Custom Vintage Rollback

Bob Langill
So, finding myself at an uninspired block on the Nova, I put it on the back burner, and decided to begin the rollback project...
The very first thing I decided to do, was inventory the vintage Ladder Chief kit I plan on using, and cull out all the fire equipment (ladders, axes, etc.), which won't be used in this build...good thing I did so, because the sprue with the frame rails was not in this factory sealed vintage kit!...worst part of it was, since it's an AMT/ERTL kit, parts are no longer available from the manufacturer...
Fortunately, Round 2 is repopping the kit, so I began the hunt for the rails, figuring somebody somewhere has to have one in their junkyard...while hunting them, I found & got a great buy on another vintage (but newer) issue of the kit from AMT/ERTL, and just figured I'd save all the extra stuff to resell later...
When the 2nd kit arrived, I inventoried THAT one, and it (thankfully) was complete, so I began by mocking up the frame, and the side box/deck assembly...
Then, I opened up the Super Boss, and took out the engine, transmission, and all the related parts...I started assembling the basic engine/trans, so I can determine what modifications to the Ladder Chief's frame will be needed to put it in, since the twin turbo'ed, twin supercharged Detroit Diesel V12 from the Super Boss is considerably larger than the Ladder Chief's single turbo/supercharged Detroit Diesel V8...
Still keeping feelers out for frame rails (to complete the original vintage Ladder Chief kit I bought), I was offered a literal goldmine of Ladder Chief parts...the best part of it all?...he accepted the balance of the Super Boss kit as a trade...I now have 3 cabs/interiors/side boxes/decks, an extra set of modified frame rails, and best of all, a brand new, virgin set of frame rails to complete the original vintage kit that I bought for the project!
Now that I have spare cabs, I'm much more confident in attempting the modifications I want to do...in the attached pictures, you can see the 3" scale top chop, and the 3" scale section laid out...I'm going to do these before I decide whether to channel it over the frame or not...
My next major step is to work on the front and rear suspensions, which need to articulate for the working air suspension...hopefully, the impending snowstorm doesn't negate a pilgrimage to the hobby store this weekend for some styrene to scratch build it...