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BillyT

Pedigreed Bulldog
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Status Updates posted by BillyT

  1. 66DC75, on the subject of single axle tractors, before the steel industry went offshore in the early 80's, there were guys hauling big coils out of Homestead, and the other Pittsburgh mills with single axle gas jobs and 2 or 3 axle spread trailers. One Chevy I knew of was a 427 with a 5 and 2 speed axle.A tractor like this weighed 10000 lb or less and could legally haul a 50000 single coil! Any single over 40000 lb was automatically a permit load anyway. Most of these ran local,mill to mill and sometimes as far as Cleveland. These loads paid outrageously high rates,and many otr drivers in their high dollar Pete's and KW's were unaware of what these dudes were earning!,and made fun of their cheap little gas jobs that only lasted 100000miles! Of course they just took the abuse and went to the bank!!

  2. I pity those folks unable to do even basic maintenance on new cars and trucks! A trip to almost any dealership necessitates the purchase of a jar of Vaseline! Of course many repairs on a big truck requires thousands of dollars worth of lifting and other specialized equipment.also a helper! Don't give the s.o.b.'s any new ideas for a "sweetheart" emissions agreement with the EPA! So far here in Fla we have no state inspection.for non commercial vehicles,and no emissions testing except in high population areas. Of course I'm not so naive as to think that couldn't end momentarily! The only noticeable result of this is the high number of burnt out headlamps turn signals etc! With state inspection at least the vehicles get checked once a year! By the same token I run a straight exhaust on my pickup and the cops don't say anything! My wife says it's like riding with a 15 year old!!lol

  3. BillyT

    Just sale the date on the post,thought they were coming up with a new scrapping program you were referring to  The one that already took place!

  4. That was me on the Lucas joke mower man, Used to work at a parts store B.A.P. British Auto Parts,sold foreign car parts,the mechanics used to hate the old Lucas ignition!

    1. mowerman

      mowerman

      ya i heard it wasnt very reliable,,,,,i was  a big fan of triumph car and bikes ,MG, sunbeam austen heally. royal entfield....understand the y all used it.lol.bob

  5. Carlotpilot,your post about old trailers with air operated emergency systems, brings us to the next episode of "Adventures in car hauling" When I first started hauling cars I had an old Bankhead 6car without maxis.Was driving a 69 f 750 with a 391 Ford engine,both single axle.I was taking a "shortcut" to Cumberland down rte 160 thru Berlin pa home of the potato chips.This has to be a 9 percent grade!  Also " windy" After a mile or two I noticed the brakes weren't slowing me  like they should at the same time the pressure gauge is heading towards 60,the buzzer comes on and a little metal flag is swinging from the headliner,( remember them) S..T! I'm  waiting for the nonexistent max is to lock up! I'm also approaching a blind right turn at about 40mph! Skipped,2or3 whole gears with it " flat on the mat" the 5000redlined tach goes around twice! And I "put it on the hillside" In slow motion the whole  right side of the rig leaves the ground probably by 2 or 3feet! And it teeters for a second,and crashes to the ground! My wallet which was on the dash went out the open window and was on the pavement! A tree branch on the hillside is in the right window and leaves are in my face! I  got out collected my wallet, and checked the truck.Had a full load of big cars and pickups. Not a scratch! Amazing! Prior to taking this job I drove mostly late model equipment with maxi brakes. We found out later I had blown a diaphragm on the trailer the air tank probably delivered air to the brakes and it leaked out immediately.Five years later I thought I'd " try 160 again" Had a brand new five axle rig with only three pintos on! At the bottom of the hill my brakes were smoking! I guess it was as steep as I thought! Ironically a B model mack wrecker towed me to the shop for repairs at 15 mph! I got the  Cumberland drops off and was on my way to Wva. And the 391 puked !,guess they're not designed to turn 10000rpm lol

    1. BillyT

      BillyT

      The "rest of the story" After the accident an old "Reformed Mennonite" Noah Yoder, and his wife Sarah, (funny how you remember that stuff) rode me to a store to make a phone call.I carried that diaphragm around for months, as evidence to the equipment failure, thinking they might fire me for the accident.Nobody ever said a word!

