jeffbyrne

Hello,

My old R767 back in 1976

Barry

Hi Barry, you managed to get a copy, thats great. It certainly was a nice truck, be great to see it looking like that again. G&L Stevens ran a tanker operation out of Darwin. Their 1st Mack was an R615RS Flinstone. There was a Cummins powered R700 with a fibreglass cab, it may have been Noel Buntines, he had quite a few. Brambles Manford had some aswell. Wettenhalls in Melbourne bought 4 R700's, 1 had a 320 coolpower, the other 3 had 350 Cummins', the only difference in appearance was the 320 had twin cleaners. I think they all had Mack 12 spd Maxitorque's and 34,000lb rears. I'm workin my way round this computer thing, I'm at the stage were I want to post some pics, just got to get it together. regards jeffro

Hi Jeffro - I also had a 1969/70 R model with a Maxidyne and the 6 speed Overdrive. They took the place of the double Overdrive Quad Boxes when the Maxidynes were fitted as we were told that the Quads would not stand up to the higher torque. They still used the Quads with the 250 HP C Motor. By using that box with the .6 overdrive, you could use the old slow diff ratios. The one I have , has 7.49 diffs in it and that used to do about 58 MPH. The original diffs were about 8.25 and Western Transport changed them when the truck started doing the Toowoomba to Perth run in about 1971. Best regards - Michael.

Thanx Michael, for a moment I thought I had a 12 spd, but the no airshift had me confused. I hve since found a pic from Nov 68, a 237 with the same looking box, it says TRDXL107 with 'creeper' gear. My 1960 B 61 T is an ex 'WESTERN' unit also, it is in a very sad state, but complete. Regards Jeffro .

Howdy All,

Thankyou for the comments.

The truck was built with a direct in 5th maxitorque followed by a spicer 1241-C aux.

I have found a spicer aux box and are looking for an O/D main box to give me a little more speed when running empty.

Barry

Barry, a Maxitorque 5 spd is pretty easy to ID, its a triple countershaft box so when you look at it from the rear it is triangular, flat across the top. Looking at it on the LHS like a passenger in OZ it has 3 sections, i.e. a clutch housing, and a 2 section main case, on the side of the front main case there is a flat area where the model # is stamped, just above that is the Mack logo. The rear case has 'Mack MAXITORQUE TRANSMISSION' cast into it. The model is TRL107 or TRL1076 or TRL1078. It should only have 1 gear lever and nothing else. The model # might only have L107 or L1078 I'm not sure of the changes made to the 5 spd, but you might like to find out if it is about mid 70's or later to suit your era. I think you might look for a TRL1078. If it has an extra case between the clutch housing and the main case, or if it has 2 levers or airshift cylinders it is not a 5 spd. Hope this helps you a bit, Jeff

Its a TRDXL1070.

That was the early 6 speed which instead of having a lo hole , it had overdrive when the compound is in hi.

Reverse was on the main stick in those.

Once you got into 5th direct, then you'd shift the compound into overdrive, kinda just the opposite of the later TRXL107 & TRXL1071 6 speeds.

Thanks HK, I was told it was a 6 spd but got confused by the extra case and no airshift to the rear. Also no shift pattern lable and no engine. Thanx Jeffro

I have a 1968/1970 Mack R685RS, it has a Maxitorque, it has 4 cases, i.e. clutch housing, front compound & 2 main cases. It has 2 gear levers in the front compound case. There is no shift instructions in cab and has no engine so have never been able to drive it. I beleive the engine was a 237 maxidyne. There is no airshift on the box just 2 levers. The model on the side of main case is X1070. I have a D107 10 speed and an X107 6 speed. I'm presently going thru my Mack manuals to see if I can fathom it out . Thanks for any assistance you might be able to provide . Jeffro

Hello,

I will be going past these trucks today so I will get some more pictures and post them in a few days when im back.

The trucks were built by Mack in the US and shipped in a knocked down form then assembled here. They were used for pulling 100 ton belly dumper trailers.

The one that was changed to allison trans as a trial wasnt very successful with retarder / heat problems.

Diffs and rear suspension look the same as your regular 44's on camelback but on steroids, twice the size.

Engines are Mack V8's. Ive been told they are an early version of the E9. 475hp

Its an early R cab. 24"wheels.

They are not for sale and have / are being wrecked for the diffs and rear suspension for some other 6x4 dumpers he has.

