phantom309

Welcome to the site! Your videos are GREAT!!!!

We got a little more done this week. The box is coming along and we're fitting the running boards. The rear of the fender used to go to a running board but it wouldn't have looked right with the narrow bumper so we made a little brace that will also work as a step once we add a little checker plate. We re-used the old running boards, we just had to cut them down a bit. And of course, I had to get Winston the Bulldog into the picture.

That would look terrific!!! Those fenders should look really good. Jim

I'll be interested to see how it comes comes out. Are you going with flat deck or will it be some kind of box? I was also wondering what fenders you're using? When we first started looking for a B model we were just looking for a tractor and I thought we'd either have to make some rear fenders out of fiberglass or modify a set of reproduction pickup fenders. Jim

The box is starting to come together. We got the rear bumper from the school bus that we're using for parts. It was too wide so we shortened it down and then we added a recess for the license plate. The bumper's just propped up in place right now because we've still got some work to do on it but I think it's going to look pretty good when it's done. Jim

I just came across a site with some really good vintage Mack photos. (Hank's Truck Pictures) I thought I'd post a link for those who may not have seen it. You can click on the photos to make them bigger. http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/mack.htm Jim

I thought I posted a reply to this already but I must have forgot to click the "post" button. Thanks for posting that! It makes me want to hurry up and get my B Model done. Jim

Yep, those were the days! Hard to beat those B and R models. Welcome to the site!

We haven't had much time to work on the Mack but we have made a little bit of progress. Today we installed some new taillights. We plan on adding more lights between the tailgate and bumper later but wanted to put some directly onto the fenders. We used some bezels from some old flood lights that we had. They fit perfectly into some pieces of 5" exhaust pipe. The rear fenders had some rust on the surfaces where they bolted to the box and running boards. We trimmed the mounting surface off and welded the fenders directly to the box.

Thanks but I think I'll be okay for tires because we're running them on one of our highway trucks. I'll wait until the last minute then grab a couple off that truck. They'll be over a year old by then but should still have at least 50% of the tread left. As you said those tires are still really expensive and there aren't many used ones available. By the way, the next trucks we order will all have Super Singles. The drivers were a little unsure about them at first so we only got them on one truck last time but now they really like them. They say they ride just a little better and get better traction. We also have to use tire chains from time to time and the single tires are much easier to chain up.

Those wheels look great!!! I'm also going to use Super Singles, I got a pretty good deal on a set of used 14" wide aluminum Budd rims. They came up fine with a little polishing. Jim

I'll have to look for that magazine. Jim

I find that once you have a problem with fuel gelling you have to change the fuel filters. He's probably done that but if you don't it seems that it doesn't take much to clog the filters again. http://www.davcotec.com/pdf/Diesel-FuelPro...lorbrochure.pdf Our trucks have Davco filters like the one in the link. The model we use is plumbed to the engine coolant so it also works as a fuel heater. We also run less restrictive 50 micron filters in the winter. Most of our drivers only use conditioner when the temperature gets down to -20 Fahrenheit and some never use any conditioner at all. Of course the fuel is blended differently for the northern climate where we run. Jim

I'm not sure if synthetic oil is as important if you live in a warm state or mainly run your truck in the summer but up here in Canada almost everybody uses synthetic oil in heavy truck trannys and rear ends. I haven't had a truck with conventional oil for over twenty years but I can still remember starting trucks at 30 below zero and having to hold the clutch in because the oil in the transmission was so thick that it would stall the engine if you tried to let it out too soon. Then if you had an auxiliary trans you could put it in neutral and put the main in gear and let it spin to help it warm up. If you had a Roadranger and you pulled out of the yard too soon you sometimes couldn't get it to shift into high range until you'd driven a few blocks. Synthetic oil's great in a cold climate. I notice that Eaton's recommended oil change intervals for a linehaul application are 120,000 miles for mineral oil or 500,000 miles for synthetic. I'm not sure if this still applies but at one time you HAD to use synthetic oil to be eligible for the extended warranties. I really like synthetic oil but I sure wish it wasn't so darn expensive. Jim

That's a great looking truck!!!

I like it!!! I think a big truck like that looks good with lots of chrome!!! Jim

Great photos!!! Nice trucks too!!! Jim

Nice photograph! Up where I live there's been snow on the ground for about a month already. Jim

Freightrain, I regret to say that the 55 Chevy has an automatic. (TH350) We were at the Gasser Reunion last year, here's a picture. We hope to be there again this year. Jim

We got the box cut down and we set it in place to get an idea of how it will look. Nothing's carved in stone yet but I think the wheelbase will be pretty close to what you see in the photos and the side of the box is about as high as it can be to allow for room to clear the trailer. We just rolled a single tire into place but there will of course be dual tires on the rear axle. Jim

Freightrain, Thanks for the suggestions. I know what you mean about the cab being kinda small for a long trip. It's even worse for us because Winston the Bulldog comes to most of the races. I think we're going to tough it out and stick with the regular cab though. By the way we usually get to a race or two in Ohio every year, usually Thompson or Norwalk. Maybe we'll run into you at the track some day. We've made a little bit of progress on the truck. The rear axle is out right now and we're working in getting the box cut down so that we can try it in place. We also got a donor truck (bus really) It's a 96 International with a DT466 and an Allison automatic. The 466 is a pretty good little in line six cylinder but unfortunately it's not as cool or as powerful as any of the Mack engines we were considering. It was cheap though, I hope it works okay. It's got Hydraulic disk brakes all the way around so we might use the axles too. I'm hoping to try the box in place tomorrow to get a better idea of how the truck will look. Jim

Freightrain, Thanks for posting that link, that's pretty much the look we're after. I've always liked the way the old tow trucks looked. I was looking at your truck and trailer, the Mack looks just about perfect in front of a trailer like that. We've been towing the trailer with a 3/4 ton pickup but the Mack is going to be much cooler.

I'll let you know before we do anything with it. Jim

A local guy got most of the fire truck parts but so far we don't have any plans for the engine. As I said we're almost certainly going to replace it with a diesel. We will be using the box and fenders but I'm not sure about the running boards. Jim

It's a B-85 with a 707ci gas engine. We're going to re-power it to diesel but haven't made any firm decisions about what engine to use. This truck would be great as a bed truck but we've already got an enclosed fifth wheel trailer so we're going to turn this into a short wheelbase tractor. It'll have rear fenders and a small box, it should look a little like an old tow truck. Here is a sketch I did a while ago that gives an idea of the look we're after. Jim