Jamaican Bulldog

I wonder if that hood would fit on a RB.

The last DM models had a similar shaped but shorter hood with off set cab.

Very interesting. The demise of the internal combustion engine is greatly exaggerated.

I believe the LJ were the ones equipped with diesel engines and the LF were the gas powered units.

I sell Fords and also come in contact with Chevy and Dodge/Ram owners. The 7.3 is still revered as the best diesel Ford offered in their pick-ups. Despite the regulatory efforts to make newer diesels cleaner and more efficient, I also come across many real life stories of people who get significantly better mileage and more reliability and less ownership costs from the older diesels from Ford, Cummins etc. The newer diesels may be cleaner WHEN they run right, but I wonder if anyone ever factored in how cleaner they really are compared to the older engines if they the newer ones tend to burn more fuel? I remember when the ecoboosts came out and the training materials touted fuel economy advantages to the bigger displacements. Eventually the materials did away with touting fuel economy gains and focused on torque comparisons as more owners and Ford realized that the 3.5 eco really wasn't more efficient than the V8 5.0. The ecoboosts are definitely torquey and reliable but in the case of the F-150 we are seeing more people going back to the V8, especially if they will have them long term as they figure less parts ( no turbos) will last longer. However the 2.7 eco has proven to be almost as powerful as the V8 and definitely more efficient than the V8. Overall, I think its hard for an govt agency to rate mpg of the heavier pick-up engines because they way these vehicles are used and their configurations vary so much.

What are some of the high mileage milestones of Macks folks on here have witnessed during their experiences , especially before needing an engine overall? I am sure there has been many that keep going on and on if maintained well.

I am glad the Anthem will still offer Mack driveline components. I wonder if they eventually offer big Cummins engines.

Do they offer test drives etc of new Macks?

I couldn't understand the disparity in rank with these engines because I thought they were identical. Maybe they were hooked up to different drivelines?

https://www.bigrigs.com.au/news/the-grunt-factor-measuring/3223076/ The Mack MP10 came out on top in a test by Australian Truck Newspaper Big Rigs. It measured grunt pulling power based on an algoritim using a number of factors.

'Built Mack Tough' have always described Mack as having high endurance and reliability. With such a long history, which Mack components such as engines, transmissions or axles etc have had the best reputation of long endurance before overhaul or replacements? A man at Truck wash once told me that his Superliner had gone 2 million miles before overhaul with a E350. I have know someone with a twin stick Mack transmission that have never been opened in 30 yrs. But I also know people with signature Cummins engines with way over 1 million miles without overhaul. Which Mack components have stood out?

Maybe an ex- municipal single axle 4X4 RM plow/sander truck may be a good donor. It may be easier to convert one of those to a dump rather than vice versa.

There will be a lot of hype towards electric trucks like there was for cars to drive up stock prices of those companies and tax payer funded subsidies with little regard to viability. All this before some politician starts mandating them so he can get more donations from recipients of the aforementioned subsidies. I am in the car business and despite the hype most people buy electric cars because of the enormous subsidies and most of these people could afford to buy without subsidies. Like everything there is the element of scarcity. The batteries no matter how advanced are made from scarce materials that are often not acquired in the most environmentally conscious way. Also the materials are often imported. The reason that China pushes electric vehicles is not because China wants to go green but because it has abundant coal resources to generate electricty but not oil or natural gas. Then there is the electric grid as some have already mentioned. If hypothetically everyone had an electric car the infrastructure would not sustain them and the cost of electricity would be astronomical or not sufficent if not sourced from non-carbon derivative. No, renewables can't supply all our needs as much as some think. Germany is the perfect case study of what happens when people try to live in the virtual world and not the real world regarding energy. The demise of the internal combustion engine is greatly exaggerated. It is still the most efficient, practical and cost effective means of converting fuel into useful energy. The technology continues to keep pace above alternatives. Years ago 30 mpg was considered great for a small car, now large cars and SUVs can give you that.

I just saw a decent looking Superliner on craigslist with a 300 engine and 6sp. I always thought that the Superliners only came with higher outputs and transmissions with higher number of gears. https://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/d/1987-mack-superliner/6253922616.html

Relating to the original post. Its sad that there may be owner operators out there who might need a replacement engine for their truck but might find it hard or expensive to get one because perfectly fine motors have been destroyed bcs of carb programs.

Agreed all. We had a large number of cars traded in under cash for clunkers with many more years of life left. We were FORCED to kill them by draining the oil then pouring chemicals in the engine and make them run till they seized. The remarkable thing is how long some of these older engines took to die after doing all that. Sometimes it felt like putting a healthy older animal to sleep for no good reason. The worst for me was a early 90s mint stick shift Mustang GT convertible with no rust. The cash for clunker rebate was more that it was worth for the customer to sell privately. Most people who bought under the program were already in the market for a car anyway and would have bought without the program. Also many of these cars sentenced to die would have been affordable options for people who couldn't afford a new car or who wanted a soon to be classic or rare car. In addition with so many pre owned cars taken off the market, it drove up the prices of other used cars making it harder for people with less income or money to afford one.

Is there a way to tell a galvanized cab by just looking at it?

I have always wondered what the marketing strategy is for Paccar by having two trucks (Peterbilts and Kenworth) that are so similar

I am surprised a 83 has the 'flat back cab', I thought DM models had the rounder back after 73 or 74.

Yes it seems the laws vary by region depending on infrastructure and density. I am in the NYC area and someone told me doubles are not allowed to come through here but can travel on the interstates outside the boroughs.

Were the 5sp only available in the 237 and 285? What did the 300 and 350 come with 9sp and higher?

In the Mack Museum restoration area recently they had an old WWII era looking truck (maybe 5 tons) and it had a massive top-mounted carrier. The label said Timken. Years ago in the late 90s I had an old 1971 British Atkinson and it had a top mounted Kirkstall which was rare at the time as few were still around as Kirkstall went out long ago. The first time I saw it I thought the Atkinson was retrofitted with Mack rears because i had never heard of Kirkstall.

Does anyone else offer top mounted axles/carriers and did Mack only make that type?

Yes it sure did. It drew a crowd when it was running

Many customers also used their Macks all year round and they lasted over 30 yrs. One of the problems I experienced was that not only was the replacement part for the 10 yr old truck overpriced, even though it was 'genuine' Mack parts it didn't even last half as long as the original. I once had an embarrassing situation where I bought some parts at a Mack dealer for someone over seas. He emphasized that it had to be Mack original which I did, it even had the Mack logo etc engrained on them. Not long after he questioned if I had really bought the original Mack parts because they were wearing out already. I felt embarrassed because I didn't want him to think I had got him expensive fake parts.