harrybarbon

8 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

Dropped to $2.49 three weeks ago.

Then rose back to the long time $2.99

Now for a week averaging $2.79

I buy 89 because the quality of 87 has fallen too far. And with 89, I get much better fuel economy, almost that of 91.

Our Aussie supply is 91, 95 & 98 Octane. I always used to buy 91. Then I was encouraged to buy the E10 which had some bio fuel. Within 6 months our Toyota V6 Prado would not start, it was choking. I called the Toyota service manager, he asked are you filling up with E10, yes. He told me go buy 98 and put as much as possible into tank and some injector cleaner and then try start motor. He said if you get it to run it was cough and sputter but let it run so new fuel and cleaner can get into the injectors. He advised me, never use the E10 because it clogs up the injectors and in time will damage the fuel system - big $'s to repair.

It worked. 98 has been the fuel ever since and never any issues.

Then my local BBQ LPG supplier told me he always filled his cars with 98. His work Ford Falcon ute from new had 750,000 klms, ran like new, oil regular changes oil was near clean, no smoke out the exhaust. Plus more power, no valve pinging under load and better economy than 91 & 95. My daughters filled their little 1100 Toyota with 91, under load it pinged like a sick piano. I put 98 in and some additive, it hummed like a canary and it pulled real hard up hill, and more distance. 

Many years ago over hear we had Standard and Super, I dont know what the Octane was in each grade. I do recall that with Standard our 6 cyl Holden (US Chev blue/grey motors) would ping under load especially uphill.

Same with dad's Inter R190's, with Super the pull and performance under load was far better than Standard. And with a high load fronting a head wind they would top gear easily. Not so with Standard fuel.

18 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

Well of course lawmakers on both sides of the aisle condemned President Trump’s call to nationalize U.S. elections. It would result in the demise of the party system (much to my personal satisfaction). Political parties, which in effect silence the actual desires of the people, should be banned. The founding fathers never intended for our government to be, in effect, controlled by parties.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-call-nationalizing-elections-sparks-110000977.html

In Australia we have preferential and compulsory voting, both at our National and State elections. The preferential system is the worst possible election voting system. like the US it is realistic to say the founding fathers never intended for our govts to be controlled by parties, especially as they have cemented their control. The way the Australian Labour Party has structured the electorate, its immigration intake and the fake Teals and Greens, being like subsidiary companies, ensures that Labour has a front row seat to win many elections to come, National and State. Sadly our people have been conned and the effects are coming. 

22 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/02/03/russia-says-india-has-not-said-it-is-canceling-oil-purchases-after-trump-trade-deal/

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/India-Weighs-Cheap-Russian-Oil-Against-Costly-US-Trade-Commitments.html

Maybe economics and market forces will level out the oil price, quite feasible for the Venezuelan oil sell prices to ease down to the discounted Russian offers. In turn this will reduce Russian oil revenues and that may add to the Russian economy woos. There are many more opportunities for India to keep close to USA as India grows its economy and progressively replaces a multitude of China made products. Russia is a minor market, smaller than the California economy. The Indian NSA, Ajit Doval was the key operative in the TRUST agreement, I doubt he will allow that to be damaged or compromised.

There is another huge oil reserve next to Venezula, that is Guyana. No one mentions this sleeper! It too can supply India.

There is another key development relating to the above. The Panama High Court has decided that the 2 ports ownership/leaseholds held by the Hutchinson Group from Hong Kong (effectively controlled by the CCP since the HK hand back by the UK) at either end of the Panama Canal are unconstitutional. The Panama govt has handed the lease/rights for the 2 Panama ports to Maersk of Denmark. Maersk is no 2 in world container shipping. Maersk separated its oil and gas operations, but still Danish controlled. Maersk oil is exploring for oil in Suriname, which just happens to be next to Guyana.

I have not seen any objection from the US administration about the Panama ports being granted to Maersk. Or did the US administration encourage this granting to Maersk? Surely this makes for smooth uninterrupted sailing of oil ships from Venezula (and Guyana and Suriname) through the Panama Canal and onto Indian refineries.

