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Stories of age and old trucks

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Mack H-63

Well my trip to Kevin All's place last week got more expensive today. I became the proud owner of a pretty straight and decent H-63 cabover Mack. Single axle diesel tractor with a duplex. Pretty standard stuff. Needs a total rehab. Given the rarity of the truck, I will be looking for any information as to originality. Things like interior details are going to be fairly important to me. It is a cool old truck! And it looks to be very complete, except as I said, the interior is missing some o
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Good Parts Source

I had a very pleasant experience this past Friday. I went to Harpersfield, NY to meet with Kevin All, the owner of All Macks. Nice day, nice trucks, nice people and very fair pricing. Kevin has a new web page - www.AllMacks.com He also has a really good selection of used Mack, mostly B and R model parts and whole trucks. Pretty well organized yard - and a lot of good stories. People like this make the sport very enjoyable indeed. Try them - I think you will like what you find.
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Modern Equipment

Spent today on a new John Deere 650 bulldozer. Anybody who knows me also knows that I am not allowed near equipment or sharp tools. So it was the first time in over 30 years that I have been on a bulldozer. Evolution is a great thing. Just two little hand controls. Amazing! The last machine I spent time on you steered with two big levers and used your third and fourth hands to change direction and run the blade. Then you had the foot controls to keep your feet busy. And after about an hou
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Old Mack Country

Just got home from a week of work in Wayne County, Pa. (Northeast Pa.along the Delaware River) It's a pretty rural area, and still enjoys a lot of small logging companies, excavating contractors and dump truck operators. Guess what they use? I saw more active older B & R model Macks being used every day than I have seen in years. There was a beauty of a single axle R600 going by our jobsite several times each day loaded right to the boards with topsoil. You couild hear it coming from m
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Willys Sale

It appears that my old Willys pickup sold on E-Bay today. And I think it brought fair money. After a couple of weeks of people coming to look and drive, and people calling and e-mailing for information, I think the truck sold for what it is worth. Nice process and nice experience so far.
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Early Fall

Well it's another very nice day here in Upstate New York. This is a great time of year for us, as I have said before. My experience with E-Bay so far has been excellent. Several people from further away than I would have imagined have been here to see and drive the old Willys. And a lot of people have asked good questions on E-Bay about the truck. The auction ends tomorrow about noon EST, and I am getting anxious. This money will fund the completion of my B67 and the lowboy trailer I intend
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Cecil, Pa.

There is a dealer in Cecil, Pa. who has several R Macks for sale on E-Bay. These trucks look to be fairly priced and pretty decent for anyone who might be interested. I still think that there is a fair business to be had for someone who specializes in reconditioning and guaranteeing these vehicles on the used truck market. We have some inquiries for trucking loads to various parts of the country - so I will post truck availability for moving antiques or parts as we get confirmations.
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Catching Up

Just an update - I listed my 1959 Willys for sale on E-Bay this week. 1st time for me trying E-Bay. Nice experience. What a great way to advertise your stuff. The truck did not sell, but I think it was my fault. I put the reserve too much above the starting bid. In the end, though, I think the truck will sell to one of the two high bidders with a negotiated sale. And if it doesn't sell - I will use it as ground transportation at the truck shows next summer. Got my prize package from Barry
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E-bay And B61's

Noticed last night that there seems to be a large number of B model Macks on E-bay. Has everybody kept up with that? Looks like some pretty nice stuff.
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Friday August 31

Nice day here in Upstate NY. This is a good time of year for us. Just got the news that one of the tracks on a rented Fiat Allis dozer just beat the tractor to the dirt pile. That's not usually too good. Apparently the chain broke. Turns out the owner knew it was worn badly - and just hoped it might work for another day. Cheap So and So. So, before I go out to the job and lose my cool - I thought I would relax and post another blog entry. It's hard to get too mad at my operator. Fred is a ret
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The Longevity Of Good Equipment

I commented yesterday on the life span of a Ford Jubilee tractor, or for that matter, any of the old tractors. With proper maintenance and occasional work as needed, these pieces of equipment will run a long time. That's one of the things I like about heavy trucks. You can take almost any of the common older trucks and update it with safer brakes and plumbing, freshen up the diesel and do normal maintenance work, and it will serve you for as long as you want it to. Then you pass it on to the
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1953 Ford Jubilee Tractors

