Kenworth W-925 (mild custom)

[Force]

On 3/30/2025 at 11:46 PM, Gary Chastain said:

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. 

It's a thing I have noticed on pictures of real W900's, none that I have seen has the front wheel in the center of the wheel arch, they are allways slightly forward of the center line, so it's how they were made.
But of course you are right, a custom truck is a custom truck and you can do what you want with it...like fix the off center position of the front wheels. 🙂

[Gary Chastain]

New frame, axles and tire/wheel combo with correct offsets. Front flares now fit better, tank length fits and going with these fenders. Going to drop the sleeper and build a cool headache rack instead. Going for mild custom work truck with day cab. 

[Gary Chastain]

Found enough parts in my boxes to build up these fenders. 

[cifenet]

The side stance is looking very nice here.  Did you scratch build the fuel tank?  It is nicely done.   
And I like how you used those I-beam looking base to support your parts and mock up. Very handy!

[Gary Chastain]

25 minutes ago, cifenet said:

The side stance is looking very nice here.  Did you scratch build the fuel tank?  It is nicely done.   
And I like how you used those I-beam looking base to support your parts and mock up. Very handy!

Hey Steve, yes the tank is scratch built, got to make a matching one, then all the brackets. Had to get the length correct. 
the green stands come with Auslow fender mounting fixture, the white ones are homemade, I have several sizes. 

[Gary Chastain]

Hanging fenders today, had to use spacers under stands due to taller tires to get fenders aligned. 

[freightshaker2]

Looking good Gary. I like the little fixtures you're using for alignment. Very cool. And the truck is going to be awesome!

[BK9300]

I'm imagining those fenders being difficult to do without that jig - looks good, Gary!  Might have asked this in a previous build, but did you make the jig for putting the fenders and supports together?

Edited April 8 by BK9300

[Gary Chastain]

1 hour ago, freightshaker2 said:

Looking good Gary. I like the little fixtures you're using for alignment. Very cool. And the truck is going to be awesome!

 

13 minutes ago, BK9300 said:

I'm imagining those fenders being difficult to do without that jig - looks good, Gary!  Might have asked this in a previous build, but did you make the jig for putting the fenders and supports together?

Thanks for looking guys. The fixture I am using is from Auslowe and is very key to getting everything aligned, don’t want saggy fenders. The red and green stands come with the fixture plus some shims based on tire height. When you order the fenders (they are resin cast and require some cleanup), they come with the aluminum rods, frame mounts, and some really delicate fender mounts. They are time consuming to prep the fenders, define where the rod crosses and then assemble in the fixture. I’ve got about three hours so far in them. But the added fenders really bring some life to the build. 

[Gary Chastain]

Picked up a set of battery boxes from Model Truck Builders forum, very well built. But I am still deciding if they are too big, keep looking at box art and they look big there as well………maybe ok……or maybe not. 

[k100]

Your off to a great start Gary  , it going to be another great looking rig .

[Gary Chastain]

25 minutes ago, k100 said:

Your off to a great start Gary  , it going to be another great looking rig .

Thanks Mark, see where this build goes

[ShakyCraftsman]

4 hours ago, Gary Chastain said:

Picked up a set of battery boxes from Model Truck Builders forum, very well built. But I am still deciding if they are too big, keep looking at box art and they look big there as well………maybe ok……or maybe not. 

I think they look perfect on your KW!

Ron G 

[Biggu]

The mock up makes it look to be a real stout tractor, means business and looks powerful already. This is shaping up to be another beauty. Watching with great interest.  

[Gary Chastain]

42 minutes ago, Biggu said:

The mock up makes it look to be a real stout tractor, means business and looks powerful already. This is shaping up to be another beauty. Watching with great interest.  

Thanks Jeff, we will see where this goes, as you know my builds are always open to change 🤣😂😜

[cifenet]

Great progress and build initiative so far!

I think you should take out the word “mild” from your title, it is as custom as it can get! 😄

[Scott Eriksen]

Looks good Gary ,,,yeah a lot of 3D parts don't seem true to scale,,,I ran into that with the Autocar wrecker build

[Jürgen M.]

Looking great Gary! 

Did you adjust the hight of the front axle due to the larger diameter of the floaters?

I had to on my Superliner. Otherwise the wheels on the front drive axle would have "floated"!

I'll be watching! Very nice build!

Edited April 17 by Jürgen M.

[Gary Chastain]

11 hours ago, Jürgen M. said:

Looking great Gary! 

Did you adjust the hight of the front axle due to the larger diameter of the floaters?

I had to on my Superliner. Otherwise the wheels on the front drive axle would have "floated"!

I'll be watching! Very nice build!

Yes sir, kind of a combination of front springs (adjusted the height and the side to side difference as well) adjust and rear suspension adjustments and all the wheels touch down together. 

[Gary Chastain]

20 hours ago, Scott Eriksen said:

Looks good Gary ,,,yeah a lot of 3D parts don't seem true to scale,,,I ran into that with the Autocar wrecker build

I am running into this more and more, most notably parts from eBay or Etsy from individuals. Although some model kits have issues with their scales as well. 

[ShakyCraftsman]

1 minute ago, Gary Chastain said:

I am running into this more and more, most notably parts from eBay or Etsy from individuals. Although some model kits have issues with their scales as well. 

Hey Gary

 Just because a person or company can 3D print a part, doesn't mean they know anything about engineering it. Alot of people design there parts in scale, instead of one to one and then printing it to scale. This generates all lot of mistakes, or errorors in translation.

 I was an Automotive/Aircraft CAD designer for 30+ years, so I know what I'm saying, plus my son owned a 3D printing business that I helped in designing stuff for him.

Ron G 

[Gary Chastain]

3 hours ago, ShakyCraftsman said:

Hey Gary

 Just because a person or company can 3D print a part, doesn't mean they know anything about engineering it. Alot of people design there parts in scale, instead of one to one and then printing it to scale. This generates all lot of mistakes, or errorors in translation.

 I was an Automotive/Aircraft CAD designer for 30+ years, so I know what I'm saying, plus my son owned a 3D printing business that I helped in designing stuff for him.

Ron G 

Ron, that is so true, brings importance to reaching out to a skilled printer.