Greenland and Denmark!!!!!!!! And Maersk, Panama and oil to India!!!!! Just thinking.

Maersk have major operations in India and also shipping services for oil. 

The Mack B model door lock and the International R model door locks, later 1963 type and thereafter with the push button external door handles, are identical. I had a 1965 R-200 and B model - 615 whilst both next to each other, I noticed that the 2 locks were the same. I did a bit research and it confirmed that the Inter and Mack B model locks came from the same door lock supplier. Have a close look at the attached pictures and you will see the locks are the same. The red R 190 with the blue lines was a fully imported truck into Australia from USA so you can see the same locks. So try find an International dealer they may likely have NOStock. And those original Inter comfo-vision cabs were fitted to the smaller pick up Inter's such as 110, 120 & 130 etc.     

On 11/12/2025 at 12:12 PM, 1961H67 said:

I’m sure a V12 would fit! You were also commenting on the color, I think FarNorth helped on the color origination , and hopefully I’ve given some insight on John C Miller and Alaska .and  why out of all the equipment he had he picked the LTH to make a show truck for his horses. When I first bought it I thought it would look great Black ! Because the paint was old, faded and chipped, it didn’t really look Yellow, kinda brown. If you notice it had the wrong Mack emblem on the hood and no stainless trim, because when they customized it they made new hood sides, when I removed the Mack emblem it was bright yellow, so I sanded the whole  truck with scotch bright to bring out the yellow, a friend of mine at the paint store matched it with base coat the best we could, because the fenders and lower door panels were terrible. I sanded and sprayed them then taped the complete truck and sprayed it with a semi gloss clear to seal it and preserve the original paint, I couldn’t bring myself to strip it and kill all that history. The doors originally said 10Tucky Stables, Lewisburg TN . I found a fellow who still does hand painting like it was originally,, we added a little extra! I think Tennessee Miller would approve of my addition . 

Are the hood sides aluminium like the original hood sides?

On 11/10/2025 at 10:44 AM, 1961H67 said:

According to Joe Jaines, Mr Millers nephew they had a top notch maintenance facility I think in Anchorage ( maybe Fairbanks also) . Some of the engine mounts, fan shroud, firewall modifications for the air compressor looks amazing being it was done in the middle 60s , and Joe also worked for the company on the North Slope ( that’s where he said he got frostbite) . He said they kept new Detroit engines waiting for retrofitting in the shop. And also liked Terex equipment because of the 2 stroke. Thanks for the information. Here’s a few pictures of the Detroit retrofit. 

H67, the cross member under the front pulley looks like a adapted railway line, or does it happen to look a railway line? 

Thank you for great video. The blue Mack LTL with the E9-500-V8 is the ultimate 👋👌

And the location is picture perfect.

On 10/21/2025 at 6:27 AM, mrsmackpaul said:

Forget the meat, who in there right mind leaves a bottle of grog for 12 years  FFS 

With everything going on in my little world I certainly am not gunna risk drink old grog, lifes to short for that silliness  ha ha ha 

 

When I was farming in North Queensland I was told "There's only two States to be in Paul, Queensland and drunk" LOL

They are serious drinkers up there

Bourbon all the way for me, mind you I have had recent discovery of Vodka, bloody mad Russians 

Vodka will make a mess of me without me even knowing 

Yes  Brocky, Hogs Breath Cafe is what they call them

A good steak cooked all the way through is my go to, the Princess has had this thing of not cooking meat properly of late, well I had suggested I don't like eating meat that's still mooing at me 

A couple of weeks ago I fairly spat the dumy as I carried my meat back to fully cook it

It was a very quiet evening meal after that 

However the meat has been cooked better since, I don't understand why after 30 years of marriage she woul................., anyway I  have already said to much 

Nothing like a couple of good bourbons and a nice fat cigar to end the week 

 

Paul

Last Saturday I was meeting with a few guys at the workshop of one of them. I took a bottle of Grappa made by the original distiller located at the bridge over the river in Bassano Nth Italy. We gently reduced 3/4 from the bottle, some added to black espresso coffee and then neat. One guy was from UK on a 1 week tour of a renter 1250 BMW bike, after he was happy and very warm inside, he headed off the Phillip Island for the moto GP.

