clemson_tiger29678

I would love do do Orange and White or Orange and dark purple, but WAY too cliche' around here. lol Thanks for all the advice...going to really look at each one of the idea's closely before I make a final decision.

Thanks guys...gonna look into it tonight!

Thanks Freightrain...how bout removing the interior window crank handle? I looked at it, and couldn't understand how it was to be removed.

Neither of my windows roll up or down. I'm trying to get into them....anybody have instructions or a write-up on how to get into them? How does the door handle come off? Thanks!

I'm thinking to try to differentiate, I'm going to go with a more olive green than lime green. I DO love the look of that truck though.

Hey guys...about to send my 1961 B61 to paint and need some help. One thing I'm sure of, I want the cab and fenders different colors. The whole time I've been leaning toward this, but I'd love other opinions. The one thing I don't like about doing this...it's already been done, and I don't want to copy this guys excellent work (although I guess it is the ultimate form of flattery lol). Anyway, would love to hear thoughts and see other options. Not sure if there is a better B61 gallery than a google image search or not, but would love to be directed to it if so. Currently: Possibly:

Here's a couple pics of the front and rear suspension as is.

Bigdogtrucker...any idea where that image came from? I'd like to find out a little more about how they did the air ride on it.

Thanks guys for the encouragement. After speaking with my fab guy, the first thougt is to take out enough leafs, to the point that they aren't strong enough to support the truck, but leave some (be it 1, 2, 4, 5, whatever) to use to continue to locate the front and rear components. Then use 10,000lb air bags to actually support the truck and raise and lower the truck. Seems logical, in theory. lol

That's exactly the look, Bigdogtrucker....actually, that truck is the insperation. The difference is, that truck is on a E350 Ford drivetrain and I'm going to keep my set-up all big-rig. I saw the build thread on this one...and while it looks great, it's still a "light-duty" truck. I wanted to keep the original look for a B model semi, but be able to tuck the tires and lay the battery box, fuel cell and front bumper on the ground, as in the above pic. I thik my ride height will have to drop 6 inches or so, because I don't think bags allow for enough travel to get my battery box step to the ground, and then back-up to where it is now. Most travel I've seen is about 6"-8", so I'll be riding lower than I am now, but be able to lay it out at full drop. Here's the link to that build: http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?34307-1991IDI-Secret-Project

Ha...LOVE being the first. That only means I'm the guinea pig and have to make all the mistakes! lol I'm thinking you are right Dirtymilkman...the 10,000 lb bags should be plenty heavy enough, as I'm only going to pull a tractor or classic car on a flatbed trailer behind the truck, at most. I really think it's a cool idea, leaving the wheels and outward appearance stock, but being able to tuck the fronts way up in the fender. Oh well...was hoping to find some help from someone who had already made the mistakes. Thanks guys! lol

No guys, what I'm talking about is taking the leaf springs off and replacing them with an air ride system that will allow me to set the truck rails on or near the ground when parked. It's more of a style thing than anything...I was just sort of hoping that it might help the ride quality by changing the heavy leaf springs to more forgiving set-up. My plans are to do a truck that looks similar to this one, but notch the frame and put an air bag suspension system on that would tuck the front tires way up into the wheel wells, and set the battery box, fuel tank and front bumper with-in an inch of the ground while parked.

I'm seriously considering putting air bags on my B61 to be able to sit it on the ground, and help the ride quality (I'm running bobtail and will never tow a heavy load)...while keeping the exterior stock (new paint and chrome of course). Does anyone have a link to a thread or pics to where anyone has done this before? Just curious as to what bags they used, what type of kit they used, what type of mounths they fabbed-up, etc. Thanks in advance!

I've seen this one before...not a huge fan. Sort of lost the "big rig" appeal...which is a little bit of my fear by doing a flat bed. Is his axle length from the cab the same as mine? Seems shorter/closer to the cab.

I'm going to pull my 16' trailer (ball hitch) with a tractor or car on it. Also want some kind of bed that I could throw a couple sheets of plywood on or go pick-up this or that from town on. Really want a period correct look...thus the rough cut wood flatbed thought.

Hey guys...just got my B61 and looking for options for the bed. It currently has the 5th wheel hitch, but I'm not going to haul anything that it could be used for, so trying to give the truck a little more usability. Thinking of going with a period-correct wooden flatbed, as shown below. The rails extend 9' from the rear of the cab. The axle is 6' from the rear of the cab. I would like to be able to build a true heavy-duty flatbed that I could haul a car on, but just don't see that as an option w/o major work (moving the axle, etc.) as the bed would need to be at least 12', or better yet 14'. I think it would look odd to have the axile so far foward in a 12-14' bed. Anyway, here is what I have. Can anyone else post pics or give suggestions as to what I might do with the truck to make it more usable for my purposes?

Thanks guys...good advice. I'll check it out tonight!

Odd issue...I've got an old single-horn air horn on my "new" B61. As far as I can tell, the thing is as old as the truck. Blows find when the truck is sitting still, but only has a very faint, short bump when the truck is driving. Any ideas?

Hey guys...new to the B61 world. Where are you guys finding parts for these things? Is anyone doing reproduction parts (headliners, seats, mirrors, door handles, etc) for these trucks?

Thanks a ton guys! I'm super excited about my first big rig! I'm a classic car guy, and even more of a Corvette guy, so this is a little of course for me, but always wanted a semi...and I'm REALLY excited to find that the total height on mine is a hair less than 8 feet, which means it's going to fit under my house, in my shop!!! I'm going to grab some fuel filters and an oil and air filter and do some genearal maintence over the weekend to see if I can get the thing a little more road-friendly. Trying to decide which route to go with the truck...I've got ideas all over the place, from just leaving it like it is, to taking the fifth-wheel off and putting a period correct wooden flat-bed on it, to going all out custom and slamming it on air ride suspension. Seems like a fun vehicle that everyone looks at though!

So, I've wanted a B61 for quite some time and never could pull the trigger on a big rig, until yesterday! Bought a 1961 that is in super shape, no rust, needs paint...engine and trans has been changed to a 70's Detroit 6-71 and a 13 speed (NO TWIN STICK!!!!). Anyway, had a 2 hour trip to take the truck on to get it home, and had some issues. First 30min, ran great...interstate speed was 50'ish as we were getting use to it...then it started to lose power/pull. Pulled over, it was running and idling fine, looked it over, jumped back in, got back up to speed and then start losing power again. After several times of this, I pulled over, but it off, looked it over, cranked it back up and took off...ran great for 5 miles, then same issue. I learned that cutting it off for 30-45sec would get me 3-5 miles of strong running before I had to pull over and cut it off again. When I say, lost power, I mean, 10mph max up a hill...no power. To preface all of this...the truck had been in the previous owners possession for 15 years. It ran great, shifts good, brakes good...but hasn't had much maintence over 15 years. My first thought is trash in the fuel filter on the Detroit Diesel...and to put a new filter and new air filter on it. I'm open to any other suggestions. Thanks guys. Looking fwd to being apart of the Mack community.