Father & Son Dodge Truck build....New Progress 9-11-2016

Well, back at it a bit, (Had some home "life" things get in the way of modeling so, had to slow down for a couple days to get things back in order.)

So, with that said, getting back at it, again, I got to looking, the radiator core support was together, parts that consisted of, the core support, the radiator, and the fan shroud as well as the A/C condenser all in place, and then it was time for detailing this assembly to get it ready for being installed onto the trucks frame!

So, the first thing I did was get all the A/C condenser plumbing "in-place" that would allow me to add the piping and fittings to this part, that way, I could get the connections from where ever to the proper location on the frame once in place. SO, this got the wire treatment, as always, the supply and return lines one low, one high on each side of the core support through it, with drilled holes, and then the wires bent to fit as pipe and once painted, and dry, they were glued in place, with the "connection fitting" at each end of the pipes INSIDE the engine compartment. So once that was all done, I had looked to see what I had, and what maybe was missing. (Just like I did on my truck in this build) I noticed, there was no over-flow tank or piping from the radiator, SO, I took to my pipe 'O scrap parts directly left in front of me, to see what I had as scrap to make the part.....



a 1/4th by a 1/4th inch section of Styrene, was used on MY truck so thats what I went looking for to use in Dad's truck. Not to shabby, I had a section (still needed cut to length) and then the edges rounded to look like a tank, had a mount to make for it, it was also scrap plastic laying there, and then found some scraps to make a "neck" and a "cap" with, it was all drilled and glued in place, and then held with an alligator clip, by the cap area, painted the tank Testors "Cream" color, allowed to dry, and then dullcoted it to make it NOT shiny, and then painted the mount flat black, and allowed to dry.

So I had to sit that aside, and look to the other side of the core support. And the battery was next, Granted, heres a bit of difference from one truck to the other, I myself, had a Die Hard in my truck. Dad had an Interstate Battery in his truck. SO, this means the part I had done with my stock kit supplied battery made/painted to look as a Die Hard, had to have the battery physically "look" different no less, be painted different too! SO, I took the kit supplied part, and removed ALL the little cap details that it came with, and added my own!



The battery got painted all flat white, by spray can, allowed to dry, and then that got taped off, and the lower lip got painted black, and that was allowed to dry, and then got a "base" tray made to hold it in the truck on the core support, the tray made of styrene angle, and then the INSIDE only got painted flat black, then glued to the bottom of the battery, and then once all made to fit the location, and glued in place, I painted the outside of the tray gloss black to match the rest of the interior parts, and then painted the battery terminals, as well as the tops of the 2 new caps I added.

Thats a short reply, but there will be more to follow!!! Enjoy for now....Stay tuned!

So, as promised, I got some more to add and done to this build..... Its getting there! I got to lookin' and the frame was just about done, all it was still needing was drive shafts to connect the transfer case to the axles! I was originally going to get others to do the task, BUT I got to thinking, instead of robbing another kit for the parts, I took and made special ones for my truck in this build (Mine were heavier built then Dad's, SO, this left the stock kit supplied drive shaft in my kit, un-used! THEN Dad's truck had the SAME one too! As well as a junk one I had stored for many years, (since the early 1990's) I use that one on the truck already (its the "jack-shaft" between the transmission, and the transfer case!) SO, having said that, I took the one from my truck in this build, and the one that came with this kit, and made my Dad's to keep everything "stock" to the kit. He kept his truck Stock Mopar, so there was no "after-market" stuff, on Dad's truck, which made this all fall right into place!

With all that said, OFF to making them to my standards, I went! First things first, I took the stock drive shafts, and cut them in half, ONE shaft at a time! I take them larger end of shaft, and smaller end of shaft and put the "cut" end, into the Unimat set up as the lathe. To turn the shaft down just a little to fit inside of Aluminum tube to make a new completely round shaft. This end has to be "short" tho! Because the smaller end of the stock part has to fit inside of a smaller aluminum shaft that slides into the larger one (expand and contract). SO, both ends of the stock part, has to take turns in the Unimat! So that they fit somewhat snug but be able to be glued into the Aluminum tube without "filling" the tube with glue! -Done, very carefully! This task has to be done twice as a 4x4 has 2 of them! This one actually has 3, BUT that "jack-shaft" has no "tube" to it, its merely 2 "U-Joints" end-to-end. Once made, they were slipped together, and put onto the truck, NOT glued....