    2. carlotpilot

      carlotpilot

      that was one of those O shit moments  lol  glad ya survived 

  6. Been to Simmons quite a few times,used to run the Shenandoah valley quite a bit. I haven't been to a flying j since pilot bought them is it better or the same? I kinda lean toward waffle house over huddle house,depends on the location. Harry...love your yellow B model on the subject of the cracked manifold, a good welder with a dc machine can weld a cracked manifold with a product called Ni rod the key to success is preheat and slow cool you bevel the crack (I used a dremel tool) and do short beads at low amperage.After each bead you peen the bead with your chipping hammer,and let it cool til you can touch it with your hand for a second.The second and each succeeding bead you start on the preceding bead(not on the cast iron) you need to preheat the whole manifold to just hot enough that you can only touch it for a second.When you're done it must slow cool.I covered some cast I welded with an asbestos cover. You can heat it in your barbecue grille just don't eat it! I used to weld flawed air brake castings for a friend who had a contract with WABCO we never had a comeback.Just thought of this, you cool it in your grille, just heat the grille and shut it off put in the manifold in and close the cover.

  7. Been to Simmons quite a few times,used to run the Shenandoah valley quite a bit. I haven't been to a flying j since pilot bought them is it better or the same? I kinda lean toward waffle house over huddle house,depends on the location.

    1. other dog

      other dog

      I don't know, I hardly ever stopped at a flying j.

    2. BillyT

      BillyT

      Been  a long time, They tended to have a good buffet, quality varies according to management! Tended to cater to tourists sadly! My favorite on 81 in Va was Whites. Thanks for the reply!

  8. Teamster Grrrl, my best friend and trucking agent when I was an o/o had an old " Twinkie truck" A road commander white (road commode) was a single axle ex Hostess bakery truck. 250Cummins,10spd r.r.Was probably over specd for most bakery loads.

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. BillyT

      BillyT

      Thanks for the reply teamster Grrrl! Thought it was a Hostess truck,was from Youngstown Oh area,maybe one of the other big bakery companies,was definitely a bakery truck, He referred to it jokingly as a "Twinkie truck" was definitely a Road commander were they built in the 60's? The reason I said 70s was I thought they weren't built til the 70s.

    3. TeamsterGrrrl

      TeamsterGrrrl

      There we're 2 different RCs. The first was just a new name for the boxy 7000 series cabover built in the early 70s. The second was the rounded cab that came out in the late 70s and was shared with the Road Boss conventional and Expeditor low tilt. After Volvo took over in the early 80s the "Road" names disappeared and they were just called Volvos. 

    4. BillyT

      BillyT

      Thanks for the reply,teamster Grrrl! Then everyone called them VW s like the little German car!

  9. Whites t.s was one of my "must stop" locations since 1974, Must be about the third generation of whites now.the late owner Dave White was into motocross racing and has one of the best firearm and knife collections I've seen! Also have a good cafeteria with home style food,Also had  a couple of antique motorcycles.Worth seeing if you have the chance!

  10. Freightrain saw your post about the young couple and the  flood zone! We looked at the property we now live on for several months during hvy rains, and a tropical storm.Saw no significant flooding. We built our house,and 5 yrs later they declare us in a flood zone! We are 6miles from the Gulf coast and not near any body of water! In other words we have none of the benefits that make people willing to live in a flood zone (and pay flood insurance) Like living on the ocean or a canal where you can dock a boat and so on.There are 5 houses visible from our front door,and only us an our neighbor are in a flood zone! We got flooded and were glad to have the insurance,but we feel the county created the flood zone by not properly sewering the new school they built 1/4 mile away,or the toll road they built several miles away.We sit in the watershed between these two infrastructures.We obviously wouldnt have built in a flood zone without the "benefits". Of course they raise the flood insurance rate every year!

    1. Freightrain

      Freightrain

      Have you seen the reports of people in Florida where whole allotments were built on old swamp land.  Now, 5 yrs later they find their property starting to settle and fall into the abyss(sink hole).  Nothing they can do or say.  They'll loose everything and no insurance to cover it.  I'll bet there will be a bunch of law suits over it.

