1/25 AMT Peterbilt 359 California Hauler

[cifenet]

Hi guys,

I thought I share my initial building experience on this ever so popular AMT Peterbilt 359 California Hauler kit here hoping to get some insights. 

I know many of you already built this kit multiple times, I hope to benefit your experience.

I personally think that this has to be the best looking cover art among Peterbilt 359 kits.  I am definitely trying to keep the box undamaged hoping to have it for a long time.

 

CHALLENGE 1

I think the most obvious issue with this kit is the unwanted front gap between the front fender and the bumper.  The fenders are too short and so far, none of the reissued kits addressed this problem based on my finding. 

I have done some homework and these are known methods to mitigate:

1. Roll the fenders forward (to front) and then extend the back down to complete.  Some fabrication is required to make them look natural.
2. Acquire Revell's Peterbilt 359 fenders and attach.  I have seen the result and they do look proper to me.
3. Extend the front using putty or plastic piece.  Labor intensive.
4. Hide it by adding thin aluminum panels in front (as if they are protecting front side of fenders).

I chose the option 3 using Tamiya's epoxy putty.  I have some experience using the epoxy putty so the work wasn't too bad for me.  

 

CHALLENGE 2

I couldn't locate the exact spot to mount each axle as there was no guide pin/spot marked on the kit. 

You can easily mount them by eye, but the problem may show up when trying to connect drive shafts.   I think the best way is to mock up the build with driveshaft temporarily attached.

 

CHALLENGE 3

Unfortunately, another problem shows up when mounting the axle.  This one requires some "trial and error" approach (at least that is what I did) and it involves aligning the front axle so that the center of the front wheel aligns vertically with the center of the front fender.

Building step by step per instructions can get you into unexpected trouble.  I know many things will get misaligned later on. 

It is always best to proactively mock up the build and confirm all of the component dependency by connecting all the way till the end (i.e. connecting exhaust pipes). 

 

CHALLENGE 4

I personally think the truck sits way too high.  I corrected this problem by sanding away the lower mount point (the bottom end of the leaf suspension) by 1/4" of an inch.  This picture shows that I can even go lower which I may end up doing.  And I made sure the frame is parallel to the ground.

 

CHALLENGE 5

The more I look at the truck, I think the wheels are just too small.  I don't remember seeing anyone mentioning this, so it could be just me thinking this way.  These are the same wheels I used on Revell's Peterbilt 359 and they feel right here as well.

 

CHALLENGE 6

I modified the front axle to turn and the work is actual quite straight forward.  But as soon as the wheels are turned, I found them to be bulging out too much.  I think it can be narrowed and they can still sit correctly under the fenders.

 

CHALLENGE 7

Most importantly, I want to make sure everything is aligned.  This will make the build look so much better and proper.  This includes the bumper, headlights, front cab, sleeper, wheels, fenders, etc.  They need to be either truly vertical or truly horizontal.  Aligning requires some time and effort, but I think it is worth the result.

 

CHALLENGE  8

I do want to point out that the build has another challenge when it comes to aligning things.  Unfortunately, the way it builds, you would need to attach the interior tub first on the frame.  Then you blindly add your cab, the hood, and the sleeper. 

Mock build is needed here, I must proactively confirm/mark the position of cab, hood, bumper, and sleeper with the interior firmly fixed.

 

Question 1

The instructions say "white" on this Detroit Diesel.  I did read about how Peterbilt painted the engine white at one point, but I personally don't want to paint this white...

I know at the end it is my model and I could do whatever I want, but I would like to know if green Detroit Diesel on this Peterbilt 359 exists from the factory?

  

Lastly, another thing bothered me is that the tanks seem to be too small for a such truck that travels long distance.  It even has the sleeper which indicates long distance driving is norm on this vehicle.  I may replace them with some PVC piping...

So far the building experience has been definitely challenging, but at the same time incredibly fun in a very positive way. 

PS. I am writing this at late night, please go easy if you see grammar/spelling mistakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rockford]

Wow! What a systematic analysis of the issues with this kit. I've never built this kit, only the later 359 with the newer cab but I remember the wheels felt small on that too. Indeed on a KW900 I built I used the ERTL wheels and tyres from the IH Transtar for a better stance.

