Too old to post....

[Jay Lankford]

In the short time I've been a part of this forum, I've seen others post builds from some time ago. In that spirit and to give those interested a little background into my modeI building, I found these pictures of a Peterbilt from 77' to 79'. Somewhere in that time frame. Oldest model I have pics of. First AMT issue when they went from "California Hauler" to "Cross Country Hauler". First time two tone painting and cutting trailers up. After having bought mine nearly 50 years ago, I see that kit has been reissued as well as the trailer. 

[Jim B]

That's a good looking Peterbilt.  Well done.

[PappyD340]

Very nice!

[Russell C]

6 hours ago, Jay Lankford said:

... Peterbilt from 77' to 79'. Somewhere in that time frame .... 

Great work for back in the day! First truck I built was the California Hauler in '74-ish after getting hooked on the "Movin' On" TV series - much worse build quality than yours here. Later converted that same model to a narrow nose waterwell driller in '81-ish, when my building skills were not up to par with my building ambition. One of these days I'll restore that one ...

[Rockford]

Looks a tidy job. Novel idea of the 'truck and pup'. I have one of those 359s in my history, I think we all do. 

[stavanzer]

Great Build! I like the Straight Truck/Pup Trailer combo.

Good Show.

[Jay Lankford]

One more shot. 

[Pete68]

Nice rig I like that paint scheme a lot. Glad you shared it when I find old pics of my models or my brother’s models built in the early 1970s I post them here. What you have posted and captured is where custom truck modeling started and some of the new generation has never seen how it was done back in the day without the comforts of today’s technology. Thanks for sharing great job. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Pete68

[Pete68]

On 12/10/2025 at 10:11 PM, Russell C said:

Great work for back in the day! First truck I built was the California Hauler in '74-ish after getting hooked on the "Movin' On" TV series - much worse build quality than yours here. Later converted that same model to a narrow nose waterwell driller in '81-ish, when my building skills were not up to par with my building ambition. One of these days I'll restore that one ...

That’s is pretty neat thanks for sharing. When I would ride with my dad on the truck he would stop at the Robin Hood Truck Stop in Pevley Missouri just so I could get a copy of the latest OO magazine. I still have some copies today. I’ll did them out and see if I have the one your featured in. 
 

My older brother Bill did the same to his original 1968-69 AMT California Hauler he bought in 1969 then around 1972 he customized it to a narrow nose which he used that pattern to market and sell his Pete 358 resin hood for many years. Then around 1985 restored and still has it today. When he first built the truck he had a decal on the gille named “Little Joe” he still refers to that name of the truck model today. Thanks for sharing. 

Edited 42 minutes ago by Pete68

[Jay Lankford]

Thank you, Lee. I certainly appreciate the comments on early truck customizing. Seems anything is possible now, but back in the day we didn't have many options. Necessity was truly the mother of invention. Here is another build from that time. I modified the AMT lowboy trailer to four axles and had the AMT D8 cat on it. Sorry I don't have pics of the entire combination. Remember using dry transfer letters? Now you can print decals. 

[Jay Lankford]

I started my subscription to Overdrive when I was thirteen. Kept boxes of them for years. Wish I still had them. I got a lot of ideas from there and eventually they added the "Model of the Month" feature. Couldn't wait to see that every month. 

[Pete68]

Now that’s one sweet Acar! Very clever using multiple kit features I like the Paystar bumper on it and that Jeep Dolly is awesome. The Paystar wheels look better on the this Acar for sure very beefy. I’ll have to get some pics of my brothers Acar he built around 1972 I have it on the self he gave it to my several years ago He made a custom headache rack out of old model sprue trees and a custom winch for it. Your builds remind me of his builds so much thanks for the memories where I would watch Bill for hours at night building these dreams. 

[Pete68]

7 minutes ago, Jay Lankford said:

boxes of them for years. Wish I still had them.

Yeah me too and Heavy Duty Trucking my dad was subscribe to. I let Rick Manz talk me out of them for some crappy resin cabs and some I never got 😂 at the young age of 17. 
 

I was the same way with Owner Operator magazine Mom wouldn’t let Dad buy me Overdrive Magazine’s because of the girls in them 😂. I was too young but Owner Operator was good for Table Top Trucker. 

[Pete68]

22 minutes ago, Jay Lankford said:

using dry transfer letters

Yes I used a few myself and those pin stripes you had to order from the “Old” Auto World magazine.