Barry

Barry

Hi Barry, yeh it would be great to see one of these monsters preserved or at least saved. They were designed and built in Brisbane by Macks engineering team, headed by Max Evans, the rear end was an SWD69, 80,000lbs bogie. It would be good to see more pictures of them as they are now though. Jeffro

Heres some pics of some random decals that survive on my 65 B-81SX.

Mack break in instructions on driver door

Door caulking putty (first time window stop was removed)

Full flow filter instructions

Mack logo on full flow

Top view

Inlet stamped on fuel filter

Just thought id post these since most of this stuff is long gone.

Hi ,I'm into that stuff, its great to find this sort of info on an old truck. Regards Jeffro

Howdy Jeffro,

You are the second person that has said about the Mack 5 speed main and the spicer aux in this truck. After another look last night it has definatly had an aux box at some stage as the center bearing crossmember thats in there now has been made up.

It used to run Darwin - Alice pulling fuel tankers from about 76 to 84 then spent the rest of its life in the Kimberleys pulling a float.

It was in one of the early truck and bus or early truckin life when it won best at show at the Brisbane truck show in 1976.

Thanks for the reply.

Barry

Barry, I looked for your R767RS, it was in truckin Life V1 N4 as rig of the Month. Yes it had an NTC 350, 5spd Maxitorque main and it says a Spicer 12-416 Aux. I think it should be 1241 C. It has the 2 Mack step tanks as well. It says the sleeper is 36", it is a Mack box, I think built by Denning. jeffro .

Hello,

Below is a pic of my new toy. 1974 R767RS .

Would anybody know what trans these had. It has a pair of cast Mack brackets aft of the main trans which to me look like aux trans mounts. Floor has a second stick hole thats been covered up. It currently has a Fuller RTO 12513 behind the Cummins.

Any comments appreciated.

Barry

Hi Barry, that Mack looks slightly familiar, the colour and the extra fuel tank, I think it may have had a sleeper, about 40". It probably had a Mack 5spd main with a 4spd Spicer. Regards Jeffro.

I just saw this on TP and was amazed to see a Silver 8v92 Superliner. Somehow I am not too sure if its a factory original because a 12 speed behind a Detroit doesn't makes sense as it would most likely be a fuller 13. Is the 88 engine code correct for a Silver 92? Either way its in good shape and not too expensive.

Hi Thad, the 88 code is for an E6 350 , a Detroit would be a 7X I think, 73 is 8V71 I dont have an engine code at hand right now. There was only a handful here in Australia, I've been told of 2, the same goes for the Cruiseliner, mostly Mack or Cat. There were more Superliners with Cummins than GM. Regards Jeffro

the E9 was used in the Superliner,MH,CL, i think the RM and RD800s possibly the cruise liners as I cant recall?

the older ENDT865/866 were used in everything from R700s,RS700s Cruiseliners,F models,C models B models I think some early R600 even had them?

The E9 was a better design than the older endt 8xx models and was a stought engine if cared for. For real high HP some mods are needed to keep the main caps in place. also valve spring work is a good idea for High RPMs. I think the Detroit would be a lighter engine and because of the 2 stroke design it might be a better drag strip engine for as it seams many can wind those engine out pretty high and take advantage of larger RPM range. Compairing a V8 detroit vs the E9 for pulling ...Hands down the E9 has the torque needed to pull weight....

Hi mackattack, the V8 in the C & B was the 1st V8 , the END 864, and also in the R 600. I'm pretty sure the ENDT 865/866 was'nt available in the R 600, only the 700's & 800's regards jeffro

T is single-axle tractor

X is heavy duty specs

The numbers after 61 mean something as well. From memory, 3 in 613 is optional engine (?) and 5 in 615 is for V8.

Hi Andy, B 613 is an END 673 T , not to be confused with an ENDT 673 C known as a 'C' engine. regards Jeffro

I really like the lines on this truck and wouldn't mind adding one to my collection.

hi, dont know what year but that grill was used on fire apparatus, and it has dual ignition, so its a fire truck, and the plate says MOD.....75X, so its a mod 75, that is 750gpm, thats what i reckon , regards jeffro.

G'day all ,and happy new year,

I'M gathering bits and pieces for an 1976 model r686 with a 320 coolpower we are restoring here in AUS. IT is missing the shutters in front of the radiator and the trim around the opening in the bonnet. AT the moment it is wearing a bit of shade cloth to do the job.

IS the verticle type shutter common to all the 70's R MODELS and fit staight on ? And what type of trim on the bonnet

for this model?

