AMT Pabst Blue Ribbon White Freightliner-Progress-03 May

Right off the bat there are a lot of parts to this basic frame and suspension. Got lots of cleanup to do and some research before painting.

So far, aside from ALOT of clean up that I'll have to do on the real build, it's going pretty smooth sailing. One has to watch out for a slight lean in the frame on one side during the suspension / frame build up. I really don't know what happened there as everything is mounted up how it's supposed to be. Will have to make some minor adjustments on the main build to prevent that from happening but it's really not all that noticeable to the casual eye.




I omitted the front brakes on this one as a lot of folks have suggested on other sites and it's going to help put the wheels back under the fenders the way they are supposed to be.



Here's a shot of what they look like uncorrected :

and after the correction:

Here we are with the rolling chassis on the test build:

Thanks Dean!

Well...........among other little tidbits that I'll have about this tricky kit (along with some tricky instructions) is the fact that the cab rests will have to be installed at a later part of the build than what the instructions call for. At least that's what I'm finding. They interfere with the exhaust crossover pipe installation between the two exhaust stacks. They are called out in this photo:







For the most part it's going fairly well. This kit has ALOT of seam filling, mold lines and ejector pin marks to contend with. I've marked most everything with a black sharpie so they'll stand out boldly for reference points during the actual build. I'm sooooooo glad I'm taking the time to do the build up because I'm finding some faults with the instruction sheet in terms of where stuff actually goes and I'm hitting the problematic areas with no fear of screwing anything I've painted/ detailed up.



Here's where I'm at right now. I may have to cut the crossover pipe in two in order to install it but that's ok. Again.......I'll know about this before hand with the actual build.

Yeah for me this is like building a four engine bomber. A lot more work than building a single seat fighter plane and in this instance a lot more work than building a passenger car.

So far it's fairly smooth sailing. The only real problems I'm having is attaching the exhaust from the manifold to the exhaust pipe crossover and the oil cooler pipe to the bottom of the radiator. No biggie as I can fabricate those. I did find that when I fitted the cab onto the chassis that the bottom of the interior tub was hitting the air intake for the engine at the top of the radiator. I had to sand a little from the bottom of the tub and at the air intake assembly but it all fits good now. Front tires are right where I wanted 'em so I glued those in place as well. The front bumper is low enough to allow the cab to tilt forward with no fit interference issues. So far, aside from ALOT of cleanup and the headlamps that are too high issue this kit is turning out to be a good one.

Apr 30, 2018 14:06:59 GMT -7 leon said:

Nice progress Joe! I'm really tempted to get a semi for my first build.

Do it!!! That'll be great to watch you build one of those Leon.

So far it's fairly smooth sailing. I did find that when I fitted the cab onto the chassis that the bottom of the interior tub was hitting the air intake for the engine at the top of the radiator. I had to sand a little from the bottom of the tub and at the air intake assembly but it all fits good now. Front tires are right where I wanted 'em so I glued those in place as well. The front bumper is low enough to allow the cab to tilt forward with no fit interference issues. So far, aside from ALOT of cleanup and the headlamps that are too high issue this kit is turning out to be a good one.