Kenworth W-925 (mild custom)

[Gary Chastain]

5 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Awesome work Gary

Thanks Jeff

[Gary Chastain]

Truck build is evolving, giving the build some muscle. Found some floats and made up some front hubs, may change the axle out for something more heavy duty, added flares to give it a more muscle look. Spent a lot of time searching for taller/wider rear tires and rims with the correct spacing to not allow tires to touch. Rear tires are almost the same height as the fronts, very close. Motor: I do have one more larger turbo that could be added to the Cummins 6 or I did find a twin turbo 903 Cummins…hhhmmmmm. I did drive a truck with a 903 Cummins, just a thundering motor. 

[Gary Chastain]

Getting the direction of this build mocked up. 

[Biggu]

37 minutes ago, Gary Chastain said:

Getting the direction of this build mocked up. 

KILLER!!!

[freightshaker2]

Lookin great Gary! This is coming right along. Looking like another tuff heavy haul! 

[Gary Chastain]

Putting some time in defining this build. The gap from the front fender to the bumper needs addressed. Think I will try to add a panel to the bumper that closes that gap but allows the hood to rotate forward. Second: I don’t like how the bumper just terminates in front of the tires. Maybe add bumper ends, add a transition radius, then add a radius that matches the wheel opening. I want to follow the theme of a mild custom build. I may also recess blue marker lights across the bottom of the bumper and recess the license plate as well. 
On another note: I ordered PE dash kit, interior kit, some lighting stuff and a grill kit. 

[Jürgen M.]

This is gonna be a great build Gary! 

I love your ideas on the fitting of the bumper! 

[Gary Chastain]

2 minutes ago, Jürgen M. said:

This is gonna be a great build Gary! 

I love your ideas on the fitting of the bumper! 

Thanks, I will build one up, but if if doesn’t work, I’ll add the bumper to my box of bad ideas 🤪

[Gary Chastain]

The float rims I have are 3d printed and I had no hubs/brake drums for them. Dug thru my parts stash and came up with drums and bearing caps. Had to open the wheel centers a tiny bit but everything lines up well. Hoping these wheels paint up nice, there is printing marks on them. 

[BK9300]

Your mockup looks good, Gary!  Could you remind me where you get your front floats?  I don’t have any with that tread pattern and need to get some.

[Gary Chastain]

11 minutes ago, BK9300 said:

Your mockup looks good, Gary!  Could you remind me where you get your front floats?  I don’t have any with that tread pattern and need to get some.

This set came from eBay, but I made sure that they were not 3D printed as the sidewall finish on 3D is not as good. This guy was from Wisconsin but quite making them, wish I would have purchased more of them. I like the resin/rubber cast wheels best for sidewall definition. Paul at ST Supply in Canada has some really good ones and so does Sourkraut in the US. 

[Gary Chastain]

I managed to find enough parts to build a steerable front axle. But a problem came up, the 3D printed wheel offset was too much, switch to a different offset wheels and it works. Those are the largest floats I have, I do have a set of floats a little narrower and shorter. 

[cifenet]

You are making rapid progress on this, Gary. 

Great start and the truck is visually beautiful as is already!

[Gary Chastain]

10 minutes ago, cifenet said:

You are making rapid progress on this, Gary. 

Great start and the truck is visually beautiful as is already!

Thanks Steve, still sorting out the chassis and wheels. And it’s cold and raining for the next several days. 

[Scott Eriksen]

Nice build Gary,,good to see ya back in the groove and all,,, a 903 would be pretty cool! 

[Gary Chastain]

9 minutes ago, Scott Eriksen said:

Nice build Gary,,good to see ya back in the groove and all,,, a 903 would be pretty cool! 

Hey Scott, rain and cold for the next several days, so upstairs to the model room. Think I am just going with the Cummins and a larger turbo for this build. Trying to stay with the mild custom idea. But I think I will pick up a twin turbo 903 for a more wild custom build some day. Be fun to do some crazy plumbing on that kinda motor. 

[Scott Eriksen]

11 minutes ago, Gary Chastain said:

Hey Scott, rain and cold for the next several days, so upstairs to the model room. Think I am just going with the Cummins and a larger turbo for this build. Trying to stay with the mild custom idea. But I think I will pick up a twin turbo 903 for a more wild custom build some day. Be fun to do some crazy plumbing on that kinda motor. 

OR............do what KW is doing with some of the last W-900's ,,,installing X-15's but painting them old school Cummins Beige ! 

[freightshaker2]

12 hours ago, Scott Eriksen said:

OR............do what KW is doing with some of the last W-900's ,,,installing X-15's but painting them old school Cummins Beige ! 

Legacy Edition. Hard to believe they're shutting down the W900 model... I mean when someone thinks of Kenworth they think of W9's.. sorry not to sidestep the build. Looking great Gary! Making some real progress and it's gonna look fantastic!

[Gary Chastain]

1 hour ago, freightshaker2 said:

Legacy Edition. Hard to believe they're shutting down the W900 model... I mean when someone thinks of Kenworth they think of W9's.. sorry not to sidestep the build. Looking great Gary! Making some real progress and it's gonna look fantastic!

Oh agree, not sure I like the fact that Paccar is reducing their lineup. Most drivers prefer the tradional truck as opposed to the swoops designs of today. Just my take on things. I spent the last 30 years teaching plastics and did a lot of work with companies who supply Paccar. 

[Gary Chastain]

Progress today: Wheels are built, now strip of chrome (in the purple pond) and reassemble. Exhaust built up, may use taller pipes, decide later. Started assembly of engine but need to strip chrome on a bunch of pieces, had to find another transmission as the one in the kit as badly warped. 

[Force]

Like your build.
You know the front wheels on a real W900 is off center do you?
Most if not all w900's I have seen the front wheels are slightly towards the front in the wheel arch.

[Gary Chastain]

1 hour ago, Force said:

Like your build.
You know the front wheels on a real W900 is off center do you?
Most if not all w900's I have seen the front wheels are slightly towards the front in the wheel arch.

Thanks Hakan for your input. Most of the trucks I drove, the hood shook so bad, it would crack, there was rub marks on the cab, after a few years they didn’t line up very well, even the hinges would get bent.  The best part about a custom built truck is those items can be adjusted and/or fixed. 

[Gary Chastain]

Do you ever have the build that just keeps kicking your skills, well this is mine. It’s not because of the kit, it’s operator error (s). I stopped on my frame and just started over and built a new frame. I stripped the chrome cleaned up the wheels and repainted, they look terrible, looking for different wheel set. But my PE stuff arrived with a set of Gary Wallace fenders. 

[Gary Chastain]

Ended up using the kit frame in the stock length along with the kit rear suspension but new problems. As you can see the the tires/rims are not centered in the fenders. The new fenders I bought do not fit duals although they fit super singles a lot better. That leaves me with the Auslow rear fenders that actually fit. 

[cifenet]

Anyway you build it, I know this one is going to be special.  

And very fun watching all your custom parts being put together and then you repeating the whole process again w different combo till you find your sweet spot. 

I am jealous of all the parts from different MFG companies you got going. 😁
 

I need do my research and explore what is out there~