    2. BillyT

      BillyT

      In the 50's it was a common ploy to create phony brochures showing some tropical paradise,and elderly retirees would invest their life savings and find the land they bought was on the edge of the everglades,without the clubhouse and golf course they were promised! There were more of these scams than you could count. Around 2008 and before if you had a sinkhole your homeowners policy would have you get a couple of estimates and pay you for the repair. Sinkhole repairs start at 100grand and go up!Well,a lot of people,especially those who were " upside down on their mortgage would just take the money and run! Leaving the bank with a house nobody would buy! The banks and insurance companies got fed up and had their "bought and paid for" legislators pass a bill where there is a10 percent deductible on sinkhole repair money and the money goes to the contractor or the bank.The bill was slipped thru quietly,probably " on the back" of another bill! It really puts a screwing on honest people who would repair the damage!

  11. R686'rt,Gray hair is talking yearly premium! My yearly premium is around 500.00 now.Don't know where Clinton is, but if it's on the Gulf coast I can see it being that high!

     

    1. BillyT

      BillyT

      Just googled Clinton,so it's near Baton Rouge,did your property get flooded? Hope not,been there! For many years I laid over at the McDonald's in Denham Springs til they took out the truck parking.

    2. r686st

      r686st

      My property got messed up but no homes, cars or lives were lost. My aunt and two cousins lost all three of their home and all their vehicles. 

    3. BillyT

      BillyT

      Sorry to hear about your relatives,I went through New Orleans a few times after Katrina what a mess! The tow trucker who took away my wife's flood totaled Toyota,spent a few wks in New Orleans hauling away totaled cars said there was a lot of violence.Some people came up to his truck and began beating on it demanding water! A couple rounds from his Glock 9 in the aIr and they dispersed rapidly! I spent a couple months hauling roof insulation into Miami after Andrew hit.I t looked worse than Katrina but Katrina cost more.Also,wind damage can look worse than water damage because of all the debris everywhere.

  12. R686'rt,Gray hair is talking yearly premium! My yearly premium is around 500.00 now.

     

    1. r686st

      r686st

      That may be the case in yall's area. In my area that is a monthly rate.

  13. Gray hair!,Don't know where to start! Ok flood ins. I'm 6 miles from the Gulf coast and nowhere near a major body of water.was declared a flood zone Feb of 2012 ,got flood ins. Rained 16 days non-stop,tropical storm Debbie hit June 28.Had 2ft of water in house 2 wks, Next door neighbor had 4ft.Rest of neighborhood dry.Fema pays for everything that gets wet @todays cost  minus depreciation. Paid to repair the house and all contents. 435.00 per yr! If  you're in a flood zone GET FLOOD INS! The ins cost is going up due to Fl not having any major storms in a long while,so we are paying for Katrina, Sandy,and Baton Rouge etc. You're right about tort legislation and attorneys! A tort is the non contractual obligation of a person or business to protect their customers,neighbors,and damn near anyone else from danger or personal injury.I looked it up! Without tort legislation 2/3 of today's attorneys would be out of business! Criminals have sued the homeowners when they broke in their house for things like cuts and bruises on the broken glass and falls (because the house was cluttered)And won! Unreal! My favorite Platters tune was "only you" but

    1. BillyT

      BillyT

      If  you like the Platters download "Memories of El Monte" by Clive Duncan and the Penguins,another west coast group if you haven't already,you'll recognize a few tunes!

  14. Like your B Pete! Uncracked B model wheels are hard to find,but there are ads in Hemmings and Street Rodder by people who refurbish wheels.Won't be cheap I imagine tho'!

  15. Saw a couple of middle schoolers properly folding the flag as they took it down for the night. Very inspiring! My buddy,a navy veteran,saw an an adult school janitor drop the flag on the ground while doing the same thing! "Read him out",and then educated him.Of course that wasn't a protest,was just ignorance on the part of the janitor.Rowdy rebel,I agree it's their right to express themselves,but like you don't have to like it! Poetic justice if they set themselves on fire while burning our flag! Lol on a more pleasant subject, just on my beloved Isuzu p.u,I've had to create two special wrenches on for the Weber carb,another for the water neck. Standard wrenches were too long in both cases. When I realized Milwaukee power tools are now made in China,I bought one of the last American made ones in a pawnshop.40.00 ! What I didn't realize was you need a special tool to change the grinding wheel( it's a 4.5" grinder.Ground down an old pair of "off brand" channel locks for that job! Anyway,I feel your pain !

