Lmackattack

Was talking to a guy on a model railroad message fourm. The topic was scale model trucks for layouts. Turns out he is from Canada and did some Hauling onthe ice roads. Here is a few shots of the "fun" he had.

Call a mack Dealer or a Pai dealer they are fairly cheep.. I think a full set cost me less than $300 2 years ago???

open the roof vent..... seriously tho. I have the same issues. I think the issue is that im a 200lb sweathing gorilla sitting in a bird cage. cab is just too small to get the heat out???

the 6 speed is Direct transmission in top gear. with 4.90s you will have a hard time doing 55MPH. you might consider an Overdrive trans or 3.87-4.17s for a play truck. Trent

HK wrote As a side note, if your clutch cable snapped and you couldn't disengage your clutch, would you call a wrecker or would you drive the truck back to the shop? HA HA Herb this is exactly how I learned to drive with no clutch at all. 3rd week on the job and the clutch cable got stuck when I pushed it in. I got the cable unstuck by hand so I could get back on the road to get the load off. had to use low 1st to get moving from a stop and reverse 1st at the pit. workes like a charm in a jam and not real hard on the trans if you can get some movement of the wheels before you hit the gate for the gear. made my boss happy that day!!

you only get 6 forward speeds total. mack says to shift like this "low" 1st- shift to direct 1-2-3-4-5 = 6 gears total some like me do this "low" 1-2-3- shift to Direct 3-4-5 = 6 gears total over view 1st low is the lowest ger you have 2nd low is basicly the same as 1st direct 3rd low is basicly the same as 2nd direct 4th low is basicly the same as 3rd direct 5th low is basicly the same as 4th direct 5th direct is your highest gear this is why you cant really split the gears, evertime you use the aux box it is nothing more than a dowshift or up shift you dont get the 1/2 RPM splits like the old B models transmissions did. s HK said there were a few overlaping ratis but they were so close that they did nothing more than keep your hands busy or let you show off a little. HK should we let him know about geting the truck into gear without the clutch? or how about forward to reverse without the clutch LOL!!! hope you can follow that some?

is your truck plated as an antieque? if it is its easy and the DOT does not come into play at all. Plate and insurace and thats all you need. If not you may have to plate it for milage or truck flat weight. In Il guys with newer trucks that cant be plated as a antieque will put the lowest weight/milage plate that they can buy. ends up costing them around $500. then the issue is insurace. becasue it is plated as a truck you need to have the proper coverage. unless you can find a company that will talk to you and understand your situation. Its a PITA if the truck is not older than 25 years old.

Ya and bring a small paint scrapper and wire brush so you can see the stamped numbers on it!!

Hk has it down for ya. If I can add that this trans is not ment for speed shifting. The engine pulls from 1200RPM all the way to 2100 thus you only need 5 gears to get the job done. its real easy to drive if you know the pricables of shifting a truck trans. In 1st gear you simply bring the RPMs up to 2000-2100 pull the lever out and wait untill the engine falls to around 1200-1300RPM and then hit 2nd do this for the next 4 gears. same as downshifting. As the truck speed slows and engine RPM falls to 1300. pull stick out of gear, raise engine RPM to 2000 and hit the next lower gear. Simple!

2 valve engiens are very strong and good runners parts getting a little hit an miss lately. 4 valve engine just as good as the 2V and parts can be found easy Standard mack engines ran up to 2100RPM there were also "low rpm" engines that were set up to tach out at 1800 (governed RPM speed) some old macks (and many other older diesels)had a power curve that would allow the engine to spin faster yet use less fuel. if you were to be running at 1650 and it felt like it was a dog just split it into direct and it will be back up aroun 1800 and may pull better. I have found with maxidynes that they like higher RPM with a heavy load but will do just fine at 1650 on the flats 12 speed is a great transmission. you have every gear you will ever need. the od trans will give you that get home gear and still have a low low ratio to get started 4.17 rears are very good for the offroad. if you can snap one you likely did something wrong or they were just way over worn. thats my .02

I like it. looks like the cross between a RD800, CH with a R Cab.

my boss ownes one just because he can. He is around 80 years old and not a good driver. I fear for him and the others around him when he is in his not so "smart car"

Pete sound like you have some fast rear ends. Most Macks with a 6 spped had 4.17 for on/offroad and 3.87 for highway. sounds like you have something around 3.87s? the only down side with the 6 speed was shifting the higher gears in the hills. Great all around trans untill you want to keep your road speed up pulling a good hill. 1000 rpm is fine as long as the truck can still accel. most other engine MFG cant touch 1200 rpm and pull a grade. this is why old macks were always good in the low speed offroad market. Many times if im in the thick mud I will put the aux box in low. then shift the main 1-2-3 untill I have the road speed up. at that point I then shift the aux back into direct(leave the main alone)accel through direct 3rd. then make the last 2 shifts in direct 4-5 gives you a total of 6 forward speeds.

nice job larry... how do they like being beat by a station wagon that gets draged around by a 50 year old Mack! LOL

Lousing oil press when its warm is normal. 60-90 psi cold is good / 30psi idle is good. if you cant get the oil press up over 40 after its warm it may be worn out. On the other hand I have seen some trucks run around 25psi at hot idle and then as soon as you give it 100RPM it shoots up to 70psi. What is your hot idle and cold start psi? I think my truck needs bearings soon because it is only 60 psi cold and 40 going down the road. I can hit 45PSI if im @2100 but I still think its too low of oil press.