Thanks,

Milo

G'day Milo, yeh all fibreglass bonnets have vertical shutters, there should be 18 vanes, 'Kysor' is the brand name, you pickm up at Gleemans, if they come of an R model with surrounds they will bolt straight to your rad, if they dont come of an R or another brand of truck they might look right but the vanes and frame could be a different size, vane length should be 650mm. For the trim you might have to find a damaged bonnet . Hope this helps , regards Jeffro.

Hi all,

My buddy and I have been eyeing up a couple dumps in the area for possible resto. The question I have is, these models are all DM's, (late 60's models) some of them have the tilt hood, and some have the "butterfly hoods, both with offset cabs. Was this a customer specification, or did Mack stop making the butterflies, or were they made together at the same time? We are looking to getting the butterfly hood, due to its more rugged, utilitarian look. I thought the tilt hoods were U models, but looking at the VIN plates, I was wrong. Some insight on this dilemma please!

Happy new year,

Russ

Hi Russ, the U model is basically an R model with an offset cab. The DM is a different chassis altogether. Hope this clarifies a few things for you. Regards Jeffro

Hi Grant, i havent been able to get on here for a while to reply to you. The reason your FR has a hole in the LH chassis rail for steering is because it is an R model chassis, if it was an F model chassis there would not be a hole for steering and your front front spring mounts would be totally different from L to R, what you have is a standard Aussie built post 71 'F' model which is actually an 'FR700R', i.e. R model chassis. Regards jeffro.

Did that truck happen to have the eight spoke 80K rears? Looks like it has 14.00R24 rubber.

Trent,

The RM was the all wheel drive set back axle R that was usually setup for snow plowing. The M supposedly stands for municipal. There a a bunch on truck paper including a 6x6 RM tractor. I also believe the steel hoods were standard.

Hi Thad, a 4x4 or a 6x6 Mack is denoted in the model # after the engines type #, i.e. RM686 6 or 4 SX , so an RM686SX is only bogie drive, whereas an RM6866SX would be a 6x6. Regards Jeffro.

Gday mate how are ya? With the Aussie Macks, Ive got an old bulldog bulletin and I think the date is 67', and they reckon the first fibreglass bonnet R went to a bloke called Frank Nylon, and it had an 864 V8 and it wouldve been sold in about 68' so Id say youre spot on. Steel fronts were an option though, depending on the conditions the truck was to be exposed to. I have a copy of the build sheets for one of my Flinstones and it lists the steel hood and fenders as an option. Hope that was remotely interesting. Cheers, Skip

Gday skip, ive probably bum steered a few people, but what i can workout from the info that i have is that R's were released in both forms, the very 1st dozen or so were steel front. Nilons R was actually one of the earliest R's delivered, around Jul/Aug 66. When the 'R' was actually unveiled it did'nt mention the steel front. A couple of months later it was mentioned in T&BT that the steel front was an option. It was an option right up till I think early 70's and then probably only available on the 800's.The Bulldog Bulletin you mention also has a story on Bakers logging operation out at Ramornie, that R was in the 1st 1/2 dozen or so deliveries. Regards Jeffro.

The 6

Howdy Superdog,

Thanks for posting these! It comes in handy to know the difference in the R-Model line-up - the only ones we got in Australia (that I know of) were:

R685 ENDT675 (237 Maxidyne)

R686 ENDT676 (300 Maxidyne)

R688 E6-350

I think the E6 was the Econodyne diesel - correct me if I'm wrong!

Joe

Hi joe, that list of model # that superdog posted is correct . The 1st R's in Australia . were R609 's & R403 's, that was late 1966. Then the R611 's & R607 's which Mack called the "power pup" .The 1st 685 's appeared in late 68. The 1st R 's were Flinstones, maybe 6 to 12 mths b4 the fibreglass bonnett appeared

hope this helps you Joe, regards jeffro

7 R607 's

G'day everyone at BMT, this my observation of the product improvements time frame for trucks in Australia. When the big cab came it also brought with it the 1/2 dog mirrors, the w/screen washer bottle in the door and the trunnion style front cab mounts. This cab along with the new 'Maxidyne 300' had its debut at the various truck shows around the country during 1974. This cab wasn't standard on Australian Macks until mid 1975. The round fuel tanks started to appear late in 1979. These approximate dates are from the 'Bulldog Bulletin' and also from my own observations during these years. Hope this info can be of assistance to anybody particularly in Aus. Regards Jeffro.