Sadly, I didn't get pictures of them as I was making them, like I normally do so. BUT they're on the truck, unpainted.....





As seen above, they sitting there, with the "slip-joint" spread enough to hold the drive shaft on the truck, once spread enough and positioned correctly (Outside U-Joint ends) to hold itself on the truck THEN the slip-joint in the middle of the drive shaft is super glued, to the aluminum tube. Allowed to dry, and then tweaked if needed (turned) for the best looking position. Once thats found/achieved then the U-Joint ends get glued into place, to the transfer case, and the axles. Then sit aside shortly to allowed to dry.

Once the glue is dry (doesn't take long) they're painted in place! NOW the trick, and difficulty (for me at least) Dad's truck wasn't like mine this way, Mine got a bare metal protectant sprayed onto the shaft work and other underside parts, that well looked like a slightly darkened cast iron/metal, Dad's truck he under coated it with a brush on type stuff, and so, the drive shafts got it, as well as the axles, ALL the floor panels except the frame, and springs he sprayed them with flat black paint I do believe (from talking to my uncle) and ANYTHING "mechanical" was left bare cast iron and was treated with something that didn't give a "coat" to it (sort of like what I used, on my truck, but not the same thing!) SO, having said that, the transmission, the transfer case, the U-Joints, did NOT get that black undercoating, they got the other stuff as they were a mechanical, functioning part. SO, they got the same treatment that mine did (sort of) but had a close the same look as mine did. SO, on the model, the mechanical parts, transmission, transfer case, and U-Joints, got that bare metal treatment, that mine got and look a lot the same, BUT the drive "shaft" and all got that black brush-on undercoating....



All is painted, as said, U-Joints the darkened Bare cast iron! The shaft work painted gloss black to represent the gloss undercoating (black) so.... Not bad at all!



Rear axle drive shaft, close up.



Front axle drive shaft.





Over-all, looks pretty good for being painted as I wouldn't have done, but thats how Dad's truck was, and how he did it! So having the drive shafts, done and in-place, as well as painted, the running gear, and all the underside frame details is DONE, I'll concentrate on the engine compartment completion, and then once thats done, The frame itself, will be complete, and allow me to concentrate more heavily on the interior to get it to where it needs/should be to represent my Dad's truck (just like I did mine in this build, to then be able to really set out and concentrate on the body, of both trucks to give them the needed mind-set they deserve!

Thanks for looking, more to follow as things are done!

Well while I was building the drive shafts and fitting them, I noticed one other "detail" I had sort of forgot about! The spare tire, and its mount.... REMEMBER this detail is and was to be "removable" somewhat like the real thing! WELL that "mount" bracket had been made, BUT the threaded part of the mount that turned in to hold the bracket to the wheel itself wasn't made, to what a real one would have been OR CLOSE (Its not 100% like the real thing) BUT, you'll see in a minute just how that all went together!

I used a screw as you all know. BUT that screw wasn't "good enough" to my detailing so, I took the part out, removed the bracket, and then began bending a "handle" that would "weld" to the screw.... This is all sort of done, with a pretty big bolt, with a cap, that self-centers as turned in to hold the tire against the underside of the beds floor boards. SO, I looked through some of my spare scrap wire on the bench choose what was the strongest that I had and began to bend it to look like a o with squared corners, NOT round. The location where the ends came together is the base where it have the "welds" made..... These "welds"???? Really are a weld of sorts! I soldered the steel wire, to the head of the slotted bold head, in the screw driver "slot".....Then completely cleaned in Acetone to remove ALL the flux and any other contaminate, that would inhibit the paint that it was to get!

Painted, allowed to dry, and put into place, it looks something like this:



Center of the tire, on the rim, you'll see the gloss black bracket, that spans pressure on it to hold it all in place. In the center of it, painted flat black (for detail variation) you'll see the mount screw!