Yes the engine should be white, something I balk at with my Paccar builds. It could always have had a service replacement at some time.... 🤔

The older AMT kits are definitely an experience. You'll make a great job of it though. 

[cifenet]

3 hours ago, Rockford said:

Wow! What a systematic analysis of the issues with this kit. I've never built this kit, only the later 359 with the newer cab but I remember the wheels felt small on that too. Indeed on a KW900 I built I used the ERTL wheels and tyres from the IH Transtar for a better stance.

Yes the engine should be white, something I balk at with my Paccar builds. It could always have had a service replacement at some time.... 🤔

The older AMT kits are definitely an experience. You'll make a great job of it though. 

Thanks Steve,

I was hoping to hear “yeah, green is ok”    

As I make progress there are additional places where some problem-solving effort is still required, but I think that makes building AMT kits so much memorable.

 

 

Edited February 4 by cifenet

[BK9300]

Very thorough on your thought processes about difficulties that you found in laying out your build.  Interesting to follow and take note of!

[Rockford]

Engines of Color

In the mid 1960's through 80's Peterbilt would order engines from the engine builders to be painted white. The engines were painted white by the engine manufacturer, not at Peterbilt. The engines would arrive on a pallet in white. Due to availability, supply-chain issues or other problems there were times when the engine builder would not be able to supply enough engines in white and Peterbilt would take what was available - which meant that some engines were white, some were engine builder color. The rule: If your truck had a white engine when new, if it gets restored the engine should be white. If your truck had an engine builder color when new then when restored it should be engine builder color.

Cummins was the first to stop painting them in white, then Detroit Diesel and finally Caterpillar, but Cat continued to ship white engines up until the end of the 359 family in 1986/87. Cats in the 379 Familar (Successors) were yellow.

Here are various photos of new engines in various colors at the Newark, California factory from back in the day.

"In the mid 1960's through 80's Peterbilt would order engines from the engine builders to be painted white. The engines were painted white by the engine manufacturer, not at Peterbilt. The engines would arrive on a pallet in white. Due to availability, supply-chain issues or other problems there were times when the engine builder would not be able to supply enough engines in white and Peterbilt would take what was available - which meant that some engines were white, some were engine builder color. The rule: If your truck had a white engine when new, if it gets restored the engine should be white. If your truck had an engine builder color when new then when restored it should be engine builder color.

Cummins was the first to stop painting them in white, then Detroit Diesel and finally Caterpillar, but Cat continued to ship white engines up until the end of the 359 family in 1986/87. Cats in the 379 Familar (Successors) were yellow.

Here are various photos of new engines in various colors at the Newark, California factory from back in the day"

 

Found the above whilst randomly trawling through the interwebs about Peterbilt. Just what you need.  I did post photographs from the page but I noticed I shouldn't do so without permission.  Sorty. 

Edited February 5 by Rockford
Photos removed

[Jim B]

While white engines from the factory were the "norm" in Peterbilt trucks until about 1986 or so, it was not uncommon to find trucks from the factory with OEM colored engines.  In this case, painting your Detroit Diesel Alpine Green is totally fine. 

[cifenet]

Thanks Steve,

This is some good reading!!

After reading this, I am starting to feel that I should not be too concerned with what color I chose here.

On 2/5/2025 at 4:52 PM, Rockford said:

Engines of Color

In the mid 1960's through 80's Peterbilt would order engines from the engine builders to be painted white. The engines were painted white by the engine manufacturer, not at Peterbilt. The engines would arrive on a pallet in white. Due to availability, supply-chain issues or other problems there were times when the engine builder would not be able to supply enough engines in white and Peterbilt would take what was available - which meant that some engines were white, some were engine builder color. The rule: If your truck had a white engine when new, if it gets restored the engine should be white. If your truck had an engine builder color when new then when restored it should be engine builder color.

Cummins was the first to stop painting them in white, then Detroit Diesel and finally Caterpillar, but Cat continued to ship white engines up until the end of the 359 family in 1986/87. Cats in the 379 Familar (Successors) were yellow.

Here are various photos of new engines in various colors at the Newark, California factory from back in the day.

