Smokie and the Bandit's KW

[59 Impala]

I have the trailer for this truck and I need to know which KW is the right one for this build. Any help would be appreciated. I'm kinda new in the truck buildin fer sure. Pics of the truck would be of help also. Dan

[Jim B]

Well, it all sort of depends on how accurate you want to be, how much money you're willing to spend, and how much cutting you want to do. I've been collecting information on this build for a while, and Ben Wicker has one going (or not as the case may be) right now. Anyway, here's a basic list of what you'll need for the build:

AMT Kenworth W925 - frame, engine, hood, sleeper, cab seats (there is a small cavet to the engine)

Revell of Germany W900 or T900 - cab & interior (actual truck had a quilted rear cab panel, and you'll need to rework the rear of the cab to make the rear panel & window)

P&P Resin Works or Melbourne Model Truck Accessories - tandem torsion bar rear suspension (unless your AMT kit has one)

Model Truckin' - decals

Engine cavet - one of the trucks in the movie had a Caterpiller 1693 engine, while the other had a Cummins. As far as I know, the Caterpiller 1693 does not exist in resin.

Good luck on your project, and I'm looking forward to pictures.

[lapazleo]

The amt w900 is probably the best place to start unfortunatly it's been out of production for some time. Even so they are out there on ebay etc. albeit not cheap. Revell of germanys w900 could be modified by shortening the hood and making the bunk a single bunk even so it's a few years newer than the movie truck as would be the Revell(monogram) snap tite w 900. Engine wise none are right as the movie truck(s) were supposed to have the Cat 1693 wich would have to be scratch built. The movie truck(s) also have the KW torsion bar rear suspension available from P & P resins. If you find an old enough AMT w900 it would have that suspension but that's very unlikely.

[lapazleo]

Jim is right the movie truck(s) had the KW splendor interior which is what the AMT w900 has. Also the wheels from the AMT kit are the ones you need.

[59 Impala]

Thanks guys for the information. Looks like it's goin to be a while before I get to this one. I'll be on the lookout for what I need. We have a show coming up this month on the 25th and I'll see what I can come up with. Again, thanks. Dan

[Jim B]

I though about the Revell USA W900 kit, as it has the correct cab & hood, and a Caterpiller 3406. The only real issue would be removing the molded on AeroDyne sleeper (you'd need to rebuild the entire rear of the cab) & the rear suspension. Oh, and the tires aren't very good, either. Not sure if the 3406 could be "back dated" to the 1693.

[59 Impala]

Thanks Jim. This is more involved than I ever expected. I wonder why they never made the truck since they made the trailer. Go figure. If I was to make this I wouldn't have to be exact as far as the truck goes, just as long as it looked like the one in the movie. Again, thanks guys for all the information. Good to have people like all of you here. Dan

[lapazleo]

The model of the smokey and the bandit trailer produced by Ertl is from smokey and the bandit part 2. If that's the trailer you have then you would need a AMT GMC general kit with a scratch built sleeper and a turbo for the kits detroit 8v92 engine. The trailer kit is actually incorrect for the real trailer but nothing in model form is very close. In this case though the truck would be much easier to build.

[modelbuilder22]

the american trucker series on speed did an episode on smokie and bandit. look it up on youtube, you should be able to find more info about the truck by watching that episode.

[59 Impala]

Thanks guys. You learn somethin every day, and I've learned a lot about this so far on here. Great bunch of guys fer sure. Dan

[scale trucker]

you can get a 1693 in resin

[Chris guthro]

there no reason one cant mod a cummins NTC in to one with parts from a 3406

[Jim B]

Gordon, where did you get THAT? That's a really nice casting. I hope "Big Yellow" hasn't seen that yet.

[lapazleo]

No doubt who's making that?

[Old Albion]

Check the link below:

http://www.kitformservices.com/tq.html

Look at the bottom of the page. Howard has the yellow 1693TA for sale.

Check the link below for details of the build and photo's of the finished engine.

http://public.fotki.com/oldalbion/project-4-14/

Hope this helps

Dave

Edited March 9, 2012 by Old Albion

[Ben]

Check the link below:

http://www.kitformservices.com/tq.html

Look at the bottom of the page. Howard has the yellow 1693TA for sale.

Check the link below for details of the build and photo's of the finished engine.

http://public.fotki....n/project-4-14/

Hope this helps

Dave

I just ordered two of those bad boys from Howard!!!!!!!!!!! A certain "Dave" did an outstanding job in mastering that!!!!!!!!! Wink, wink, nudge, nudge! Did you ever see that Monty Python skit, Dave? LOL

[Ben]

I have the trailer for this truck and I need to know which KW is the right one for this build. Any help would be appreciated. I'm kinda new in the truck buildin fer sure. Pics of the truck would be of help also. Dan

Hey Dan, I have done quite a bit of research on this subect and would be happy to help if I can. I'm assuming your wanting to build the Kenworth W900 from the first movie? Here's some pics of mine that's in progress:

http:www.public.fotki.com/lotso

[Ben]

I though about the Revell USA W900 kit, as it has the correct cab & hood, and a Caterpiller 3406. The only real issue would be removing the molded on AeroDyne sleeper (you'd need to rebuild the entire rear of the cab) & the rear suspension. Oh, and the tires aren't very good, either. Not sure if the 3406 could be "back dated" to the 1693.

The hood on the Revell W900 Aerodyne has a lip around the fender, the Amt hood does not. The grill on the Revell kit is much nicer and can be used with the AMT hood.

[59 Impala]

Thanks again guys. Ben, your KW looks great. I took a peak at your pictures and I like what I saw. It's gonna be awhile before I get to this cause one thing is I have to get the truck first and then do the rest. Dan

[pete3522]

Heres an amt w-925 i bought off e-bay and redid hope the pic helps you out i still need to do the exhaust and intake plumbing

Edited March 10, 2012 by pete3522

[Old Albion]

The Smokey and the Bandit trucks were discussed some time ago on the ATHS web site. According to the comments one of the trucks had a Cummins KT450. I could be wrong and got mixed up with some thing else as it was a long time ago.

Dave

[59 Impala]

Your truck looks great Craig. That's about what I'm looking for I guess. Thanks. Dan

[pete3522]

Thanx you can buy the gold decals off model trucken i tried to make them but i couldnt get it scaled right and i read on forums about this that the decals wouldnt set right due to the rivet heads on the sleeper. So after many attempts of painting and redoing i got the gold to look decent im not happy with the pinstriping but it came out decent i noticed my pic dont do it justice i put alot of clear coat on it thats why it looks like theres putty on it !! I am more of a fabricater then a photrographer lol!! But if i were you i would use the amt w-925 like i did the revell kw w-900 hood is to long plus the sleeper is 60" you wood have to use an amt 36" sleeper if you need anymore info let me know be glad to help

[pete3522]

ty justin im doin a restore on a can-do i opened all the doors sleeper compartments etc now those stripes sucked it took a few hrs just on the bed and a few on the cab etc

[pete3522]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amt-Kenworth-Truck-Built-For-Parts-/110839329739?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19ce89f3cb Dan theres a AMT w-925 would be perfect for what your doin on ebay Edited March 13, 2012 by pete3522