Job41

Chevy,

I honestly thought the Hellcat was going to win. Anyway, It was a fun video! That is why I joined the BMT forums, just to have a bit fun away from my everyday grind. Thanks, man,

I love the B81's. I've seen rigs where you had a B81 pulling a 100 ton capacity lowboy. Seen plenty of pictures where the B81 was pulling a big old cable shovel weighing in the neighborhood of 60 to 75 tons. The bridges moaned under the strain. The drivers in the car behind the rig complained because it was crawling up the mountain no faster than a man could walk. Meanwhile the B81 driver is praying to the Lord with all his might that he would have enough brakes to get down the other side alive. But at the end of the day when the dust settled and the equipment was unloaded, a man knew he had accomplished something.

GMerrill, I was thinking that the Cummins 6bt would make it a daily driver. The 331 gas job would be too thirsty and too underpowered for frequent running. However, if you are looking at it as a strictly historic piece then yes, the 331 is the only way to go. Isn't this truck up in your neck of the woods?

Is the windshield leaking? It looks quite rusty on top of the dash board? I think this truck would be cool to repower with the 6bt Cummins. I know that some purists would banish the idea from being mentioned. But, it would make the unit a lot snappier than what the flat head gas job provides. I wonder if there is enough room to shoe horn the Cummins into it?

Maddog13407,

How were the rest of Mack's V-8 line up as for reliability? I get the impression that the E9 was a good engine, but I have no direct experience. I ran into a guy running a superliner dump-truck on a construction project back in 1989. It had an E9-500 in it. I asked him how well it climbed the hills. He said " What hills ?!!!" That was east of Norwich NY where all you have is hills. Thanks, Job41

I just put my birth date in my profile. Now you guys are making me wonder if I should take it back out! Anyway, Happy birthday Bulldogman. You still have some good years ahead of you.

This truck is just crying out for someone to take it home and love it! Once restored, It would scream to the whole world "Machismo!" It is these kind of trucks that I end up coveting. But I just can't afford it.

Question for you guys who are more knowledgeable: Were the V-8 Macks as reliable as the straight sixes such as the END 673C?

Thank you for the link to the pdf listing models and engines. Is there another breakdown list of the other model features?

I must admit I am a greenhorn. With that said, my question is this; What are the differences between the B81 and the B83 and then again a B87? Are the differences in the radiator, cooling systems, engine manufacturers? Is there a book out there that can detail for me the differences in the models?

I apologize for my ignorance. Being that the B61 is a 1956, I would assume it is not power steering. Did the older restoration include an engine rebuild?