Martinnfb Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Exceptional attention to detail Jeff, also great subject choice . Ever since I moved to Canada, I have been fascinated by the big rigs on the logging roads. Super cool. Cheers Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Diesel Creek is pretty sweet channel. You might like it Jeff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 Thanks for the video, Martin, I watch a lot of Diesel Creek stuff, talk about old school...... super cool.. I am doing the same clearance lights and single air horn, that is old school.... Geez, he came VERY close to burning the starter out, holy... love it when the cold engines bounce off the governors .... beautiful engine... I noticed no Front Brake Limiting valve on the dash, which tells me maybe no front brakes, and I see a Deep Reduction switch, air operated w/s wipers too... cool stuff..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 Time to mount the radiator and grille and cab.... I toned down the grill by using a dull coat and then the sides were dealt with by putting 'chrome' automotive tape on and burnishing it to appear to be old aluminum, rather than chrome. roughly painted the Autocar emblem, so as not to be perfect as few of them were for very long also the top for the grille had to be scuffed to show some shiny 'chrome'..... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 Time to mount the cab and line it up with the hood and rad.... and the fenders...and the bumper, as mentioned some care has to be taken with these old kit, to make sure everything is true and square to line up , and the end result is usually quite good, but this is still old 1980's technology.... lots of cleaning and dry fitting, like some of you guys are used to.... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 Time to dust her up a bit... 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 Just a little more to this....so for a heavy haul unit, as well as highway trucks, are mandated to have what is called a headache rack.... which is a 'cab guard', and the idea is obviously to protect the cab from a load impact should the truck come to a sudden stop, prior to this innovation, there had been a number of fatalities due to the loads sliding forward during a sudden stop, and crushing the cab with disastrous results, see the first photo, ( for reference only ) , so this action was not acceptable, and someone, had the brilliant idea of making a cab guard or headache rack... here in Canada it is mandated on all class 7 and 8 trucks. It has been known to save a lot of lives, and is very successful.... there are many different styles but for logging trucks it is a robust design of very heavy duty tubing, sometimes round and other times square....so my heavy haul would need a headache rack.... the one I got was an Auslowe product, from Australia model truck supplier, it was a good representation of what was needed, but I added a few extras to it, I scratch built the back up light brackets, added back up lights and some extra rear tail lights as the ones under the rear frame could not be seen with a low bed hooked up, I added a shovel bracket/ holder, chain hangers and a hook in place of the 'Pogo stick' to hang the air and electrical lines to prevent them from falling on the ground and being dragged and damaged. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 The next item required for a heavy off road haul tractor is a rear roller and 5th wheel slide.... as this particular truck is actually set up as a logging truck, but needs to be multi use, the logging rigging, ( the bunks ) were removed and a 5th wheel and roller and slide were installed so the truck can be used as already mentioned to pull a low bed to move equipment. the roller and slide really helps with backing under a trailer, and had this truck been a specific heavy haul tractor only, it probably would have had a 30 or 50 ton winch mounted behind the cab. As it is in the first pic... so aftermarket to the rescue, and I installed this fabulous piece... it required a little modification... I cut off the 'ears' for the taillights and mudflap hangers, as that particular application would not really work very well in an off road situation, so I made a pair of brackets for tail lights under the roller support gusset, which is more practical. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullArmor Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 On 4/10/2024 at 8:11 PM, Martinnfb said: Diesel Creek is pretty sweet channel. You might like it Jeff. Yes. Matt has good videos👍 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 I love the way you are moving forward with this one, Jeff. Great detailing, and incredibly realistic weathering 👍 ! Hubert 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 Splendid weathering, Jeff. The dust and accumulated dried mud look terrific and somehow enhance the sight onto the many extra details you added. Cheers Rob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 13 Author Share Posted April 13 Rob, Hubert, thanks for your kind words and great observations. It is interesting to me that, like you say, Rob , how the ‘dust’ brings out the details. I guess it must be the different shadows it can cast in different light. I suppose its akin to the preshading you guys do and that is something that has eluded my skill set. When I see what you guys do, I’m in awe and consider my self just a model ‘dabbler’ . In this case I am using my years of being around old iron most of my days. There is a little more to