To show some depth of detail.

I think to date the frame as far as underside details is done.... I'll look again to make sure, but I'm almost sure ALL the underside stuff, now is complete! (A LOT of little stuff!) So I can set down now and concentrate on the engine compartment.... (Even in it, theres not a lot to be done!) Again, A LOT of little stuff!

Anyway, thats it for this posting, Thanks for looking, More to come as I am able.

Well since my last installment, I got a ways on the engine compartment completion! I as you all have seen re-worked the battery, to look like one my Dad used in his truck! It became as seen from the box stock part, to the one/type my Dad had. He used a Interstate battery, SO I had to make the one going in HIS truck (model) represent that. NOT just paint the stock kit part the colors, BUT change the look, as you all know that I did, WELL now its painted, with a battery "shelf" mount, and in place! -Mo wires to it yet!







The battery is in place, as well as some other details! I added the radiator over-flow tank, with hose leading from the radiator to the tank. (The tank I made from solid styrene!)

As you can see, I have a bit of detailing yet to do! I have to finish adding the A/C hoses to the condenser radiator (out in front of the BIG engine radiator) and then get the rest of the battery cables in place. These are coming!

More to come, stay tuned!

So now with The day of Christmas behind us, I thought I ought to get a bit of an update (I had to post-pone the build for Christmas) SO, I sat it aside for a week to get trades done, and get household Christmas things in order, in the shop mind you. SO, thats all behind me now, SO, back at building, I go.....

With that said, I got a cold just before Christmas, (fun, I know!) BUT today I feel a bit better, and thought I'd get right to getting pictures!

As you all know by now, I got the battery modified to look more like a Interstate battery, that my Dad used, SO, I got to posting pictures of it in place, but no battery cables in place, or anything..... I got that done just before I set it aside, just waited to have pictures taken of it.



Battery cables in place, and mounted as they should be like that seen on my truck. I also got the top radiator hose in place, as well as all the A/C piping as well. A little bit of small details for now!



Then seen here is the fender decals on the inner fenders. -They're added as well as the red alternator line feeding the battery across the front of the core support.
As of this part, its getting down to the nitty-gritty now! I have yet to add in a horn, its wiring, and then I need to install the air cleaner. And the frame is D-O-N-E! I'll be off to picking up, where I let off on the interior details as a lot has to be changed in that to get to the body work!

Stay tuned...... More to come as things get back into motion on this build! -Thanks for looking!

So with the current issues I was going through with the computer, I had a bit of time to work on the shop "resetting"... (since New Years Eve is when I got back into it.... BUT recently I had to take a break, As some light materials need to be picked up to get back at it again. SO having to delay the shop resetting, I got back into a little bit of model work! The Father & Son build!

SO, with that being said, I took down Dad's truck in this build, remembering what/where I had let off last. It needed a Horn, and wired in..... I got the horm painted (2 come with EACH of my '70 Dodge Coronet Super Bee's and Really, I'm only gonna use one! SO, I have a few "extra" and this is a great time to put one extra to good use! Painted it black after I drilled the hole for the wire, and trimmed off any edge flash, as it had to fit in a pretty well tight area on the radiator core support. Once that was "fitted, I then drilled a hole for the little mount tab to fit into rather tightly as well, and let to dry for a short time, to dig through what wire I had organized for such little things, but nothing I had was suitable for this application. So, I took out my spool of blue 30 Gauge wire!





Seen here, the passenger side inner-fender, theres NO "blue" wire running near, or on it, for the horn!

-Thats about to change!



Fits nicely, BUT it was fun getting it in there! (I had for a moment, wished I had done it BEFORE the radiator over-flow tank went into place!





With air cleaner sitting in place (I have yet to make this thing semi-removable to view the details under it!) so. the frame is actually, for the most part ..........DONE! Just that last step on making the air cleaner removable is all thats required!

