GearheadGrrrl

2200 pounds, more or less...

It'll work, but be seriously underpowered at 42 tons, with a 237 that's not even 6 HP/ton. On the flat, top speed will be at best about 100 KPH after a kilometer or two. Gradability may not be adequate either, unless it has the 6 speed "low hole" transmission- When the 237 was introduced maximum gross weight in most of the U.S. was only around 33 metric tons. I'd suggest holding out for at least 300 HP. Where are you going to work this truck?

Yup, probably due to salt. Body looks great, a little surface rust on the bottom and that's it. But all the paints rusted off the rear of the frame. I've got the box off now, replacing a leaking brake line and may go ahead and do all the rear brake lines. Checking the fuel system too- Takes a lot of cranking to start if it's been parked a few weeks, sort of like the system is losing prime.

I'm looking at the same problem on a smaller scale on a '98 Ford Ranger- only 90k miles, never uses any oil, cab and box have at worst surface rust on the bottom, but frame is rusting badly in back. This is a common problem on Rangers, just google it and you'll see 10 year old Rangers with collapsing frames, bumpers falling off, etc.. Mine ain't that bad, it passes the Toyota "hit the frame with a ball peen hammer and see if it goes through test" and the "jump on the back bumper" test... But in a couple years, it probably won't. I've got a leaking rear brake line to find and fix and the fuel system seems to lose prime if I park it for a while anyways, so I'm probably gonna pull the box off, fix those problems, and further inspect. Don't want to put much money in it, since the 12 year old tires need replacing too... But I looked it up on KBB and it's worth $4-5k, so maybe worth cleaning and repainting the frame behind the cab where it's rusted the worst.

Doing that extensive a repairs to a quarter century old truck is questionable economy. Even if you do the work yourself, you're probably paying yourself less than minimum wage for time you could spend more profitably driving a running truck.

A late Valueliner with the galvanized steel cab may be the best Mack ever- Good allround visibility, lighter than a Freightliner (under 12,000 pounds for a 6x4 with aluminum frame), short enough BBC to be maneuverable, etc.. Saw one today with a dump body working on road construction on I-29 near Brookings, and there's another with a grain box in a farmer's shed near here.

A pile of coal can do the same thing, seen it happen at Port of Minneapolis...

If you play with the pump, all you're going to do is get a peakier power curve that will require a transmission with more gears. The 300L Maxidyne puts out peak torque at 1020 RPM, downshift at 1000 and upshift at 1800 and it'll work fine.

Guys, My CDL's been resting in my wallet for 5 years now, seen no need to put it to work. UPS tried to get me to come back and work peak season out of Sioux Falls, but wasn't worth the 140 round trip commute. As for OOing, it'd be fun to buy a thoroughbred RD tractor or truck and pup and show the local Billy Big Riggers with their Kenworthless and Peterbrokes how it's done. But I'd be working for nothin', those cowboys will run for fuel costs and have depressed the rates accordingly... That's why their wives work in town so the family will have food on the table and health insurance while Billy's out playin' Big Rigger. Add in the fact that my garage has only a 7 foot door, and I'll just say happily retired.

IIRC, the HT740 is only rated for 1250 pounds feet of torque or so, thus a derate to a 350 or 300 horse rating is in order. As for top speed, the Mack 13 speed has a .7 or so overdrive top, so instead of 75 MPH @ 1900 RPM top speed will be down to 53 MPH at the same RPM.

Sounds like an Allison out of an older Post Office Mack. Being it had an air throttle, it's probably out of an early 90s model with a mechanical engine and your '96 probably has an electronic engine. It's possible to make it work, but gonna be a lot of hassle. BTW, that Allison is a direct drive and you'll lose some top speed.

From the point of view of the buyer, Volvo is slowly removing the reasons for buying a Mack truck. The MP engines are OK, but good luck getting a Maxidyne in a highway chassis. The Maxitorque tranny is still theoretically available, but the standard Eaton trannies give Mack no advantage over the competition, and the Volvo automated single countershaft trannies look to be a liability in the long run. Same with the rear axles- the standard Meritor units are the same as everyone else uses, so unless you order the Mack bogie, no advantage there. The frame is Volvo, so no advantage there, and the "Mayflower" cab is nothin' special, although it does have the proven ability to withstand a couple decade's abuse. So unlike the 70s and 80s when Mack was head and shoulders above their competitors and an easy choice, todays Volvo/Mack offers little advantage over the competition. Daimler, Navistar, and Paccar will be happy to give you a truck with the same 12 to 15 liter engine, automated manual tranny, and single reduction axles as Volvo does in their Mack product. Thus the customer's choice is determined by price, forcing Volvo to accept low profits in what has become a commodity market.

Bin Laden is dead, GM is alive, and there's a new 'Vette commin' out this fall!

Quit watching Faux News and get that blood pressure down!

Do you read anything besides conspiracy theories? And I paid for my phone with the union pension I earned, and that "free phone" "conspiracy" was started by Bush 43.

Yup, they made us don that PPE when we swapped tanks on the forklifts at Yellow Freight.

Let's see... Barack's been an organizer, attorney, legislator, U.S. senator, and president... Bet you couldn't even do one of them jobs! And his bosses (us) liked his work enough that he never lost a re-election!

The article doesn't say that at all, get your facts straight. As far as emissions vs. fuel economy, pollution is mostly a product of population concentration and congestion, for example North Dakota has all kinds of diesel trucks and coal fired power plants, and they also have the cleanest air in the nation. The tightened emissions rules should have applied only to the areas with air pollution problems, not the whole country.

Looks like just a visor and gloves. That said, natural gas fueling isn't ready for mass market- It's only suited for companies willing to invest in six figure fueling facilities, employee training, and scrapping the truck at the end of it's life.

Banana Flips are owned by Bimbo and are still made IIRC, but not widely distributed. Drakes was bought by Hostess, went down with them, and the brand was bought out of bankruptcy by McKee (Little Debbie brand).

So the president says new trucks have to get better fuel economy, which puts more dollars in your pocket... And you're complaining?

Sounds like the Hostess bankruptcy, most of the trucks have been parked since november, plates expired, etc. and who knows when they'll get sold. The deadline just passed for bids on the remaining properties, Flowers Baking still hasn't got antitrust clearance to buy part of the company, and they've had ingredients and such sitting since november, and nobody seems to even know what all the company owns.

Another reason why wise truck makers keep Cummins on the option list...

In a way, these will be high priced, low mileage "barn finds" with all the attendant problems. As for low mileage U models, I wouldn't be surprised to find one... Several big carriers with Mack fleets like Murphy closed their doors after deregulation and the trucks were often auctioned off. Wouldn't surprise me at all to find a low mileage U model or other Mack that was bought for some low mileage use and is still hangin' around. There are also government fleets to look through- for example the South Dakota State Patrol has a Marmon cabover that is rarely driven.

I'm only about 250 miles from that town, may ride over and check it out. BTW, this isn't all that unusual- people in the rural plains states tend to keep stuff forever... But given all the media attention this auction has gotten there will be plenty of bidders and few bargains! As for old trucks, I've found a couple Marmon cabovers in South Dakota as well as a pair of 70s Diamond Reo conventionals and everything else under the sun. Keep in mind though that even a new vehicle that's been parked and never driven for decades will probably have a ton of problems with dried up gaskets, rust, etc. and need new tires as well. Then again, if the vehicle is still on MSO, the warranty may still be valid!