Freightliner and White Freightliner

Freightliner Conventional

This is the Testors issue of the Italeri Freightliner conventional.  I obtained this around '00 as a built-up that was nicely painted metallic charcoal.  It suffered a "smack" from a shelf during a readjusting of the shelves and became a candidate for rebuilding.  I stripped the paint, swapped out the bigger sleeper for a modified Italeri Peterbilt 378 box, reworked the hood for the original Freightliner style with Peterbilt headlamps, reworked the cab removing the more modern doors and replacing them with doors from an AMT White-Freightliner COE for a 1975-76 look.  The entire truck was weathered.  The winterfront was made from plain paper that I cut to shape and rubbed weathering chalks into.  The TAT company logos are decals from MAG.   4/30/2007

SD gets DD

AMT White Freightliner WFT6364

I started with an AMT White-Freightliner SD kit and swapped in the chassis from a partially built AMT White-Freightliner DualDrive kit.  This is as close to box-stock as I've gotten in a long time! Built May 2006  

White-Freightliner SD - Allied Van Lines

Early 1960s White Freightliner single drive COE.  Allied Van Lines colors, single headlights, no step ladders, no frontal air intake, also has a recessed right exhaust stack.

White-Freightliner Powerliner straight truck

White Freightliner Powerliner.  Using a Spaulding Trading and Shipping Powerliner conversion kit, I scratchbuilt the flatdeck, adding an RNK tool cabinet.  The AMT Pete 359 was the chassis donor.

White-Freightliner doublebunk COE

White Freightliner double-bunk.  I stretched the cab for a double sleeper.  Clint Freeman Components Turbo Wing on the roof gives the F-liner a cowboy cabover look.

Consolidated Freightways

1960's White-Freightliner wearing Consolidated Freightways older colors.  This truck has been rebuilt twice, starting as a nasty orange and black ebay build-up.  I modified the cab for the older version.

These 2 plain white doubles trailers were also obtained from the same collection.  Originally silver, I went with white, and they will become 70s-80's Consolidated Freightways trailers.

White-Freightliner SD's in 60s and 70s dress.  The 70's unit sports a behind the cab air cleaner stack, air starter tank, RNK Conversions resin wheels and tires, modified cab panels for single headlights, step stirrups (instead of kit supplied pockets), small bumper and angled drivers mirror.  7/1/2005

Freightliner Setback axle COE - U.P.Special Delivery

Freightliner Set Back.  Based on a truck owned by Upper Peninsula Special Delivery.  I added a modern grille, headlights, and reworked the windshield.  The real F-liner was taken out of service after the driver fell asleep and struck a Winnebago on US-2 in Upper Michigan.

White-Freightliner Powerliner tractor

White Freightliner Powerliner.  A Spaulding Trading and Shipping conversion, I added a rear window.  Twin breathers behind the cab.  The chassis is from the AMT Pete 359.  

65 White Freightliner Michigan Centipede

This is my 1965 White-Freightliner 76" sleeper cab 4 axle Michigan Centipede tractor.  Based on 2 trucks in Robert Gabrick's book Freightliner Trucks 1937-1981 Photo Archive (see page79)

The truck in the book was slightly different, I combined items from several trucks.  This started as a severly glue-damaged built-up, many missing parts, distorted frame, and THICK paint.   I reworked the cab for the older, short 1960's cab, 76" bunk rather than the 86" bunk (see above photos comparing the stock kit cab in red and white), a Detroit Diesel 8v71, behind the cab air cleaner, RNK wheels (no longer offered), the headlights are from Griffen Designs.  The cab lettering is all computer generated and printed on Bare Metal Foil decal paper.  The truck in the book photo is for "Kramer Freight Lines.  I made mine for my favorite Seinfield character...

I still have a few items to add to this, but was rushing to take advantage of the sunshine for the photos.

White-Freightliner COE

1971 White Freightliner.  I stretched the frame, added twin air cleaners behind the cab, lengthened the fuel tanks, and added a Texas bumper.  I built this in april of 2000.  On October 24, 2004 I decided to repaint it as the pin stripes were falling off, and when I pulled the remaining stripes paint peeled too.  So I stripped the paint, then repainted then clear coated the cab.  After re-assembling the cab I discovered that the clear-coat was failing.  It was cracking.  The color coat was out gassing and attacking the clear, creating a cracked effect. Oh no!  Well.. watch this spot for a re-re-paint in the future.  For now, the '71 White-Freightliner is sporting a Grabber Green frame and dark blue cab.  I reworked the headlight buckets a bit, as AMT made them too large (I filled in the opening, then carved in a new bucket that fits the headlight better).  I also added fender flares.  Everything else is as it was.

Garden Mate Powerliner

I got the idea for this single axle White-Freightliner Powerliner short-sleeper from a set of matching Powerliners featured in a 1980's article in the old American Trucker Magazine.  The cab is a heavily modified AMT White-Freightliner can.  A resin Cummins KTA engine rests under the cab.

1997 Freightliner FLB COE

This is my attempt at scratchbuilding a 1997 Freightliner FLB cabover, based (loooosely based, I might add) on a real FLB owned by Sercombe Trucking of Jackson, Michigan.

I didn't have any measurements and eyeballed things resulting in my cab being too tall.  This whole scratchbuild cost me $15 for the donor Pete 359 kit (a deal a friend got for me), $3.00 in Evergreen to make the cab, $1 in Aluminum tube, the paint and whatever other materials I used.  This was one of those projects that I wanted to try no matter what the outcome was. (11/15/04) The model is now with Dave Sercombe.

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