16 hours ago, 70mackMB said:

Does anyone remember the Godfather part 1, early scene during the daughter's wedding party?  The scene was Sony's wife was discussing with a bunch of wives the sizes of their husband's old fella. Kamala's face gesture and positions of her hands made me think of the Godfather movie scene. Maybe that is what she was really referring to ...... She can't be serious!

You can ask the Mack museum to provide the build sheets to confirm the build specs and build year. B615 V8 was 1962 plus. We had a 1964 B615 V8, we got the specs from the Mack museum. I sold it with the specs. It had a running replacement V8 - 654 motor.

Good luck 🤞🍀

About 20 friends and children were at my best mates home celebrating his 50th birthday, Sept 11. It was 11pm Sept 11 here in Australia. The children had been watching videos and by 10.45 pm we were packing up to leave for home. A parent switched over the TV to watch the late news, as it came on the TV news reader said a small plane appeared to have accidentally flown into the WTC and then sketchy images came thru. A few of the adults began to watch casually and some of the older children. The news reader updated and said it may have been an airliner veered off course. All of us were watching the TV in silence and saw the horror unfold as the live footage was being shown. We tried to get the children away from the TV to shield them from seeing and hearing the live news. They were frightened and asking questions which we could not explain. All of us were stunned, we could not believe our eyes and ears. As we drove home, it was an incredibly still night, we were all silent, radio was turned off. No sleep that night. Next morning the city streets were quiet and traffic was very much reduced.   

On 9/8/2025 at 3:01 AM, james j neiweem said:

I just recently read somewhere that it was Chicago cab. Ma bee they built some. My one brain cell can't remember where I heard this. Could have been AI or face book BS. Us old timers with trucking history and knowledge have to laugh at this AI BS. I almost do not want to correct AI as it will keep getting smarter and smarter. There is a logging website on face book that takes parts and pieces from Mack E's and B's, IH KB's, White WC's and A-Cars and conjeur up a truck. They blow it on engine models and years installed routinely. I'll stick with my historical head knowledge and that of others over AI BS for now. I guess in the end they will get it right. Yeah looking up Chicago Cab gives you a lot of info on yellow and checker cab rabbit holes!

International Harvester Co (IHC) developed the Comfo-vision cabin styling in 1948 most likely at Fort Wayne Indiana. They were in house designs and they produced scale clay models. Due to WW11 restrictions on in house designs, this meant that IHC and other vehicle manufacturers were short on design staff and so had to use outside independent design and engineering firms to add to their design teams capacity. The firm of Ornas and Labarr, Detroit, was asked to improve the Comfo-vision cab design. It also possible that the industrial design firm of Raymond Loewy had an involvement in the design improvement of the Comfo-vision cabin, because Raymond's firm was another call in for additional design work on the L model. 

In 1949 the Comfo-vision cab was first produced by IHC for the L model series at Fort Wayne. It had a split rear window and the external door handles were a push button style, virtually the same as the Mack R model cabs. The Diamond T Comfo-vision cabs bought from IHC under licence had the same push button external door handles. The Comfo-vision cab was sent to Springfield, Ohio and Emmeryville California for the IHC models built at those plants and also the IHC plant in Canada.

Diamond T commenced using the IHC Comfo-vision cabins possibly from early 1950 or even 1949.

In 1953, Ornas and Labarre with the help of some moonlighting General Motors stylists redesigned the L model to create the R model with the same Comfo-vision cab. They produced a full sized clay model for approval. In 1953 IHC hired Ted Ornas as chief of styling, Ornas and Labaree closed their Detroit offices and moved into IHC Fort Wayne to work.

