Freightrain

Yup Rob....that's about what it's going to cost, plus u bolts. Should have it by Wed, so I can thrash on it Wed evening and go racing Thurs! Wahoo!

There are ceramic seals on the hot side of the turbo, and sounds like they might be history. Might just need a rebuild to get yourself going again.

I'm going with a full air ride, as I want to stretch the truck about 40" to be able to add a sleeper. I've seen those add ons and it would be easy to do.

I'm dreading what it's going to cost to replace the leaves. Probably won't be cheap...but gotta do it now, as I need the truck Thursday.

I've been wanting to get the fronts rebuilt as I know one of the clamps has rotted and broke so the leaves have "popped" a bit. Since the front doesn't move much(flex) I'm not too worried about it right now. The biggest issue was the rear leaves move ALOT since I cut all the leaves out. This no doubt had alot to do with the break, especially after 49yrs.

Well, not too terrible, but did put a damper on the trip home.

I got to my destination to walk around the truck to see the RR tire was right up near the fender. Hmmm, not good. I found three leaves sticking out of the pack and the top spring was kinda not arch correctly anymore. Ouch. There is a section of Rt. 8 that is just about unpassable for trucks and this year it's getting worse, so it didn't surprise me to find this. I was able to remove the fender and using a 4x4 block the spring UP using my fifth wheel mounting angle iron and it make the 90 mile trip back home okay. Bit rough, but better then the alternative.

After spring was removed, but you can tell how I used fifth wheel to support weight

The issue was when I got truck back in '01 I had the springs cut down to THREE main leaves(the rest left for spacers). It's work great, but I suppose after the trip it just had plus the fact the two bottom spring were 50 yrs old had something to do with it. The top leaves were replaced back when I cut it up as the original were pitted around the u-bolt plate, so it survived the punishment. I have to wait for Monday to get things replaced, and I'm due out Thurs morning, so I'm really hoping local shop can take care of it quick. I can dream anyway.

Drivers side spring

I'll be replacing all leaves this time, so it should last a long time............even though I'm trying to put a plan together for this fall to FINALLY get an air ride stuck under it.

Ya, well I like the attention the ol girl gets(even my g/f likes it).........but I want more power/comfort/bunk. I could change what I got, but I've always wanted a KW so I'm keeping my options open.

From what I've been told the 2 pc is the replacement version. Seems the one piece is the factory unit, and has to be chiseled/cut out to replace with two piece unit. This of course only if you don't want to have to pull the tranny.

If the tranny is out of truck, then you can put a 1 pc back in it.

I would try to find a truck that was in decent running condition in the first place. One that was drug outta a field will tend to have alot more wrong with it and need more parts replaced.

I watched my truck for a few years before buying it. It was still in use, though very little, I knew it ran and did the job. It needed stuff done, but I could work and drive it too. Unless you plan on doing a full blown restoration, don't get it in too many pieces as it gets harder and harder to put back together without spending MORE money(right Paul?).

Most of the tinkering I've done was with simple hand tools and truck wasn't down for extended time periods.

I'm really looking hard at getting a "bigger" truck, and would love to sell the ol girl. Can't seem to find that right truck, so I'll keep pluggin along. I use my truck every weekend, so selling it prematurely would not be a good thing.

Doesn't EVERYONE have a cement mixer in their garage Tom?

The smaller the model number, the lighter the chassis and smaller the engine(usually). Even numbers were gas motors, odd numbers were diesel. They look relatively all the same, with a few changes here/there.

Look at the right frame rail, behind the front spring hanger for the serial number, which will tell you what model is.

Welcome to the board Rustydog.

Lots of old-time information available 'round here, that's for sure. Pretty much any of us has been there/done that once or three times.

Good luck on the search for a truck.

found this neat looking picture while browsing Hank's truck pictures the other day. Smith's Transfer out of Staunton,Va. had many of these day cab F-models, along with Overnite, UPS, and many more carriers but nowadays it looks really odd!

That's definitely a truck you have to go OUTSIDE to change your mind....

Cool ol piece, but I bet a bear to spend all day in!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mack-Superl...sspagenameZWDVW

I know of the guy that has this. I'm familiar with the red KW shown in the pics of auction.

