Steam powered tonka truck

[Kilroy]

I get sad when I see things I know we buried in our sandbox, or blown up with firecrackers going for $$ on Ebay.

But dang, that was fun kids today have no understanding of

[mznb1u]

I get sad when I see things I know we buried in our sandbox, or blown up with firecrackers going for $$ on Ebay.

But dang, that was fun kids today have no understanding of

You got that right Kilroy!  I destroyed a lot of toys when I was young and had a great time doing it.  When I got into building models and painting them, I took to giving all of my Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars custom paint jobs.  That collection would be worth a fortune if I hadn't gotten the Earl Schieb bug! 

  Tim

[bcharlton]

Let me know what type of paint you use.  I normally use PPG automotive but I have seen some great rattle can jobs of late.

BC

[scalebowler]

Let me know what type of paint you use.  I normally use PPG automotive but I have seen some great rattle can jobs of late.

BC

I plan to use a can of Rustoleum farm equipment paint to paint it with. I found that the International red that they had was almost a perfect match to the origonal color of the truck. I ended up finding this little trigger handle that snaps on the top of spray paint cans at a garage sale for a quarter or something like that and it really helps at making spray paint look much better and does save my finger from getting paint all over it.

[tkaz]

Cool project!  The little snap-in triggers for spray cans are great, make a huge difference when doing large areas or just getting the paint more consistent.  I did the entire front end of my Chevy Nova with rattle cans, it takes longer to harden, but if its not going into rough service that's not a problem.  They also make rattle cans with activator/hardener built into them, you press a button on the bottom of the can and .start spraying

[scalebowler]

Working on designing the burner for the boiler right now. Going to follow the design from the plans but will have to scale it up since everything I am working with is double the size of the origional kit that the idea came from. Also found online where people have made some using some empty bullet casings for the wick holders and they looked pretty cool. Might have to give that a go (just got to make sure there is nothing that can blow up in them, don't want anything to go off when I am soldering them). Also need to get around to actually ordering the keystock for the engine body. Figured keystock would be a good way to go since I won't have to mill anything down at school. 

[scalebowler]

Got the boiler in the mail today and it fits almost perfectly in the back of the truck. Only problem I may run into is the bolts on the sight glass may get in the way of the tailgate but I could always just leave that off when I put it back together. Now I got to figure out where to get a steam line for it since it.

[MoonDawg]

      If it's only the bolts in the way of the tailgate, maybe you could remove one at a time, countersink the hole and use countersunk screws? 
     Or, since you haven't painted yet.......modify the front of the bed to fit it in?

[scalebowler]

     If it's only the bolts in the way of the tailgate, maybe you could remove one at a time, countersink the hole and use countersunk screws?  
     Or, since you haven't painted yet.......modify the front of the bed to fit it in?

I don't think I can countersink the hole since the metal is very thin but I have not mounted it yet so maybe after it is mounted the bolt will clear the spot in the tailgate. I could modify the bed though. Also have to see if the tailgate allows for good air flow to the burner or not.

[mznb1u]

All you have to do is fabricate a bed extender like the one in the picture! 

  Tim