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Pics of First Mack you drove


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The steering wheel was an aftermarket that I believe was added when the cab was upgraded to a galvanized around 1996. The horn button clashed with the rest of the interior but was one of the coolest features on that truck. #212, the one in my avatar, had an equally clean interior plus padded door panels.

The best thing about this forum, everyone has their own opinion of things. I completely dislike that shifter knob. That was one of my favorite things about all of our 5 speed R Models. The straight stick & knob. It was easy to work around when you need to get stuff in & out of the cab & it was far enough out of the way that you never had to worry about it banging your arm when you were on rough roads and the stick & cab were shaking in opposite directions.

I agree with you on the shifter extension but I HAD to do it for the sake of tradition and that was the only style I could find. It was in a bin near the floor of a Mom & Pop truck stop off the Ohio Turnpike near Warren. This was around 2002-3 and judging by the filth on the plastic bag it was in, I'd say it had been in there since the 70's. I will say it was a bit easier on the palm of my hand because I would grip the knob and the horizontal section of the lever when grabbiing "all those gears".

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Jim

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im liking that dark Blue R model that Milkman posted. when did Mack stop using that 'sunken' style grille and start using the cheasy one that bolted to the air cooler? our 82 at work has the one bolted to the air to air. Mack must have used about a half dozen different styles of the R model grille over the years

post-6-0-64947600-1408238925_thumb.jpg

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First Mack I drove, was a CF600 fire engine with a 5 spd, and a 300. Thing was fast!!!!! We also had a Mack Pirsch 100 ft. ladder with a 5 spd, but with a 250. Thing was a turd! On my days off from the firehouse, I started driving ready mix and semi dump. We had Valueliners and R600 mixers, with R model tractors, and 1 Superliner. All R models had twin sticks. Now on mixers, We have RD's and Granites. Dumps are CH's and some Rd's.

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Appears to be the first Mack Leavitt's drove. Friend sent this pic to me today as he must be at the logging show in Eugene, Oregon. Leavitt's hauls up and down the west coast but no modern Macks in the fleet. They haul a lot of over length poles for the power companies. I never knew this truck existed either. Just shows you that a lot of old Macks are in hiding.

In the B 73/75 series this only the second one I know of with the small radiator and sheet metal shell.

FW

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post-14723-0-66672700-1393340860_thumb.jHere's a picture of a 1961 B 61 with a 540 gas and a duplex direct that I bought from a towing and storage auction about 20 years ago. Apparently it was being driven from NY (not sure if city or upstate) to Florida. The truck had over heating and a serious vibration and was towed from I 95 just south of Springfield, Va. I saw the truck sitting in the storage lot everyday on the way to work for about 3 months and finally called. The day I called was the day of the auction and no one had showed up. The lot owner agreed to sell the truck for his towing bill and also agreed to deliver it, a deal I couldn't refuse. The lot owner told me he had been told the truck had been a concrete mixer. The mechanical problems turned out to be a bad water pump and a bad pinion bearing on the front drive axle. Another problem that could not be easly corrected was the gas mileage whiclh was about 3 or 4. Top speed was about 55, not sure what rears it had. I kept the truck for a couple of years and sold it at the Winchester, Va auction to Donovan's Used Cars in Harrisonburg. He later sold and maybe it is still out there somewhere.
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