codie27 Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 being new to the site i think i may have posted this in the cars section,but for us that are more into building trucks than cars, i am posting again here. this is my first ever scratch built cab and chassis project. after spotting a pic on the net of an old autocar in a junkyard i decided that the only way i would get my hands on one would be to build it myself,so after collecting a handful of pics i set about the task and had it finished after three solid weeks. it may not be 100% accurate but they are a hard truck to find info on. even so i am impressed with the final result and hope to get a little feed back on it from other builders.
Jason Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Wow. I am very impressed! you did an excellent job. Do you have plans for a trailer? Can you post some details on how you went about doing this? again awesome work! Thanks Jason
codie27 Posted November 25, 2009 Author Posted November 25, 2009 Jason said: Wow. I am very impressed! you did an excellent job. Do you have plans for a trailer? Can you post some details on how you went about doing this? again awesome work! Thanks Jason thanks for the reply. i am planning on building a 1950s style texaco tank trailer for it,i am just trying to find a few more pics from that era that show various angles etc. so as i can get maximum detail. as for the build of the truck itself, basically all i started with was two sheets of evergreen sheet, some half round and quarter round lengths and a sheet of paper which i used as marking templates for the rear and sides of the cab. once i had those cut out i made an inner frame using the quarter round which stiffened up the cab real nice. the nose took a lot of time to get the curve and angle right.i havent really figured out a better technique for bending the plastic yet so i use a lighter held at a distance to soften the plastic and then work it to the desired shape and then finally use a skim of filler to get a nice smooth surface. basically the roof was the same technique. the swage lines are 5mm flat strips that i gave a slight curve to using a hobby knife and the chrome strips are round rod that i flattened one side of so they would sit flat on the cab sides. most of the parts that i used were from my spare parts box. i bought a lindberg l700 dodge thinking i could use the chassis,but that didnt look right so i decided to use c channel and make my own,although i did use the crossmembers and suspension from the dodge kit. for all the rivets i cut the tops off pin heads and pushed them into pre drilled holes in the frame. i also used the motor from the dodge kit,which suprisingly doesnt look out of place. i think i could keep going with the details,but thats it in short! like i said they are a hard truck to find details on but i think i have achieved the look i desired with what i had to go on. well,thanks again for the reply and comments,much appreciated. codie
codie27 Posted November 25, 2009 Author Posted November 25, 2009 Jason said: Wow. I am very impressed! you did an excellent job. Do you have plans for a trailer? Can you post some details on how you went about doing this? again awesome work! Thanks Jason very early stages!!
Jim B Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Very impressive! Were these old military trucks that were converted, or were they a civilian design?
codie27 Posted November 25, 2009 Author Posted November 25, 2009 Jim B said: Very impressive! Were these old military trucks that were converted, or were they a civilian design? thanks for the comment!! im not too sure about the history of these trucks as they are very hard to find info about, although i am pretty certain that they were first designed for military use then cosmetically changed slightly for civilian use. while i was in the planning stages and gathering pictures there were quite a few of them that i saw which were fitted out with tankers and cement mixers on them while others were set up for pulling trailers.
Old Albion Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Codie, This looks great so far. I really like to see the scratch built trucks and the methods that builders use to overcome design problems. Makes it much more challenging and interesting. There was an old similar looking Military Autocar for sale on Ebay early part of November. It was the subject of a discussion on the ATHS web site. Looks like it did not sell and the owner has re-listed it. Check the link below: http://forums.aths.org/InstantForum414/Top...ghlight=autocar Dave
Aaronw Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 I have to say you know how to make an entrance. Great job on the old Autocar. I just bought a book on Autocars and it looks like that cab came out in the mid 1930s, so it was around before WW2 and stuck around for awhile after as the book has a photo of a pair of new trash trucks with that cab bought in 1947.
codie27 Posted November 26, 2009 Author Posted November 26, 2009 Aaronw said: I have to say you know how to make an entrance. Great job on the old Autocar. I just bought a book on Autocars and it looks like that cab came out in the mid 1930s, so it was around before WW2 and stuck around for awhile after as the book has a photo of a pair of new trash trucks with that cab bought in 1947. what was the name of the book? i will have to get myself a copy of that for a future project or two. i am prettty sure that that cab design lasted right up until 1952. thanks for your comments about the truck
codie27 Posted November 26, 2009 Author Posted November 26, 2009 mackinac359 said: Fantastic ! Tim thanks, i have seen a lot of your work on your site,very nice,so your comment has given me a swelled head!!
Ben Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 That's some really nice scratch building Codie! Turned out really nice!
codie27 Posted November 26, 2009 Author Posted November 26, 2009 Ben said: That's some really nice scratch building Codie! Turned out really nice! thanks a lot!! all these comments are getting me all inspired to get my next project started,a 1953 kenworth bullnose
Aaronw Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 codie27 said: what was the name of the book? i will have to get myself a copy of that for a future project or two. i am prettty sure that that cab design lasted right up until 1952. thanks for your comments about the truck It is the Iconografix Autocar 1899-1950 photo archive, they also have one covering 1950-87 but it is out of print and I haven't found one at a reasonable price.
codie27 Posted November 26, 2009 Author Posted November 26, 2009 Aaronw said: It is the Iconografix Autocar 1899-1950 photo archive, they also have one covering 1950-87 but it is out of print and I haven't found one at a reasonable price. thanks for getting back to me on that one. i will have a look around for that,hopefully i will find a copy somewhere.
locoengr Posted November 27, 2009 Posted November 27, 2009 How are going to top this Codie? You too are blessed with amazing skills!
codie27 Posted November 27, 2009 Author Posted November 27, 2009 locoengr said: How are going to top this Codie? You too are blessed with amazing skills! thanks for the comment, you have made my head swell up now i am planning on scratchbuilding a 1953 kenworth bullnose next,i am just trying to find a few more photos for reference. maybe that will top this one.
Twist67 Posted November 30, 2009 Posted November 30, 2009 Hi, Awesome Scratchbuilding.....Great Chris
falcongeorge Posted December 28, 2009 Posted December 28, 2009 VERY nice. The U series Autocar is one of my all time favorites. Did you have any scale drawings to work from, or just wing it? I would like to do one of these myself. Can you send me the finished photos in a larger format?
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