A while back I stumbled on a 1953 Ford Golden Jubilee tractor for sale by the side of the road. You can guess what happened next .... Anyway - the tractor turns out to have a Sherman three speed auxiliary transmission, which was a dealer installed aftermarket option. Pretty handy. My brother has my grandfather's original Jubilee. It has been used and abused by all of us for most of our lives. As kids we all learned to drive on it. Some of us did our level headed best to make it go much fast
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Ramblings

We got a new forklift in the truck shop today - I think it's a sign of old age. It was a nice surprise, though. I share this shop space with my uncle, and it is strictly hobby space. So the lifting equipment is really a luxury. We had a large (24' x 40' x 20' high) bridge crane installed with a 6000# hoist a while ago so heavy parts could be moved about the shop easily. But it wasn't good enough. The forklift is to move those parts not located under the crane area. Like I said - I think it's
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Monday Morning

Another Monday morning. It's pretty nice in Upstate NY this time of year - if you only look at the weather and the scenery. When you live here - you become expert in shutting out the thoughts of state taxes, hidden taxes and fees and the extremely expensive and ineffective state government. The weather and the scenery have to keep you happy, and right now they can. Anyway - I am still contemplating the used truck business, and thinking of specializing in one or two manufacturers. The R model
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R-600 Update

Just going over to the yard to give the old R-600 some exercise. I just cannot get over how well this old girl runs. And the more I use it, the better it goes. I've got two friends that would like to get their Commercial Driver's licenses, and I think this might be the perfect vehicle. It's a simple 711 diesel with a direct drive duplex transmission. Big windows and no bunk make for a great view, and the lowboy trailer is easy to see over during a road test. We are about to flip the trailer
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Catch-up

Been a few days since I was here last - Funny how time goes by and so much happens that we take for granted. I'm another year older. My puppy became a national champion last week. And last, but not least, I got my new gearset from "Thermodyne diesel" in Minnesota. That's got me very interested. The rest of the stuff is just stuff - it happens all the time, then you die. It's a bit unknown to me how the engine/transmission combination will react to the new ratio. Going from a 5.46 gear to 4.2
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Yellow Freight

I have just contracted with Yellow Freight to bring a 450# pallet from Minnesota to Upstate New York. The overall cost is $237.00. I can't drive to Minnesota one way for $237.00! As hobbists, I guess my point is that we should not overlook the obvious way to get our parts around the country. Common carriers are everywhere. Faced with driving out to Minnesota, I probably could not have justified the purchase, even though I really need the parts.
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Collectibility And The R Mack

So it has occurred to me that the R-Mack has not been as collectible as some others. It seems, I believe because it looked essentially the same from the mid-60's up into the 80's, the truck lacks a desireability that might exist with a B model or an L model Mack. Perhaps in the next generation, when these trucks actually are considered "old", they will become more attractive to the collectors. I wonder which of the power trains will be most sought after? The R Mack as a work truck, howeve
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New Gear Set

Well I have just had another good experience with a BMT member - I purchased a used gearset from out of state. This is a really nice forum for the sharing of information and the exchange of parts and vehicles.
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R600 And Lowboy

I would have thought that there may have been more interest in the R600 and lowboy trailer that I listed for sale in BMT. Seems there were a couple of people looking for "cosmetic restoration projects" on the forums within the past few months. My new plan is to keep the trailer, and put the rocker panels in the tractor, paint them both and use them myself. The trailer will make a real nice recovery trailer for picking up old stuff. I will put a heavy electric winch on the tongue deck and add
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B61 Fleet Addition

Looks like I am going to be able to acquire a B61 diesel tractor to add to the fleet soon. This truck is interesting to me in that, like my R600, I know the entire history of the truck from new. The unit belonged to Louis Johnson Trucking based nearby in East Palmyra, NY. It spent its life in service to New York City and Milton, Pa. I'm kind of excited about this one as the Louis Johnson B-Macks were my 1st exposure to big trucks as a kid. I've also found a fifties vintage Fruehauf tandem a
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Intro

This is really an experiment for me. I know absolutely nothing about blogging or the theory behind it - but that devious Barry put up some pretty desirable merchandise as prizes for the top Blog. I like that idea. So I am hoping this is a successful experiment. By way of intro - I am in Upstate New York - the Finger Lakes area. I've been interested in all things mechanical for most of my life. I spent a couple of years right out of college driving cross-country tractor trailers for a company
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