I was going to wait a little while longer before I started this thread on my 1976 Chevrolet Bison stake truck that I am building for the Animals Campaign over on Armoramma so I had more progress to show; but since we are already close to the end of the month I figured no time like the present.


Here is the kit that I am starting with:





Yes, the venerable AMT Chevrolet Bison. The plan is to replace the 8V92 that comes in the kit with a 6V92T, shorten the hood to a 108" BBC from the kits 116" BBC, swap out the air ride suspension for the spring suspension from the AMT GMC Astro/95, then add the stake body from the AMT Ford C600 kit. I have had the Auslowe Detroit Diesel 6V92T kit kicking around for a while now, and I figured this would be perfect:





Oh, man, was I ever wrong! Ever since I started building this engine back on January 1st, it's been one step forward & two steps back! I'm going to toss the Auslowe engine idea, and replace it with a 6V92T from GW Trucks.


Hopefully more progress next month!

Jim

This should be fun, I'm following Jim. Best of luck with it!

Cheers, D

Thanks. I think I'm going to need it.

Jim

So, the 6V92T arrived yesterday from Gary Wallace, and as promised, here are a few photos. The kit comes complete with everything you'll need to make the 6V92T, and all of the parts are molded in a nice, white resin. Detail is crisp; although there is a small amount of flash.





The engine block looks to be correct, with decent attachment points. There are no flanges provided to mount the engine to the frame; however, there are flat areas where these can be mounted to.





Gary even provides the correct valve covers with breather caps:





All in all, I am very please with this engine kit from Gary. Per his recommendation, I will be soaking this in Wesley's Bleach White today, so I should be able to start assembly soon. Here's to progress!

Jim

I managed to get some more work done on the Bison this afternoon. Here is where I stand right now:

I have shortened the frame & managed to get it partially assembled. The only problem is the part I cut out to shorten the frame had the engine mounts on them. Little oversight there! Not totally sure what I'm going to do about that, but I'll think of something. The plastic is really strange on this kit. Half is molded in that cream color, and half is in white. More on that later. (The little white rectangles inside the frame are Evergreen plastic I added as a reinforcer & are not part of the kit.)



The Detroit Diesel 6V92T is coming along nicely, but I am having a problem with the cross-over pipe: it's too long on one side & too short on the other. Going to have to fiddle with this one a little before I come up with a solution. I did add some plumbing details.



The "tentacles" you see in this shot are the fuel lines to the tank & the fuel filters (not included in the GW Trucks kit).



Ok, so here is where I'm sort of going with this build:



I am swapping out the air ride suspension that comes in the kit with the spring suspension from the AMT GMC Astro/95 kit (gray parts). The bed (other gray parts) is from the AMT Ford C600 Stake Truck kit. Opinion time: who here thinks the rear suspension is too far back?

So far I'm please with the progress.

Jim

Hello Jim, Ah what a classic truck. I remember building it myself in my younger years. I like what you have done to the engine so far.

Thanks, Ronnie.

Jim