Brian Conn

I get a lot of windshield time listening to talk radio....mostly news of the world, or is that news of the weird....anyway of all things the discussion of C.W McCall came up....could have been that I was in S.E Nebraska and he hails from the Omaha Area. Here was the gist of the story. Turns out there are 4 different versions of the song Convoy 2 by C.W himself ,the radio version and the movie version. One by Canadian Paul Brandt ....saw a Paul Brandt trucking rig on South Bound 75 North of T-Town today ...coincidence???!!!??? Bonus points if you know where T-Town is! And one by Irishman Paul Kelly , yea that's right the trucking in the U.K! Links to these songs can be found at Google

The rear axle visibly looks good...its what you don't see necessarily that is the issue..allow me to explain. The AMT truck rear axle has a steel rod that is attached to the wheel assembly's. As you can see in the picture, the rod is much smaller than the center hole in the rear axle which can cause, depending on if a body is mounted, a clearance issue with the top of the tire and the underside of the body. As a rule of thumb, there needs to be no less than 5 mm. (5" in 1:1 scale) of clearance between the top of the tire and the underside of the body. More clearance is builders choice. Where this would not be an issue is with the C series tractor since it has a fifth wheel. WASTE NOT, WANT NOT I don't see common, ordinary things like most people, rather I see a potential, useful item to be used for scratch building....case in point. These are the guts out of a dried up click pen...the White piece is the perfect size to fit into the axle and also allow the steel rod to fit into. Its now a bushing of sorts that pretty much eliminates the slop in the rear axle and will add a small, bit more clearance between the top of the tire and underside of the body... aprox. 2 mm.. This is not a drill bit , but rather a reamer. Ream the axle holes large enough so that the White piece fits into the axle snugly. I found that I only needed to ream a small bit on each side of the axle for the pen piece to properly fit. Fit the piece into the axle and cut off the excess. Insert the steel rod, attach the wheels and you done. You can do the same thing with an Evergreen tube...unsure of the number or dimensions as I don't have any on hand at this time.

As I am finding out with my first truck build, an AMT Ford C series cab over, that AMT trucks leave some to be desired as far as parts fitment and related issues as I have read here and elsewhere on the internet. If you have built an AMT big truck with out any fitment issues, congratulations your one of the few, as for the rest of us...... I am going to break this up into parts, hopefully making it easier. PART 1: Squaring the frame The frame is the foundation from which a truck is build, much the same way a sturdy foundation is from which a building is built. Since the frames consist of two separate side rails and numerous cross members is up to the builder to take the time and make sure that the frame is square, if not then pretty much everything will not be in proper alignment from that point forward and make for a frustrating building experience. Everyone has their different ways as far as holding the frame sections in place while their being attached...if it works for you use it....personally I use a flat,steel building plate and magnets along with modeling clay. Use only the two side rails/frame pieces and the front most and rear most cross members. Use the rear cross member that goes between the frame rails and not the cross member that attaches to the body frame (above the truck frame) as in the trash truck, city delivery/Coke, stake truck. Locate a point on your frame that you can use as a reference..in this case I use the rear most locator pin on the frame that is used to locate the trash truck packer box to the frame. There is another one on the opposite frame rail same location. On the front I used the center hole on the frame half of the cab pivot/hinge. It's important that you do a diagonal measurement as pictured, it needs to be an equal length on both sides Once you are satisfied that the frame is square and true, attach the all cross members except for the transmission cross member/mount and cab support despite what the instructions may show. You will locate and attach those while doing the engine and cab alignment.

....One last update for 2025.... Have the hopper done and ready for weathering Began some subtle weathering on the upper panel Will be scratch building the control handle for the over head winch that ties in with the controls for the upper and lower panels HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND KEEP ON TRUCKIN'

Thanks for the response!!!! I have had too much outside the hobby room drama going on to maintain the focus and concentration needed...should have knocked this one out a long time ago....so I keep on keepin' on.