G'DAY, I'M A NEW AUSTRALIAN MEMBER TO BMT AND ON THE LOOKOUT FOR A SET OF MIRRORS AND ARMS FOR A RECENTLY PURCHSED 1976 R686 (WHICH NEEDS A BIT OF T L C) . DOES ANYONE KNOW WHICH TYPE OF MIRRORS WERE FITTED TO THIS MODLE,THE BUBBLE BACK TYPE OR THE STRAIGHT ONES WITH THE BULLDOG?ANY INFO WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED ,AS MY KNOWLEDGE ON MACKS IS LIMITED AND HOPE TO LEARN AS I GO.

MILO

G'day milo, both were fitted, i think the 1/2 dog mirrors were an option, they were heated. New Macks had 1/2 dog mirrors as early as 1975, black or chrome bubble backas late as 1977. A lot of specially built trucks like drill rigs etc often still used black b/back. Thats what ive observed over the years. You can still buy new s/steel or chrome bubble backs from Mack for about $120 thats mirror head only. If you go to Gleemans you can sometimes p/u 1/2 dogs comlete with s/steel arms for $100-150 depending on condition. hope this info is of help to you, regards jeffro

Hi Rob and all who have posted here,

Just a quick one to say I haven't dropped off the perch - I've been too busy to come in and check out things here!

I have to say that I have the old Mack bug and am in the process of purchasing a R685RST "Flintstone" (this is what Mack Trucks Australia called the butterfly hood!) - I have decided to restore her to look like a replica of a later Brambles Heavy Haulage R-600/R-700. She has a 6-71 Detroit Diesel 2 stroke, a 13 speed RoadRanger and a single drive axle at the moment - am looking at going to the original 237hp Maxidyne, bogie (tandem) drive and twin stick transmission (quite possibly a Quadruplex and maybe not!!!). The cab, bonnet and guards are all steel so that helps a fair bit with stuff I need to do!!!

Also, one question:

Is there anything I need to look at, eg. rust in the doors, etc, should I want to buy this truck??

TIA,

Joe

PS: I have included a picture of the old girl in her current state! Feel free to let me know where problems do lie with the job!

Hi Joe, that flinstone do you know if it was originally a single drive 237? Do you know the chassis # ? It looks like a very early one, 1967 or early 68, if you can give me the chassis # i could probably give you an approx build date,eng & D/line details. regards jeffro

I have always liked the off set Dm cabs and the U- cabs. From what I know the DM were for Dumper/mixer but I have seen literature with DM600 tractors but never one in real life, only the DM800 . I have also seen U600 tractors and was wondering what is the difference between the DM600 tractor and the U600 tractor? Is the DM heavier ? , because the few U600 I have seen seems to have smaller wheels compared to the DM.

the frame of a U is completely different to a DM 600, U uses the same frame as an R600, the DM 800 & R800 use their own frame with a straight thru profile, the DM 600 has its own frame similar to a B model, but with a deeper section from front to behind the cab. Hope this might be of interest to you, regards jeffro

Hey Guys,

I have been looking for a Mack to buy and later put a dump bed on but. What the heck do all the numbers and letters mean? DM, R600, RS686LS, RS, R686ST, and it seems like ther are a lot more mumbers out there too! Maybe there is a book out there that explains it! Any help would be greatly appreciated by this rookie!

Regards, Joel

hi wacko, in Australia we've always had a limited range of Macks available, but i'm sure the # are all the same. The 1st letter is the model followed by mayb another to denote a variation of that model. Then the 1st# is the capacity of the truck, i.e. 600 is usually lighter duty in some way than a 700 or an 800. The 2nd 2 # are the engine. In the 70's a 711 would be an R609 or 709or F609,709 etc, a 673Cwould be an R611, a 237 an R685 a truck with an END864T would always be at least a 700, F719 or R719. If there is a 4th # it is often a 4 or a 6, this is 4x4 or 6x6. The next letters are, in Aust an R is for RHD, you probably wouldnt see this much in the US. Next is an S ,T,ST,X,SX. T is a single drive, ST is Tractor, usually a light weight rear like a 34,000lb, S is like 44,000lb an SX or an RSX is usually 55 or 65,000lb rears. In Australia we have A8-FR712RST, A8 is Australian twin steer tandem drive. I think you'll find exceptions to every rule. Hope this explains a bit more. Jeffro.

I'll be working on a group buy for the Mack 70's 5 color logo mud flaps today, but I would like to get some feed back from you guys. Please fill out the poll above so I have an idea of what everyone wants! Feel free to post comments here also...

This is the logo I'm talking about...The flaps would be left & right and sold as a pair.

hi barry, id b interested in 3 or 4 pair shipped to Australia, that is my favourite Mack logo, it would b great if you could still get the sticker. Regards Jeffro