come. Jeff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 Labour of love for sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 When I see pictures like this I wanna build one 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 13 Author Share Posted April 13 37 minutes ago, Martinnfb said: When I see pictures like this I wanna build one EXACTLY,................... that is what inspires me too....and that is the basic idea of my build, a few similarities with this photo and my vision as to how my truck will look.... except I won't have the HUGE heavy duty Planitary's on the drivers as in this photo, nor will I have the water tank for the air brake system, this Canadian Kenworth looks like it has double air cleaners, and I see the luberfiner is mounted at the rear of the cab, this one appears to possibly have a v12 Detroit engine as well, and may even have an automatic transmission....... and the logging truck style headache rack and a VERY heavy haul low bed old school single air horn ( which my truck will have )and no fancy chrome clearance lights....also Roadx style heavy rubber, that I talked about in an earlier post, if you compare the tires on this truck to the one in the back ground, a stark difference..... this is a photo of a no nonsense heavy haul working off road Kenwworth, probably photographed on Vancouver Island............. I LOVE this pic, thanks Martin... GREAT stuff............ I hope I'm not boring you guys to tears with the details, obviously trucks are my passion, and it is nice to be able to share some of what I have learned and lived with most of my life.... thanks for your patience..... Jeff 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 15 hours ago, Martinnfb said: When I see pictures like this I wanna build one Now, THAT’s a heavy load 😳 ! Hubert 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 8 hours ago, HubertB said: Now, THAT’s a heavy load 😳 ! Hubert That is, and the guys on Vancouver Island are famous for the big loads... off road only though, but still pretty impressive... photos for reference only Jeff 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 Well, we are getting there... had to run some air lines from the cab back to hook to the trailer , plus the electrical line....so two airlines, Supply and emergency ... blue glad hand is supply and red is emergency.... then the installation of the headache rack, it was MUCH easier to install the airlines before the rack, as there would have been fitment issues... as in the real deal.... and I also installed an aftermarket exhaust system, and tried my hand at 'scratch building' and scratched the mirror brackets, as the kit ones were way too out of scale... and installed the headache rack..... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 Now that the headache rack is mounted, it is time to add a little life to it.... so a shovel was added ( always a good tool to have handy) extra tie down chains, and extra synch or two is a must, and for a little bit of flair , I added a drum of hydraulic fluid, as if one gets way back in the bush I'm talking could be a 100 miles or more ( some of our local logging ops are usually at least 70 miles plus back into the mountains) the last thing that you need is a until with a leak and no Hyd. juice... most machines will not move with out hydraulic fluid.... always good to have some just in case... so I also wanted it somewhat period correct, and made the drum an old school B/A which I thought was kind of cool... oh and one last detail, I had to custom make a license plate.... in British Columbia, we have different commercial plates, this is a "T" Plate and designated for logging trucks, I may back date the plate as I have some older style of plates coming in the post.... just that last detail.... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 So I guess that about covers it, I have a list of 34 changes and mods on this build, and will post it IF anyone is interested. Like I said earlier, these older AMT kits can be a challenge to build, but with a little love and patience can turn out to be an interesting subject. Also mentioned this kit started as the AMT Autocar Dump truck kit now modified to a Heavy haul logging company tractor 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark31 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 I love this bild All the details are right and weathering spot on for me. Keep up the great work. Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 10 minutes ago, mark31 said: I love this bild All the details are right and weathering spot on for me. Keep up the great work. Mark THANKS Mark ! I really appreciate your kind words, I love big iron, I wish more guys would post their works as well, makes a real nice variety of models to look at... Jeff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Absolutely , this is such a huge part of Canadian/North American trucking history. I love every post Jeff, your knowledge in unparalleled to nowadays standards and you willingness to share it is pure gold. Thank you for that! M. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 So here is a little history…. My late father and ME. I’m the cute little dude on the front fender. Taken in 1959. The truck is a 1958 Chevy with a 348 gas engine, 5 speed with a 2 speed electric rear end. So I have been ‘trucking ever since…. Matchbox trucks, then Corgi Trucks, Tonka trucks, scale model trucks then the real trucks….. aren’t I cute ??🤭😇 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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