In 1955, Ornas redesigned the R model series and introduced the S series model, with the same Comfo-vision cabin. Ornas made changes to the Comfo-vision cabin, being a larger one piece rear window and larger door windows (lowering the door where the window starts), I don't recall any mention of making the cabin deeper, but that may have been possible. I did own a 1965 R model so I might see from old pictures if the cab was deeper.

IHC manufactured the Comfo-vision cab for the L, R & S series and the variation models at Fort Wayne and maybe at Springfield as well. I cannot find any information if the cab was manufactured in Emeryville, but it was possible because the IHC Emmeryville series with the Comfo-vision cab was produced only at Emmeryville, if not the cabs were shipped by rail from Fort Wayne to Emmeryville, same as IHC shipped cabs to Canada and from about 1963-1965 to Melbourne, Australia for the R model assembly.

Diamond T did manufacture trucks for IHC at its Chicago plant, using the IHC cabs, motors, frames etc because IHC could not keep up production for its sales orders.

IHC and most East Coast truck manufactures (Mack, Diamond T, White, Hendricksen etc sent their day cabs plus extra parts to the Orrville Metal Speciality Company, of Orrville Ohio to build their extended sleeper cabins and special builds such as the crew cabs and 1 man narrow cabs for steel and lumber flat bed trays etc. I have posted this information about Orrville a while back.

As to the cabs being built at the Chicago Manufacturing Company, I did read from one of my Mack books that Mack and IHC had their B model cabs and the Comfo-vision cabs built at the Chicago Man Co, which I recall was because IHC and Mack could not keep up production in house. I will try find what my books have about this. It is also possible that Chicago Man Co may have manufactured the Comfo-vision cabs for the truck companies that IHC licensed the use of the Comfo-vision cabs, Leyland for Canada, Diamond T, Hendricksen, FDW, the various fire engines manufacturers, etc.

IHC fitted the Comfo-vision cab up to 1971 on its M series (oil rigs and heavy duty types) and the F-series, 210 and 230 and possibly a run out thru 1972-73 on special applications, like monster trucks for the Middle East and US oil fields.

IHC licensed the use of the Comfo-vision cabs to about 1-12 truck manufacturers, including fire engines. I have seen pictures these fire engines etc that have the Comfo-vision cabs, closed and open styles.

From my information the Comfo-vision cabin was used for at least 23-24 years.

One bit of information about the Mack B model cab and the IHC Comfo-vision cab is that the door locks are exactly the same, but not the internal and external door handles. I think that the IHC comfo-vision and Mack B model cab door locks were made by the Chicago Manufacturing Company. 

It seems then that the Mack E9 and Scania blocks are identical. Scania has continued with its V8 so, given the scarcity of the Mack E9's and parts, then it should be possible to retro fit a Scania V8 as a readily easy and economical as a substitute motor into a Superliner, subject to the electronics etc.

15 hours ago, james j neiweem said:

If you go on facebook and search Mack Scania (from Leonardo Favaro) you will see the history of the relationship between Scania and Mack. This is the best article I have ever seen on the history 672 Lanova and END 673. Also the V8 history from the Mack 864 through the E9 and the Scania D14 through the D 16. Instead of getting bits and pieces about the history , this article kind of ties it all together.

I got the info from the Facebook page, but I apologised because I could not copy the article in 1 page to then post it here. Maybe next time I may improve my computer copying skills 😊

Thanks for the clarification, contrary to the information I read Mack made and fitted the 864 at least to 1968 and more. It would be interesting to find out when Mack stopped producing the 864 and last year an R model or other Macks had the 864 fitted. We had a 1964 B615 without it's 864 because the motor was cooked by the owner, which was common here in Australia for the 864's. We imported a good 864 and sadly we sold the B615 with the imported 864.

Neat truck, appears mostly original, motor is likely 865. Mack stopped making the 864 before this 1968 R model.

Interesting reading, my apology for the pages and sizes, it is what I could do to copy the article I read today.