Wayne Elliott IV

This was a helpful discussion for me to read since I have been trying to figure out how to shift the two stick setup of unknown origin in our truck for a while. Still probably just need to practice but may have learned a few things here. What I'm probably dealing with is a transmission not mated to the right motor, or a motor that refuses to idle down quick enough to shift okay. In reply the the bit about clutchless shifting, and Mike's post on the previous page: This may be a dumb assumption that you guys probably all know, but I can pull almost anything including a 90s f150 out of gear and upshift (well, on a single main...) by putting pressure on the stick toward the next gear as I let off the accelerator and the acceleration of the truck shifts. In between the transition from accelerating or moving under power to having the engine slowing the truck down (engine braking, sort of. not jake brakes), there is a place where no pressure is in the drivetrain and it will slip right in the next gear. Frustrating and stupid to do when lugging the truck, gears will make bad noises. If a transmission won't come out of gear like this, something may be wrong. Once at work a PTO out of adjustment got a GMC "hung" in first gear. That was frustrating.

j_ That is something to think about, it's a Mack flathead gas (Continental?) motor with a number that didn't match the original when trying to get the title worked out. So that type of motor should be what the truck originally came with, hopefully same size. For now I'm hoping the transmission is original (stick pattern matches the roof diagram) with a stick doing what the air splitter was originally supposed to. If not then maybe this transmission and motor weren't supposed to be together. If the truck was sent to Mack for the "refurb" then hopefully they are compatible, if it was done by the family we may have something botched together indeed. Really wish I could go out in the yard and look at the truck, gotta wait until I get home but I'm excited to figure out what is actually under there. - Wayne

A (belated) big thanks for the carburetor suggestions and transmission information, everyone. I've been distracted and lazy in getting back and reading stuff here. I posted a couple pictures of the truck in the discussion about it's value (which has yet to be established...somewhere between scrap and priced of a restored truck as that is it's condition). We are probably going back into the carburetor come May when I finish up school and I'll be sure to post the numbers and put the truck in the registry then etc. The hole in the float suggestions is something we'll have to look at as that and maybe timing issues would be the main reasons I can think of why rpm's wouldn't drop quickly like they should (I don't know much, please float any and all ideas and corrections). I read over the transmission advertisements and I noticed something the didn't quite fit: This truck has a stick with a disabled air splitter on it that I assume corresponds to whatever transmission is down there, but the shift patterns on the cab roof (which match the shifter) look like the TRL078 *with reverse on the main stick. Again it would seem that the second mechanical stick just replaced the air splitter function, but this second stick is just a hi-low with no reverse. Dad claims that second stick connects directly to the transmission and not to any sort of added "Brownie box", I'll have to take a closer look but it's been a while since I looked under the truck. It's titled as a 49 at least, makes me wonder about Swishy's duplex suggestion for that year. In any case since the engine is a swapped in rebuild and the transmission setup isn't original, I need to get the numbers when I get home.

Thanks again for your help, I guess for now we're in limbo until I can get some numbers. If the main stick matches the transmission in the truck (why mismatch a stick?) then it is probably a mono-shift since it has the splitter under the knob which doesn't function any more. I'm assuming the other short *aftermarket stick on the far right does the hi-low that splitter did originally but I'll be glad to know for certain in a few weeks. Best guess for now. Also, Dad has mentioned problems with water in the carburetor back when the worst of the starting problems were happening and apparently he drained a good bit out of the gas tanks and the truck did better. What happened for a while was that the truck would start up okay and run well enough, but if it was turned off (or choked off) then it was a royal pain to get it running again. At one point we towed it around the neighborhood with an f150, which may have looked a little silly. I hope if this water sat very long it was just in the gas tanks but we're not sure if condensation would be enough to develop this amount of water. If the tanks were mostly empty, maybe this is possible. The truck sits for months between drives and does have drains at the bottom of the tanks, but most gas tanks do without commonly being used to drain water. The hood could also use a tarp as some of the ignition/starting trouble is probably water and dampness related. Has anyone else heard of this happening with saddle tanks? For parts it sounds like in the future we might be looking for a distributor shaft, and also one of the fuel caps managed to bounce and rattle it's way off the truck (or it got left sitting on the tank). Dad found a pvc cap that had the same threads and painted it green; surely DOT would be thrilled. A original metal cap would make a nice stocking stuffer but we'll probably stumble across something from another different truck that fits eventually.

To reiterate, don't think it has dual ignitions but I'll be able to answer for certain come May if not sooner.