  16. Hobert 62, Don't forget to remove the visegrips lol True story...I hung a set of aftermarket duals on my welding truck,was on the last hanger and too lazy to get a half inch wrench,so I used a vise grip. Two years later I'm under the truck doing something and there's the vise grip! A little rusty, but still hanging there!

    1. BillyT

      BillyT

      Carlotpilot,I'll bet it does,tnx for the reply!

  17. Hobert 62, Don't forget to remove the visegrips lol True story...I hung a set of aftermarket duals on my welding truck,was on the last hanger and too lazy to get a half inch wrench,so I used a vise grip. Two years later I'm under the truck doing something and there's the vise grip! A little rusty, but still hanging there!

  18. Hobert 62, Don't forget to remove the visegrips lol True story...I hung a set of aftermarket duals on my welding truck,was on the last hanger and too lazy to get a half inch wrench,so I used a vise grip. Two years later I'm under the truck doing something and there's the vise grip! A little rusty, but still hanging there!

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. Maddog13407

      Maddog13407

      someone fixed rocker on an 82 r model at . work,this was 6-8 years later I'm under the truck, vise grips still on it where they welded the rocker on. needless to say it got exported afew years later with them still on

    3. BillyT

      BillyT

      I think I "created a monster" with the vise grip thing!  I'm glad I'm not the only forgetful idiot around! If the R model gets "exported" to China the visegrips will feel right at home because Irwin appears to  have " bought the name" and is has offshored the manufacturing process. Predictable right?  Here's 2 facts from my " storehouse of useless information" some older drivers may remember the Suburu "Brat" the narrow unibody pickup with the cheap plastic seats behind the cab.Why would a company that builds quality vehicles put cheap seats in back?Because the seats converted a truck into a sport utility vehicle,lower import duty! I wonder if they included a " disclaimer" to not sit in them while the truck is moving? Same basic reason you see all those little import pickup cab and chassis in the ports.They put the beds on in the port.Is an incomplete vehicle till the bed is installed,lower duty!

    4. Maddog13407

      Maddog13407

      I'm sure the R model was exported, was sold in the auction and the vise grips were 10 years old at the time so at least they were American made vise grips

  19. Carlotpilot,It was a Diamond T, now I can picture it!

    1. carlotpilot

      carlotpilot

      im not sure of the name of the co. now but a horse hauler out of leesburg va used to to have 3 co dts . i know that 2  of them had 16 spd spicers in them  all three were green & white

    2. carlotpilot

      carlotpilot

      I have`nt seen one of the old spicers in probably 35 years but with just a few minutes of foolin with one i`ll bet I can still get along with it:rolleyes:

    3. BillyT

      BillyT

      The company my buddy drove for was Chester Sayre, were green and white the dt cabovers were like the ones UPS had in the 60s.Leesburg rings a bell,a lot of horse haulers were based in Va where the horses were raised.They carried a groom in the trailer,got him takeout food the  horses were never unattended! A lot of drivers just drive,Don't understand how trucks work.I can see how they would  be confused.When I was hauling cars out of Dundalk Md. We had a curtainside rack for hauling Mercedes.Was a Gmc conventional ,had a 671Detroit with a 20 speed Spicer on air.The younger drivers were used to driving straight 7speeds and 10 speed rangers,told me how hard it was to drive! Was easier than a 2 speed axle! Had a knob like a 13 speed only 4 positions.If I recall correctly it had the usual blower but a turbo as well, was one of the last 2cycle Detroit's made I believe. Was specd to be a dump or mixer! Could only haul 6 cars and I usually  got 4,didn't need all those gears.

