Peterbuilt conversion

I thought I might share a Pete conversion I did a while back on another forum. It started life as a Revell 359 and I turnd the clock back to a earlier version of the 3 series from the 50,s-60,s.The amout of work involved in the hood modification was a major task in it,s self without mentioning the front fenders. But it all came together in the end. Enjoy.

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At the stage above I decided the headlamps were to big so removed them and bought some from a great guy in the US called Eric.

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also modified the air can.
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also used Hendricson rear steel springs instead of the kit air setup.
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cab removed ready for paint.
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Chassie painted and cab in primer also scratched a fuel tank and made a mould for future use.( thinking out of the box).
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cab removed for pinstripes and decals.
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none standard grille mesh installed. Used this as it was thinner than the one supplied in the kit.
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All wheels installed, cab fitted, seats and dash installed. All silver paint work done with Alclad polished steel and alluminum.
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Lower door is real wood.
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new headlamps installed and painted. (That's more in scale.)
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Decided to make the mirror arms and braces from brass rod as the kit ones are pants.
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All done and dusted bar the front bumper and turn signals.
Since the build it is now mounted on a board with a AMT flatbed trailer with the same 2 hole buds on as the unit but no load at present that's something for the future.
Thanks for looking and hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Tony.

I don't know much about this genre of model but the WIP I read was well written and the modeling was excellent. Good job.

Nice conversion. Like the colours and the brass mirrors are a good idea.

Where did the resin wheels and rear end come from. I've got a old White Road Boss that I glue bombed back in the `70s that they would look good on.

Tony, looks nice. I like the Hendrickson suspension, a real heavy duty unit. They are great for heavy haul, but ride real rough, especially empty!

I see the air tanks mounted outside of the rail. I have never seen this before, only inside of the rail. Is this the way they did it way back when? I also like the muffler shield and stack. What did you use for this? It looks real good!

Steve the resin suspention is a Auslowe item and the 2 hole buds are from Kit Form Services both are great guys to deal with 99% of my after market parts come from them.
Pete the exhaust stack came from a P/E set for a Kenny I built as I only used one on it the other found a place on the Peterbuilt I got the set from a guy called Hans in Jabbek at a show I think he has a website still I,ll have a butchers in my favorites and see if I can find it. If I can I,ll put it in the links section but I can tell you his shipping is done by weight and can be expensive if your only ordering a light Item. As for the air tanks I think they were as the truck was based on the same era as the one used in the film Duel if can find the pics I,ll also post them.

Thanks Tony.

Pete you must be one of the luckiest blokes to walk this soil I must have opted for KFS stacks on the Kenny as I have just been in the spares box and found the other one if you need it send me your postal address and I will pop it in the post on Friday as that's when I,m next of work.
There,s a pic bellow of the parts all you do is roll it around different size tubes until your satisfied with the size an shape then make the muffler pipe to sit inside the heat shield I,ll also put the two rings in that clip in the two grooves in the heat shield.
It,s a walk in the park as the brass is that thin all you have to do is keep it perfectly flat and tight on the tube when you roll it.

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There,s also the rain cap two mounting brackets and two pipe clamps. The top of the stack in just alluminum tube with a slight bend then cut to desired length.
Tony.

p/s a pic of one with air tanks on outside of chassie rails. Thought I had one somewhere.
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Man that is a great conversion and it looks perfect! Great work!

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That last piccy reminds me of the truck in Dual,a fantastic movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat!

The last pic is Nigel it,s one of the three that were used and by all accounts the only one that remains in existence as the other two were trashed and scraped at the end of filming. I think that one was found in a breakers yard slowly decomposing in a corner before it was rescued from the claw and crusher. If you watch the film very closely you see in the part when the salesman is in the café and starts acusing folks of trying to kill him when he leave and spots the truck it has fuel tanks on both sides under the cab. Then later in the film the truck changes from having five spoke wheels to having two hole bud,s and a upright air cleaner with the wider grill of a early pete 359 model witch was modifided to only having three bars to create a optical illusion that it was a earlier model.Plus the film was overdubbed on the truck engine as one of them had a gasoline engine fitted. One diesel was av12 and the other a later 6 potter the list goes on and and on. A bit like the one with the film Convoy and the CruiseWhopper that was used.A Kenworth K100 modified to look like a Cruiseliner for the long shots and the part where it rams the police station with the R700LS.
Tony.
Ps sorry for being a trainspotter but I,ve wached both films too many times now.

Like Buck I'm not all that familiar with these and I am totally impressed by what I've seen. It's also very nice not to see the original chrome from the kit as I feel it really looks tacky on these big beasts. Keep up the good work!