"In the mid 1960's through 80's Peterbilt would order engines from the engine builders to be painted white. The engines were painted white by the engine manufacturer, not at Peterbilt. The engines would arrive on a pallet in white. Due to availability, supply-chain issues or other problems there were times when the engine builder would not be able to supply enough engines in white and Peterbilt would take what was available - which meant that some engines were white, some were engine builder color. The rule: If your truck had a white engine when new, if it gets restored the engine should be white. If your truck had an engine builder color when new then when restored it should be engine builder color.

Cummins was the first to stop painting them in white, then Detroit Diesel and finally Caterpillar, but Cat continued to ship white engines up until the end of the 359 family in 1986/87. Cats in the 379 Familar (Successors) were yellow.

Here are various photos of new engines in various colors at the Newark, California factory from back in the day"

 

Found the above whilst randomly trawling through the interwebs about Peterbilt. Just what you need.  I did post photographs from the page but I noticed I shouldn't do so without permission.  Sorty. 

 

On 2/5/2025 at 4:59 PM, Jim B said:

While white engines from the factory were the "norm" in Peterbilt trucks until about 1986 or so, it was not uncommon to find trucks from the factory with OEM colored engines.  In this case, painting your Detroit Diesel Alpine Green is totally fine. 

Very good, Jim!  I am leaning toward "green" now, but I still haven't commit on the color just yet.

 

At the end, I don't know if this would be looking good in white considering the overall look/feel of the truck.

Personally, I think green is more acceptable, but that is because probably I have seen more green examples of this engine.

 

[cifenet]

I am trying to figure out how I would address the CHALLENGE 5 dealing with the wheels being slightly small.  Definitely not a deal breaker, but I began contemplating a suitable solution for it.

 

I really wanted to use my 3D printed wheels on this truck just because I can make them wider and taller, making the wheel size proportionally pleasing to me.  

It really boils down to increasing 1/8th of an inch in size in height and stretching 1/16th wider.

 

After some careful consideration, I decided not to use the 5 hole rimes that I originally planned for the truck, but to go with stock wheels provided by ATM in the kit.  Believe or not, I thought about this problem for awhile and at the end, the AMT's front wheels looked much more pleasing to my liking.

 

Going back to the tires, this is the exact size I felt "correct" to my eyes (shown here on the right side).  I wanted to keep the tire height as shown and this means I needed bigger rims to fit them.  Unfortunately, ATM's stock rims are too small for these resized tires.

 

After trying multiple concepts/prototypes, I ended up extending the edge of the rim by adding a strip of styrene.  I chose this method as this was the simplest and easiest for me to implement. 

 

Luckily, the rims fit very nicely and I am hoping no one would know what I did here once I complete the model.

 

[cifenet]

As indicated earlier, these "small" fuel tanks are my next topic to address and I also have done some solution seeking on them.

 

I searched my entire house looking for "replace-able" tank cylinder shaped materials.  Once I found several potential materials, I spent time with them to see how I would build the truck using them. 

 

Ultimately, I went with this copper pipe to build my new tanks and this is the size I would like to have.  Lengthening it to be around 2 1/4" inches. 

Anything longer, it may interfere with rear wheels so I had to be careful.

 

 Another change I am pursuing is to position both fuel tanks (one each side) to be further behind, to be under the sleeper. 

The original configuration from the kit is to have the fuel tank positioned directly under the cab on the passenger side only.

A climbing step is included (as shown above in the cover art) so the passenger can climb up into the cab.  

My setup will have two battery box/steps under the cab, and both tanks mounted under the sleeper (see upper right in the photo).  

I will add this P/E version of the batter box to accomplish just that.

 

A minor fix needed- the truck is sitting higher than I anticipated due to the late additional of the bigger wheels.

 

I will have to lower the stance by noted in the photo (1/2 of the size difference) and then I can move on to the actual assembly of the truck...

 

Edited February 9 by cifenet

[BK9300]

Very enjoyable to follow along with, Steve - lots of explanation of your issues and solutions.

[cifenet]

Thanks Brian for your interest!

Been following your snow plow, now that is pure entertainment for modelers like us!