To date, I am VERY pleased on how all this has turned out! THEN it hit me like a TON of bricks............ MY TRUCK! It didn't have a horn!!!! SO, I sat Dad's aside to dry... -And pulled my truck in this build down......

Stay tuned, more to come after these short messages!

So, I got the horn & the oil dip-stick in my truck and put it back in the dust case above the work bench and brought Dads back out. I have a little yet to do to the frame on Dads truck, I need to affix the air cleaner that it can be removed, BUT not lost at the same time (long piece of wire mounted to the air cleaner that slips into the center of the carburetor works well for this! BUT has to be LONG, almost as long as the engine is deep up & down, to keep it in place, when handled! Then to top it all off, I have to paint the lug nuts on the rims chrome, and this frame will be done! I may take my frame down one last time and add valve-stems to each rim, but am undecided on doing this but there is a very good chance it will happen!

BUT, to keep going, I took the interior box out and got to looking at what it looked like from when I cut out the 2 bucket seats and re-built the area they once were in, to hold a bench seat. Now that I got some bench seats from a few of our own in trade (thanks guys!!!!!) I got to see what one fits the best to Dads truck without a lot of modifications. Sadly, that " a lot" part, isn't going to be as easy as I had hoped and wished for! (Got to admit), Dads truck was and has been a lot more difficult to build as his was further from what the model I used was made to be in the first place, and required A LOT more work then my truck in this build did! Once done tho, it will be worth it as a Father & Son set, I know!





So, when I took it out, the back needed a "finish" edge on it. Something more then just a sheet of plastic, to be cut off straight across, so, I went to my parts bin to see what all I had, stock bits & pieces of building materials. Not actual model car parts, but something to fabricate the part I was seeing in my head. Found a strip, that looked "close", as it was a bit "high" but was right width. So I used it, cut and filed to fit side-to-side and then placed it that the top, stuck up past the factory edge or the interior tub/box..... Once dry, I filed that top down to be even and straight across side-to-side to the factory interior box height. This will serve 2 purposes. One, a finish to the interior box, that will only truly be seen under the rear window, and on each side of the bench seat, but 2, it will serve as a rest for the back of the bench seat to rest one, when all said and done!



While I was at it, I also added 2 more thicknesses of that dark gray plastic, to "fill in the rear wall on each side. These were scraps! I had to come up with just a bit more thickness for the seat to fit right and look good, as the rear inside corners were lacking that lip on top stuck out a bit more then it needed too to look right! SO, that was added in too at this time!

Once this was all done, it was time to pick a seat! This wasn't the easiest part I can tell you, Dads truck had a bench seat in it, yes, BUT that bench seat was a bit different. The Dodge truck seats were completely different then that found in a car..... I'm not sure why, but they did different that much! Matter of fact, the bars running side to side on the cars bench seats is and was wrong, for a stock Dodge truck seat! The Trucks, mostly had seats with the bars or sewing lines running up and down, not across! SO I honestly can not remember what the seat looked like in Dad's truck BUT I'm taking an educated guess here to say, the cars front bench seats are upholstered wrong for a truck, no matter how I look at it. SO, I simply had to pick one! -Knowing what I just said, It was a hard pill to swallow that I couldn't get a closer seat but, I wasn't going to set out and fabricate a seat too.....



so heres the seat I'm gonna use! (I just have to live with it) but thats OK its on the inside of the truck anyway!



Now the real test was coming! I had to sit down, talk with my uncle (the uncle thats been helping me recall how this truck was when Dad had it), as I mentioned the real truck was lost in a flood! And my uncle had a lot involved with helping my Dad at times do things to it, oil changes, added this or that to spruce it up a bit, so..... He'd know best, second to Dad, but Dad well hes not around anymore so.......... -Which is partly why I'm so focused on this build........ Its sort of a healing for the loss of my Dad, coming up on 2 years in April! At times, it almost seems to much to take in, the loss and the thought, but I have to... Its been helping me heal through the rough time (I've been told, you never truely get over the loss of a close parent, and I believe it, but there are things to ease it.. this for me happens to be one of those ways! Building a model of my Dads '39 Chevy, is just to close, if that makes any sense. I'd lose the healing I've gained (even tho, I DO have a model of this car, in-progress that I haven't touched since Dad's passing!) It was meant to be a gift to him when he was a live! And bought while he was in the same store I BOUGHT it from! (was fun being sneaky getting it out of the store and into Dad's car as we rode to where this one place was in Pennsylvania as he wanted some Train track for under his Christmas tree, back in November 2012, on Black Friday that year. I wound up needing open heart surgery in April of 2013, and had not got to see Dad at all since that time in 2012..... -Talked on the phone a lot, as he was in Pennsylvania, and I'm in New Hampshire.... a pretty good ride. needless to say!

