TicketMan4u

I regularly buy items in online auctions at Sam Lilly Liquidators in Helena, AL and have found some pretty good deals there. http://www.samlilly.com/. He mostly has business close-outs, estate items, office furniture, etc. but occassionally has vehicles and recreational vehicles.

I recently stopped by to pick-up my latest acquitions and saw a Brockway parked in front of the building. Looking it over it's obviously in rough condition but thought I'd post it here anyway in case someone might be interested.

Couldn't find a VIN plate but the office ladies referred me to some photos they already entered in their computer. The auction has not be posted yet. The listing can be found if you go to the web site and enter "Brockway" in the "Search" box. The owner said the auction is scheduled to start July 7th.

The cab doesn't look too bad except for the roof which has completely rusted thru in several places. Don't know if it runs or if it will even turn over. Only looked at one side of the engine and didn't have much time for questions before closing. They listed it as a 1974 but I thinks it's a 1973. Also I couldn't find anything on the information they provided in the listing which was supposed to have come from a plate they found inside the vehicle.

Item Description

1974 Brockway Truck, 185,544 Miles

Model NTC-250

Engine# 10462735

Engine Certification Identification: Family-092 CPI-0176

So.No. 15221

Mfg. Date 11-74

Ref. No. 3966-A2-3

The VIN plate in the photo lists it as a model N361T with Serial Number 79066. The cab has Huskidrive on the right front fender and dash. It has twin Huskies for a hood ornament just above the number "361". It's a single axle tractor with a five speed transmission and some type of towing rig on the 5th wheel. Looks like the winch has been removed if it ever had one.

If anybody interested in bidding has questions or needs more information that can't be answered by contacting the company let me know and I'll go back by and see if I can help. This is not my truck and I don't have any part in the company. The owner has just become a friend and I offered to put it out there to see if there was any interest.

Seen this on Craigslist in Cordova, AL. Seen others post similar ads so I hope it's okay to post this one too. Everytime I find one here with a link it always seems to be expired so I'm gonna just rewrite the ad info and post the photos if that's okay.

Owner said he "thinks" this is a 1950 L series Mack. It's a complete truck with rust in the lower part of the cab. He wants $1850 or he'll sell the cab, hood, fenders and grill for $1250. He also has the headlights, cab lights, and most of the hood trim. He listed a number to call, 205-522-7302 and here is the link.

http://bham.craigslist.org/cto/3439385143.html

Sounds like it was about half and half but I've talked to the old man and we're gonna pass. Thanks for the help guys.

staxx, PM sent.

He said the tires were about 70% and just the front tires are on aluminum rims but it's been sitting for a couple of years so I'm worried about dry rot. The old man has a trailer load of used tires he stores in total darkness to protect them from the sun that we use when we need to replace tires.

The shop didn't return all of the parts so I know from what the owner said I will at least have to but a set of pistons, rod assemblies, liners and possibly rocker asemblies plus probably all of the belts, hoses, fluids, gaskets, etc to put it all back together.

Labor is not a problem as the old man has two mechanics at his shop that could do it. Finding the time to take them away from their other duties would be the problem.

I didn't ask why he rebuilt the engine, just assumed it was due to the mileage, 900,000 miles, but now I remember the old man saying a million miles on a diesel wasn't nothing. Or at least it used to not be, I don't know about these new engines. This is my first 90's model truck to fool with. Really no experience at all just what the old man has taught me about 60's, 70's and 80's model Macks.

I'm going to see him today to let him know what all I've found out to see if he has anymore questions but most likely he'll say PASS just like most of you did. If we do Staxx I'll let you know how to contact the owner. He listed his location as Troy, AL. Gonna try to get him to join BMT also.

Thanks for all the help guys. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

That's what I needed to know. I had already pretty much come to the same conclusion that I could probably buy a running truck for what it would take me to get this one on the road again. And without all the time and trouble it would take me to get there.

Thanks again for the help guys and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

I've almost convinced myself it wouldn't be a smart move to purchase this truck but I need a second and possibly a third and a fourth opinion to help convince me before I make my final decision.

The truck is a 1999 Mack CH613 with a high top sleeper. It has about 900,000 miles on a E7-427 Mack engine and 10-speed Fuller transmission. The owner rebuilt the engine himself and after about 1000 miles an injector went bad. God only knows why but the shop he took it to completely tore down the engine, put the parts on a pallet then put both the truck and pallet outside. He believes it was because they thought he was just a "dumb ass truck driver" (his words) and didn't know he was actually a Certified Diesel Mechanic who rebuilt the engine himself.

