mattb73lt

I run a Sheppard box in one truck and a Garrison unit in the other. Both receive 15W40 and work fine. Somewhere in my Sheppard Instructions it does call for Engine Oil for a fluid. What ever I put in the crankcases goes in the reservoirs. Makes servicing easier as I only carry one oil for them.

What engine did you put in? Duplex, Triplex, Quadraplex are all available if it's a Mack motor. You could fit almost anything into it with some effort.

Excellent, great progress and you're closing up on having it done.

If you can't post pictures from you're computer, try making a post then editing it from your phone and adding them from there. I've had to do that numerous times to post pictures. I don't know if it's a formatting issue or something. Also, I've waited a few days after taking pictures to post them then dropping them in and they go, no file size issues then. No idea why that happens , I didn't reduce the file size.

You're right, there are some sizes that are very hard to source. From trucks to cars, some older (read obsolete) sizes are extremely difficult to locate and when found are of poor quality if you intend to drive on them. I've sourced a lot of tires over the years from Coker Tire as they specialize in antique vehicles. Years ago I bought a '40 Ford Deluxe Fordor. A mostly original car that came with almost new repro Ford script blackwall tires. While correct for the car, they wore horribly and didn't handle the rain well. I doubt I put 10,000 miles on them before they were worn out. Coker did have some European tube type radials that fit the 6.00X16" rims and those are far superior in wear and handling.

I'm still surprised that no major US tire manufacturer offers a 24" tire and we have to look offshore for a source. While low volume, there's still a lot of vehicles out there on them. Has the industry moved so far away from them, is everything from the last 30+ years resting on 24.5" rubber? 24" always seemed the heaviest of applications that I ever saw and for the reasons you stated. It just doesn't seem that a 24.5" tire could compete with a 24" in extreme service.

That was my point for the 24" tires, that all there is, 24" tube types. I've never seen a tubeless 24" tire. Obviously 26.5" don't exist and there's no rim to replace the split rims. Hard to believe they are so hard, if now nearly impossible to source considering all the trucks that ran them.

I'd switch them. I swapped both of my trucks, B42 with 20" spokes to 22.5 tubeless rims. B73, I debated long about keeping the original 22" spokes or swapping to Budd hubs. I wanted the look of the Budds and the aluminum rims. Either way it was going to get tubeless 24.5"s. The swap was worth it for the variety and accessibility of tires if I ever had an issue on the road and needed a tire, which has never occurred, thankfully. And they're radials, which wear and ride better. If you drive it or use it I'd make the swap. Unless it's a really great original truck and your desire is to remain factory original.

1 minute ago, Geoff Weeks said:

If you look at the regulation in the "green book" or the stuff J.C posted doesn't make a distinction between school buses and other buses.

In my Green Book of the Federal Regulation, it uses the term "Passenger Carrying Vehicle.

Yeah, I assumed "busses" in general, I'm just more familiar with school busses.

I stripped out a few and they were pretty easy to move around the shop by hand. I'd say 750#'s or so, maybe be a little less. The shell isn't too heavy.

That sounds great. So much to do for the recovery!! The footings look awesome.

Looking good. Get done what you can as you recover and rebuild. 

That's a nice looking R model with a great paint scheme. Tracking it down might be tough, but asking about it here and other platforms might get to someone who may recall it or a company it went to. Facebook has a multitude of pages dedicated to Macks and R models specifically. joining and posting all known information about the truck and company would hit a fairly broad group of people. The ATHS and ATCA sites have pages to where you could ask. The more you ask the more you may get lucky with a lead.

I would think a standard automotive coil would be fine. Either 6 or 12 volt depending on vehicle voltage.

They look great!! Nice to see you making progress after some cataclysmic setbacks!! I think you did well buying the whole parts truck to get what you needed and probably was a lot faster, too!

5 minutes ago, Licensed to kill said:

Different jurisdictions may be different but I don’t see registration as an issue.

I agree with the differences. It depends on a lot of things, but I like the complete frame swap option for something I'm going to drive. Being able to fix or service it when not at home is a big plus. I did a lot of upgrades to my truck to try to avoid over the road issues. It's great being able to get what you need at a parts counter.

I ran a 1957 END-673 in my B42 for about 10 years before I had an issue with it. It was set for about 180 HP. I did fine for what I wanted. Made lots of trip s with it, one from Connecticut all the way to Colorado with a Model T on the back. It did fine in all those years. A little slow off the line and it did fall off on the hills. That caused a bit of extra shifting. Adding a turbo to it, something I never did, would bring it to a 205 HP. That would be using an original style turbo, a modern one may provide to much boost. The fuel delivery needs to be adjusted as well for the added boost, that's something a shop needs to do unless you know someone able to help you out. For the cost of messing around with an obsolete 673, I would consider looking for a good running 237, ENDT-675. It'd much more supported in the field. Parts, spin on filters are just two minor things on a larger list of benefits. More HP and much more torque are the main things. When my 673 quit, the price to fix it was the same as a great running takeout 237. The B42 was a completely different truck with it.

If you can get it running and on the road with the 673, run it and look for a 237. Parts have become very hard to find for the 673's, so rebuilding and fixing is an issue.

I removed a set of tandems from my B73 when I got it to bring it back to a single axle. It wasn’t too hard to do and I don’t have a lot of heavy equipment. It sounds like you’re going to do it. Since you’re digging that deep it may be worth removing the inner frame support. That way you can get at any rust between the frame rails. It may take some extra cutting and then rewelding, but it could be worth it.

I help scrap two B63’s years ago with 58K rears and I can tell you they weigh about 7,000#’s without rims and tires. 

I miss read this, I thought you were looking for the B series ones. Those are plentiful and the same as the M35 and M813 series of military trucks. Maybe try Steele Rubber Products? If nothing there, ask them about other rubber product suppliers? Maybe some other suppliers for REO Trucks. There are many pages on Facebook to post your needs on and someone my have some or someone may make them?. I have a guy in Massachusetts that has the three rubber seals for the L cab with fixed glass and the aluminum frames, and he has the rear window seal, too. He doesn't advertise, but I have his permission to send people his way.

Hopefully that will help him out and let his business survive. Every picture I see of the devastation, the remarkable the damage seems. There's just no easy quick fix to put it all back.