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nfreema5

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Everything posted by nfreema5

  1. First vehicle I ever had was my dad's old Geo Prizm. Unflattering in every regard but it never left me stranded.. Drove that my junior year of high school. Year after my grandfather passed away and I inherited his Toyota Matrix. Fun little car with a 5 speed, but it wasn't for me. The summer after I graduated I sold that car and bought a 1992 Dodge 3/4 diesel and haven't looked back, much to my parents' chagrin. Not being "car people" at all, they didn't know why the hell I would sell a mint-condition compact to buy a 20 year old diesel truck. I don't think they'll ever really understand. -Nick
  2. I've been told the motor is the result of a joint venture between CAT, Navistar, and MANN (not sure if that's a misprint of the German MAN truck co.) At any rate, there's very little about the truck that is true pure-bred CAT. Navistar alone would stear me clear of it if I was in the market for a new vocational truck. Not that it matters; there's nothing a CAT diesel does that a Mack or Cummins can't do for less money. That's why I love the bulldogs. The streets would be awful boring if it was only Freightliners and PACCARs.
  3. how about that 1960 B61 wrecker? I'm thinking a misprint again, it's a a B80 with some other cab installed
  4. Best of luck getting those back on the road, especially that 81. I'm partial to any flat-fender B. Mack and Mopar- you've got good taste in classic vehicles -Nick
  5. yeah, if I ever need a tow rig I'll go with a Ram 4500 or 5500. It might be overkill but those medium-duty trucks offer a lot more in terms of gear ratios and transmissions, not to mention better mileage since the medium-duty "Ram" Cummins trucks use DEF. The 4500 and 5500 Rams come with 4.88 rear axles and Aisin transmissions which are a lot more stout than the autos found in a 3/4 or 1 ton. Still, I'd prefer a manual tranny with over 6 gears but that would take some ingenuity to get done. What kind of loads does your dad haul? Sounds like he might want to upgrade to a medium duty truck at some point. Definitely pricier but better resale value, longer service intervals, and just about any transmission and gearing combo he could think of. I would just avoid getting a Freightliner; they don't seem to hold up too well. -Nick
  6. Well your '98 is considered by most Dodge Cummins guys to be the best of the 12 valves, since it comes with the P7100 injector pump and the upgraded interior that Dodge introduced that year.The pre '94s aren't powerhouses since they came with Bosch VE rotary injector pumps, which can only handle about 300hp safely. But there are a few advantages to the 89-93 "first gen" trucks. First, those early engines allegedly are no different than the ones put into tractors, excavators, etc. so the internals are a bit stronger than later 12 valves put into Dodge trucks. In addition, the 89-93 trucks with the Cummins have a lot more room underneath the hood to work with; all the valves and injectors can be easily reached for adjustments which is a little tougher to do on later Dodge models. Also, the 89-93 models came with the Chrysler 727 Torqueflite, which Mopar guys tell me dates all the way back to the 1950s. They're really stout transmissions that had no problem handling the torque of the Cummins, having been used in most Mopar muscle cars of the '60s and '70s. In '91 Dodge offered the A518, which is just a Torqueflite with an overdrive gear. It's the automatic transmissions that Dodge used in the following years that were so notorious for problems, so the '89-'93 trucks seemed to be the best choice as a work truck, at least for me. Lastly, I've just noticed from my own experience that the earlier trucks don't seem to rust as quickly as the newer ones, but there's any number of reasons why that could be and it might very well have to do with how the owner maintains their vehicles rather than the build quality. What I look forward to is the next (5th) generation of Dodge diesel trucks. Mopar has really stepped up their game with build quality since Fiat took over management, especially with their interiors, which in the past have been "tombs of hard plastic". Pair that with a new 8 speed auto and I think they might have a Ford beater. -Nick
  7. There was a very similar truck in Diesel Power a few issues back, but with a lot of performance upgrades done to it and a pinstripe delete on the paint. I believe I remember reading the owner also lives in Ohio. As far as my truck goes, I got lucky finding this one. I had been wanting an older diesel pickup since high school since the newer trucks are so outrageously priced. I'm not crazy about Dodge trucks but on the other hand, I like the pre-'94 models and the Cummins 12-valve appealed to me more than the Navistar 7.3. After searching Craigslist for months, I found my truck and learned it was only about an hour away from where I live, so I snatched it up. Came with the custom side-pipe exhaust that you can see in the pic, but otherwise unmolested as I wanted it. With the new paint it definitely turns heads cruising around in the summertime. My only regret is that the truck has a 4 speed slushbox, but otherwise I'm very happy with it. Now if only Mack would make a light duty truck again, all my problems would be solved, but that'll be a cold day in hell. Anyway, thanks again for all the kind words and information everyone -Nick
  8. I always assumed the CL models had heavier axles and frames, but I'm glad that is confirmed. Any idea where I could find literature on CL models? As a child of the '90s I want to restore a CL some day with a 454 Mack as a farm equipment hauler but I'm not aware of all the axles and transmissions that Mack had to offer, say between 1994-1996.
  9. I've been trying to figure out for the longest time what the difference between a Mack CH and CL is, e.g. a CH613 vs. a CL613. I know the CL series was offered with Cummins and CAT power in the CL733 and 53, but can't see any other differences
  10. saw this video on youtube a while back, filmed in Massachusetts in 1993. Hopefully all those trucks are still in the same condition; I know there's a lot of Mack enthusiasts out east, but hardly and here in Ohio
  11. I'd love to restore a B81 of my own, then drop in an 18 speed and a Mack 454 for better road manners. Wonder how much fab work that would take? Hope all this old iron hasn't been scrapped by the time I can get one of my own. Not many kids my age interested in restoring old heavy trucks....
  12. Awesome B80 series. Does it still work regularly? What specific model is it?
  13. My name's Nick, I'm a 20 year old college student from Ohio and have loved anything on wheels since I could crawl, especially diesels and Mack trucks! No one in my family ever drove a truck for a profession but I've always wanted to get behind the wheel of a rig. I starting doing a lot of reading on the the history on these old machines in recent years, and so I joined the forum to learn more and hear the stories from the guys who drove these old dogs years ago. My favorite model Mack is the B80 series (after reading the article about the Procter B813SX in Hemming's a few years back I was hooked. Awesome restoration!). I'd love to restore and breath new life into a B81 of my own some day, and I hope to one day run my own heavy/specialty haul business. Looking forward to seeing what the forum has to offer, Nick
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