heavyhauler

That tanker was for sale at Macungie a few years ago. John

Vlad: Great pictures and thank you very much for sharing. Do you have any plans to come to the USA for a truck show? How about Macungie over the Father's Day weekend?? It would be great for you to meet many of the folks here on this forum. What do you think? John

This is absolutely great!!! John

That's a great save! Well done!

Some of the history of the truck appeared in WOT and Double Clutch and I caught shit for that several times. Editors of these mags do not have a clear mandate to communicate with authors so it happens that sometimes, after hearing absolutely nothing from one magazine, that the story is submitted to a competing publication and then they both appear at the same time and without my knowledge. I think the audiences are a little different but editors strongly disagree. Anyway, see WOT May/June 2008 and that should get you started. I have enough material now for a book-just need to find the time to put pen to paper but I am close. I got sidetracked with the LJ. John

Vinny: How do we get more young people like you involved in this wonderful hobby? Any ideas? John

Yes, it was judged at Hershey a few times. I am glad that it has inspired others and I sincerely hope that this Natl Geo clip will do the same. We really need more young fellows like Vinny and his cousin Ben in this hobby. Best regards, John

It got worse for Matt. A tire on the trailer exploded at 70 mph scattering rubber chunks everywhere. Cars were swerving trying to avoid the fragmentation. Then he blew another tire and turns out he did have a spare but it was the wrong size. The tires on that trailer are an oddball size so it took him another day to get two tires. When the first tire exploded, it shredded the hydraulic line at the back of the trailer so he had a toxic spill to drive away from when he tried to put the tail board down. Fortunately no one was hurt and no major damage was done to man or machine. John

Well spotted. Wheel bearings with no lubrication-a bit of a mess since one of the bearings completely disintegrated! The change from grease to oil from the diffs just did not work so its being worked on as I write this. John

That is wonderful enthusiasm! Keep it going! John

Here is the link-it is something that I hope helps this hobby and brings the interest of lots of younger folks. The program has already started on July the 4th but it will air every Wednesday evening until sometime in August on the National Geographic TV channel. The program is called "Americas Lost Treasures" and our segment was filmed at the Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, DE and then a whole day at the Mack Museum. Right now, there is only a 3 minute promotional video available uploaded by National Geographic people. Don't look to closely at Curt, the actor, shifting the auxiliary while I shifted the main transmission for him. http://www.allvintagetrucks.com/mack-daddy-of-trucks You can also Google "Mack Daddy of Trucks" and that should take you right to their site. Enjoy! John

I have met him a few times-a nice person. R.I.P Erv. John

A positive outlook is definitely a must. Get well fast and stay in touch! John

Vinny: Did they send you pictures of the Oakville plant? Just wondering if these might be of interest for you. It would round out the history of your truck rather nicely I think-what do you think? John

OK, I will see what I can find for you over the weekend. John

Vinny: Where was your U model built? Is that one of those Macks that was built at the Oakville, Ontario plant?

I believe that red truck at the Big Horn Country Museum was a Dodge COE if memory serves me. I'll have a look at the original to confirm. Here are the last of the pics.

It was a great trip! Here are some more pics.

Yes, I took them. There are several more if you would like to see them. I was in downtown Billings last week at the offices of the Bureau of Reclamation looking for photos of the LJSW. No luck but I had some time so decided to drive around. Every where I went, I found lots of vehicles, both antique and modern, of interest. And, yes, Custer was a bit of a dumb ass. They were caught right out in the open outnumbered more than 10 to 1. Rather than trying to get to a nearby river bank, they shot their horses to use as shields. By the way, that V8 RL700 was plated so I would think that they use it from time to time. John

I believe Magnums were available in 3 horse power configurations: 400, 450 and 500 HP. So this could be an original Magnum-the engine specs are described as Mack. Did I miss something? John

That really is terrible. Is there anything that we can do to help? John

So you are OK for the time being? John

Which components are you wishing to rebuild? Let me know and I will check our library of service manuals to see if the manuals contain the info that you need. John

Turns out that the winning bid fell through so now its my turn, I guess. I will post pics soon. I also greatly appreciate all of the comments especially the chronic leakage. I'll check that out. Many thanks. John