KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Hey builders/ lurkers! :D Time for a new 9-month long build! This will be a Kenworth W900B Daycab tractor, or dump truck; we shall see. It is also my first attempt at a scratch-built cab. I am basically going to copy a cab that my buddy Silvio (skl1cent) built for me a little while ago. This way, I have a 3D blueprint of the cab I will try to build. So, this is what it should look like:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...edumptruck.jpg

And here is what I have so far:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000790.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000787.jpg

It doesn't look like much, but this is the most cab-hacking I've ever done!:eek: I have removed the stock fenders using thread (which apparently is totally possible?), and cut some new fenders to mount up. I also got some new sand paper to leave a finer sanding finish on the truck. I will patch up the gap behind the fenders, and then start on trimming the fenders (they stick out too far underneath the hood, and hit the frame rails/ suspension). Once the styrene is patched and ready for the fenders, I'll make another update.:D

We'll see if I can make this "Pipe Dream" a reality! Oh, and I picked the name "Pipe Dream" because the fenders are made of PVC pipe!:)

Thanks for taking a look! Any comments or cab-building/ styrene modding help and suggestions are appreciated! :D

-Bigrigger

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Wow, the new fenders looks really nice. At first when you said you were going to scratchbuild the cab, I thought I would mention that the King Hauler makes a good start for many Kenworth cabs, but then I saw your pictures and said, good, he's going to use a King Hauler as the base. Don't worry about this taking you 9 months! I've been working on my own truck for far longer. Sometimes I think it will never get done!

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Carpet thread works good as long as you move to fresh thread before it breaks. Leaves a nice cut.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

looking good so far! The fenders look spot on.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Fenders look great!

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Thanks for the support guys! I have had the fenders sitting around for a while, and I'm glad to finally start building. The thread made a very clean cut, but I'll have to sand off all that fuzz. Thanks again for the comments; I'll go get started! :D

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Bigrigger, I have to agree with everyone else. The fenders look great, and I will be watching this one for sure.;):):cool:

Big John

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Thanks John, I hope it will be a build worth watching.

So, looks like it's time for another small update. However, this time I'll run through how I made the fenders for peterbilt65! There will be pictures, don't worry... :D

The update is a small brace I added to the front of the truck. The brace supports the two fenders, keeping them together for when I will start on the hood. I'm not sure if it is precise enough for me to keep though, because it appears to be a little off, and I tend to hate anything that is not completed with as much precision as I see you guys pull off! :rolleyes: We shall see if it is straight, and I will think up a plan for the hood soon!
So, pics!

Here is the cab as it stands...
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000795.jpg
That is the brace in between the fenders.
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000796.jpg
Side view (cab not properly leveled).
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000797.jpg
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000798.jpg
Inside view of the brace, you can see the challenge of attaching everything!:eek:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000799.jpg
Here is a view with the cab sitting level.
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000800.jpg
And a view of the inside for fun.
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000801.jpg


Now, Neil...
Here is your tutorial on how to make the fenders and what they look like.

This is what the piece looks like:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000791.jpg
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000792.jpg
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000793.jpg

I used a hacksaw to cut the smaller connector section off of the larger piece, leaving that piece that shrunk to a smaller circle on the one end, leaving a perfect fender circle! :D Then I cut the circular piece where I needed it (I used two pipes, due to lack of material in one), one higher and one lower.

Here you can hopefully see where the fender came from, and what the final product looks like.
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000794.jpg

Good luck, and happy building to you! Just mention where you got the design from, so that other people can see how! :D Have fun!

This concludes our build update/tutorial! Thanks for looking...

Tune in next week for more.:p :D

Let me know what you think guys! :cool:
-Bigrigger

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

WOW ! I love the idea with the PVC pipe...i think i can use that idea for the 1977 western star project i have coming up. i was racking my brain on how to do that beveled edge on the edge of the fender...you just answered my prayers my friend 1 thank you so much !

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

one trick that i like to do when adding new type fenders...is cut off the whole hood side right below the rivet line and all the way to where the hood meets the cab line...make a brand new one for it and make it a little taller than it needs to be. Then on the fender itself ..add a back plate to it (C/A) glue it...then later on when you go to attach the fender to the hood ..just bolt the fender to the hood side ! this also emanates the pain in the butt filling in of the fender to the hood thing and its really stronger !....then later you can carve out the inner part of the fender /hood area you dont need and trim the hood side to what ever height you wish.. It just gives the fender something to hold too...if the fender is just glued to the hood side with a little bondo here and there...it can easily crack or bust off ! just a thought ?

