Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Wow, that steering is awesome. Really like the way you hollowed out your front bumper too, that must have taken some time.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

The detail you are putting into this truck is amazing! Can't wait to see more.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

your just toying with us now!! unbelievable work and craftsmanship. be cool to see video of it working when your done

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Great craftsmanship on every step of this build. Great job!!!

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Thanks Neil. I'm really happy with the way it turned out too.

Thank you Lou! I'd love to try some CNC machining someday. I guess there are a few retro-fit CNC kits out there for my mini-mill, but I think I'd probably invest in a CNC Bridgeport, if I could afford it. That's probably years away though! I definitely agree on the sleepless nights!

Thanks Craig. I had to hollow out the bumper for some tire clearance. With the axle pushed forward and the arc the wheels swing in, I needed just a little clearance for them, and as long as I was hollowing it out, I kept going, knowing the LEDs would need to fit in there too.

Thanks Petermoblin.

Thanks Diesel Demond. I don't have a video camera, but I'd like to get one. Any recommendations? Go Pro?

Thank you Plow Jockey!

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

I know the updates have fallen off pace a little, but with summer here, I've been busy doing a lot of other things outside. I think everyone's builds have experienced the same problem, but I have been working on my truck at night, or when it's to hot outside! :D Here is the latest...

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...psd5105c84.jpg

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2299a33c.jpg

I decided to make a cross brace for my stack mounts, to make them more rigid. The stacks are pretty tall, and I thought it would be a good idea to tie them into the chassis at more then just one point. While I was at it, I also machined a deck plate. It was the most time consuming thing I've done so far, I think! :D I lost count after 315 holes, but it looks cool. Cheese grater and all.... It also hides the screws that hold my planetary gearbox to the chassis, so it kills two birds with one stone.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps57af73a9.jpg

Honestly, there isn't a ton of machining left to do with this truck. Some small things, but it's getting ever closer to completion, which amazes me! Kind of. :D Next up, I've got to work on my 5th wheel plate, some cab details, and some mounting plates for the electronics. Hopefully those parts will go a little faster, as long as I don't have to drill to many holes! Whew...

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Bout time we had an update....Looking real good!...but hurry up would you!

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Looking great Nathan! I really like your deck-plate! This thing is unbelievable! Keep up the updates! Are the seats going to be machined too? Might not be very comfy for your driver... :)

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Wow Nate!
Love the deck plate. That would have been a good thing for the cnc. Like how the stack mounts turned out also. Not sure how you find time to work on it during the summer. Keep the surprises coming.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

I like the "Stack Rack", truly original :D :D :D
Cheer's, Neil.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Thanks Reg! I'm tryin' boss, I'm tryin'! :D No one can match your speed though!

Thanks Bigrigger. No seats in the cab for this one! I'm afraid I'm going to need all the space I can get for the electronics. A speaker, Servonaut M20+, Servoanut SMX sound unit, infrared transmitter for wireless trailer lights, a battery pack, and my radio receiver!

Thanks Paul! I appreciate you checking my thread out.

Jimmy, thanks! I wish I had a CNC machine. I would have definitely used it for the deck plate. I drilled the holes over the course of three days. :D I just got tired of drilling them, after an hour or two of doing it, so then I'd go do something else and come back the next day.

Stack rack! I like that! I'm going to call it that from now on. Thanks Neil. :D

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

The suspense is killing me:mad:
Every detail is beautiful.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

no comment ...... awesome, when you get to leave it as the original, awesome

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Thanks Troy! I'm going as fast as I can. :D Hang in there. If it turns out as nice as your KW Model A, I'll be thrilled!

Thank you Toniolillo. I appreciate your compliment!

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Happy 4th of July everybody. Hope you all enjoyed the holiday. I didn't watch any fireworks this year. Instead I spent the day baling hay with my dad, and then afterward, a little time in the workshop, working on the Kenworth build. I managed to get my 5th wheel plate mounted to the truck.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps25f424ce.jpg

I machined up a plate that bolts to chassis and doesn't interfere at all with my rear cross member. Originally I planned to use a Wedico 5th wheel, but I later changed my mind, wanting something more scale that fit better. For a while I thought I'd try and design a way to slide the 5th wheel, but after thinking about it, drawing plans, and measuring things I decided against it. It would have been fun for the cool factor, but in reality I just didn't see myself moving the 5th wheel anyway. Making it permanent allowed me to have a slimmer low profile look, which is exactly what I was after.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps29fc8ab5.jpg

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0cbf9dca.jpg

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps697900f0.jpg

Here's a photo of the Wedico 5th wheel, compared to the Scale Art Jost 5th wheel I went with. I thought something looked a little 'off' about the Wedico 5th wheel. The height bothered me too. It's a lot taller then the Scale Art 5th wheel and there is no way to lower it down. I could gone lower on the Scale Art, but left it a little bit higher for more articulation.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps54991b1e.jpg

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps44ff7a72.jpg

The Scale Art 5th wheel has a lot finer detail, and I'm glad I decided to purchase it. I think it looks great sitting on the chassis. At least now the truck will be able to pull something! :D Thanks for looking.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Looking good Nate! Those pipes are HUGE!!!!

