Kenworth 850 Off Highway

[RCP57]

I spent a lot of time fiddling with small things today. I was inspired by my newly acquired clearance lights to build the air horn today. I also decided to make some pins for various places on the truck(even the Euc got one lol). While doing this the light bulb came on that I had a piece of hose(cough, hoarder) that I could make hump hoses out of for the air cleaners. A quick search for the right box of junk led me to the hose and a couple of quick cuts with my scissors and.....







They're a little bigger diameter than they should be but I think they look better than not having them at all. I just need to make up some little wire clamps once everything is painted.






Thanks for looking

[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.

[Seilbagger]

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

[Espeefan]

Man, that's a beautiful model. I'm glad you're putting in the efforts on the details. The mirror posts look great. It's all the little stuff that will make this model come to life! So I guess this Kenworth is going to be yellow and green?

[RCP57]

Originally Posted by Espeefan

Man, that's a beautiful model. I'm glad you're putting in the efforts on the details. The mirror posts look great. It's all the little stuff that will make this model come to life! So I guess this Kenworth is going to be yellow and green?

Thanks Nate, I'm not sure if I'm spending the time adding the details to make the truck look more finished or just to avoid painting!lol I really hate painting... Yes the truck will be yellow, green and white. I'm going to try and see if I can get the original owners company logos made for the doors. I think that will really make it appealing to some of the old timers around here(and to me too).

Reg

[JAMMER]

Your looking real good Reg it is really taken shape now your on a down hill slide now. Ed