"Started back in September with basic drawings and photos." This build would be in the scratch building category....I doubt you will get a response from the builder as he has not been around since 2023...... I might add that the Trumpeter American La France Eagle pumper kit would be the donor kit..... other possibility would be a 3-D printed piece if you got the disposable income as that would be rather pricey.

Nothing SPOOKtacular to report on this Halloween day........ Inching closer to completion, still a ways to go.....had hoped to have had it in the model clubs annual show coming up in a couple of weeks, looks like next year. Since the P.E kit that I got from S.T.S came with a radio face, I went all in and scratch built an antennae to go with the radio. Still need to dirty up the front of the cab a little bit as the dirty windshield-clean body look wont pass muster with the judges. Scratch built the hydraulic lines for the front of the packer body, also the electrical conduit for the rear of the packer body (vertical round white piece, Left of center going down into truck chassis) Overhead electrical and hydraulic line raceway going towards the rear of the packer body.

...I figured one of the Diamond Reo aficionados would have chimed in by now... Take a look at the 1960's era Diamond Reo Gold Comets, I think you will find what your looking for

...Finally got enough work done on the packer body worthy of posting.... Got the under body control valve assembly plumbed. Used 24 gauge floral wire for the hydraulic lines. I've began some subtle weathering in spots and taped off the areas that need to stay white. All the packer bodies coming off of the Garwood assembly line were painted white, which makes things a lot easier as far as a build goes. Electrical conduit for rear lights on the hopper...located between the hydraulic lines and the under body control valve assembly.....flexible section to be tied in to the trucks electrical system later. Since I am going to be displaying this with the packer body roof off at shows, I added a support rib at the rear of the body to support the race way for the rubber hydraulic lines (3) and the metal electrical conduit. The electrical conduit line is already attached.

Thanks Gary...wish I had more time in the hobby room to devote to this project, but it is what it is. I think I might have enough for another update post soon

...Impressive build. I've got a wrecker in the pipe line, getting all the parts and pieces rounded up. Bought an early 60's I.H DCO 405 Emeryville resin cab before the prices went insanely high from Spaulding trading a couple of years ago, Picked up a 3-D print Holmes 750 minus body a year or so ago and picked up a derelict Transtar cab over for $20.00 at a model show a couple years ago that will donate its chassis....building a 1:1 wrecker that I remember as a kid growing up.

YIKES...it's hasn't been since last year since I posted anything......... Tried some 1 mm. Yellow pin striping tape that failed miserably..so with a steady hand and a Sable hair detail brush I have started pin striping the cab....fair results, will work for a weathered garbage truck. Started working on the packer body. Coming out of Garwood's assembly plant, the bodies where all White, so I am going to leave the portion of the body that doesn't get weathered the molded kit White...it's not too dull or too bright. Hydraulic oil tank assembly This shows the interior of the packer body as far as what see's the wear and metal to metal contact and what doesn't. Made a small lip out of styrene sheet to cover up the extreme rear portion of the truck frame to keep trash out

When I found out it was kind of surreal.....I still had a couple hours of windshield time before I made it home yesterday from S. E Nebraska ....quite a few trucks pulling grain trailers and started noticing the W900's . Saw where a 30 year old W900 can still fetch $60,000 , wonder how many of today's trucks will be able to do the same 30 years from now?

☹️ Word on the road today is that the Kenworth W900 will cease production in 2026.......

To determine how much to add to the frame..... Dry fit (no glue) the 359 body (hood, cab sleeper) on the 359 frame. Take one of the sides of the wrecker bed and place it behind the sleeper to give you an idea of how much to add if your not ready to start cutting on the frame....OR (preferred) go ahead and make your cut on the frame, then support the front portion of the frame (making it level) with the hood, cab and sleeper in place and then center the tandems in the wrecker bed wheel wells once you have determined where you want the wrecker bed to sit. The gap between the 2 frame halves is what you will need to add. Another possibility would be to cut the frame directly behind the sleeper on the 359 and directly in front of the wrecker bed on the other and connect the two frames. Since your dealing with 2 different kit manufacturers, this would not be a highly visible area