Anyway, back to the build, before it gets to me more then I'd like it too!
So, I got to test fitting things, the interior in the cab, then got to test that all onto the frame, when I noticed something. The cab seemed to sit further back on the frame then it should..... Remember, this truck, is getting a full sized "sweptline" bed.... MY truck having the step-side is easy! BUT test fitting seeing that the frame may be set back about 1/16th - 3/32nds of an inch or slightly more then that, can and will through off the tire centers in the wheel openings! -Something wouldn't look right, once I seen this!
WELL, I got to testing this, to see what could be done to gain at least 1/16th - 3/32nds of an inch NOT scale mind you, a REAL TIME measurement of 1/16th to 3/32nds of an inch! In 1/25th scale thats a good what? almost 3 inches I bet! I'd have to figure that out, BUT I was right it did through off the wheel centers in the openings, enough that I had to see what I could do to move the entire works forward, I could live with 1/16th but closer to 3/32nds be a bit better if I could trim something to gain it, and slide the cab forwards that much without having other problems....

WELL, I found something, this is CRAZY, but I did it. I test fitted the wheels/axles going on the frame, centered in the cab, NO interior, did the same thing on the bed! to get the rear wheel, axle centers. With the interior in place, the front of the interior tub/box, is quite thick! and I mean holy WOW thick!

So I simply cut it out! I cut out the front panel, sanded true side to side and up and down, and then off to the sheet plastic bin I go for something, thinner but "semi-strong" to replace that thick thing I removed, but able to gain me at least 1/16th of an inch... to slide it all forward when ready to go in place on the frame.

This is how that took place:



Notice my writing in the pic! The piece of replacement plastic, I used is .020"th of an inch thick! Compared to what I removed beside it!



Got to love scraps!!! LOL This just happens to be a rather large scrap! BUT I saved it, and saved what I cut from it here!



Now you see the inside! My biggest thing was keeping it, "straight", not allowing the box to pull on it, BUT keep its taught-ness, but also allow the dash to fit snugly into place as well..... This was a bit thin to work with but it did exactly what I needed it to do, its allowed me to gain over 1/16th of an inch in forward movement and just less then 3/32nds of an inch movement, so, somewhere in between and still pretty strong/sturdy for what it is, As I had to have something to back the dash on the lower side as it will be slightly seen there.... The biggest part was NO GAPS ALLOWED! Remember I have carpet to get in here, and the corners and all where the glue joint is, will be seen! SO I added a little downward pressure to the box when it was being glued on ALL sides of the box! That amount of good plastic welder softens the joining plastic just enough to cause a bubble to form from "attacked" plastic from the glue, -just what I was trying to do..... This also makes up any light gaps, and all. Once it was dry, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sheet stock I put into place, wasn't de-formed at all (a risk you take doing what I did here) but I had to risk it, as if it did mess up, I'd just have to re-build up the edge I cut on the box and do it again.... Sometimes tho. you get lucky!

This is all trimmed out and pieces saved, and the box is ready to be painted its base coat........ Mopar interior "tan", that is a lot like whats in my truck, BUT Dads had black where mine has a light brown over the tan. Dads also won't have the amount of chrome in his as I had, his had more wood grain, then mind did, (I can't recall mine actually having ANY wood grain in it!) Dad's however had less Chrome trim, BUT he did have chrome window winders, and door levers inside, and I think lock "pins" as well as ash tray parts as well as key locks for the glove box, and even the starter..... And thats about all I can think of, mine had all that plus a chrome gauge cluster as seen on the build here thats completed.

