vision386

At least this almost 20 year old loves the old iron and old school way of trucking.

I did say "average" did'nt mean to lunp anybody into a catagory, i know there are guys who do know about the old school ways of trucking, and i am proud to associate with those guys...did'nt mean any offense.......mark

Ask some questions about the RL700 too. I kinda like those.

Rob

Will do, now just need to find my notebook with the info. the RL was a single axle, with a holmes sling-type body, so i would guess it is not used all that often, as most wreckers now are the "undereach" type, but i will look into it and see what i come up with- im a big fan of the RL-series as well..mark

It sounds like the one that was at the show at Petersburg, VA. I saw it in 2008. Noone was ever around it. I left a card but never got a call.

I would imagine this was the same G-model i saw being towed by an RL-700 wrecker approx. 3 months ago in southwest va. was not able to contact the wrecker driver on the CB, but made note of the towing company, maybe i can get in contact with them, see what the story with it is. The truck i saw was also bright yellow, looked to be partially restored, it was coming from mcguire trucking in drakes branch, VA was northbound on route 360....i will see what i can find out, and post the results- mark

OK,found all these. Searched everywhere and could not find a picture of a Propagation.

AAHHH! the golden years of trucking! doans pills,preparation H..........lol! A+ on the 2 story falcon btw!

I put a lot of miles on an 87 Freightliner conventional. It did an excellent job, and in a hurry as well. As for as PROPAGATION is concerned, just as in trucking, there is as much or more of it still going on. Just a younger crowd doing it. The best I can say about that is Dammit.

I agree, want to try something funny?,ask your average 20-something "trucker" to define the following terms and see what the answers are....EMERYVILLE, CRACKERBOX, 2 STORY FALCON, JAPANESE FREIGHTLINER, etc. its always good for a few laughs! greybeard trucking is getting to be a more exclusive club everyday, there are so many younger drivers that have done more than me,faster, better, and with time to spare it makes me think i have done something wrong the last 30 years!...mark PROPAGATION strikes again!

Just bought a 1966 B-75 Mack with quadraplex trany and END 711 motor. I already own a B-61. Does anyone know how many of the B-75's were made? It is a neat truck. What is the main difference in the 75 and 61?

Thanks for the info.

According to my information there were 47,459 B-61's made between 1953 and 1966, B-75 production was 1,619 between 1955 and 1966, major differences as already stated were basically engine/trans options,and of course cooling capacity, plus the availability of aluminum components...hope this helps, mark

Now this is a truck!

You have good taste in trucks! the 361 series brockway was one hell of a truck! never drove a V-12 powered one,but one of the first trucks i ever drove was a 1972 361T,have a lot of great memories of that one. once upon a time they were a real common sight here on the east coast, miss those days...mark

Recently my dad purchased an MB 400 that has been sitting a mile away from us for who knows how long. The former owner believes it's a 1968, and rumor has it that it used to be a water truck on Three Mile Island. It runs and drives good, just gonna need some tlc. I've looked all over the internet, and haven't been able to find any resources as far as manufacturing dates or anything, so if anybody could point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated

The MB series was a great truck in my opinion,i drove one in new jersey for a local cartage company for quite a while,lacked power steering however,gave me arms like popeye!

Being that we have Mack fan's/owner's all over the world that post here, whats your favorite Beer? Mine is just plain ol Bud Lite, most popular around my location is Bud Lite, Bush Lite , Coors Lite and Budwiser. Would like to know what my northern friends drink and every one around the world drinks.

I like YUENGLING LAGER as well, have for years, was really glad to find it down here when we moved to virginia from new jersey...another good beer i've found thats regional to the wisconsin area is leinenkugel red, reall good stuff!

I can believe it actually. I spoke with a gent that worked at Bostrom prior to Accuride becoming the parent company. He explained that it probably was a "LevelAir 1" series seat that was marketed as Bostrom, and private branded by both Sears, Roebuck, and Montgomery Ward stores through the mid 1970's. My truck is a 1978 and the line set ticket just says Bostrom Premium seat without further breakdown. I've not had it back into a truck since having it rebuilt but the features I've never seen since.

