Kenworth 850 Off Highway

[RCP57]

Thanks again Mario! Yeah the lights look great on there. I think stuff like that is really starting to tie it all together and that is keeping me interested. The part that I really do dislike is coming soon...paint! I really haven't been satisfied with any of my paint jobs and this one will be the most difficult(not for most but for me) so I'm dragging my feet. At least the longer I wait, the nicer the weather will be.

[dabears]

Looking awesome Reg!!! All the details are really coming together!

[Espeefan]

As a guy who appreciates all the little details, you're doing a fine job. The air horn looks great. The bell at the end looks perfect!

[JDH429]

Absolutely amazing project and your attention to detail. All that aluminum makes me smile. Great job!

[RCP57]

Thanks for the complements guys.

Nate, I was struggling with how I was going to shape the inside of the bell but I ended up using a de-burring tool and it worked great!

The aluminum makes me smile too! Providing it's welding together properly...Sometimes it makes me very unhappy The trouble is, it's not the metals fault or the welder. It's the idiot trying to fuse it together!lol

Well gonna have some breakfast and get out to the shop! See what gets done today.

Reg

[RCP57]

Well I spent a few more hours on the KW today. Wow the time is really adding up in this one. It's only been 4 months but there has been more time than I would like to count go into this thing! Todays list includes new boards for the headache rack and making up some bits and pieces to mount the trailer axles to the walking beams. I was going to machine more of the pieces but I decided it would be easier and waste less material if I bent up some sheet for the top and machined the bottom. I made everything up as one unit and then cut it into four once all the machining was done. Then I had to make some U bolts and cut a bunch of rubber strips. Once all this was done I stuck it all together and took the truck and trailer outside for a couple measurements and some pictures. The truck and trailer are about 68 inches long and I'm guessing pushing very close to 50lbs with the battery. I still have to add some bracing and end caps on to the parts I made today and there is still more welding to do on the trailer frame. The list of big things is pretty short now though so that's a relief!

Some pictures of todays progress...












Reg

[SmallHaul]

Beautiful truck. Very nice metal work.

That air horn looks great.

[Espeefan]

Awesome job with the trailer, Reg, and congratulations on build of the month! Well deserved.

[JAMMER]

Like I said this a very nice scratch build your looking good Reg. Your going to need a bigger motor ,you think? Keep up the good work. Ed Ed

[RCP57]

Thanks to everyone that voted for my truck and thanks to Claus for nominating it! What did I win?

Ed, I think the motor will be fine. It's the rear diffs that I'm worried about.

I got a bottle of gas the other day but haven't spent much time on the truck because of other priorities. After work I started to weld up the caps on the walking beams but I only got two finished before the battery died in my helmet. Maybe if I'm good the Lil woman will get one for me tomorrow so that I can finish them after work sometime this week.





Thanks for looking!

[cyanide]

wow! very nice truck!

[RCP57]

Thanks very much. I finished up the walking beam mounts last night but nothing else to report. It's been a slow week in my shop.lol The weather has been super hot here(for this time of year) the last few days. I wish I wasn't working so that I could have thrown some paint at this while it was so warm. Oh well I have some days off coming up...bring on the rain.haha

Reg

[RCP57]

I was able to work on this intermittently today. I did some more welding on the trailer/bunk and mounted the air tanks under the cab. The air tanks even got a quick coat of paint!

[RCP57]

Welded up the reach this morning and added a little detail to the door area of the cab this afternoon....






Thanks for looking!

Reg

[Hemi1966]

Reg, I can't stop admiring your work, you do a fantastic job
And I love those TIG welds you make
How did you do those panel lines to the door?

[JDH429]

So much to admire here. A lot of learning can be done too by watching something come together like this. Great work.

[RCP57]

Originally Posted by Hemi1966

Reg, I can't stop admiring your work, you do a fantastic job
And I love those TIG welds you make
How did you do those panel lines to the door?

Thanks Ari, I had a brief moment while welding the reach where I felt like I knew what I was doing. Too bad I can't weld like that all the time!

Is your TIG on it's way yet?

The door lines are nothing fancy. It's just some soft galvanized steel wire bent to the shape of the door opening and glued into position. I was struggling with how I was going to make it look like there was a door there. I was going to dremel a groove all the way around but on the real trucks there is a lip on the door and the frame that sticks out so I gave this a shot. I think it turned out better than I expected.

Jason, I'm always excited when I see you have posted something on your builds for exactly the same reasons! Sometimes the smallest idea that someone else has can be such a huge help.

Thanks,Reg

[ihbuilder]

yea , Reg thanks for the inspiration in tig welding I did soso



OTOH truck looks great

[Seilbagger]

I think, this truck is better than the original, looks great

[RCP57]

Originally Posted by ihbuilder

yea , Reg thanks for the inspiration in tig welding I did soso



OTOH truck looks great

Welding aluminum can be tricky it seems. Too little heat and it won't puddle, too much heat and it disappears or warps really bad. I have spent a fair amount of time welding it now but have no training in welding so I'm sure I could benefit from some lessons. That would probably help my consistency.

What is that in the picture? Is that the 990 or something new?

Thanks very much Wolfgang, I don't think it is better than the original, but I am quite happy with how it is turning out!

Reg