Two things: Not to sure of air filter set up? Don't look like they are big enough?

The big "side pipe" exhaust. Could do without that, but that's just me.

They did do a very nice job with it overall.

One of my favorite lines from my Uncle. His 3 boys were all tough kids, and never backed down from a fight.

"Don't bring anything to a fight you can't EAT"

This was in a time when fists were all you needed! Unlike today.

The ol 673 n/a gets about 8-9 mpg running empty, 7-8 pulling my trailer(14K lb). 4.62 gears, single OD, 22" rubber.

I'd use plastic for adding the controls. Much simplier to hook up and you don't have to worry about degrading rubber later on.

I originally pulled my very old, broken trailer lines off as I didn't plan on pulling an "air" type trailer. I've since put a new TP valve and lines out back to make it possible again. It's a pretty simple hook up really other then mounting your new dash control.

This is where John Evans(truknut) used to jump in and give all the details. He's been AWOL for some time now.

Ya, true Rob. I was a little shaky the first year or so even though the truck was run occasionally previous to my buying it. I did put alot of new stuff in it in that time to make it reliable, though I've had a few little mishaps nothing catastrophic. One leaky fuel filter line and one broken oil line, both of which makes a REAL mess of truck/trailer, but she made it to/fro my destination.

Wow....guess I'm a little "light" in the tool dept?

I do have a 3/4" set with breakerbar(takes care of tires), no jack on truck but two in trailer. 50ft air line, gal oil, (1) rachet strap, 50ft water hose(to fill my trailer tank when not at home), flares, safety triangles, small tool box with misc stuff in it, extra fuel filter.

Guess I'm pretty confident with my ol rig cause I drive it hundreds of miles(even state away) without too much thought. I did put all good stuff on it the first time around(tires, batteries, ect) so it's not a worry. No sense in short cutting when you plan on using it, though it's not a business I don't want to spend my weekends on the side of the road.

Just a little update.

Have not had to use the wiper til last weekend. Then all of a sudden they started running really slow, had to bump the park side to get them to return after a short time of running. I couldn't believe they started this after working so well after going thru them. Hmmm. Well a little diagnosing I found that the main feed line to the motor itself was a bit old(like maybe 40+ yrs) and was oil soaked and brittle. After wiggling it around at the motor I could make the work fast again. So today I installed some new lines and WOW....they work GREAT again.

So, I'd suggest that if you have wiper issues and they don't seem to run very well, to start looking at the lines and see if they are used up. I think this might have been more the issue with mine then the sludge in the motor. I also removed the little muffler from the output side and it really helped with the power/speed too. With the truck running(especially at highway speed), you CAN'T hear it anyway.

After hearing the horror stories of air wipers....I'm pretty confident with mine now.

I can't give you alot of detail, but basically you'll need a tractor protection valve installed to feed a trailer. Seems there are air line schematics onlines somewhere. Might be the Bendix website?

I've considered a/c for a few years, and someday I'll get around to it. My plan was to mount it behind the cab, behind my generator box and put an electric fan on it. Or maybe behind the battery box, under the frame rail with a fan on it.

I've seen some of these sleeper a/c units with condensor mounted to rear of sleeper with fans on them.

Sounds like a pretty neat ol piece, V8 and all.

My g/f is good with whatever I buy, as long as I DON'T get rid of the B. Strange, huh?

I got an Escort wagon(1.9/automatic) and I curse the day I would have to drive a (&$#* box like this everyday. I hate it........but it's the only way I can survive and have a few bucks to play with. At 3 times the fuel mileage of my old pickup it was a mandatory investment.

I think I would like it better if it was a 5 spd! It would be a bit more fun to drive.

I'm gunno say the 14 spd version is the Double overdrive, so you leave out a few shifts in 5th.

Check the website as it has all the gear ratios.

Well, it was a pieces/parts truck and PO doesnt recall all that has happened to it. I have alot of shop records of maintenance that was done in the 80's but no records of the original build up. The records are funny to read as the prices were dirt cheap for all the chrome parts, bits/pieces that they put on the truck over the years.

When/what motors were gold?