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm going to have to sand the fender insides to make them slant outwards to be even with the hood, that way they can fit the side or top of the bottom of the hood. Support is definitely going to be important in this build! :D Hope to see that Western Star build soon!

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Thanx for showing how you made the fenders, great idea.;) If we just looked around at different things, we would be suprised at what kind of materials we can use for our projects.:eek: Looking good buddy, keep it up.:);):p:cool:

Big John

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

(fender's) That's a neat idea, and you did it with out using a lathe!
Cheer's, Neil.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Great job on the fenders! The build is coming along,good job!

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Thanks for the comments guys! It really is amazing what we can make out of normal pipes and hardware! When you build model trucks, everything looks like more than just a piece of plastic. :) I hope to get some work done tomorrow, and then post an update soon. Thanks again for the support guys! :D

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Just a suggestion but you might want to mount the cab floor in the cab when doing your build up - sometimes they are a little too flexible and causes alignment issues.


sorry yaa'll - I musta bin eatin somthin funny cause after looking at it again and again, even I couldn't figure out what I was tryin to say....

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Thanks for the suggestion Izzy! I'll make sure to do that when I start building.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Bigrigger, awesome job so far. Looking real good, love the fender idea.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Ahh, pure genius, with the fenders! What a great idea. Saves a ton of work, and they look perfect because they are. Thanks for sharing.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

UPDATE!

It has certainly been a while; but I said 9 months, right?;)

This build has been on the back-burner due to buying a real truck, and working on that one. For those of you who are curious, it is a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 5.9L V8. Anyway, I have repaired all the important stuff, and am ready to tackle this project!

Not much has been done to it except some trimming, sanding, and preparing to add some styrene to the lower section of the hood. I have also taken a chunk out of the fenders so that the are flush with the hood, and are straight with the body, mounted on the hood's slanted sides.

This is my first custom build, and I am very nervous when working with styrene, so I tend to take it slow.

But enough chat! Lets see a few pics...
even if they look just like last time...:o

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000980.jpg

Section of the hood removed to fill with a longer piece.

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000979.jpg

That is a weird angle...

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000978.jpg

Chunks cut out of fenders.

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1000977.jpg

Fenders ready to be mounted!

Thanks for taking a look. Just some proof that this build is still alive, and that I am still alive!:D

I'll try to get some work done today, but it all depends on how straight I can get my fender sections.:rolleyes:

I will see to it that this Pipe Dream comes to fruition!

P.S.

I am debating between semi tractor and dump truck. What do you guys think?

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Semi Tractor so you can then later pull a dump trailer for sure. Cant get enough of builds like this one. nice work.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Thanks man, I appreciate it. I like that idea too; because of what you said, and because it can easily be converted to a dump truck later if I want to. Hopefully, I can get another update up this weekend.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Well you could have both.... the way Travis did my blue dump is 8 screws unbolt the screwdrive unplug a few wires and ake the bucket and screwdrive right off and put a 5th wheel on. Best of both worlds plus if i want to put it on a different truck i can just by moving the electronics into that one.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

UPDATE!

It has been a while since I have updated this project, mainly due to slowly moving for about 2 weeks.:eek: I finally got the workbench put in today, and I found a little time to update the status of the build, and here it is:

I recently got some parts for the truck to help get me motivated to keep building (body work gets really tedious and boring). So let's have a little run-through.

I found this while browsing Craigslist:

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010008.jpg

This is a used TLT axle; I got this axle, a TLT straight axle, and an aluminum servo-mounting plate for $20! :D

Here is the workbench as it stands, still a lot to do, but I like the clean look; it only lasts for so long...:rolleyes:

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010007.jpg

"But wait! What's in the box?!" Oh, you saw that?

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010010.jpg

I think these will look just fine on the rig! :cool:

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010011.jpg

These things came all the way from Hong Kong in only a few days, and I used the cheapest shipping! I had been looking into PMD's tires for a while, until I found these. They are a much better price than PMD's tires, and I think they look better, too! :D

So, here is the project as of today:

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010012.jpg

"Pipe Dream" has 10 new tires and a 6x6 conversion to look forward to! (Hopefully!:p)

I hope to have another update this weekend! :D

Stay tuned...

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

UPDATE 3/26

I'm getting lonely here, posting with myself...