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Wow Nathan!! I haven't tuned in lately, I missed the past few updates but they were huge updates, it's really coming together now. Love the deck plate, keep it up.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Thanks Reg! The bigger the better, right? :D

Thank you Craig! I'm glad you checked in. It's always nice to hear what you think of the latest updates. :D

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Hey Nathan, the 5th wheel is a nice touch! Keep up the great work!
Cheer's, Neil.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Having had 8" Pickett pipes on my Peterbilt i am a huge fan of the big pipe look, and i have to say that the height and diameter of those on your Kenworth look awesome. Cant wait to see this one finished.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

[QUOTE=Espeefan;90488]Thanks Reg! The bigger the better, right? :D

That's what she said....

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Thanks Neil!

I'm a big fan of big stacks and drop visors too. Thanks for admiring my Kenworth's pipes. :D

Ha ha, Reg, isn't that what they all say?

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

All right fellas, just a few pictures to prove the Kenworth hasn't been put on the back burner completely, even though the summer weather makes it harder to stay indoors, and hide by the workbench. :D

I've been playing around with electronics on the truck. There is a lot to fit, and after trying a lot of different combinations, and arrangements, I've settled on this one. It's the only one that lets me fit everything in place, halfway decent, and still get the cab on.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...psa1095e0b.jpg

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps74d6f1c8.jpg

It looks like a mess right now, but I'm going to do my best to tidy things up. Nothing is permanent yet. I will be shortening all the wires I can, and securing them with zip ties or something better.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...ps04e1172f.jpg

Speaker in the front, under the hood (should be great hearing the engine in the right spot), battery pack behind it, centered up, and my Servonaut M20+ on one side of the battery, and the Servonaut SMX on the other. I also have to fit the Servonaut infrared trailer transmitter and my radio receiver on the truck, and these will most likely be mounted underneath the cab, because they are small enough to fit well there.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

nice progress nathan well done dude

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

It's fun size

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Looks good Nathan. It will be interesting to see the " highways" of wiring fit inside the cab!

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Your workmanship never stops amazing me. I'll be watching for your next installment! I'll be back at mine soon...I hope.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Nathan, that truck sure is turning out great. Very nice work.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Nice work Nathan. I curse when dealing with a sleeper full of electronics never mind a day cab:eek:
So I guess the doors get dark windows eh? I really like that speaker mount you used. I purchased what looks like the same size as yours but no mounting plate. Did you make or purchase?

Mario

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

man the 5th wheel mount looks awesome very real and scale looking

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Very nice job Nathan well thought out and it should be a show winner when you get it done. Ed

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Thank you thercfreak! Lots more to go yet. :cool:

Oh it's fun all right! :D

Kent, it will be pretty interesting. I would like to use a couple terminal strips to route and keep the wiring job tidy, but we'll see how much space I have. I will most likely need to branch multiple circuits off the same terminals...either those on the M20+, or off a terminal strip. Might do a combination of both.

Thanks for the kind words Steve. You've got some nice trucks in your collection, so if you have something planned for the future, I'll be sure to watch out for it!

Thank you Scott!

Mario, yup, the windows are going to be all tinted on this one, but I decided having lights and sound was worth loosing the interior. My speaker mount is home made. One half is actually part of my battery tray, and at the front half has a real simple spacer with a screw passing though it. Servonaut does make a speaker box for this particular speaker, but it's to big to fit under the hood, so I'll save it for another project. If you are looking for some posts to mount your speaker to, take a look at McMaster-Carr. Do a search for 'stand offs' and you'll get a lot of results. You can also search for 'spacers' and you'll find round ones like I used. I'm going to be changing mine out, in the front. I haven't ordered the stand off I want to use, but it is a post with a male threaded portion on one end, and a female on the other. That way the male end can tighten down my battery plate, and stay there. If I want to remove the speaker, I can thread (or unthread) a screw into the top of the stand off post, since it's a female thread.

Here are a couple better pictures of the speaker. The earlier photos were a little hard to see what was going on. The acrylic plate I used still had the protective paper on it, and the electronics hid some details. Take a look at these....

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...psae26c57e.jpg

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...psb1121184.jpg

Thank you Dave! I appreciate it.

Thanks Ed. Let's hope! I've certainly got enough time stuck into it.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

*bows*

Stunning is the only word i can think of to describe the work in this.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

I have to agree!

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

I've just started following this build.I have to say it looks great.A lot of custom parts and fab work.:jaw:

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Holy cow Nathan! Looking better than I ever imagined, keep it up!!!

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

Thanks Bob. I appreciate that, considering your great bodywork and painting skills.

Thanks Sue!

I appreciate the comment, Rodney. Thanks for checking my build out.

Thanks Craig. Hopefully it will continue to get better, the closer I get to being finished.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

:eek::eek: Hurry up:D I can't wait to see some paint on this baby. Or how about some chrome chimneys :lol: Definitely one of my top favorite builds.

Re: 1950 Kenworth Needlenose
 

So ummm ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ? you been sleepin or what? We all deserve an update.....