Thanks,

Rob

No problem, that sounds like what i was talking about, i was looking for pictures of the seat in our w-series, but as of yet have not had any luck. it puts me in mind of a bostrom seat, just the one we had had some "goofy" controls, but as i remember it was pretty comfortable...shame the rest of truck was junk! lol!...mark

I will have to get a print for the truck to see if I can make it work before pulling the engine.

Thanks,

Rob

RE: air rde seat- Rob, without seeing it cant be sure, but i believe the seat in question was manufactured by sears roebuck inc. (no kidding) they were sold under the "levelmaster" and "ridemaster" brands, these were primarily found in ford heavy/medium duty trucks in the late sixties early seventies. they are pretty obscure,but we had a w-series ford C.O.E in the 70's that had a seat very much like what you describe......mark

Hey all,

I'm Jared, from Aspers, PA. As long as I can remember, I've liked Mack trucks, probably because my dad has always had an interest in them. When my grandfather drove truck, he drove B, H, F and R model Mack's, as well as some other makes. My dad currently drives truck for my uncle, but unfortunately his truck is an IH Eagle, although he did drive a Vision for a few days when the IH was out of commission. My interest in old iron started when my dad and I restored our 1948 John Deere M a few years ago when I was 16. Since then, I've acquired a few garden tractors, a 1950 John Deere MT, and an IH K1 pickup, which I will probably be trying to sell soon. I am a volunteer firefighter with the Biglerville and Heidlersburg fire departments, and love it. Once my dad bought our MB 400, I figured this would be a good place to come for advice and information for when we get into doing somewhat of a restoration on it.

Hello! welcome to the site! this is definately the right place for advise and answers concerning macks. I drove an MB series truck for a local cartage company when i still lived in NJ, these were great trucks in my opinion,and they dont get a lot of play as far as restoration,etc. it would be nice to see one brought back! easy to work on, good in the city, great turning radius etc. good luck with the project,keep us posted!.....mark

It is most unfortunate that truck is no longer with us. It was the third and final RL755LST built featuring a 1693TA Caterpillar engine. It was ordered, owned, and operated by Bob Eckstein who hauled steel out of the Chicago area and who invented the truck APU.

Remnants of the truck were being sold off a piece at a time in the late 1990's at different truck shows. Although I never did see the truck, I do know quite a bit about it.

Attached is another photo of it from 1983 in Overdrive Magazine.

Rob

Rob,was there an article about the truck in overdrive as well? if so, i would sure like to read it. I went back through my copies of overdrive, but could not find the picture or anything else. I actually dont have many of the newer issues,as i pretty much stopped getting it when mike parkhurst sold out......mark

The truck photos you have are not with the original sleeper to that truck. It had a Rest Rite originally. What your photos show is a Double Eagle which is about twice the size and I'd bet much nicer.

Rob

You are right, if you look closely in the 1st photo, it is still the original 36" rest rite,the later photo's show the double eagle, as memory serves,it was trimmed to match the interior of the cab (believe it was the deluxe western interior) in the oxblood color...mark

If I recall, someone has pictures of that truck or knows who/where it is. Totally agree....very "truckly" and tastefully done.

Have gotten some replies from rob, who knows quite a bit of the trucks history,i REALLY like this tractor as well! classic good looks,it sounded great! i'm not a big fan of the "custom" trucks we see today at shows and on the road, if i were to build a trator from scratch, it would look a lot like this! thanks for the reply! mark

I know more of the truck than the jobs it performed. I was told by a couple different parties that it's purpose was flats with structural steel hauling. Your rememberance of a van type container I have no knowlege of.

