B66

How to spend a Saturday...good friends, good food, great trucks! A few friends and myself went to pick up my A-50 on Saturday morning down in MD. I made a deal to buy the A-50T during the week of the Baltimore ATHS show, and finally got down to get it. Lou Barber (tow truck owner) and his dad Lou, and Tom Zacney and I followed in the pick-up. We drove and hour, stopped for breakfast, drove another hour and hooked her up, spent and an hour BSing and headed back. A fresh battery, a gas can, some starting fluid, some tinkering and we drove it into the garage. Lunch from the deli, more BS and down to Philly to move a Brockway for another trip. Nothing like a 12 hour day with old trucks! Life is great, and this is one crazy hobby.

Dustin, the old B's aren't hard to find, just go to a show near you and talk to an owner of one. I'd say 8 out of 10 times, he nows where there is one or has a few himself. Join the ATHS and the ATCA to get the show dates. If you live in New England, the have tons of shows, you just missed Bellows Falls, Rutland, Hudson, Massena, Cortland and Barrington, but you can still make it to Thompson Speedway and Foster, RI. I went to a few of thes shows and found about 6 B's for sale at decent prices. Another can't miss for Mack fans is in Lititz, PA at Roger Gerharts place. There is always a truck or two for sale there and not for millionaire prices. By the way, these two trucks found me, once you find one, many will follow! Good luck and don't give up the search, they'll find you eventually. Jim.

A friend of mine told me this hobby is "just crazy" and I think he hit it right on the nose. Cliff Sharp, Tom Zacny and I started out at 5am to retrieve these trucks (actually Cliff started at 3:30, he had a 1 1/2 hour ride to meet us). The Blue Arrow Express is a B-70, the AAA Trucking is a B-67. They have been stored since 1990 and haven't seen daylight since. When we got the 67 to my place, we aired up the starter tank, primed the fuel, and she started on the first spin. The B-70 needed a condensor and off she went. Nothing like a Mack truck! Our plan is to leave these trucks as is to preserve the history of these companies, and also to have them at Gearhart's Mack Show in Lititz. The former owner is a very early member of the ATCA and was co-owner with his brother of Blue Arrow, which is still in business. Their story will be in a future issue of Double Clutch. He bought the AAA B-67 at the liquidation auction in 1989, just down the road from where I live. I remember the orange and black trucks running around for many years in my town and always thought they looked pretty darn good. All AAA B-67's had round fuel tanks, air start and horizontal exhaust, and they had a lot of 'em. Sorry for being long winded.

Skip McKean is a great guy from New Hampshire that owns a heating oil company, both local and bulk delivery. That's why the two different names on the trucks. He and his wife come to Macungie every year to show us their trucks, and the trucks are just as nice as the McKean's. Jim Widmann, Pres. ATCA.

Just thought I'd let you all know the official numbers for the ATCA's 27th Annual National Meet in Macungie Memorial Park. There were 546 trucks, 99 vendors on 280 spaces and 14 Crafters for the ladies. Thanks to all those who support the ATCA and came to our show. I hope your spaces worked for you Barry, next time we'll make sure Amy gets the stuff out to us! See y'all next year! Jim Widmann, President, ATCA.

JD2050 asked for some pictures with trailers, thought I'd add a couple more. I also got an ear full from friends about not mentioning the reason for the Studebaker/Chevy paint scheme on the B66 (Jan TotM). To make it as short as possible, I had just finished restoring a 1950 Stude in my shop, the B was in primer and waiting for a color choice. My friend Tom stopped by, the Stude was sitting next to my 96 Chevy PU in the lot in front of the B, he said there are the colors. I painted the cab, doors and hubs with the hood off. I painted the frame, tanks and bumper. Opps, forgot the hood! Oh no, used up all the Stude green, got plenty of dark green left. Looked pretty good all together. Hope the guys in South Jersey let me come back now that I gave TZ his moment in the spotlight.

The "scoop" back was the contour cab. Not all B61's were flat backs and not all B67's were contours. The CA67 cab was an option on most B-models and the flat back was an option on the B67. There were several other model numbers that the contour cab was standard, such as B44 and B65 to name a couple. My B66 is a contour cab, yes it's tight in there, but there is also a big doghouse where the back three cylinders reside. The B61 with a contour cab is a bit roomier and the B67 with a flat back cab has plenty of room. Most B-cabs are tight inside if you start getting over the 6 foot range, but I'm only 5'7", so they all fit me just fine. Just my thoughts, but like all B's, rules change just as you think you figured them out.

Most people that aren't Mack fans don't know that. My B-66 has Thermodyne emblems on the hood, that's what confuses most truck people. I meet Tom once or twice a year and consider him one of my best friends. We meet at Macungie and usually at the Mack show at Gerharts. He is one of the most likable people you would ever meet, and his stories are priceless. I don't know if you belong to the Antique Truck Club of America or not, but at Macungie last year, he showed up, grabbed my hand for a healthy shake and said "welcome to our family reunion." This became the main story in the July issue of our magazine. I hope the picture comes thru OK.

Magnadyne was for flatheads, Thermodyne was the overhead engines, both gas and diesel. The maxidyne/maxitorque and econodyne get too new for me. The gold dog was on the Maxi trucks, all dogs before that were chrome. I get this question everytime I take out my gas B66 from both novices and experienced "Mack Experts". When they see the Thermodyne emblems on the hood, they think it's diesel.