RoadwayR

Over on 'Curbsideclassic' the other day a fellow from the Netherlands posted about an F785ST with a set back front axle. Not that I am a big F series expert, but I have never seen one of those and was thinking it was a special export model. Evidentially they were a regular production model, but Mack couldn't have made many. What was the story with them? https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/wordless-outtake-1979-mack-f-785-st-my-truck-is-so-tall-i-need-a-ladder-to-get-into-the-bed/

https://www.isuzucv.com/en/news/headlines

I was following them. Looked good, they were going to make their own aluminum cab, offer medium and heavy duty, even have a gasoline engine in the lighter trucks. They shut down very suddenly, citing legal reasons.

Mack almost got bought by Chrysler in '65. Feds said no to the deal.

Mid-80's models for sure. Ford oval on grille didn't happen until 1982, it was a corporate thing. About the same time the 'L9000' block lettered hood emblem was used.

That mixer in the movie was a old Livingston-Graham unit, they had a lot of R model mixers. Bonanza and Conrock had them too. You are correct about the pump drive, there should be a shaft coming off the engine crank pully passing under the radiator driving the pump. The front frame crossmember had a U-shaped hole for the shaft to go through.

Volvo didn't do UD any favors in the States either. Never understood why Volvo didn't develop a medium duty range off UD for Volvo dealers here.

They are slated to be phased out over the next few years. Most Freightliner M2's sold these days are Cummins powered anyway. Only other medium duty I can think of other than Ford that isn't Cummins powered is the Chevy/International.

They are independant now, still headquartered in Germany.

Sad, but I think both Navistar and Traton need each other to survive. What is going to be funny is to see what happens to Daimler Truck now that they are independent of Mercedes-Benz. I hear that Freightliner is the largest part of and generates the most profits in Daimler Truck by far. With Daimler going to Cummins engines even in Europe who owns who?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cummins-build-medium-duty-engines-165959786.html

My guess is in the FTR: https://www.cummins.com/news/releases/2021/02/05/cummins-and-isuzu-announce-global-mid-range-powertrain-and-advanced

Mercedes needs cash to develop BEV's, spinning off Daimler Trucks will make a separate Mercedes-Benz more valuable. I hear Freightliner generates most of the profits on the truck side.

The other part of the deal is Isuzu will supply Cummins with smaller diesels for Cummins to market to other OEM's. So I wonder when the Ram will have an Isuzu diesel under the hood!

Why not?: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Automobiles/Isuzu-to-source-truck-engines-from-Cummins-for-key-models

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/01/general-motors-to-supply-hydrotec-fuel-cell-cubes-to-navistar/

My old man worked for an aerospace metal firm. They had this kind of International along with tilt cab GMC's that had the right half of the cab sectioned off. Could carry long sections of material on a relatively short single axle flatbed.

Sometimes when you hear something like this it's the beginning of pulling out of the market. But with Hino, they are likely going to take advantage of a slack market and forgo new truck sales until they can address their engine emissions problems properly. Maybe with an all new engine family. Better strategy than what International and Caterpillar did a few years ago.

You will see that sort of reinforcement on most trucks with frames that dip down under the cabs, non straight rail. The International/Chevy medium duty doesn't need them, those trucks have a regular straight rail class 6 chassis. The cabs on those trucks do sit higher, however.

Air ride rear suspension is a factory option on the Silverado medium duty, is it available on the International CV as well?

Analysts say 90% of Ford's profits come from the F-150 alone. Wordwide.

I have noticed that the only 'trucks' Farley and Cannis ever mention are the F-150 and the Transit. Maybe because those are the only profitable vehicles Ford manufactures? Electrification is coming and it will be big, but I think these guys are putting too much emphasis on connectivity. What can Ford do with connectivity that any other OEM can't also do? I remember when connectivity in our company trucks was the 2 way Motorola. Then it became the MDT computer dock. Now it's a holder for an I-phone.....

I have had some success cleaning sludged up engines with Rislone. I changed the oil and filter, added Rislone, drove for a week and repeated 2 or 3 times. The problem is you run the risk of loosening sludge up and having it jamb up the oil pump or plugging the oil pickup. Also if you do manage to clean the engine out, you might find that sludge was doing a pretty good job of plugging up leaky gaskets, and now that it's gone..... That having been said, I have seen a number of old untouched Ford 289's and 302's with low miles suddenly loose oil pressure due to pieces of the nylon cam sprocket and/or valve guide seals lock up the oil pump. I think 'Freightrain' and '1965' are both right, either leave it alone or pull the engine and freshen it up.

I have a feeling Nikola won't be the only truck manufacturer using GM fuel cells and batteries.