1961H67

I had always seen pictures of that truck,, and loved it. I’m so glad it’s restored. Great Work! Beautiful!

Y’all have fun, post some pictures, I’m looking forward to making it back to Macungie, my last time was with My Dad & Son in 2000 for the 100th anniversary.Hopefully I can get My Son and my Grandson ( My Sidekick) To make the trip in the next few years, As for now this time of year he’s right in the middle of All-Star Baseball.

Yep I may have bitten off more than I can chew right now, I do want to start restoring the Freedom Superliner when I get the shop back in order, I recently purchased the Black RW 753 from my Son , it has the worn axle, I’ve got to get it fixed before I start on another project,, Thanks for all the Birthday wishes! It’s been a fun day!

Yes I think a lot of people called them Liberty’s, all the Mack documents I have seen said Freedom, The Mack Museum sent me a letter confirming my truck was a Freedom, and some original sales brochures, I can’t remember seeing Any Liberty Name in them , But I could have overlooked something.

Thank Y’all ! Yes I’ve got plenty Summer projects.

Today was my Grandson,s last day of school for the summer, he wanted me to take him in something special,,,, Well I didn’t see any Soccer Moms driving a LJ Mack!

Yes MH Cabovers , I think most were RW Superliners but I’m not a expert on them, I actually didn’t know anything about them until I bought mine because they were not any around Western North Carolina, Mine came from Charleston WV , about 8 years ago. The one in the picture was in Morgantown WV ( your location) I’ve. Often wondered if it was the same truck, the original company might have the Vin number, Mine has been hit in the front and the hood replaced, and repainted a lighter color.

Same

I would love to see some of those restored, I have one that I would love to find time to restore, actually the interior (Red ) is in pretty good shape, Red carpet and all. I would be curious to know how many Freedoms survived? Also if Mack has information on the original decals. I used mine every day until a few months ago. The last picture is one that a guy I worked with took while visiting relatives in West Virginia back in the late 80s . He gave me the photo and it stayed on my toolbox for years the truck was only a few years old at the time,,, anyone recognize it?

Vald , Very good explanation! I could probably change the rear compound for a closer ratio, I think I have one in the parts H Model I bought for the door parts , but I’ll probably leave it alone. Yes back in early 80s I worked with a couple guys that taught me how to press the gears off of a Fuller 13 speed and make a Double Over, It was a good bit of finger mashing and a good press, I did a couple for some friends, it makes 3 &4 beside each other and 5th to the dash. They were pretty noisy also . Eaton came out with the X cap ( RTX I think) and it did what you were talking about putting the shift pattern back to normal.

Mark , I can’t find Revenuer , I was going to ask about a bumper, any suggestions? Thanks

Heinz , I ran across that picture looking at some old Hennis Freight Lines photos. If you look closely in the lower RH corner you can see it says DigitalForsyth , Where Hennis was from in Winston Salem. Crouch Brothers was a Construction Co and House Movers, they had a location in Asheville and Charlotte ( That LJ was used in Charlotte and sent up here , they were going to restore it because there Grandfather bought it new, but never did anything with it so the Grandson gave it to me, they said he ordered it for a dump truck but put a 5th wheel on it to move houses, it’s double framed with the biggest stack of springs I ever saw on a 1950 truck) , Anyway that Locomotive must have been moved down towards Winston Salem, Probably in the 60s , I can’t read the name, you might look at some Winston Salem historical pictures and find something.

I cleaned up the other side of my original axle, It looks like FAW538 ,, maybe someone can tell me what rating it is , thanks

That’s probably close to what I have, I’ll recheck that trans number, just for curiosity.

Steve that sounds like exactly what I have, I’m not going to change it because it’s still a overdrive, and the lowest gear is handy loading on a trailer when hauling it, I have another LJ parts truck that was a Diesel but was in the flood and the original was probably hauled off for scrap years ago, The number on it was the same as the line set record the Mack Museum sent me , 720 I think, but the rear auxiliary must be were the difference is . I have a photo of the LJ gas when it was in use here in North Carolina, I knew the original owner’s Grandson , he gave it to me for parts . Now we know what the Low Gear was for.