So here is something to post about:

I finally got the tires mounted after a fruitless weekend, and they are looking great! They smelled a little fishy coming out of the packages...:rolleyes:

They are considerably bigger than the Tamiya tires, but fit just fine!
Here is a size comparison:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010013.jpg

And a look at tread patterns:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010014.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010015.jpg

Here they are mounted up!
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...P1010016-1.jpg

The standard Tamiya ones:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...P1010017-1.jpg

On-road/ off-road look:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010018.jpg

Rear tires:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...P1010019-1.jpg

In this shot we can see how the tire size difference between front and rears affects the chassis angle:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010021.jpg

So I fixed that little issue...;)
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010024.jpg

Pictures of the chassis:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010025.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010026.jpg

The TLT axle is still here, and anxious to become a part of this truck!:D
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010027.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...P1010028-1.jpg

Now, the moment we've all been waiting for! A mock-up! This is something to behold:
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010029.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010030.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010031.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...P1010032-1.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010033.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010034.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010034.jpg

Yeah, I went a little crazy with the camera, but it was too hard not to!:D

I have next week off, so expect another update then! I hope this gives you guys something to post about!:D

Let me know what you think! Any feedback is appreciated!:D

Stay tuned...

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

King Haulers always look good as day cabs!

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

This is a nice start! I really like the aggressive look of the tires. Are the new tires a similar material as the stock ones? Just wondering if they are a harder material or are they comparable?

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

keep hittin the pipe i need more! looks like a work horse so far!

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

I like the treads!!

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Lookin pretty sweet. I love the tires....

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Looking good, that's going to be sweet with the TLT up front and the tires add the all wheel drive look to it, nice so far. Looking forward to seeing more progress.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Thanks Claus! I couldn't agree more!

Thanks YoungGunz! They are made of a harder compound, and they seem to be stickier as well. They will be able to take a lot of punishment.

Thanks Diesel Demond! I will keep pumping out the updates best I can! There will be plenty of pics, too! A work horse is what I'm going for!

Really slow and steady!:D Thanks Chris, I will post tons of pics!

Thanks Stuff! I like them a lot, too!:)

Thanks Mama Sue! So far, the tires are about all that you can tell is different!:p

Thanks Kaf! I can't wait to get to work this weekend!:D The TLT conversion is a whole other issue in of itself! It'll be fun, but that is going to be a heck of a bridge to cross!

Next update coming in about 2 days!

Stay tuned...:D

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

I been veiwing this build for about the past week, prior to joining the site. Really like the idea of the front fenders. Im prolly gonna borrow this idea myself for when I start my first build.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

You have my permission!:D (It looks good, by the way):rolleyes:

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

UPDATE 4/8

Better late than never?

Well, I finally found some time last weekend to work on my truck, and I decided enough was enough. I bit the bullet, and started hacking up some styrene to fill in the sides of the hood (I say "hack", because it wasn't exactly a science, or precise!:eek:) Anyway, I figure I can sand and putty my way out of an OCD breakdown!:D

Here is where I filled in the hood:

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010039.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010040.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010041.jpg

And I had to do a little mock-up! Keep in mind that this isn't how it will look when it is done, I still need to shift the front of the fenders up a bit to give it a lower position, and fit the bumper.

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010042.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010043.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010044.jpg

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010045.jpg

Finally, the aftermath of the horrific styrene-cutting sttempt!:D

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010046.jpg

Do any of those bits look squared? Nope.

More to come soon! I won't give any dates, because I know I can't keep it!:p

Looking less and less like a pipe dream...

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

I like the new tires! You might not think your cuts are straight or square, but your styrene work looks great to me. Keep it up!

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

I like this idea for fenders.Gonna try this on my truck.Wanted to know how/what you use to attach them to the body.I've been using a two part epoxy to attach a lot of parts on my truck.Can't wait to see this build when it's done.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Nice conversion! Looks great...

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Thanks Nathan! That means a lot coming from an expert builder like yourself!

Thanks! I use Loctite Professional super glue, as it tends to hold up really well. Also, a lot of bracing with styrene.

Thanks, I should really get back to this...:D

I might have mentioned this before, but the build is on hold because I've been searching for my filler. I finally cracked, and I ordered some, which should be here soon.

Re: KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"
 

Putty is here!

After a couple weeks and and a tracking system as accurate as a upside-down boar trying to snipe a dime through a cornfield... visualize that!:rolleyes:

...my putty has arrived!
http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/P1010203.jpg

It just got here, and I will probably have time to work on the truck this week!
I'll let you know as soon as I get something done on the truck!:D

Keep it locked...:cop: