilt-353-model-truck-kit

https://stsupplyco.com/collections/model-kits-resin-cabs-new/products/1-25-scale-revell-peterbilt-353-alaska-model-truck-kit

https://stsupplyco.com/collections/model-kits-resin-cabs-new/products/1-25-scale-revell-peterbilt-alaskan-hauler-model-truck-kit

Would any of these be a starting point? Not sure how accurate they are or aren't , but may be worth a look?

If you do decide to order from Paul, he is a top drawer guy, I have placed a number of orders from him and he has never failed to have stellar service....

Cheers

Jeff

 

[Force]

On 12/28/2023 at 11:13 PM, Biggu said:

https://stsupplyco.com/collections/model-kits-resin-cabs-new/products/1-25-scale-revell-peterbilt-353-model-truck-kit

https://stsupplyco.com/collections/model-kits-resin-cabs-new/products/1-25-scale-revell-peterbilt-353-alaska-model-truck-kit

https://stsupplyco.com/collections/model-kits-resin-cabs-new/products/1-25-scale-revell-peterbilt-alaskan-hauler-model-truck-kit

Would any of these be a starting point? Not sure how accurate they are or aren't , but may be worth a look?

If you do decide to order from Paul, he is a top drawer guy, I have placed a number of orders from him and he has never failed to have stellar service....

Cheers

Jeff

 

The Revell Germany Peterbilt 353 is not accurate at all, they are way off as it's a regular 359 with different fenders...much like the bad Marmon they did wich was a Peterbilt 359 with a different grille.
So they are not worth it if you want to do a correct 353.
But I agree with you, Paul is a great guy to shop from.

[ABC Auto Industry]

On 12/28/2023 at 5:13 PM, Biggu said:

https://stsupplyco.com/collections/model-kits-resin-cabs-new/products/1-25-scale-revell-peterbilt-353-model-truck-kit

https://stsupplyco.com/collections/model-kits-resin-cabs-new/products/1-25-scale-revell-peterbilt-353-alaska-model-truck-kit

https://stsupplyco.com/collections/model-kits-resin-cabs-new/products/1-25-scale-revell-peterbilt-alaskan-hauler-model-truck-kit

Would any of these be a starting point? Not sure how accurate they are or aren't , but may be worth a look?

If you do decide to order from Paul, he is a top drawer guy, I have placed a number of orders from him and he has never failed to have stellar service....

Cheers

Jeff

 

Sorry, but I gotta agree with Force: None of those would make a good starting point for me. I'd rather not pay $150 just for a couple of fenders.

[Muncie]

you may be able to find dimensioned or scalable drawings with a google search for "Peterbilt 353 body builder manual" or "Peterbilt 353 body builder drawing".  it looks like there are some things out there, it's just a matter of sorting thru to find what's relevant.  Truck manufacturers provide these to body builders to complete the truck.

[Force]

5 hours ago, ABC Auto Industry said:

Sorry, but I gotta agree with Force: None of those would make a good starting point for me. I'd rather not pay $150 just for a couple of fenders.

The fenders are completey wrong anyway.
You can try to send a message to Tim Ahlborn, he's a member here and he might have information for you as he's the Peterbilt guru.
his handle here is mackinac359 but he hasn't been frequent here for a couple of years, he also has a facebook page and you can try to shoot him a message there.

[ABC Auto Industry]

10 hours ago, Muncie said:

you may be able to find dimensioned or scalable drawings with a google search for "Peterbilt 353 body builder manual" or "Peterbilt 353 body builder drawing".  it looks like there are some things out there, it's just a matter of sorting thru to find what's relevant.  Truck manufacturers provide these to body builders to complete the truck.

I haven't found any yet, but I'll keep looking.

 

7 hours ago, Force said:

The fenders are completey wrong anyway.
You can try to send a message to Tim Ahlborn, he's a member here and he might have information for you as he's the Peterbilt guru.
his handle here is mackinac359 but he hasn't been frequent here for a couple of years, he also has a facebook page and you can try to shoot him a message there.

I might just do that. Also, since I've gotten one vote for this, I might just build my 353 as a logging truck, though the idea of building it as a mining truck is still strong in my head, especially considering I recently bought an Autocar dump truck kit and plan on building that one as a mixer using parts from the Kenworth Challenge mixer kit.

[Force]

4 hours ago, ABC Auto Industry said:

I haven't found any yet, but I'll keep looking.

 

I might just do that. Also, since I've gotten one vote for this, I might just build my 353 as a logging truck, though the idea of building it as a mining truck is still strong in my head, especially considering I recently bought an Autocar dump truck kit and plan on building that one as a mixer using parts from the Kenworth Challenge mixer kit.

I hope it works out for you.