davehummell

When I was about 11 0r 12 my mother took me to the library and I found the book Bulldozer by Stephen W Meader years later about 50 or so I found you could buy that book new and the book T model Tommy and several others from this author. My uncle worked at Cleveland Brothers and it was a very big deal to go with him to the shop and go for a ride on a loader or bulldozer at my young age

Many years ago I was dating a woman that had a stoker efm furness and I restored a 53 Ford one ton dump truck and I would go over to Kassy Kassa's for two ton of stoker coal the box had a coal door and I had a shoot and in the cellar coal bin it went back then it was 40.00 a ton. When we separated she had an oil furness installed, at my house I heat with oil and I installed a mini split system and in my shop I heat with oil

I remember Bartetta's and I used to go past Pittston Trucking their fleet was all B models that I remember when I was living in Harding their one mechanic got killed when he was adding air to a split rim tire I knew the guy but I can't remember his name. They hauled ashes out of the Harding powerplant.

When I was about 14 years old I got a job cleaning a large clothing material shop and until I graduated high school I took care of the place and it had a large stoker Furness but it had a hopper for the coal and no worm to feed the coal to the unit so I shoveled tons and tons of coal and carried garbage cans full of ashes out to the back of the store added a bit of grass out there so I had more grass to mow I swore I would freeze before I would have coal heat.

Back in the early 73's I worked on Cat equipment at about most of the strip mines up Hazelton way. I am shocked at the price of a ton of coal today compared back then. Last job I worked at it was an old mine site near Nanticoke that many years before my uncle worked at the same mine still had the shaft ventilation fan still intact in one of the buildings. A hunting buddy of my father and I was in the Knox mine disaster there is a picture of him crawling out a vent shaft He said it was the greatest feeling when he got out in the sun light

Larry I have delt with Kevin and he had lots of parts and he was fair to deal with, Kevin is about three hours from me and I was up to his place I think four times for parts was worth the travel for me

Larry to bad you can't find a trans like mine 13 double over triplex it really gets up to speed with 370's rear gears

I was forced into retirement at age 59 and it has been 10 years now and I don't miss working the 65- 70 hours or more I used to put in.

I have two 12-volt truck batteries in my B model they were in it when I bought it 6 years ago and they always started it, but I never tried starting it in under 20 degrees' Larry you going down to the Mack Museum show I was down before covid and I thought it was a cool show I would like to go down it's easier for me to go there than driving down to Gerhart's.

I owned a 1969 Pontiac tempest that had a 250 gm six cylinder and a three speed that was on the column. Had a 3/4-ton chevy pickup with a 292 six and I shoehorned a rather warmed up 292 six into a 1965 Toyota Landcruiser pickup with a later 4 speed trans. I owned a 1953 ford 1 ton dump with the six-cylinder 216 overhead valve engine. I had an old jeep with that overhead cam six-cylinder engine that they used in the Pontiacs. My stepdad had a ford pickup with that 300 six it was a very nice engine.

The hose place that I used supplied me with this stuff for anything to do with hydraulic fittings I would smear it on the threads and twist the fittings together I used it on stuff when I couldn't use tape or pipe dope.

I was taught how to operate the locomotive at our one yard years ago I would spot rail cars for the guys to empty it was a real treat to do shifting of cars had a very large GM engine diesel over electric if I can remember right, it weighed over 150 tons what I was told.

I will see about ordering this book I've spent over 40 years dealing with trucks one way or the other.

I think that Mack was scrapped years ago I was at the sale they had and there was an equipment scrap yard and everything disappeared soon after. I loaded Cat equipment many times on the two Acars saw them on a weekly basis as I remember had really big rears small Cummins engines I can't remember the trans they had. Jack Gillan had a nice Acar with a 335 Cummins I loaded a d-9 ublade and four barrel ripper on the goose neck trailer and the driver got out on 81 and blew four trailer tires it was quite the talk for days. Coal was king back in the 60's and trough the 70's around my location. My good friend owned Finch machine in West Pittston it was set up to do work for the mines there was a 10-foot x 30-foot lathe and the biggest milling machine I probably will ever see. I was doing some work on a 992 up in the stripping's and if I remember it had a 12 yard bucket and I was cycling the loader by scooping coal at todays prices for a ton of coal I can't believe what that bucket of coal is worth.

Pagnotti coal company had an old Mack with a 1693 with two or three trans. they used it to haul shovel buckets and other heavy loads was nothing to look at, but it did the job it was a bigger model than a b-61. Kominsky coal company had Auto car single axles and Serge would haul anything that would fit on the goose neck trailer many times he would run out of power and have to get a push up the hill.

The 343 was used in the 988 loader, 983 track loader, 16 grader, 657 pan, first 35 ton end dump I can't remember the number I worked on all of them at one time or another was a cat mechanic for Cleveland Brothers back in the early 70's work on a lot of 1693's and 3406's and the rest of the on road engines. I liked to work on the 1693 it was my favorite engine the v-8 double overhead cam engine wasn't very good but they did better with the 3408

We had an old Grove deck crane at Cleveland Brothers when I started in 73 it had a ford six cylinder gas engine after a few years they brought in a new Grove 17 ton with a 3208 engine it was a bit bigger and a little nicer to operate.

Larry I would use cardboard or I had a thin sheet of masonite that I would set against the radiator core. I remember changing Cummins and Mack water pumps on the side of the interstate more than I care to remember.

A couple of years ago the three of us went up to the Brockway Museum it was very nice I ask about the show and said maybe I would come up with my B model and the lady looked at me like I killed someone she said we don't want your truck up here don't show up with it. I guess they have a strong opinion about Brockway's I drove a triaxle Brock with a 318 dd and a 13 speed hauled a lot of stone with the truck.

I think he would make a good president better for our country than some we already had to put up with

When I was still working on trucks for a living I was spoiled the guys at Cool brothers were there for me 5 and 6 days a week and Jeff had the exhaust gaskets for my set aside even after Cooks quite selling mack parts.

Larry I have bought parts off Kevin went up to his garage in NY. I see him at Gerhart's and sometimes at Harford truck show he has a cool bus he built and I was looking at a John deere tractor he was mounting a Detroit v-8 or a v-12 in it for a pulling tractor.

Larry I have never fully recovered from the day a guy pulled out in front of me on my motorcycle I can't lay down on a creeper I get dizzy so bad I feel bad for days and I lost some use of my left arm the shoulder never healed right I had a hole in my scull and bleeding on my brain I layed in intensive care for two weeks. Spent two weeks in physical therapy.

I needed a new floor jack and bought the Snap-On look alike from Harbor freight so far I am satisfied with the jack. I think it was about $200.00. I don't have many things from there but last time I was in the store it looked like they had some better quality items for sale.

I ran those teflon plates for years on two tractor trailers they didn't unhook only for servicing the tractors. I felt that it was a good setup and they helped save the trailer and the fifth wheels. the next fleet I took care of the head driver said they don't work I replaced fifth wheels on all of the trucks and built new king pin plates and new kingpins on four or five trailers.