I do have some fabricating to do for the interiors of both trucks yet.... Mine had a gun rack in the rear window (I used to hunt!) so. I plan to add that and at least my favorite riffle of the time! I also had a CB in mine! -That I have yet to come up with, ought to be easy to make if I can't find one! (Yeah talk about being redneck (SHHHHH don't tell my wife LOL) -Finding a 1/25th scale hunting riffle might be more of an issue! LOL

Thanks for lookin' guys! More to come as I get more done!

So that everyone knows, its been over a year since I've worked on these 2 trucks, I'm on a hunt for some VERY specific parts to make my Dad's truck model build even closer to the real thing and I'm waiting on a guy that has them to locate them as I KNOW and so doesn't he, that has the ones I need. This message I'm typing now date is: 8-24-2016.... BUT I worked on this build a little this year, but had stopped due to the accident in which my hands were in some serious shape, I worked on "light" details on this since then the last 2 posts made with progress pictures, I WILL resume when I have the needed steering wheel and some other parts for this particular truck as I have the bed it requires but I don't have the needed tail lights for in it! -I've recently got the bumpers, both front and back so. work will continue soon!

ENJOY for now, Comments welcome!

Awesome job with lots of pretty details You got the master level
I especially appreciate the Skull knob on the gear shift of the first truck where do you find it?? Have you got some?
waiting for the following

ouf!WTF!!That's awesome job!!!

I take a chair with lot of Beer and I wait for the following!!

Fred74 a écrit:Awesome job with lots of pretty details  You got the master level
I especially appreciate the Skull knob on the gear shift of the first truck where do you find it?? Have you got some?  
waiting for the following

Fred,
Thanks my French friend! Much appreciated!

As for the Skull Gear shift knob, I mold those! you Want some? I'll put some in with your package thats got the Hemi and 383 in it..... I molded one plastic one I had, and now will have them, whenever I want to use something a bit different for a gear shift knob!

No worry in trade, a gift, from me to you.... because I can!

Le 2tsch a écrit:ouf!WTF!!That's awesome job!!!

I take a chair with lot of Beer and I wait for the following!!

Le 2tsch,
Thanks my friend! I got a lot of builds "in-progress" at the current time, BUT I will say, I work on those "in-progress" ones in circles. so when it all comes to a close within a week, I should have several models done all most all at once!

Some sit till I have the wanted or needed parts and with "Family builds" of models after real cars different family members have had there are parts specific that I seek out..... That way the model is that much more close to resembling the real thing! -I have a few of these in the works right now! (I'm also working on a model of my Grandfathers '79 Dodge Ramcharger! (I have 2 of those kits!)

I'll be posting that build at some point as well!

Can't tell I like "pick ups" huh guys?

awesome !!!!!!

your work is so accurate and fine , i love that
it's very cool to build the "family cars" , are you offer it to your dad when it's finished ?

great work John

A+

franck

roadrunner a écrit:awesome !!!!!!

your work is so accurate and fine , i love that
it's very cool to build the "family cars" , are you offer it to your dad when it's finished ?

great work John

A+

franck

Franck,
Thanks! MUCH Appreciated! As for offering to my Dad I thought about it, when I first started this build, (As I was gonna build 2 of "His" truck), BUT, sadly I lost Dad..... He passed away a couple years ago.... This whole build now, is a "Healing" to the loss of him..... Great minds, however do think alike! As I had originally thought of making a second "Father" truck to give to him, and had gotten to a point in building it, BUT "removed" it from the build, and now its Just Him & I for me to remember him by. The partly built truck, is gonna be built, after a truck he drove for a very short time for the Railroad...... (Which I also rode around in) so..... The entire "Build Theme" will serve 3 purposes....... -Just as intended!

Much appreciated tho! Thank You!

528-Hemi a écrit:

Fred,
Thanks my French friend! Much appreciated!

