doubleclutchinweasel

Is that the one sittin' on a Peterbilt chassis?

And, here's their new sign...

Yep. The one I was thinking about did some work up north of Weaverville. Thanks for the background on yours.

Always wondered what the "K/G" designation meant. Nobody knew back then. Even Rome Plow Company did not know recently. But, they DID know the letters stood for the names of the inventors. That gave me somewhere to start. The "K" was for Kissner, and the "G" was for Green. K/G = Kissner/Green. Mr. Kissner's son and Mr. Green's daughter were married, if I am tracing their names correctly. Mr. Kissner (the father), Mr. Kissner (the son), and Mr. Green (the in-law) held the early patents on the shear blade. Apparently, the design was so successful that the Rome Plow Company bought the rights to it. So, now I know...

Check this out... http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/o/orrville/orrville.htm

I remember a green single-axle tractor like that operating in Buncombe county back in the '90s (also pulling a lowboy). Wonder if... Sorry. I meant the truck was blue, not green. Not sure what I was thinking about there. It was a medium-dark blue color. The owner did a good bit of small-medium dozer work around the county.

The R I drove all those years ago had an extension on the main (right) stick. It was a 5" or so long gizmo made with stacked colored rings. Seems like it was yellow and green. The compound (left) stick had a regular ball on it. One day, I was digging around in the cab and found another one (red and blue, I believe) that had a piece of the shifter broke off in it. Looks like somebody broke that one off, and just had the larger diameter of the stick threaded, and stuck a ball with a bigger hole in it on there. Funny thing is that, with the 2 different heights, that thing was almost perfect. The compound was right there when you dropped your hand on it, and the main was just enough taller to grab onto without bumping the compound with your arm. What did Bob Ross call them? Happy little accidents. I'm kinda like you, Bob. Sorta hate to cover up brand new switches. When I was working on mine a few years back, I actually found the right switches (even the right terminals) at a local NAPA store. Kinda surprised me.

Like Jo-Jo said...

That's one of those I have seen pictures of, seen brochures on, but never actually laid eyes on in person. Hope it goes to a good home.

Beautiful! Just freakin' beautiful!

I like the idea of painting underneath the joints first, and then painting the entire assembly later. Gives protection in the joints, like he said, and the final paint won't have any scratches or dings from attaching bits and pieces after paint. I get it. Like they used to say, "loooking goood"!

Usually because some numbskull jerked on it too hard! Really, really tough axles. We also used Spicer U-joints, and carried a set of those with us. You could do a lot of repairs on-site if you had a few spare parts. All we had were spoke wheels, too. So, they were super easy to change with basic hand tools. Not as much torque required as on a disc wheel. By the way, really enjoyed some of your last pics, Paul.

Look at this old thread...

I have seen 44's with both the "integrated flange" on the axle and with the "double splined" axle you describe. Loved the look of the cone cap on the double splined setup. Most of the Macks we had when I was a young man had the double splined axes, and we carried spare axle shafts in the cab with us. Changed out one or two on the side of the road. Sometimes getting the broken bit out of the rear could be a pain. usually involved removing the other side and poking a broom handle through the carrier!

Oh, hell! Here we go again!

Can't wait to see the next pics!

As of right now, it looks like Brad's show is a "go" for September 11-12, 2021. At Red Wolf Farm, not at Brad's farm.

What he said...

Again, ORIGINALLY the gold dog was Maxidyne.

Gold bulldog ORIGINALLY meant Maxidyne engine. In later years, gold bulldogs meant all-Mack drivetrain. I do not know exactly WHEN that changed. But, in '72, it meant Maxidyne power. And, yes, the engine would have been gold originally as well. If this had been an R611, for instance, it would have had a non-gold engine (Thermodyne) and a chrome bulldog.

In my experience, most of the roughness of the ride comes from the rear. My R had a 9,000# front axle, and it was fairly tolerable. The rear was another story. But, I ran the air pressure in the rear (empty truck) low, and that helped.

The older stuff with the bottom-pivoting pedal may indeed be different that later stuff with the top-pivoting pedal. The former were all linkage, I believe, while the latter were cable-operated. You sure do bring up things that make people think!

I have had spring shops make single leaves many times over the years. Not a big deal. If one of the shorter ones breaks, and runs for any time at all, I think it is a good idea to replace the adjacent ones while you're at it, so as to avoid the inevitable failure of those due to the gouge the broken one puts into them.

Lots of engine possibilities. The various "673" Thermodynes (ENDT 673, END 673, ENDT 673C) are pretty common in the older ones. Usually had Duplex, Triplex, or Quadruplex transmissions behind them. A little later, the ENDT-675 Maxidyne came along, usually with a 5- or 6-speed Maxitorque transmission. Very easy to drive. Great torque curve. I spent most of my time with a 250 HP ENDT 673C with a two-stick 18-speed Quadruplex behind it. Once you learned that box, it was really something. Kept you busy, though. That was a double-overdrive setup, and would cruise pretty effortlessly. My last one had that same engine with a 15-speed RoadRanger. But, it was direct drive, which limited the top speed. Low tire pressure helps the ride. Air ride suspension does too. I have seen several with almost all the leaves removed from the springs. That works too. It'll never ride like a Cadillac! Good luck!

A lot of those had DD3 brake chambers on them. They used reserve air to apply the parking brakes. Then, they "wedged". On most of those old ones, the yellow button applied whatever parking brakes they had (DD3 or spring) on both the truck and trailer. The flipper was intended to be used when the trailer was disconnected. If you flipped it manually, it would disconnect the air supply to the trailer. This would set the parking brakes on the trailer. I think they did not want you to use it in place of the yellow button, which set the parking brakes on BOTH the truck and trailer. Again, it did more or less what the later red button did. And, yes, it COULD be used for parking...but that was not its primary intended purpose. Play with it and see what you get.