On 2/4/2025 at 12:59 PM, BK9300 said:

Very thorough on your thought processes about difficulties that you found in laying out your build.  Interesting to follow and take note of!

 

[Rockford]

Great job on the wheels and tyres, excellent finished appearance on the front wheels. 

Edited February 9 by Rockford

[leafsprings]

Really like your detailed analysis of the California Hauler issues and approaches to correcting the problems, wish I had that patience.  I like to study period older photos to get a better understanding of the subject. Here is a period photo of a California Hauler, note how front wheels sit under fender. Most all have turn signals in the standard top of fender location, however this one does not. Another thing I notice is many builders black wash the grill for some reason, most grills really need a white wash.

Edited February 9 by leafsprings

[cifenet]

@leafsprings Thanks for the positive feedback, and this photo helps greatly.   Double thanks on this!  👍 

Although, I don't think I have the necessary talent to make everything look exact, but I was able to pick up a couple of ideas for the truck.  For one, I will definitely try to put the front wheels under the fender. 

As you pointed out, that front grille is definitely interesting to look at, almost as if there are operable blinds (white) to control the airflow.  But I am not sure if things were that high tech back then...  Or perhaps that white panels are the radiator front?

And both of the windshield wipers seem to operate in same direction too.

18 hours ago, leafsprings said:

Really like your detailed analysis of the California Hauler issues and approaches to correcting the problems, wish I had that patience.  I like to study period older photos to get a better understanding of the subject. Here is a period photo of a California Hauler, note how front wheels sit under fender. Most all have turn signals in the standard top of fender location, however this one does not. Another thing I notice is many builders black wash the grill for some reason, most grills really need a white wash.

 

 

Edited February 10 by cifenet

[cifenet]

Talking about grille, it could be trivial to most of the folks here, but this is the technique I have been using to cut out the center portion of the grille:

 

This one is from Revell's Pete that I worked on some time ago.  I would drill out corners in linear fashion 3-4 times so I can insert a P/E saw blade (hobby knife won't work well).

Using a masking tape as a line guide, I slowly saw out the center.

 

Once you have inner portion cut out, then using a sand block to even away the edge (to make the line straight).

 

I still need to even out the edges more, but basically you will have an open front like this to work with.

 

As I start adding parts to the frame rail, I noticed that if you follow the instructions to attach brake champers, the chamber will almost face upward.  I questioned this and based on some photos, I think these need to be slightly facing up.  But I could be wrong as usual, please do let me know if my interpretation isn't correct on the brake chamber position.

 

 

 

Edited February 10 by cifenet

[cifenet]

I also spent an hour or so assembling my version of fuel tanks.  Copper pipes with end pieces from the kit were used.

Unfortunately, I had to fabricate the tank carrier brackets.  I test fit them to the frame to make sure I can position the fuel tanks without any interference.

Lastly, I quickly drew my painting scheme so I can use them as my base template to paint the truck.  I haven't decided the color yet, but I really want a red truck...

 

Edited February 10 by cifenet

[Pete68]

2 hours ago, cifenet said:

white panels

The White panels you are talking about are called Shutters they control the airflow to the Radiator. On some trucks I’ve drove when these Shutters would close it sounded like a Jet engine sucking in air because it made the fan work harder you definitely knew when those shutters closed. When they opened again it was like the truck was breathing a sign of relief.  This mostly happened on old Mack’s that I drove and a 1969 Brockway 360.  What was cool is back in the day drivers would paint something on the shutters like a letter or something. A friend of my dads had “Hobo” painted on his with a Hobo character painted on them it was pretty neat when they were open you couldn’t see it when closed you could. 

Edited February 10 by Pete68

[Rockford]

A few UK trucks had them too, they were Kysor Air Shutters. They were most often a dull aluminium, mostly because they weren't visible in the UK, the rad was buried under all sorts of bodywork. We used to cut a section out of the upper radiator hose and fit a section in with a temperature sensor. That fed a signal to the motor on the shutter to adjust the slats. Clever idea. 

[Randy D]

Learning alot here Steve!  Thank you for posting such a detailed build of this truck.

Randy

[cifenet]

That is some great information & story on this, Lee!  Appreciated.