How does one identify an EHT? Does it just mean EH Tractor, or thought I read something about a heavy front axle on the registry pages. Was the original air? powered mono-shift designed for splitting each gear? In that case I need to put an extension on that far hi low lever, can't imagine someone wanting to lean over that far and down to split every gear but who knows the cab is pretty narrow. Splitting gears as it is almost requires two people or sitting pretty much in the middle of the cab so I'm thinking it's made to just be driven in high range as a 5 or 6 speed, can't remember if it has a 6th gear right now. Alternatively if it's supposed to be some sort of duplex? setup then i guess the question is once the low range has been gone through does it matter which stick we shift first for the transition into the high range? From the videos I've watched it seems like the procedure is generally reversed for downshifts. Also, should there be a way to change my screen name and profile stuff on here? Not happy with the junk facebook left me and glad I deleted it in favor of forums like this.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, unfortunately finals are taking most of my time and thought until about mid-may. I was pretty off talking about 15 speeds...after more reading around I think this truck just has the original mono-shift transmission converted to a manual hi-low stick, and this is apparently designed for splitting first gear mainly? We drive it bobtail and generally have shifted through the low range and then shifted the hi-low going down on ramps to reach highway speed which is like 60 at best. So perhaps in the end we need to study downshifting much more and just don't know what we're doing. I think Dad has put at least an aftermarket distributor on the truck and probably the points, not sure about the magneto. His claim was that the aftermarket parts seemed to lead to a worse or different skipping problem, maybe they weren't quite the right tolerances in appearance. On a recent trip in the truck he wasn't sure he was going to make it back in the yard since the truck tried to die slowing down on the off ramp or something. That makes the shaft wobble something to look into I think but bad parts aren't out of the question either. If I can get a chance I'll try to come back with part numbers next time. I am pretty certain this isn't an ex-fire truck but I was pretty confusing and long winded up above. I think my grandad bought this truck new or slightly used for cotton gin work and his employees drove it for years and it always had a 5th wheel on the back until we removed it a few years ago. Truck also needs to get on the E model registry I think, that's been quiet over a year.

Thanks guys, we are interested in the Zenith carb parts. I've partially rebuilt a car and one thing I'd like to know is if there is any glass, leather or sensitive parts in the zenith carbs? I got a truck to run much better just by taking the carb apart, soaking it in acetone and gas, blowing the passages out with compressed air, and replacing any gaskets I broke or that were shot. And rebuilding an accelerator pump now that I think about it. This carb had a leather gasket on a glass fuel level window so I'm hoping the mack could be easier. I think dad saw a complete carb on ebay or something but it was pretty high. Having a look at the daytona parts link, thanks j hancock. I may make a post about the ignition troubles in the troubleshooting section later but as I understand it we probably have a points/coil or magneto (throwing out words that sound right...) setup that is about worn out. Does anyone know of replacement parts or rebuild methods that would work, short of finding original parts or sending it off to someplace that deals with this stuff?

Sent you a pm. (April 2nd)

Thanks for all the help ya'll I'll hopefully have some pictures and numbers after I head home this weekend.

Thanks Paul I had hear that vaguely before but that makes it a lot more clear. I'm worried the clutch brake in ours might have been long worn out before we got it and we haven't done it any favors. The truck might also have an issue involving the carburetor that requires the hand throttle to be on slightly to keep it running, which means the rpm's don't drop very well. I've also heard that driving without a trailer is harder in the first place. I'm also confused as to the pattern of the gears...it isn't set up to split each gear with the second stick unless you're willing to drive from the center of the truck with an arm through the wheel. We've still wondered if that is how it's done though. I need to look up the numbers on the transmission to figure out what it actually is.

Hello, my Dad has put a lot of work into restoring our 49 Mack but we have had a lot of difficulty learning to drive the thing. We both can drive our stick shift ford and I got my CDL getting towards two years ago now. I have driven a few bigger manual trucks at work without causing any accidents but this transmission is completely unsynchronized. The thing is unpredictable and keeps us humble but we haven't gotten much enjoyment or use out of it for this reason mainly. I am familiar with double clutching and matching rpm with road speed but like I said this truck is difficult. Also I've heard these old trucks may have something called a clutch brake, and that this could wear out. The transmission may not be original and has a 5 speed stick with a second stick closer to the passenger side next to the too far to reach in an emergency brake. The original stick had a two or three way splitter on the stick that is now nonfunctional, and the second stick isn't a split rear end either I believe it goes to the transmission itself. If I get back home I'll try to find the numbers off the truck but for now I'm stuck at school. Any advice will be appreciated because its sorely needed.

I'm sorry I'm down at school and I'll have to dig through my laptop or head home in a few weeks and take a few. I'm wondering why I didn't mention its an EH tractor but that is about all I know for sure right now.

Hi just found this forum today after realizing how much help fordcouriercollector.com already is for my restoration. My Dad has an old Mack truck that he restored somewhat and remarkably drove all the way back from South Carolina where he found it. I posted a couple questions under general discussion about what its worth and how to drive it well. Looking forward to either getting some enjoyment or use out of it or selling it to someone who can. Fire away.

Hello, I just joined the forum and I've been wondering what price I could sell a 1949 Mack tractor for. This truck is running and partially restored and somehow passes inspections, though its starting and lights can be unreliable. Its engine and transmission are supposed to be a factory rebuild that occurred shortly before the cotten gin closed down so it is a good truck that won't be needing a clutch anytime soon.