When he got the truck back the wrecker that towed it home didn't bring the pallet of parts. He only has 2 of the piston and rod assemblies, the turbo and possibly the rocker assemblies. The liners are not there but all the external parts (fan hub, alternator, starter, a/c, accessory drive, oil pump, power steering pump, harmonic balancer) are all still on the block. He said he couldn't afford to rebuild it again, especially with a rusted head and crank so it's been just sitting up for the last couple of years now.

In his opinion the crank and head are too badly rusted to reuse and the truck will need a complete engine replacement. My friend, who has not seen the crank, thinks it can be polished and reused. We're looking to cut costs by repairing the engine instead of replacing it. Also we could possibly cut costs if it could be trailered the 160 miles to our shop but with the sleeper measuring approximately 12' 9" high the owner believes it will need to be towed by a wrecker.

The owner is asking $3,000 for the truck. I think that's fair. Sold off for parts I believe it would bring much more than that. I've searched online and $7,000 minimum for an engine was the best I could do. He said it was an E7-427 engine but I also saw an E7-427 ETECH and I'm not familiar with that so I'm not really sure which one I should be pricing. I don't have a clue about towing so I'm guessing at least $1500-$2000 or more for that. I'm comparing all that to two running CH613's I saw online for $9,900 and $12,500. When you add it all up unless I can cut costs somewhere I'm thinking this would not be a smart buy. Now if you guys can offer some suggestions on how to cut costs or know somewhere I could get a short block cheaper then let me know.

I join forums with the hopes of meeting people with more knowledge and experience than myself. In doing so I hope to educate myself and rid my mind of ignorance. Your participation in this discussion is greatly appreciated.

Merry Christmas from Alabama Vinny, where it was almost 70 degrees today.

My wife loves that movie. We'll watch it tomorrow at least once for sure. One year they were running a marathon showing it over and over again. My wife insisted we leave it on that channel all day long. Lucky for me that hasn't happened again since.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I agree, buying new tires would be too costly so I've developed a source for used tires. A friend I met selling trucks keeps a trailer load of good used tires stored away in total darkness to protect them from the harmful rays of the sun. Last time I needed tires on some trucks I sold they came at a price of $50/tire installed which was paid by the buyer. If I need tires on a truck, he's the guy I go to.

I think they're all 11R24.5 tires but I'll be sure and check them to be certain. I've only sold a few trucks but one buyer did want some tires changed before the deal was sealed.

One of my major concerns was looking ignorant by offering a truck for sale with mismatched tires if running them that way was a no no. I think the seller knows less about big trucks than I do and I was just making sure whoever put the tires on for him didn't just put whatever he had available on there and convinced him it was okay.

Yep, anything to make it roll was my impression. Thanks guys, that's gonna help me alot in making my decision. Now I know I "could" use the tires if I "had" to. Problem is, I don't want to. I've got better tires I can use to make it right. Now I know I can use them to get a better price on the truck cause it needs some work.

I'm looking to buy a 1985 R686ST tandem axle dump from a guy I know. He told me he recently replaced some of the tires with some new problems. Problem I see is he mixed steer tires with drive tires on the rear tandem axles.

Now I'm hardly an expert, don't really know nothing. Don't drive'em yet, just buy and sell'em. Seems like to me somewhere in the past somebody told me you wasn't supposed to mix tires. I looked at a couple of other places on line and several said it was okay to mix them, just don't put drive tires on the steer axle. Felt like I needed to here it from you guys also before I could be sure. I mean if I buy the truck I want to know if I'm going to have to spend more money on different tires cause that's going to affect my offer.

I posted some photos of the rear tires for you to look at and give me your opinions. Thanks

We recorded that episode and just got thru watching it. I told my wife he'd better not pay more than $2500 for that truck. I was close.

Olivetroad, I spelled my uncle's name like we always said it. Then I seen the way you spelled your uncle's name and remembered I always spelled my uncle's name wrong. He's been gone about 15yrs now but I looked it up and his name was actually "Durward" also.

Don't you just love the South. We say it like we want to and spell it like it sounds.