I am afraid my knowledge is quite limited, but I am glad I am picking things up one by one with help form you guys.  

8 hours ago, Pete68 said:

The White panels you are talking about are called Shutters they control the airflow to the Radiator. On some trucks I’ve drove when these Shutters would close it sounded like a Jet engine sucking in air because it made the fan work harder you definitely knew when those shutters closed. When they opened again it was like the truck was breathing a sign of relief.  This mostly happened on old Mack’s that I drove and a 1969 Brockway 360.  What was cool is back in the day drivers would paint something on the shutters like a letter or something. A friend of my dads had “Hobo” painted on his with a Hobo character painted on them it was pretty neat when they were open you couldn’t see it when closed you could. 

 

Amazing how they thought about this some decades ago!  Thanks again for the info and the name of the mechanism, Steve!  Appreciated also.  I looked up Internet and already info is flowing~  

 

8 hours ago, Rockford said:

A few UK trucks had them too, they were Kysor Air Shutters. They were most often a dull aluminium, mostly because they weren't visible in the UK, the rad was buried under all sorts of bodywork. We used to cut a section out of the upper radiator hose and fit a section in with a temperature sensor. That fed a signal to the motor on the shutter to adjust the slats. Clever idea. 

 

[cifenet]

That is some compliment especially coming from you, Randy! 

Hopefully I can make this somewhat interesting as I go~ 

2 hours ago, Randy D said:

Learning alot here Steve!  Thank you for posting such a detailed build of this truck.

Randy

 

[Force]

I see you wonder about wheel/tire size and the kit supplied wheels are the smaller diameter 10.00-20 rims and tube style bias-ply tires but lots of trucks back in the day had larger fiameter 10.00-22 or 11.00-22 rims for tube tires and these rims have the split/lock rings, and they fill out the fenders well.
I see you have rims for tubeless tires on the drive axles but plan to use the tubeless style lock ring wheels on the front axle, tubeless front wheels looks quite different from the tubeless style rims as they are less curved...that will mean the wheel center is flatter, and it's easy to spot tube style lock ring rims at the rear as the rim part itself where the tire sits from the outside to the inside is flat and the tubeless one piece rims has a "dich" in the middle.
You don't have to adjust the ride hight if you use larger diameter wheels because they did not do that, if you want to of course you can, but it's not necessary for the "right" look.
There are a few AMT kits who have 22 inch rims, the White Freightliner is one, the Autocar kits, White Western Star and the Diamond REO, most of the rest has 20 inch rims.
If we go to more modern rims for tubeless tires are the one piece 22.5 and 24.5 inches and lots of older trucks had 24.5 inch rims but almost all trucks today has 22.5 inch rims.
The tubeless tires for 22.5 inch rims and the old tube tires for 20 inch rims are close in outside diameter for standard profile and the same goes for the 22 inch and the 24.5 inch.
I also think the kit included 10.00-20 wheels in this kit and many others looks too small, especially with the small diameter AMT 10.00-20 tires, the MPC/ERTL 11.00-20 tires looks better, but as 22 inch rims were very popular back in the day I want to use them on my builds.

Here is a comparison for front wheels.
First the tube style lock ring wheel.

And the tubeless style one piece wheel.

 

Edited February 11 by Force

[leafsprings]

Great reference photos Hakan. Another short coming of the AMT Peterbilt kits are the poorly detailed rear axle hubs which lack axle shaft retaining nuts. Your photo shows the older style Rockwell hubs with 12 retaining nuts, the AMT ALF pumper kit has this style Rockwell axle hub. I used this axle hub on my '66 Pete 281 build. On my 70's KW build, I used the newer style Rockwell hubs with 8 retaining nuts. They were resin pieces found on ebay, unfortunately, they are not readily available as far as I know. Not sure what Rockwell hub style was used on a '69-'70 Peterbilt, probably, IMO, leaning toward the newer 8 lug style.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12 by leafsprings

[cifenet]

Håkan!

Never disappointed!  I totally forgot about the split rims and tube vs tubeless tires!  Great info as usual.

I need to rethink about my strategy on wheels, but I think I have crossed the border and it may be too much for me alter back. 