Yes it has that odd ball pattern. 1st is completely on the opposite side then 2nd , and the original one was the same, but the original could be split between main gears like the 10 speed, this one has a WIDE auxiliary ratio , and is super slow in 1st under drive, the only way I can drive it is leaving the auxiliary in direct and shift like a straight 5 speed. I’ve got 5 trucks with Dupex,s and this one is the only one that’s geared that way.

Just thought I would post this picture and find out if anyone has ever driven a truck with this model transmission, I drove this truck when I was about 19 years old, I rode with the fellow that owned it ( that I later inherited from) and drove it myself for a while, the transmission made a lot of noise and he said it was getting worse, so we pulled it out to replace the bearings, I didn’t recall it being a big ratio jump when you split the auxiliary, but it was the original and was a overdrive. In the meantime we had a junked F Model with a direct 10 speed, we put in it , shifted good, split well, so we just left it in ( slowed it down to about 60:but we were not using it much) When I restored it I had a 1950 LJ with a gas engine, it was a factory order dump truck, I checked the transmission and it was a overdrive so I installed it, the shift pattern was like the original 3rd & 4th beside each other, I used the shift pattern plate from the 50 gas , My question is was this a special model for a dump ? When you try to split the auxiliary it’s like jumping 3 gears, It is an overdrive and works well driving to shows , any thoughts?

Yes I’ve ripped a couple power dividers and 2 transmissions trying to pull a piece of equipment up a 12-14% Grade , I’m sure there are worse places to truck, but 10% is about my limit, I’m too old to be laying under a truck at night working on it . Double steering boxes are worthless when the driveshaft hits the ground. Brocky knows how it is up in Highlands and Scaly Mt .

I will have to do the same thing, it’s pitted pretty good, I can tell you have been polishing on it , that’s the only way to do it, get messy!

I’m up for suggestions on polishing the Heard Guard and putting it back on when I get done or finding the big bumper it would have come with, we have had this truck almost 10 years, My Son has used it, That is the first time that guard has been removed. It’s a RW 753 Truck

Yes , I was under the assumption that the Australian Road Train Trucks were some of the toughest trucks in the world, especially the loads that are hauled and the dirt roads, Crossing rivers,, a lot more difficult than rolling down I40 with 80.000 most of the time. I assume it does take the stress off the main steering gear and frame mount, twisting in a tight spot but there are a LOT of Heavy Haulers with only one box .

Great explanation Geoff !

Heinz , is there any way I can come up with an axle number like I need with the vin of my Superliner? Even though I would love to find a fit with hub pilot hubs and mine had stud pilot thank you

Yes a lot of stretched out dumps came with dual boxes, we have a KW dump with twins on it , Lots of CL 700s do . It just takes the pressure off the tie rod , more if it were off road in soft ground , I would not put one back on the right side for what I’m going to use it for. And I spoke to an axle guy that can repair it but I’m not in a big hurry so I had rather just replace it with a good used one.

I have been pressure washing in my spare time, I took the Herd guard off today, so I could really get some good measurements, I’ll post a picture of the axle number if anyone can tell me what rating it is. Also center bolt to center bolt is 34.5 with a 4 inch wide spring, from what I can find a RW & MH is the only axle that is the same, Unless some CLs had a 4 in spring, It has converted hub pilot hubs on it now that I could use if I can find a axle with the same rating ( it came new with twin steering boxes and the right one was removed by the previous owner. ) it’s a pretty decent old Superliner, 3406B , 18 speed Eaton, Newer Mack air ride rears 3.90 ratio. I’m planning on restoring it when I get the shop repaired and using it , but the steering axle the first project.