Ford LS Rescue truck

[gotnitro?]

Wait what ??? He's building something shiny, and with chrome your all asking right??? Yes, this build and the next will have both. This is completely different from what I usually build, my Dad noticed I hadn't built a fire truck yet..so the squirrels were let in the house. 

This is part 1 of 3, and the easier of the group. I'm planning a tanker, this rescue truck, and lastly an ariel or Quint. 

So...I ordered a rescue body off the auction site. The main build will be based off the Ford Louisville short hauler. A newer, LS 9000 hood from Plaskit is being shipped.I assembled the beautiful rescue body, and heres a quick mock up of where I headed. Any feedback, comments or concerns welcome! 

Closeup of the engraved details this arrived with

Jeff 

[blackbeard]

great start to a new project 

[Gary Chastain]

This is gonna be fun to watch, darn squirrels 🤣😂

[Warren D]

A Brock 357/359 would be nice......just to add a few squirrels to your hoard.

[gotnitro?]

4 hours ago, Gary Chastain said:

This is gonna be fun to watch, darn squirrels 🤣😂

Thanks, hoping for a quick build during the holiday break

[gotnitro?]

3 hours ago, Warren D said:

A Brock 357/359 would be nice......just to add a few squirrels to your hoard.

Yeah I'd love add another puppy to the shelf eventually. Guess it would need to be one of Global scales cabs now

[gotnitro?]

I just had to fix those engraved doors, chopped up a fresh sheet of .020" and that was done. I'm so much happier with them now. They just need slam locks.

I ordered several sheets of plastruct diamond plate for the fire trucks, since they don't rely on dirt for traction lol.

I chatted w our town fire chief today, and he brought photos of our towns apparatus. I was blown away when he showed me our towns Ford LS !  Hard to believe its a 1992 , and looks like new!! I'm planning a similar color scheme of white / safety lime green aka slime lime.

Edited December 25, 2024 by gotnitro?

[Chariots of Fire]

"Slime" green; probably the most difficult color to keep clean and looking good.  Was quite a fad back in the day with some"experts' saying it was for better visibility.  Today lots of rigs are back to some scheme of black over red, white over red or just plain red but with lights and strobes everywhere!  And thrown in for good measure are diagonal reflective yellow stripes all over the back.☺️

[Biggu]

1 hour ago, Chariots of Fire said:

"Slime" green; probably the most difficult color to keep clean and looking good.  Was quite a fad back in the day with some"experts' saying it was for better visibility.  Today lots of rigs are back to some scheme of black over red, white over red or just plain red but with lights and strobes everywhere!  And thrown in for good measure are diagonal reflective yellow stripes all over the back.☺️

Don’t you just LOVE “experts”???……….🙄

[BK9300]

On 12/24/2024 at 4:32 PM, gotnitro? said:

I just had to fix those engraved doors, chopped up a fresh sheet of .020" and that was done. I'm so much happier with them now. They just need slam locks.

The new doors sure look more realistic than before - even more so when the locks are added!

[gotnitro?]

19 minutes ago, BK9300 said:

The new doors sure look more realistic than before - even more so when the locks are added!

I'm hunting for the PE slam locks now

[BK9300]

I bought sets from CTM as well as Kit Form Services - the ones from KFS are a bit more substantial and a bit more depth in the detail

 

[gotnitro?]

Excellent exactly what I was looking for thanks ! 

[Chariots of Fire]

DonMillsHobbies also still has them although they may not be plated.  But a Molotow pen would take care of that.

[stavanzer]

Another Great Project to watch!

[gotnitro?]

Okay, I ordered several sets of KFS slam locks from ST supply. Now begs the question which style would make more sense between the round or rectangular? Most photos I've seen show a round lock, guess it depends on fire company 

[gotnitro?]

22 hours ago, stavanzer said:

Another Great Project to watch!

Glad to have you following along! 

I scored the Louisville kit yesterday, so I can begin to build up a roller. My hoods being shipped out this week, I need to settle on the engine. 

[gotnitro?]

23 hours ago, Chariots of Fire said:

DonMillsHobbies also still has them although they may not be plated.  But a Molotow pen would take care of that.

Thanks ! I have some of these in the stash, but wanted to avoid cutting out slots for them in the doors. 

[Scott Eriksen]

4 minutes ago, gotnitro? said:

Glad to have you following along! 

I scored the Louisville kit yesterday, so I can begin to build up a roller. My hoods being shipped out this week, I need to settle on the engine. 

A Cummins would be good with that hood Jeff

[gotnitro?]

14 minutes ago, Scott Eriksen said:

A Cummins would be good with that hood Jeff

Which one are you thinking of so I can look thru the stash

[Chariots of Fire]

5 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Thanks ! I have some of these in the stash, but wanted to avoid cutting out slots for them in the doors. 

Do it with a series of drills.  Small at the center and then build out.  The final opening can be done with a rat tail file.

[Scott Eriksen]

5 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Which one are you thinking of so I can look thru the stash

Big Cam 350/400 or an N14 and the L10 ,,I think ST Supply / Jamie or Sourkraut has an N14 ..not sure if anyone does an L10 ,I think the only inline Cat available in around 1992 was a 3406 .I think you could still get the 3208 V8 . I think the series 60 Detroit was available too. If I recall the bigger Cummins and Cat engines were installed tilted to the pass side for cab clearance

Edited December 28, 2024 by Scott Eriksen

[gotnitro?]

1 hour ago, Chariots of Fire said:

Do it with a series of drills.  Small at the center and then build out.  The final opening can be done with a rat tail file.

Thanks ! I settled on using the round type so drilling holes will work

[gotnitro?]

@Scott Eriksen thanks for the engine ideas, plenty of options to pick from.

I assembled the rolling chassis today to figure out if a stretch was required. Turns out a smallish 5/8 stretch worked out! I found a clean area between crossmembers, and hacked away. 

I still need to rebuild the flanges. 

The front is unfinished to allow the hood conversion changes, but Daniel said its all forward of the stock springs. 

The underside of the rescue body required a notch removed to allow the body to slip over. I plan to add some angled plates to tie everything together.

Test fitting..we love mock ups 

Our dog started barking like crazy about this time, letting us know another package arrived...hmm turns out it was my scale finishes order! 

Jeff 

[Firebuilder]

Great start, adding the plastic stock for the cabinet doors definitely a big improvement. You can also  order parts from Ranger Detail Products. He makes a lot of fire apparatus parts in 1:25.  I have ordered from him in the past and was satisfied with his product.   I will be following. All of your apparatus builds.

Dom