I will have to blame you for giving me more options though.  

Nevertheless, I think the reference photos are awesome here and allow me to contemplate even more on this subject.  

On 2/11/2025 at 10:07 AM, Force said:

I see you wonder about wheel/tire size and the kit supplied wheels are the smaller diameter 10.00-20 rims and tube style bias-ply tires but lots of trucks back in the day had larger fiameter 10.00-22 or 11.00-22 rims for tube tires and these rims have the split/lock rings, and they fill out the fenders well.
I see you have rims for tubeless tires on the drive axles but plan to use the tubeless style lock ring wheels on the front axle, tubeless front wheels looks ..

..

 

Man, you guys are totally on the subject understanding the shortcomings and such.  If mine is going to go "incorrect", then I will have to go with the story of "all of the custom modifications done by previous truck owner".

On 2/11/2025 at 5:38 PM, leafsprings said:

Great reference photos Hakan. Another short coming of the AMT Peterbilt kits are the poorly detailed rear axle hubs which lack axle shaft retaining nuts. Your photo shows the older style Rockwell hubs with 12 retaining nuts, the AMT ALF pumper kit has this style Rockwell axle hub. 

 

Edited February 16 by cifenet

[cifenet]

This one is turning out to be a tough build for me and mainly I am having difficult time deciding how I want to build this kit. 

All of the little details becoming road blocks just because each of them presents multiple choices on how I can go about...

When I initially wanted to build this kit and started the work, I really wanted to build it straight and quick. 

Then I started to see different options, tough choices, several issues, and more opportunities...

 

"For now", I made up my mind on wheels and height of the truck.  This is how it is going to be built. 

The front fender gap seems okay to my eyes also.
For some reason, it was my main concern for this kit. 

 

While I was lowing the frame height, I decided to tackle CHALLENGE 6  where the front wheels seem to be wider than they should be.  

Leafsprings pointed out also that the front wheels are supposed to be tucked inside of the fender. 

To correct this, I simply cut away the axle ends by 1/8th inch which I thought it as the simplest way to handle it. 

To be absolutely correct, I could have narrowed them to be more, but I do like wider stance (on all my vehicles) and only made them to be narrow enough.

 

This is my feeble attempt connect the steering mechanism all the way by using plastic tubing parts mimicking ball joints and such.

This isn't accurate either, but my goal was to make them to function as wheels turn left to right... 

I could have used some of the micro scale bolts/nuts to make things legit and luxurious, but I realized my supply was running low and I decided to preserve them for next build.

As I mentioned above, This was one of the choices to consider and a decision to make...

 

The quarter fender guards were made using plastic sheets and plastic tubing materials. 
I am planning to paint them to be shiny aluminum.

 

Unfortunately, this kit does not have the tilting hood.  If you want to reveal the engine, you will have to simply pop the hood away (remove).

Surprisingly though, I found out that the latest AMT's Cross Country Hauler kit has the tilting mechanism!  

For my truck, I decided to see if I can add a couple of hinges to enable the tilting action.   As usual, I design the hinge using my "trial and error" method.

Basically, I wanted the hoot to pop upward and tilt forward and it seems to be functioning okay. 

 

I won't put this in my CHALLENGE list, but when I saw these side mirror parts, I didn't even attempt to build them. 

I began the work of making my own mirrors.

 

I simply copied the design using plastic square rod and small aluminum tube.  The work is somewhat easy, you just need to bend, bend, bend, and bend...

 

The mirror fits well, so I will make the other side using the passenger side as a guide. 

I also wrapped my fuel tanks using thin plastic sheet; this will help me paint the fuel tanks better later as all surfaces will have the same plastic material.

I may add small stainless bolt heads later on to these mirror arm joints to enhance the details, but then again, I need to preserve my detail supply....  Tough decision!

 

This is my setup so far.  The battery box is under the cabin and the fuel tank located under the sleeper.  And I have this going on "BOTH" sides. 

Lastly, I decided NOT to plumb the truck with air hoses and brake lines.  This was another choice to consider and a decision to make for me. 

I wanted to plumb the truck throughout, but I think the laziness and the fear of dragging the build made me to skip...  

 

 

Edited February 16 by cifenet