As for the Skull Gear shift knob, I mold those! you Want some? I'll put some in with your package thats got the Hemi and 383 in it..... I molded one plastic one I had, and now will have them, whenever I want to use something a bit different for a gear shift knob!  

No worry in trade, a gift, from me to you.... because I can!

thanks for the gift, you're really a friend

Your package had been picked up by the french postal service this afternoon tell me when you'll receive it!

ho !! i'm sorry for your dad

i lost my dad last summer, i know what it is ....

a very good idea to build it

A+

franck

roadrunner a écrit:ho !! i'm sorry for your dad

i lost my dad last summer, i know what it is ....

a very good idea to build it

A+

franck

Sorry to hear that! Its definitely difficult but this build like I had said, is a way for me to "heal" he & I both love cars and had a connection above and beyond them, but one way, you know?

The 3rd truck, is as I said a Dodge truck as well, and he drove a railroad work truck that was for signal maintaining for them, and worked for about a year for the railroad back in the mid 1980's.... I actually should have a picture of the truck he drove, and I'm making it just like these 2 as close as I can to the real thing, in miniature..... SO it won't turn up lost cause build, and re-directed to become another "Family Automobile" That I remember growing up!

SO it really has been a L-O-N-G time since I've worked on this build! I sat it aside for a time as there were some details I wanted for in this Dad's truck that well........ I wasn't going any further till I located either the part I was looking for, or something "close" to what the real truck had! SO, I have found some of what I needed (especially for the interior) so, having that in-hand, and working on another model thats using just about the exact same colors and materials in its interior that this one gets, I thought, I'd kill 2 birds with one stone, and get some progress on the interior of this one!
So Dad's truck in real life, had a basic interior, nothing special nothing real "high end" or even close to luxury in it, was a work truck, that was his everyday driver to and from work, as well as used for towing trailers, you name it, and it was 4x4 for winter travels. So it was just a touch, "plain" meaning, there wasn't a lot of extras inside! I THINK he may have added his own radio tho as I'm not sure it even had one in it when he bought it! So as I go, on the interior of this truck it will get only the basic things done inside to reflect that of what the real truck had! Also because I used a "Little Red Express" truck to build this model, I had to completely remove the bucket seats and console from the interior! Dad's truck had a bench seat in it. Which was the other part, I had to find, a decent looking bench seat, if not like the one Dad had in his truck, or one as similar as I can get! (I had to settle on something remotely "close"), as the seat Dad's truck had had the pleating running up and down, not side to side, but thats the best I could find, to fit this truck without setting out and literally scratchbuilding an entire seat! -I wanna get these done some time this century LOL



BASIC as I said, I have to go through and highlight some things like the winow winders and add the knobs to them on each side (these knobs will be in fact semi-gloss black, unlike other builds that I've left them chrome looking....) SO, the door pull strap was black, door latch will be chrome, and it will have chrome door locks too! Other then that, thats all the detail this interior will be getting above and beyond whats seen here....
Got the seat from a trade that looks the part, is close, but not 100% accurate, BUT well, at this point it is, what it is, and I thought a good "Roadrunner back seat" would do it justice!

Granted, that seat is only posed in-place! Its not glued in as of yet, I got a little detailing to do as I mentioned! Plus, the other thing I have to do is put in the carpeting, which on another build, is the same embossing powder too. the colors only vary between the base color tan, and the carpeting being a beige color too, which is very close to what Dad's truck had! Which will be the last detail I add, is the carpeting, before the Dash goes into place!
Then you got the dash....


