Ryder IH Loadstar

[DRIPTROIT 71]

This is the cab mastered by Charles Rowley. He also did the decals. It was cast by AITM. The chassis is an extended AMT C cab Ford chassis. The engine is from the Ertl IH Scout. The box is from an AMT Louisville Short hauler. 

[Jim B]

Looks awesome.  Really well done.

[vincen47]

It’s neat seeing a Loadstar. No matter what the form, it’s a unique model, despite being such a common truck back in the day. A rare resin cab, and you sure did it well.

[ChrisR]

Looking great!!

[Warren D]

Great idea and well executed!

[hct728(Bob)]

Nailed it! Very unique, nice to see that box body on something different, and you added the rear bumper and ramp, cool!

[happy grumpy]

Very nice. We don't see these often. Great and unique build. I dig it.

[cifenet]

Cool cargo truck, I like how the rear hatch is half way opened.  

It could be my eyes, but the cabin could sit slightly higher though.  Regardless, fantastic result and great photography!

[grodudulle77]

Very nice build !! ??

[leafsprings]

Great job bringing the resin piece to life. LIke the body choice, under hood details, authentic mirrors and wheels, I can almost hear the 345 whining out sound, remember those engines made more noise than the exhaust!

[PappyD340]

Very nice!

[Scott Eriksen]

That thing is sweet !  Great job! The butterfly hood looks great!!!  ,,, probably open because it has an exhaust manifold leak ...lol ....my gut hurts already thinking about leaning over the fender ?

[Scott Eriksen]

I want to do something with my Fleetstar but that casting is damn thick ,, here's a pic of our old Fleetstar/Holmes wrecker my Dad bought new in 70 ,,,now rusting away in a farmers field  last tagged 1991 ,I painted that truck with Imron around 1982 ,,,paint held up pretty good!

Edited March 17, 2024 by Scott Eriksen

[Sledsel]

Pretty cool looking truck!

[Noah H.]

Very nicely done!

[Dutzie]

Great looking build!

[AlbertS]

Nice work, tell me where did you get the front rims from?

[DRIPTROIT 71]

On 3/12/2024 at 8:03 PM, Jim B said:

Looks awesome.  Really well done.

Thanks Jim!!

On 3/13/2024 at 12:22 AM, vincen47 said:

It’s neat seeing a Loadstar. No matter what the form, it’s a unique model, despite being such a common truck back in the day. A rare resin cab, and you sure did it well.

Thanks Victor! These were everywhere back in the day! I actually had one given to me but didn't want to pay the cost to have it towed to my house.

 

On 3/13/2024 at 3:10 AM, ChrisR said:

Looking great!!

Thanks Chris!!

On 3/13/2024 at 5:50 AM, Warren D said:

Great idea and well executed!

Thanks Warren!!

On 3/13/2024 at 8:14 AM, hct728(Bob) said:

Nailed it! Very unique, nice to see that box body on something different, and you added the rear bumper and ramp, cool!

Thanks Bob!! I thought that it needed a ramp if it was going to be a moving van instead of the lift gate.

On 3/13/2024 at 12:51 PM, happy grumpy said:

Very nice. We don't see these often. Great and unique build. I dig it.

Thanks Mario!!

On 3/14/2024 at 1:48 AM, cifenet said:

Cool cargo truck, I like how the rear hatch is half way opened.  

It could be my eyes, but the cabin could sit slightly higher though.  Regardless, fantastic result and great photography!

Thanks Steve! The ride height of the truck is pretty close to the 1:1. I did lower the box a little as it is a moving van.

On 3/15/2024 at 6:07 PM, grodudulle77 said:

Very nice build !! ??

Thanks Philippe

On 3/15/2024 at 6:58 PM, leafsprings said:

Great job bringing the resin piece to life. LIke the body choice, under hood details, authentic mirrors and wheels, I can almost hear the 345 whining out sound, remember those engines made more noise than the exhaust!

Thanks Tommy!! The good thing about these old trucks is when that 345 let go, the entire front end could be taken off, radiator and all, in just a few minutes, with just a few bolts removed. Of course, you also needed a few people to help set the front end off as well.