Hello. I Dont have any real info on those models as they were considered rare. If your looking for pics did you check http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/ they have a message board as well with links to truck modle builders

Yep I bought the same covers Brad. I think they were for an older pete with the standard StewartWarner sized gauges. Only my boost gauge needed a dab of silicone. donaldson had chrome air cleaners. I think they still make them. also turnsignal covers. LED replacement lights. round air horn covers, upgraded bullit Lights. Visors are all easy to find bolt on "flash"

I agree. I was hoping he would run one of these days but it looks like hes to smart!

not my goverment!

well when iI started back in 2000 I was in a 81 R model with a 285 and a 6 speed. air ride seat was the only comfort. camel back rears on rubber block cab. No AC but it did have PS. I thought I was a king driving the Ex Palumbo construction truck. then I moved up to a 87 R model that had an air ride cab.. OMG Im doing great. After i changed jobs over to racing I got spoiled. 97 IH with air ride, air ride cab, 550 HP 18 speed.. It was so niceto drive but it still dont feel like trucking to me. I like the AC but i like to feel the road a little. and feel what the truck is doing. when I bought My RS it had no PS and boy was that hell trying to get into places down town with the dump trailer. I was wore out at the end of a day. it now has PS and life is good might get a AC set up one day just so I can keep the windows down but not sweat my but off sitting at stop lights in a gloss black truck!

Yep.. Paccar got the foot in and they kept the new truck price fair. the only complaints I have really heard were from electrical troubles mainly on parts that KW did not build such as the engine. The trans or rears also seam to be holding up better than they could before? Im still a mack man but have to give credit where its due. Just look at the styling of a KW or Pete and its hard to say the new macks look as good. Lets face it. you dont nerd a sloped hood to improve MPG when the truck spends most of its life under 30MPH. Volvo just wont let the Mack team build a better truck?

news flash. bring the price down to what a heavy haul pete KW cost rename it to superliner or offer that name in a option level Put a sleeper on it fix that F&^%ing hood. it looks like a water slide. Oh wait Volvo is steering all of this..never mind. I have yet to see one around chicago. and we were always known to have large mack fleets..not so much anymore

I bet that cake tasted so good!!! At least the truth is out and people will now see how it really is working under Volvo. Good on you guys for standing up to what Volvo is doing to the mack work force and the name. I feel bad for anyone that has a passion for there job yet is expected to put blinders on and walk the plank. it seams that mack people are forced to walk blind hoping no one notices them. Its just sad watching one of the few great US companys fall into disparity. Good luck to all of you die hard mack people. you will not be forgotten!

Thats how it is around here Herb.. Once the R models were noted to be on the the way out lots of fleets went cheep and looked to FL or looked at petes. The E teck engines did not help the cause either!!! I hate to say it but I think Pete took full advantage of the situation and used all there powers to get there foot in the eastern off road door when they had the opertunity.. Petes have come along way in the last 10 years with the options they have for off road use. I dont remember them being this strong in the eastern off road market when I started driving trucks just a short 10 years ago. Its difficult now because I see lots of drivers that dont want to drive an Rmodel. Than again there are not many drivers out there anymore. !

some of the early UPS CH macks just had a handel where the dog was to be. Roadway did simmilar on the R models. It was back when Mack would do what the coustomers wanted weather it made sence to most or just to the company that had the check book out and ready to write a check for millions. I think the mack name will always live on but its product developments will be doomed. not becasue of the shared engines, or offering off bree parts,HQ moving etc.. thats all sad but I feel that it has more to do with the fact that Vulva will not listen to the mack employees and owners that have been building and driving them them for the last 20-30 years. Vulva keeps pushing there junk onto the mack frame regardless of what we say we want . They listen to no one and build trucks that suits the needs of simple fleets and upper vulva managment. Rarely do I see anymore a mack or Volva that is very HD or has some one off options. I also dont see many classic looking macks onthe road that are owned by Owner operators. If Pete and KW can meet the needs of millions of O/O Mack can too. In my opinion Paccar has given the over the road truckers what they want for years. Options on HP/Engines/body styles etc... I see mack (lously)holding its own in on/off road markets but highway is lacking options. But why wast everyones time it looks as Vulva will just keep F%$King it up for us. I just feel sorry to all the true Employees that know what mack once stood for. they have to go to work and watch the dog die more every day.