KW Daycab "Pipe Dream"

[Bigrigger]

Hey builders/ lurkers! 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:


And here is what I have so far:




It doesn't look like much, but this is the most cab-hacking I've ever done! 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.

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!

-Bigrigger

[Espeefan]

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!

[Smokin Joe]

Originally Posted by Bigrigger

Hey builders/ lurkers! 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:


And here is what I have so far:




It doesn't look like much, but this is the most cab-hacking I've ever done! 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.

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!

-Bigrigger

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

[Brian in PA]

looking good so far! The fenders look spot on.

[dabears]

Fenders look great!

[Bigrigger]

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!

[glorydays24]

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

Big John

[Bigrigger]

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...

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! 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...

That is the brace in between the fenders.

Side view (cab not properly leveled).


Inside view of the brace, you can see the challenge of attaching everything!

Here is a view with the cab sitting level.

And a view of the inside for fun.



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

This is what the piece looks like:




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! 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.


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

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

Tune in next week for more.

Let me know what you think guys!
-Bigrigger

[PROBUILDER1964]

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 !

[PROBUILDER1964]

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 ?

[Bigrigger]

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! Hope to see that Western Star build soon!

[glorydays24]

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. Looking good buddy, keep it up.

Big John

[doodlebug]

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

[plow jockey]

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

[Bigrigger]

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!

[Izzy]

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....

[Bigrigger]

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

[Kaf343]

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

[Espeefan]

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.

[Bigrigger]

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...



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



That is a weird angle...



Chunks cut out of fenders.



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!

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

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?