jeffbyrne

Hi all, we have a R400 that has been changed over to a 237 and a 6 speed with Pete air ride and is in really good shape. Matter of fact it was completely restored about 15 years ago and with a lot of projects it never was finished. Originally it was to be a small wrecker, but we were considering putting it together as a large rollback. I also have a 79 DM which also has a 237 and 6 speed with camel back. My question would it be possible to switch the cab and hood and all necessary components from the R400 onto the DM frame? I have lots extra parts in stock and I was wondering if it was possible or not? We have put together some trucks before like the our last project which is a 2003 RD that we morphed into a 306" wb Granite 60 ton wrecker. Any way just wanted some opinions on the subject. Thank you Dave.

Hi Dave, from what i can gather the DM has 2 different chassis, the 800 has straight thru rails, the 600 has a profile like a B except deeper. The R800 uses the same chassis as a DM800, anyway i dont see why you couldnt centre the cab on any of the chassis. You might just need cab mounts, and i dont know if the R400 cab mounts would do, or if they would mate to a DM chassis. Im from Australia, and we dont have many DM's here and less R400's, im sure there would be somebody in the US that would know better. Regards Jeffro.

Hi Jeffro, interesting. the front mounts for suspension are the same but opposite on this one and the chassis has hole in lhs for steering box. i am using all the F front suspension and the FA532 axle in the R i am putting together. have also got a set of 10 stud budd hubs for it. and new king pin kit.

regards Grant

hi grant, yes well the F chassis doesnt have a hole for the steer box. the R does. what are you doin with the 375? jeffro.

Hello, no worries. thankyou, thought it was batteries, but the one i caught a quick look at the other day looked like it was to small, not enough depth for batteries. the one i am wrecking now had batteries on left side only and was electric start.

Grant

Hey Grant those V8 V/liners had really small battery boxes on each side behind the wheels. even when they had airstart. jeffro

Whats in the box on the right side of the truck behind the front wheel on an R700? the left side is batteries, ehats in the right side?

Grant

Hi Grant, 95% of Aussie Macks wereair start up until about mid 90's, so they only had 1 battery box, it was mounted on the lhs, air start tanks were mouted on the rhs.I think when S/liners & C/liners came out they might have had extra batteries even if they were air start. Jeffro

Hello, i see, will take a look.

regards Grant

Hi Grant, the F v R chassis is more to do with the tapered section and the castings for spring mountings. An F model chassis is not identical LHS v RHS, on the LHS the front, front spring mount is nothing like the RHS front, front spring mount, the LHS front mount also supports the LHD steering box and is about 20 in long, the RHS spring bracket is only about 11 in long, also the way the chassis splays out at the front is the LHS rail is basically a straight rail and the RHS rail splays out like an R. This is why the 2nd RHD conversion had the steering box behind the front RH wheel. However the rear front spring mounts each side appear to be the same, and are'nt the same as an R model. The F model was not really designed to be RHD. So when converting F's to RHD it was a compromise. Using the R chassis meant it was easier to convert to RHD. regards jeffro.

hello, this one is a doble frame and between 2 and 3 inches deeper, yes its a fairly long wheel base, long enuf to have 2 fuel tanks down the side. it had an 866 in it with a 12 speed and 5.13 diffs with an fa532 front axle.

regards Grant

Hi Grant, I'm pretty sure Mack doubled up single rails, like you could have 10.5 in rails doubled up to be double rail. You wouldnt get 9 in rails in a single rail unless it was say an R400, a B40 series or a weight reduced B61 or R600 for say tanker work. 9 in rails in a 600 or 700 series truck would usually be doubled, whereas 10.5's could be single or doubled. That Mack you've got if it is factory 866 is an FR797RS. This engine was'nt available in Aust till Sept 1972, towards the end of 1971 the F model went to the R model chassis, the chassis no should be just in front of drive axle on the drivers side. regards jeffro

if the FR is the same chassis as an R then how come the one i have in a million bits has a deeper chassis than an R by about 3 inches?

