BC Mack Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Hi,Back in the day, in the UK, I was a mechanic on Volvo F88/F10's, moved to Vancouver Canada in 1980 and worked for Western Mack. After a 15 year stint in aviation I'm back wrenching on buses for our city Transit. I'm a hobbiest restorer of planes, trucks and buses... my current project is a bumper-bumper resto on a 1956 Scenicruiser Coach with an 8V71. I'm sure there is a Mack restorer in the PA area that is doing one for a customer, anyone know him?I have an itch for a cabover, maybe the F88 never got out of my system, just for car/truck shows and bobtailing around as a private truck.. so I've been looking around for a year or so and while a Kenworth K100E Aerodyne has a certain appeal the condition vs price is outrageous. So, a recent advert for a CH613 locally got me interested and some research piqued my interest. I never saw these when at Mack in the early 80's so had to start asking around and heard nothing negative.I need advice... while I can figure out the blatently obvious (40 years of busted knuckles does that) I need input on what to look for... so, what is the achilles heel of the MH???1989 sleeper, E9 V8 500HP with recent turbo, rebuilt Mack 12spd, rebuilt Mack axles, air-ride rear suspension, 500,000km's....But, there's a downside... the owner found a small amount of coolant in the oil when draining... so he pulled the pan and presurised the coolant... but no sign of any leaks...So... how good is the V8????? any inherent problems? has he found a common issue with cracked heads - gaskets - liner seals??? do I ignore it or run away???I would like to buy locally, time is short to go jetting around the country and not cost effective at this price range... not many cabovers left on this side of the country and importing to Canada CAN be a PITA if things go sideways at the border...please throw anything at me... I've been reading here for a while and you seem to be a reasonable bunch of Mack gearheads..thanksSean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaddeusW Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Sounds like one hell of a nice MH with the V8 and all. The V8 parts are getting hard to come by although not impossible. Plenty of second hand cabs around for parts and frames are the same as the Superliner 2 and CL. The 12 speed is one hell of a gear box, and its a monster too.Have you thought of importing an F88 for restoration? IT would be a bit more expensive but how many F88's are on this side of the pond? Would be a nice piece for shows. Im more partial to the Scania LB's myself, would be neat to bring a piece of old European Iron to Macungie. Quote -Thad What America needs is less bull and more Bulldog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Mack Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 The prices for the 70's Scania and Volvo cabovers is scary, even with my Canadian buck on a high... I looked into importing an F89 6x4 from EU (better engine and brakes than the F88) and the costs were WAY too much. Highly collectible and sought after. There is an early 80's F10 or 12 in my area but it's like finding a ghost, I saw it a few times but it was gone before I turned my head. Others have seen it so I'm not having flashbacks...When working in the UK we had many visits of Mack trucks, F series cabovers, at our shop dropping by for spares for other makes in their fleet.. a company called OHS used them for the Middle East run which was the big money maker of the day, UK overland to the Gulf or Tehran via EU, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria et al.... makes those Ice Road Truckers look like pansies..!!! check youtube "Destination Doha" for "WTF are they doing there" and for what defines a 70's sleeper cab over the pond.. I think I will settle for the Ultraliner if it is in half decent shape, going to view in 2-3 weeks, I like the tin worm "resitant" cab and that it has Mack components.. the shortage of parts is common to most elder vehicles so not a big worry for a personal vehicle, but a big no if it was for commercial use. An older vehicle from the 70's would be more favoured but their condition would dictate more restoration than I want to get into as I'm running out of years to get all my projects done... gotta get out and drive!!!if there are any MH or E9 owners that can guide me towards reliable parts suppliers I would be grateful.thanksSean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemack Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 SeanMost of the basic engine parts (fliters, belts etc.) are still available thru Watt's Mack or the local Mack dealer. I have an MH 612 with an E6-300 which is very common, and easier to get parts for than the E9, but most of the cab parts should be available from the the guys that are parting out MH's or have E9 parts. The MH cab is extremely durable, and made of Maxiglas, which of course doesn't rust. Most of the work I have been doing is making sure the doors and windows, seats, locks, gauges etc, all work correctly. I think most of these are common with other Macks so you can buy these if you need them.Firemack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Mack Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Firemackthanks for that info, I figured that the cab could be a problem for trim, knobs, gauges, door parts but am learning that it is composed of common items from other types, actually quite logical when you think about it...the seller has a parts donor truck, the one he is selling has a single tachograph and I was figuring how I could convert back to seperate tach/speedo.. donor truck will come in handy for that.anyone know where I can view on-line any literature that either shows or clearly explains the different levels of cab interior trim. I have heard of 'level 4' but not sure what that really is. I've seen both cloth or vinyl seats and dashes with extra gauges. I found a few Mack brochures on-line but even though Mack state availability of trim levels they never define what they are.Magnum.. I assume is a top level of trim? anything mechanically improved?sorry for the newbie questions, haven't been around Macks for many years but I am absorbing info fast and will soon know what I am talking about!!! thanksSean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemack Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 SeanThe Mack Museum sent me the original sales brochure, which describes the various trrim levels, but only has pictures of the vinyl and leather. I think the Magnum was only available for a short timeframe, so would be outside the level 1-4. I can scan the original brochure for you if you want to see that info, or you can request itr directly from the Mack museum.Firemack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Mack Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Firemackhave sent you a PMthanksSean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57 bcr Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 The guy doing that Scenicruiser BC, is Matt Pfahl of Bethlehem,Ct..His ad at the top of your screen will take to his site where he has pics of that bus! Quote IF YOU BOUGHT IT, A TRUCK BROUGHT IT..AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH IT, A TRUCK WILL HAUL IT AWAY!!! Big John Trimble,WRVA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Mack Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 57 BCRthanks for the lead, I have not seen photos of it since it arrived at his shop.. it is, so far, the most intense teardown and rebuild undertaken... I don't think Greyhound or Marmon-Harrington ever went this far.BC Mack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57 bcr Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 57 BCRthanks for the lead, I have not seen photos of it since it arrived at his shop.. it is, so far, the most intense teardown and rebuild undertaken... I don't think Greyhound or Marmon-Harrington ever went this far.BC MackI hear ya! He told me this is the third shop it has been to.The others gave up on it! Quote IF YOU BOUGHT IT, A TRUCK BROUGHT IT..AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH IT, A TRUCK WILL HAUL IT AWAY!!! Big John Trimble,WRVA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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