Rob

Thats's all i was concerned with as well,(the truck) i was suprized to learn that it was cat-powered however. now that i remember, the tractor did have a headache rack/cabguard, so i would'nt be at all suprized to learn it pulled a flatbed. I just REALLY took a shine to the "look" of this tractor, everytime i saw it, it was meticulously clean, sounded great, seemed like the driver/owner took a great deal of pride in his ride!.....i'm a big fan of the classic look in a truck,not at all what we see on the road and at shows, (too much b.s. for my liking)..if i were to build a tractor from scratch,it would look a lot like this one! again,thanks so much for the in-put,its greatly appreacieated! mark

It is most unfortunate that truck is no longer with us. It was the third and final RL755LST built featuring a 1693TA Caterpillar engine. It was ordered, owned, and operated by Bob Eckstein who hauled steel out of the Chicago area and who invented the truck APU.

Remnants of the truck were being sold off a piece at a time in the late 1990's at different truck shows. Although I never did see the truck, I do know quite a bit about it.

Attached is another photo of it from 1983 in Overdrive Magazine.

Rob

That is unfortunate,this was a great looking truck. i saw the truck at several truck shows, and then eventually on the road. I was also unaware of the APU connection. And as far as the steel hauling,every time i saw the truck,it was pulling a van,but who knows?...anyway, thanks for the info and reply!....mark

Please see attached pics

Just wondering if anyone recognizes this truck. I saw the truck on the East Coast (NJ/NY/CT/Eastern PA) in the late 70's. Never got to speak the driver/owner and just wanted some info. on the truck. In my opinion, this is what a truck should look like. (Old school) Not like some of the 'Creations' from the 'Mafia'.

Just wanted to know who owned/owns it, where it ended up being, whether or not it is still working...general history of the truck.

Thanks,

Mark

I know the feeling-some days I ain't too good at going forward, much less backing up.

Man i know that feeling! lol! seems somedays i can hit the worst blindside dock in one shot,but give me a wide open dock with lines painted on the ground and i can't get straight to save my ass!

I was sitting at a truckstop in ND, watching the 30 day wonders backing in. A few got backed in after many trys. most gave up and found a pull though or parked in the driveway.... A canadian came in.. looped around, and backed in ,pulling up once...

,

BTW... the canadian was pullig a B train....

Man i'm amazed at some of the foolishness i see on a daily basis on the road anymore! I think there are as many idiots in trucks as cars these days,thats a sad state of affairs!

Hell, I may as well have been. Grandpa taught me how to back a trailer as soon as I could reach the pedal on the lawn tractor...been doing it without any trouble ever since.

The thing to remember whenever you are hooked to a trailer is that you are NOT driving the truck pulling the trailer. You are driving the trailer, and the truck is just the steer tires. Visualize where you want the trailer to go, then put it there.

If ya really want a challenge, though, you oughtta try driving wreckers. Hook a car from the rear that has it's front tires turned in either direction. Yeah, it'll be dog-walking behind you all the way back to the yard. Now back it into the space ya need it to be in 'til the owner comes to claim it.

Sure know what you mean! my grandfather and father taught me too! but i have to say, (not because he was my dad) but my old man was the backinst'up S.O.B i have ever seen! lol!

Im new to the site,just starting out? backing is probably the hardest thing to master,just stick with it,keep your patience,watch what you're doing and REMEMBER no one was born knowing how to drive a truck! its important to get out and look!...i have been driving for almost 30 years,and i still do!...believe me,if its something you WANT to do,it gets easier with time and practice!.....best of luck,mark

At present just 1 2001 cx-613 100th aniversary edition,but would eventually like to aquire a B-61,and an RL-700....pics posted on my gallery. should i count the estimated 1200 first gear macks in my toy room? lol!

I bought this '78 F Model in my avitar today. 237 w 5 speed-supposedly a strong runner, but has been sitting for 2 years. I'm planning on trying to get it running before I bring it home-actually so I can bring it home, and the 4 batts are dead and probably toast. Can I get by trying to start this w 2 12 Volts that I have in the shop, or will I need all 4? Come to think of it I didn't look at it close enough-are there 4 12volt batts, or 4 6v? Thanks-Mike

I agree,2 12 volt batteries should be enough to turn it over/start,of course if it has been sitting that long MAKE DAM SURE you have oil pressure when cranking! looks good though! keep us posted how its going....glad to help however possible...mark

thats great! nice to see someone express an opinion without worrying about being "politically correct".....