On 3/16/2024 at 6:40 AM, PappyD340 said:

Very nice!

Thanks Larry!!

On 3/16/2024 at 9:15 PM, Scott Eriksen said:

That thing is sweet !  Great job! The butterfly hood looks great!!!  ,,, probably open because it has an exhaust manifold leak ...lol ....my gut hurts already thinking about leaning over the fender ?

 

On 3/16/2024 at 9:17 PM, Scott Eriksen said:

I want to do something with my Fleetstar but that casting is damn thick ,, here's a pic of our old Fleetstar/Holmes wrecker my Dad bought new in 70 ,,,now rusting away in a farmers field  last tagged 1991 ,I painted that truck with Imron around 1982 ,,,paint held up pretty good!

Thanks Scott! That's a cool truck that you have there! I have the resin cab myself that I hope to build one day. Looking forward to seeing yours built!

On 3/18/2024 at 1:06 AM, Sledsel said:

Pretty cool looking truck!

Thanks Andy!!

On 3/22/2024 at 3:27 PM, Noah H. said:

Very nicely done!

Thanks Noah!!

On 3/22/2024 at 10:22 PM, Dutzie said:

Great looking build!

Thanks Brian!!

On 3/23/2024 at 2:53 PM, AlbertS said:

Nice work, tell me where did you get the front rims from?

Thanks Al! The front wheels are something that I cobbled together. They began life as rear spokes. I think that they were in the Revell Australian W900 KW kit. I cut them down, added a rim and a hub. They are not 100% perfect, but they look the part.

[cdntrucking]

That's awesome, reminds of a truck we had on the farm many years ago.

[1hobby1]

Very cool build. I like it! 

[RoninUtah]

Very nice build!  I also did one of these AITM Loadstars... I did mine as a boring all-grey box truck, but it's not nearly as nice as yours.  I remember when I was in the Seabees in the early '70s we had a Loadstar with a Holmes 750 wrecker.  Every time I pulled motor pool duty I'd have to fire it up about 2 AM to pull somebody out of a ditch or somewhere where they weren't supposed to be!  We also had a bus, similar to a school bus, with a Loadstar front end and drive train.  They were fairly reliable pieces of equipment, as I recall.

[AlbertS]

On 3/26/2024 at 1:02 PM, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

Thanks Jim!!

Thanks Victor! These were everywhere back in the day! I actually had one given to me but didn't want to pay the cost to have it towed to my house.

 

Thanks Chris!!

Thanks Warren!!

Thanks Bob!! I thought that it needed a ramp if it was going to be a moving van instead of the lift gate.

Thanks Mario!!

Thanks Steve! The ride height of the truck is pretty close to the 1:1. I did lower the box a little as it is a moving van.

Thanks Philippe

Thanks Tommy!! The good thing about these old trucks is when that 345 let go, the entire front end could be taken off, radiator and all, in just a few minutes, with just a few bolts removed. Of course, you also needed a few people to help set the front end off as well.

Thanks Larry!!

 

Thanks Scott! That's a cool truck that you have there! I have the resin cab myself that I hope to build one day. Looking forward to seeing yours built!

Thanks Andy!!

Thanks Noah!!

Thanks Brian!!

Thanks Al! The front wheels are something that I cobbled together. They began life as rear spokes. I think that they were in the Revell Australian W900 KW kit. I cut them down, added a rim and a hub. They are not 100% perfect, but they look the part.

Thanks for the response.  I also bought one of these, not knowing we were short timers regarding all of the good things AITM had to offer-before Dave passed-it is in my production list, a little down range yet, and these look really close to what IH would have hung on the front.

[slusher]

Looks fantastic, Brian!

[gotnitro?]

Excellent work! Really like the ramp on the back 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

On 3/28/2024 at 4:44 AM, slusher said:

Looks fantastic, Brian!

Thanks Carl!

On 3/30/2024 at 12:12 PM, gotnitro? said:

Excellent work! Really like the ramp on the back 

Thanks Jeff!