Now thats going to be a FUN one! It doesn't have the same look to the dash as the one did in my truck, there was a lot of little things in Dad's truck that was different then what I had in my real truck! I also will NOT be "modeling" the "rip" that was in Dad's trucks dash pad either LOL (I can remember talking to him, that was thee only thing he wished he had replaced the whole time he owned the truck before the flood took it from him!) I will however have to think about how I plan to change this dash to look as the one Dad's truck had as some of the details were different as well as some of the coloring from one section to another because I had a lot of "chrome" in my trucks dash, Dad's truck didn't have all that chrome, his was black, (I'm gonna use semi-gloss black) for those parts, BUT what Dad's truck did have was chrome gauges which I thought was interesting! (I bet at one point he either bought the truck with them that way, or changed them out himself!) I'm not sure which! -I did know my Dad well enough to know he LOVED his chrome, (As do I) so..... I would not be surprised if he did the chrome gauges in the dash himself, and the only 2 people I know that would know this to be true or not, are both gone, Dad & my uncle! (The uncle) I was talking to with all these family builds I lost this past April! I'm GLAD I got as much info on these 2 trucks as I did......
As you can see, there is no "steering wheel" present, I got the box-stock one, but isn't right, at all! SO, I had searched out one that was 100% correct for this truck, and its waiting to be painted. The steering wheel is pretty much the same one that came in the '79-'80 Dodge Ramcharger kit by Revell....
Stay tuned, more to come as things start to begin all over again on this build! Comments welcome, ENJOY!

Well as you all have seen I been going right on with some of the interiors of current cars I'm building due to the nature of the builds, the cars & trucks (in this case) are using the SAME colors and interior carpeting, so. Thought I'd get a bunch done on a few builds as I go....
Dad's truck, needed a LOT of interior changes, outside of what I did to mine! The whole interior of Dad;s truck was in fact different, in some cases, I could change this, in other cases (the door panels) I couldn't change.... SO, I had to go with what I had and Yes, I did set out looking for interiors of other trucks that would look closer to what Dad's truck had but there is nothing! And I was not about to try to scratch build them either! Just the details on the doors inside are slightly wrong BUT the base color is right, and the parts I painted other then the base color are right, its just the trim and all is wrong. So, with that said, I just have to live with the difference that I can not change!
So, on with the interior....
I got the Window winder knobs in-place, and painted, as well as the door latch, and the door pull strap. (That strap, is NOT paint!!) I also pulled out a gear shift for the 4 wheel drive gear shift, and cut off the lever and knob to it, to make my own, but use the "boot" so that I could get the carpeting down!

4 wheel drive Gear shift is made from a piece of polished stainless wire, with a black necklace bead on it for a knob! I then glued it into position, with CA and painted the knob Semi-Gloss Black to match the other semi gloss black highlights in the cab!

Carpeting looks really good! I left the fuel pedal unpainted and un covered with carpeting as I plan to use the cast-on part as a base, for one I will make and add as I do the pedals in the truck!

Not to bad over all. I mean there are details I know are wrong, BUT for what it is, looks GREAT! I also got the bench seat in-place as well!

Bench seat in-place looks really good! I'm pleased with how it looks! The seat looks GREAT!
So the interior of this build, is almost done! I have to get working on the dash! Stay tuned more to follow! Comments welcome ENJOY!

So then, onto the dash I go.... On Dads truck, The dash had some different coloring going on, why? I don't know! I am not sure if he got it that way, or if it was a repair or what, I just know the center portion of the dash was a bit weird with it being black! BUT because it was, I went with it! Also the gauge area wasn't chrome like mine was, his was black. The top portion of the dash was the same base interior color being tan!

So to reflect the colors, I did what it needed and got right to detail painting the gauges and all.

A little better view of what I have done. I have yet to paint the radio in, and the steering column is being made (its different as well from my truck!) I have to add the automatic gear shift, as well as the indicator for it, and a key "bung". It already has a turn signal lever so thats good! PLUS, the stock steering wheel I got for it as well.... A bit yet to go, but looking food so far! Coming right along! Once the interior to this truck is done, I'll be able to get to doing body work to both these trucks!!!!
Thats it for now, as always comments welcome, ENJOY!

As always, very nice job John! what did you use for carpeting?

Fred

Thanks Fred! I used Embossing Powder for the carpeting. I'm not sure of the colors name, (I'll be sure to get it and post it for you) tho the funny part, because of what its for, has a scent to it that smells like "Root Beer", which as funny as it is, was my Dad'd favorite Soda to drink!

I bought some time ago of embossing powder and I was right, the visual result looks great but mine smell nothing...

C'est un plaisir suivre tes WIP, j'adore ton détaillage