1950 Kenworth Needlenose

[Claus]

Awesome work as usual Nathan!, as for the axles don't mention it, friends helping friends. You have helped me out too Buddy. I notice the hardware has already been given the Espee treatment!!

[dabears]

Looking great!!!! Awesome job on it

[Diesel Demond]

thats gonna be one heavy rig but im loving it

[JDH429]

I love it, every aspect. Keep it going Nate!

[Supermario]

Very nice work Nathan.....as usual
Crazy suggestion for ya..... I was looking at the stack mounting brackets and the cab with no rear window when I suddenly thought, what about a storage box like Craig has on his but only the width of the stacks? You could mount the stacks inside the box all hidden and it would fill the space nice?? like I said , crazy eh?

Mario

[Espeefan]

Originally Posted by petermoblin

This build is really amazing Nathan. I love all the detail and hard work your putting into it. Can't wait to see more!

Thank you petermoblin! It's amazing, sometimes, how the hours fly by when I'm making parts, but it keeps my mind occupied!

Originally Posted by Claus

Awesome work as usual Nathan!, as for the axles don't mention it, friends helping friends. You have helped me out too Buddy. I notice the hardware has already been given the Espee treatment!!

Thanks again Craig! Yup, standard operating procedure for me is to upgrade to stainless socket head cap screws!

Originally Posted by dabears

Looking great!!!! Awesome job on it

Thanks Aaron!

Originally Posted by Diesel Demond

thats gonna be one heavy rig but im loving it

Believe it or not, it's not quite that heavy yet, but I think it will have some good mass to it, when finished! At least it should have good traction, empty!

Originally Posted by JDH429

I love it, every aspect. Keep it going Nate!

Thanks Jason! I appreciate the comment.

Originally Posted by Supermario

Very nice work Nathan.....as usual
Crazy suggestion for ya..... I was looking at the stack mounting brackets and the cab with no rear window when I suddenly thought, what about a storage box like Craig has on his but only the width of the stacks? You could mount the stacks inside the box all hidden and it would fill the space nice?? like I said , crazy eh?

Mario

Mario, thanks. Nah, your idea isn't so crazy! I've thought of different ways to mount the stacks too, and this is my favorite idea. I'm going to machine up a couple more braces, and tie them into the vertical posts. I like the headache rack / drom box idea, but I wanted to emphasize the day cab look, and not cover up the rear window, once it's milled in. I had some thoughts to mount a winch behind the cab......I don't know about that yet. I thought about building a vintage cable end up trailer to go with the truck, but I might just scratch that idea. Still to soon to tell!

[Espeefan]

I know it's been a couple weeks since the last update, so here is the latest! This little piece has been taking up a lot of my time. The first version I made didn't work out right, so I had to remake it. Call it R&D, I suppose. It wasn't so much a failure, as it was a learning experience, but here is the result of the 2nd try, and it's a good one.



My new rear frame cross member. I wanted to rework the truck's rear suspension links, and stiffen the whole chassis up, so rather then make more parts to bolt onto the original (smaller) rear member, I redesigned it, and made a completely new one. I should note that I was planning on machining the gusset straight, along the bottom edge, but after doing the angle cuts up the sides, I took it out of the vise to reposition it and thought 'hey, that looks like of cool, maybe I'll leave it looking like a upside down 'W' or a Batman symbol.' What do you guys think? Kind of custom looking, if not 100% prototypical.



It ties the rear Osswald suspension trunnions into the upper frame connectors and chassis, as well as providing a better place for the axle's upper 4 links to mount to. You'll see more photos of that, in a bit, but first.....





One thing that I didn't exactly like about the Osswald suspension was the way the upper 4 links crossed over each other. It might as well have been a 3 link suspension, so I changed it to a true 4 link, and made a center mount for each axle.



Here is a photo of the new rear cross member, tied into the Osswald trunnions, along with the new axles and their proper 4 link geometery.



From the top....



From the rear....



And as long as I was in the mood of changing things over in the rear, I picked up a set of new driveshafts for the Kenworth.





These Ultra Scale shafts are beautiful! The shaft which runs between the tandems is border line short, although it is not really in any danger of coming apart. I may have to buy a little longer one, and cut it to length to fit perfectly, but for now, it will be okay!

Thanks for looking. Enjoy the weekend.

[wolfws6]

Your build is AWSOME!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I'm lost for words, keep up the good work!

[Claus]

Beautiful work again Nathan. Like how you used the brass nuts to space the links and make everything line up like it should. The only thing you may want to consider for scale purposes, I think in the 1:1 world there would be a member running from one bolster to the other across the bottom but then again you don't need it.

I do love that scale driveshaft!

[RCP57]

I was wondering what was happening here....I thought you were suffering from no-postitis or something. Great job on the cross member and 4 links. When are we going to see this thing move around?

[Espeefan]

Originally Posted by wolfws6

Your build is AWSOME!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I'm lost for words, keep up the good work!

Thanks wolfws6!

Originally Posted by Claus

Beautiful work again Nathan. Like how you used the brass nuts to space the links and make everything line up like it should. The only thing you may want to consider for scale purposes, I think in the 1:1 world there would be a member running from one bolster to the other across the bottom but then again you don't need it.

I do love that scale driveshaft!