Grant

hi Grant, there are different depth frames, single rail frames in a 700 series truck is about 10.5 in, double rail is about 9. I dont have frame sizes at hand, but im sure they could have been deeper for severe service. I think there was an 11 in frame. This goes for F and R. Your F could be an FR700RSX, or could have been axtremely long WB. It could also be 2in deeper and not 3in. jeffro.

hi all a few extra details , the F 700R with steer box behind the wheel was the 2nd rhd conversion. A 71 F700R would have been alate one, i think they went to FR700R in 1972. i.e. F model, R chassis, 700 series and R for RHD. The set back axle F in Australia was an FRM700R. This is what ive understood to a have developed with the F series in Australia. regards jeffro.

Thats pretty well spot on mate, although we have a '71 F785 and it has full power steering with the steering box mounted behind the front wheel. I havent seen another like it, but it is a genuine setup. I dont think the F models with a setback front axle were an FM, but Ive certainly been wrong before. It was a bit of a trend at the time for different weight laws I believe, Leader did the same thing. There werent too many out here.

The air ride cab I dont think ever came out here, Our FR786 coolpower has a set of shockies inside 2 coil springs with a sway bar. Someone has also put an extra set of shocks right at the back of the cab so it gives a pretty good ride. Ive seen a couple of European F model cabs and they have an extra deep toolbox on the drivers side(RHS). It is nearly as big as the one on the LHS.

And another interesting part of the plastic cabs, the air intake for the engine used to go through the roof of the cab via a scoop at the front and down to an aircleaner barrel on the RHS under the back of the cab. It wasnt a very successful idea as it was fairly noisy and it restricted air flow, particularly on the V8s. Most of them were changed to an air ram up with the smoke stack. The early cabs had fibreglass doors and panels but the later ones went back to a steel door. They were interchangeable.

Good to know though, an F model with a coolpower is still a bastard to get the radiator out of!! Some things never change. Skip

Hi All,

Been a while since I've posted so I hope this works. Any one know what model Mack this is? There is one like this here in Northern CA that I have seen pictures of but haven't been able to see in person. I believe it's an FH or FJ. The one I am trying to get has a triple frame and the same body as this. I've seen lots of C cab Macks but not with the raised steel section below the windshield. It doesn't show real well here but there is a 2-3 inch section of the cowl that is above the hood line if the hood were sitting flat. Any thoughts?

Brad

Hi mackaholic, if you could see the chassis would be better. thats definitely an AC cab no doubt. Its also got a military style radiator guard and a B or F type radiator. To me those wheels look like some that were on some AC's. Jeff.

Hi All,

Been a while since I've posted so I hope this works. Any one know what model Mack this is? There is one like this here in Northern CA that I have seen pictures of but haven't been able to see in person. I believe it's an FH or FJ. The one I am trying to get has a triple frame and the same body as this. I've seen lots of C cab Macks but not with the raised steel section below the windshield. It doesn't show real well here but there is a 2-3 inch section of the cowl that is above the hood line if the hood were sitting flat. Any thoughts?

Brad

Hi mackaholic, if you could see the chassis would be better. thats definitely an AC cab no doubt. Its also got a military style radiator guard and a B or F type radiator. To me those wheels look like some that were on some AC's. Jeff.

Hi regarding early Mack V8 into an R600, it will fit, re. R615. But if you go for turbo V8 your cab to radiator length is too short. I remember an R600 Flintstone with an ENDT866 and it had a raised cab & radiator assy to accomodate the turbo. I think it may have been a factory job from Mack in Brisbane.

Hi i have a R609 RST with a TRQ7220 QUADBOX can anyone tell me what the turque rating is for this transmissiom and what HP motor can it take Thanks for all the help Regards Michael

Also Rob have you had a cance to get anything on your 711 turbo, no hurry as i still have a lot to still do to it as only down to the chassis and hope to paint soon. When you get a chance can you message me with it thanks R609

Im sure the torque rating of a TRQ7220 is 720lbs/ft. People have put them behind ENDT675's with a torque rate of 900+