  20. Carlotpilot,that was me on the12 spd Spicer question tnx !The truck in question was a cabover,I forget the make,he hauled thoroughbred race horses,so he had to be smooth! He said his co driver was really terrible on the 12 speed(was used to a 10spd ranger)

    1. carlotpilot

      carlotpilot

      lol  lots were terrible on those things .we used to deal with american oil co diamond ts that had them. it was real fun to go out and put one in reverse then tell a would be driver to go bring it into the shop if he was not up on them they would only go backwards no matter where you put the gear shift

    2. BillyT

      BillyT

      Carlotpilot,The first time I ever drove a truck I was nervous and let the clutch out too fast,had the 671Detroit running backwards ! Lol My co driver pulled the shutoff,and I started over!

    3. carlotpilot

      carlotpilot

      :D have had that happen to me to

  21. Hvy gunner,I wonder what rpm that 453 is at in od at 55mph? 2cycle Detroit s weren't famous for fuel economy.My dad had a46chevy  flatbed he hauled scrap cars with. I had a 47Chevy fleetline Tudor.his engine blew up and he took the engine out of my car and put it in his truck while I was at school! I got off the school bus and the hood was crooked on my car! I lifted the hood and it fell on the ground.What could I say?I was 14 and he needed the truck to feed me!It was the only Chevy flatbed with a chrome valve cover!

     

     

     

    1. BillyT

      BillyT

      Jack 2052, Hope you find your dad's fire truck,the only on on Craigslist down here in fla was an American La France!Wasn't red!lol.

  22. Hvy gunner,I wonder what rpm that 453 is at in od at 55mph? 2cycle Detroit s weren't famous for fuel economy.My dad had a46chevy  flatbed he hauled scrap cars with. I had a 47Chevy fleetline Tudor.his engine blew up and he took the engine out of my car and put it in his truck while I was at school! I got off the school bus and the hood was crooked on my car! I lifted the hood and it fell on the ground.What could I say?I was 14 and he needed the truck to feed me!It was the only Chevy flatbed with a chrome valve cover!

     

     

     

    1. HeavyGunner

      HeavyGunner

      I'll ask him next week i see him. I thought it sounded high but then again who knows. I always wanted to put one in a 2 ton truck since they are dirt cheap to run around and make noise with. 

    2. BillyT

      BillyT

      Saw a 49 Diamond T with one with a 5 spd and a 3sped Brownie was a two ton.Was on u tube lots of fun!

  23. Topo,does your military tractor have an Allison? Most of the deuce and a halfs,and five ton tractors in the military did.They seemed to have a pause between shifts,then a big clunk as the thing caught caught!we're very reliable but got terrible fuel economy so the otr companies didn't use them. Is  it a multi fuel?,always liked the way they looked. Some guy near me in Florida was using one for a daily driver! Was for sale on Craig's list.

    1. topo

      topo

      BillyT  no Allison .It had a multi fuel till I lost a piston I repowered with a ENDT 673 P I have the 5 speed direct when loaded you can use the transfer case to split shift

  24. Two questions for anyone who has the answers. What was the last non computerized Mack? And if you bought that Diamond T glider kit built in Hershey Pa,could you put an older "pre emission" engine and tranny in it like a 300maxidyne and not be held to 2017 emissions standards? I'm not gonna do it,but I'm hearing all the problems you guys have with late model emissions compliant trucks.I'm thinking a glider might be the answer.Do these modern trucks get such improved fuel economy as to justify all the b.s. computers an sensors that drive up maintenance costs?

  25. Sr eHvy gunner,you were worried about investing,I would recommend one of Dave Ramsey's financial advice books.He advocates "cash only" except for your home.You are already following his advice with older paid for cars and tks.Many American adults can't write a check for 500.bucks.Mostly due to credit card debt and general irresponsibility.Sam's club has his books Did. You see the pictures of the bus that ran into a telephone pole in Shop trucks area? Hwy 99 InCal. The old Grapevine.Bad crash should be in your local paper.

     

    Did

    1. BillyT

      BillyT

      Swishy a B model dump truck I once drove was built from a single axle road tractor. We were dumping from a paved street into empty house pads.The tag was in the back,and it was slightly uphill so you cranked the thing wide open in  reverse, ran thru the triplex and the second the drive left the pavement you dumped the tag or you'd get stuck in the sugar sand! My buddy also drove it but he would dump the tag too late and get stuck a lot.The loader operator used  to get pissed of because he would have to drive a half mile to push him out. On the subject of the pushrods I cut one off 3 times and it was still too short!

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