_{Daddy was an Army trained mechanic during WWII. Liked working on Dodge trucks best and ended up working on Chrysler products most of his life. I've been told he was one of the best tune up and electrical systems mechanics many people ever knew. And more importantly he was an honest man. I've seen him many times at the end of the day with his hands dirty but he had a knack about keeping his clothes somewhat but not always pretty clean.}

_{He told my sisters when they started driving they better not ever let their cars run out of gas, oil, or overheat because the service stations back then took care of all that. Also they were supposed to keep a dime in their purses at all times to call him in case their car broke down for any reason other than any of the above.}

_{Now when I started driving he filled the trunk of my car with tools and parts and told me the same about the gas, oil, and water but added if I called him to come help me when it broke down my hands better be dirty when he got there or he would turn around and go back home and leave me on the side of the road.}

Hope this truck turns out to be a good one for you. Grandson never called me back on the one I was trying to buy.

I hate it when people say things have sentimental value to them then they just let them sit outside in the bushes and rot to the ground. If it was mine and it really meant that much to me I'd have it inside trying to restore it or something.

I haven't seen the commercial yet, but we watch the show all the time. My Uncle Durwood had a big head of hair combed back like Big Daddy. Gotta love the South.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and still hoping I can make this deal work somehow. Wish you were closer to us that would help. Even If you do decide to buy the other truck I still hope the grandson accepts my offer. If he does it'll make a nice truck to whoever we sell it to.

Wow, I got it from both sides today. Feels like I got both barrels of rock salt out of a sawed off and looks like this deal's gonna go south before it even got started good.

I spoke to the grandson and wanted a face to face after work to make my offer. I hate talking on the telephone but he couldn't meet with me and just wanted me to make him an offer. I took my best shot and didn't even try to haggle. Gave him my top offer. He didn't seem too excited, which didn't surprise me since he really didn't seem too motivated to sell the truck in the first place. He mentioned something about the truck having a lot of sentimental value and he'd have to talk to his grandfather about it. Well we all know what that means.

The second blow came when I talked to the old man about it. He tells me it'll be a $5,000 truck after we fix it up and starts talking about patching the fender, putting tires and batteries on it, and whatever else it takes to get it road worthy. I tried to tell him I already had an out of state buyer lined up who wanted to restore it himself but I'm thinking now he's wanting to keep this one too like the last three I bought for us to fix up and resell.

When I told him I already had an out of state buyer lined up he asked me how I planned to get it to him. I told him I wasn't at that stage yet since I haven't even bought the truck yet so he starts figuring how much it would cost for one of his drivers to drive it to Marion, NC then fly back here to Alabama. I mean God love him he's one of a kind, mind always working on a plan.

Anyway, how was your day? Let's just hope the grandson agrees to sell and I'll get back to you when he does. The rest of it we'll worry about later if and when I get the truck.

Does anybody else have deals go like this?

Didn't get a chance to talk to the owner today but I'm guessing if my luck holds, two hot batteries and this one will fire right up like the last two I bought and if I get it for my price I can beat the $4K you're looking to pay for the other one.

Forgot to add it's cab and chassis only. The current owner removed the 5th wheel to put on a dump body but never got around to it. If I buy it we can add a 5th wheel if you're interested.

I found a sales brochure that said this model has the FA 534 front end and RAD 529 you're looking for but I've been fooled by Internet info before. I showed the photos to the old man who said it looked like it did have the light front axle. He also confirmed it has a Maxidyne engine and 5-speed Maxitorque transmission.

The original owner said he quit driving it a few years ago when he had a heart attack and nothing was wrong with it then. He said the front fender damage occured when the tread on a tire came off and busted it. He saved the pieces but had the heart attack soon after and never got around to fixing it. He just recently gave the truck to his grandson and I'm negotiating a sale price with him now.

I've got more photos but I was afraid to post them all here.

Have you bought one yet? I'm may have one for you in Alabama if you haven't. Not sure if fits all your requirements but I think most have been met. Pretty sure it's a '68 R685 model. VIN is R685 T 3318. Let me know if you're still looking and I'll upload some photos.

I know this ain't much and only shows the tailend but chew on this for awhile until I can get some better photos.

Next time I'm over by the truck I'll crawl under it and get some photos of the tranny. Went by there yesterday to get some better photos but the old man had it parked wedged in tight between two trailers.

Got to get him to teach me how to drive a real truck one of these days.

I'm just trying to go by what the old man told me and not make any more mistakes in my postings. It's got one stick with the little button on the side so I initially thought 5-speed Maxitorque with a 2-speed rear end. I soon realized my mistake when I confirmed it has the Thermodyne engine and asked the old man about the tranny. He's the one that said it had the Roadranger. You look and tell me what you think.