cavejohnson Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 I just got the old California Hauler kit off of Ebay (I think it was the one released mid 70s). I'm still waiting for it to actually show up but I know it's going to be a bit of a mess. The cab and hood have already been painted, but the lady who sold it sent me a lot of pictures and all of the parts are actually there! Me thinks I'm going to get AITM's 12V71 kit rather than use the 350 cummins. (What do you all think?) Oh, and does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to remove the old paint without destroying the polystyrene? Thanks!
Jim B Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 Good luck with your rebuilder. Never a big fan of those. Anyway, as to removing the paint, you can try Castrol Super Clean. It works well.
clayton Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 or oven cleaner the cheep no name stuff from the dollar store some time they work some time they don't,I get the name brand from Fred's. Put in a seal container and let set a few days wash and dry. I got one in the cleaner now. (if you cant work with rite a way fill the container with water and let sit) this one been siting the last 3 weeks.
BigBad Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 I just got the old California Hauler kit off of Ebay (I think it was the one released mid 70s). I'm still waiting for it to actually show up but I know it's going to be a bit of a mess. The cab and hood have already been painted, but the lady who sold it sent me a lot of pictures and all of the parts are actually there! Me thinks I'm going to get AITM's 12V71 kit rather than use the 350 cummins. (What do you all think?) Oh, and does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to remove the old paint without destroying the polystyrene? Thanks! 12V71instead of the Cummins... Me likey!
Wagoneer81 Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Put the Cummins in the parts box and go with the 12v71! Give that truck some cajones! If you're trying to strip hobby enamel, 91% Ispropyl Alcohol works well. DOT3 brake fluid works well on most everything else without damaging the plastic. I've used these two methods with good results.
cowboysevens Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Good to see another good save. I like them 359's a lot , there's so much you can do with them. I would go get a jug of the purple stuff at walmart and let it soak for a day or so then use a tooth brush and ajax, this helps clean out the body lines and crevises and it give a nice finish for primer to stick too. I'm looking forward to watcing this one , have fun
scummy Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Do guys still have amway ? , the product i used to use was industro clean from amway but they took it off the market . It was excellant at removing paint without any crazing or warping , it did have trouble removing metal colours but left to soak overnight and put under running hot tap water the paint would come off like sunburn .
bandit1 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 ill be keeping an eye on this one.., dont be afraid to ask me if you have any questions about this kit?....i fell in love with these kits way back when....i even have a parts box of these kits...which i hope to grow!....and please id love to have the cummins in it???
cavejohnson Posted January 17, 2012 Author Posted January 17, 2012 Well, it showed up at my door about an hour ago. Got into the box and suprisingly enough 90% of the parts were still attached to the sprues. As for the NTA-350... the driver's side of the block is gone. Must have fallen out during packing or something because in that picture (ebay picture) it's there, but it isn't now. So tomorrow I'll be giving Mr Natale a call and order a 12V71
cavejohnson Posted January 18, 2012 Author Posted January 18, 2012 Problem has been encountered in my quest to remove the paint. I got the paint off the cab with no problems (thanks Wagoneer81 for the alcohol suggestion!) I had some so I used that mixed with a bit of this absured PPG thinner I had and it took the paint clean off. I got to looking at the frame (it's painted white) and notied...it's warped in a bad way. I think I may have gotten it straightened using a heat gun on low and put some weight on it. Hopefully I'll have the body all painted tonight so everyone can see.
cavejohnson Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 I have most of the frame and driveline done and about 75% painted at this point. The fuel tanks, battery box, all axles are on. The suspension was missing a few things. So it has 2 airbags from an Italeri 377 kit and some brake chambers from a W900 (they were almost an exact match!) One of them isn't on in the picture because I noticed it needed a bit of finish work to make it look the same as the driver's side chamber. Grain of Rice lamps I'm going to use for the marker lights. I have wheat lamps for the headlights, and I'm going to use two of those amber lights for the brake lights (it looks red through the lense.)
cowboysevens Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 that blue looks really nice on the frame, and i cant wait to see them lights all hooked up and shining. you might wanna put all the tires on it and make sure they are all hitting the ground, it looks like that front drive axle is a lil higher than the rear drive.
Chris guthro Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Nice start! i lovee that color! what color are you painted the cab and hood?
cavejohnson Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 (edited) The cab is going to be white with the fenders and roof the same color as the frame, then a stripe of some sort (haven't worked that all out yet) in that darker blue with a lighter blue pinstripe on either side. The wheels all hit, The frame has a weird twist in it when it doesn't have any load, but once I put the wheels on the weight is just enough to balance it all out. Edited January 22, 2012 by cavejohnson
cavejohnson Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 My marker light installation method.
cowboysevens Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 :o that is so coooooooooool!!!!! its gonna look awesome with the cab all lit up, nice job
cavejohnson Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Well... I went to paint the cab... It's fried. The guy who painted it the first time around used urethane primer. (I can tell by its rubbery texture) The activator in that primer ended up pitting the entire surface. The hood was fine, it wasn't primed (for reasons I can't work out). Well.. this is annoying. Edited January 23, 2012 by cavejohnson
cavejohnson Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 Thanks, I think with some careful xacto knife work i can get the details back in.
cowboysevens Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 so does that mean youve got lots of body work to do or is it completly wasted ? that sucks !!
bandit1 Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 maybe you can get a couple shots of the cab up ....if you need another cab ...i may have another one...just save the cab first i may have another one if you need it....but try to save that one first!
cavejohnson Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 I think I can salvage it. I got to looking at it up close. The driver's side, top, front, andd back are easily fixed with some careful sanding. The passenger's side though, all of the rivets are gone, the door hinge is just a mess, and the door handle is melted. I'll get some pictures in later today after I get out of my classes for the day (being a physics major is a blast let me tell you)
cavejohnson Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Oh, a little update, I've done some basic airlne plumbing to the brake chambers and from the air tanks. Also added some ultra thin red wire to the batteries to make them look a bit more realistic. I've got the marker lights all done, wired up the brake lights, and now all that is left is wiring up some headlights! I'll get some pictures up tonight! Edited January 23, 2012 by cavejohnson
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