Thanks Craig!

I love the RC4WD driveshafts too!

Originally Posted by RCP57

I was wondering what was happening here....I thought you were suffering from no-postitis or something. Great job on the cross member and 4 links. When are we going to see this thing move around?

Thanks Reg! Not so much a case of no-postitis. It was more a case of re-makitis! While it is a pain, sometimes, to go backwards with a build, the results are worth the effort, if you can do something better the second time around. This is a build as you go, kind of project.

[JAMMER]

Nathan you are doing a great job on the rear suspension. Now when are you going to smooth up those rear ends? Those drivelines look great I've been eyeing them for quite awhile and put off buying them right now to many irons in the fire. I asked about the internal spline and they said they go all the way so if you bought the longer ones you could make them any length you want. Ed

[dirthalr]

Holy trunnion mount batman! Another piece of beauty! Love your talent! I like the driveline also. Very realistic. Can't wait to see what you've got planned next.

[Trucker_Jo]

As always you have done amazing work.


Here I got you a paint sceme

[JDH429]

Nate, incredible work on that cross member and everything else. I understand the time and planning that goes into a piece like that. And it's just one of many.

[Dreamweaver]

WOW Nate this thing is AWESOME..

Great work so far buddy.

[Espeefan]

Originally Posted by JAMMER

Nathan you are doing a great job on the rear suspension. Now when are you going to smooth up those rear ends? Those drivelines look great I've been eyeing them for quite awhile and put off buying them right now to many irons in the fire. I asked about the internal spline and they said they go all the way so if you bought the longer ones you could make them any length you want. Ed

Thanks Ed. I appreciate the nice comments, as always. I already smoothed up the axles a little bit. Suppose they could use a little more work, but I don't really mind the cast roughness. Painted, I think it will help sell the point that they really are metal.

Originally Posted by dirthalr

Holy trunnion mount batman! Another piece of beauty! Love your talent! I like the driveline also. Very realistic. Can't wait to see what you've got planned next.

Thanks Jimmy. Update coming soon!

Originally Posted by Trucker_Jo

As always you have done amazing work.


Here I got you a paint sceme

Thank you Trucker Jo. That's a sharp Kenworth for sure! Wish I could drop my suspension a little more to match it, but I guess I'll have to settle for a working truck, rather then an all out show truck. I did see some grease on that 1:1 Kenworth's 5th wheel plate though!

Originally Posted by JDH429

Nate, incredible work on that cross member and everything else. I understand the time and planning that goes into a piece like that. And it's just one of many.

Jason, thanks! Sometimes it's surprising how long it takes to make what you think is a 'simple' part. Then you mess it up somehow, and have to make another!

Originally Posted by Dreamweaver

WOW Nate this thing is AWESOME..

Great work so far buddy.

Thank you Mike. Means a lot to have your approval, since you are a heck of a builder.

[Espeefan]

Despite this build falling off pace for a bit, I haven't stopped working on it. I got a couple things done last week, and this weekend. Here is an update.



We have steering! Boy, I could almost drive this thing now, if I just quick threw a battery, ESC, and receiver into it.





For the purists....proper ackerman steering geometery! I think this truck is going to handle nice. Look close and you'll see the inside wheel turns sharper then the outside. I think the turning radius is going to be really good. I'm happy about that.

And then I worked on something I had been putting off over and over again. Figuring out how to mount the cab to the truck. It's two pieces, in case you couldn't tell. The cab base mounts to the chassis, and the cab to the cab base. As a toy, the cab is more less held to the cab base with some cast in bosses but I had to mill those off to make room for the electronics inside. That left everything floating free. After thinking a great deal about how to mount the cab to the chassis, yet have it be removable, this is what I came up with.



I machined some blocks to bolt the cab base to the chassis. In the blocks, I milled a keyway, front and rear. I also had to mill the cast cab seats off, but that was some time ago....

Inside the cab, I bolted on some keys to fit the keyways. This way the cab is aligned perfectly, and it cannot slide forward, backward, or side to side. It took some math, some trial and error, some test pieces, and a lot of patience, but the results are great.



As a plus, there are no screw heads showing anywhere on the outside of the cab. They are drilled and tapped from the inside out.





The keys have a T-shape to them. This is to allow the keys to only side into their respective keyways to a specific depth. I also have found some 1/8 diameter magnets that I think I will use to hold the cab to the base. I'll probably mill a shallow bore on each side of the T's, glue a magnet to each, and then do the same in the cab base mounts. When they line up, they'll snap into place. The magnets are rated at .7 pounds of pull each, and with two in the rear, and two in the front, (should be 2.8 pounds pull combined) I'm hoping that will be strong enough to hold the cab on, with the truck flipped upside down. Not that it will spend much time like that...

One more photo, showing how it all lines up.



I'm really glad this step is all done. Now to start making some electronic mounting plates for the 10 pounds of stuff I have to fit inside the 5 pound bag!

[doodlebug]

I like how you have set the front end up!!!
Cheer's, Neil.

[tracksntreadslou]

Wow nathan im Impressed ..Steering looks bulletproof ..Cab Mounts Very well thought out ..sometimes it takes a few sleepless nights to come up with a plan and a design and this one looks very clean ..Good work ..I could imagine the fun you would have with a CNC ..your very creative