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1960 Mack B61T Restoration


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Looking good so far!

1. No, painting the hubs won't hurt sliding the rims on.

2. I took my brake shoes to a local brake shop and they relined them. If you have one in your area that would be easier than retrofitting. If your cams and slack adjusters are good, you'll probably want to replace the bushings. The brakes on these trucks are amazingly similar to the brakes on a new truck.

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As TJC said above be sure  to add spring lock parking brakes to the rear axle. This will require new brake chambers with 2 diaphragms, a new distribution valve on rear cross member, a dash valve, and a bunch of plastic air tubing..

Did you remove the 5th wheel to clean the frame or are you going to replace it with a gooseneck ball to haul your other toys?? 

Brocky

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That actually looks pretty solid. The back of the cab is a rust prone area and it looks good. How is the rest rust wise? That looks like it'll clean up nicely and make you a good hauler. There'll be a few big expenses(tires/rims!) but it shouldn't be too bad for the rest. Depending on the level of restoration, it would be about as much as doing a car if it's mostly cosmetic.

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Relatable. I also bought a B-61 to build into a puller for my 5th wheel holiday trailer and initially planned a quick, cheap "make it run and look decent" project that I could easily finish in one winter. Also, having done several cars, this was my first foray into bigger trucks as well. As is typical for me, my "quick, cheap" project has encountered my usual "slippery slope" and has become..........neither. Kinda like Forrest Gump when he started his run, "well, I've gone this far, I may as well keep going" so...I RAN. Spent a full winter on it then, last fall I got a booboo and had to take a winter hiatus but am starting back on it now. Too bad we weren't closer as I am sure I have some parts you could use. If you are interested my build thread can be viewed here https://canadianrodder.com/forum/index.php?threads/project-gunsmoke.23609/ I look forward to following your progress. 

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Little bit of progress from today, rain rolled in around noon and really slowed everything down. 

Started off removing the air tank which I think was holding more water and sludge than air.  Probably going to write off the old one and order a new air tank.

img_20230917_133956175.jpg

From that pic is is fairly easy to see just how bent that rear crossmember is, so tomorrow I will be hitting up a metal yard to find a piece of C channel to replace it. 

Starting busting the U-bolts loose and that is not a fun process.  Had a 10ft piece of pipe on my breaker bar and some were still putting up a fight.  Didn't get through all of them today but I should finish up tomorrow.

Put the girlfriend to work pulling the air lines and first thing she did was snap a fitting off in the quick release valve.  Rather than fighting that thing I'll add a new one to the parts list.

img_20230917_193119117.jpg

 

 

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1 hour ago, eightup said:

  Rather than fighting that thing I'll add a new one to the parts list

I would hold off until you get the plumbing for the spring lock brakes all figured out as some of these valves will have to carry air to both systems..

Brocky

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The parking brake valve on my R was factory-plumbed in such a way to give an anti-compounding effect.  Really clever, since it eliminated the need for a separate anti-compounding valve in the system.

Parking brake system is actually very simple, and a huge improvement over the hand-operated brake.

Great progress already.  Keep us informed.

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"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."

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22 hours ago, Brocky said:

I would hold off until you get the plumbing for the spring lock brakes all figured out as some of these valves will have to carry air to both systems..

With all the sludge and oil I drained from the air reservoir, I plan on replacing all the lines.  I'll get everything drawn up and ordered in one shot which should make it easier

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2 hours ago, eightup said:

With all the sludge and oil I drained from the air reservoir, I plan on replacing all the lines.  I'll get everything drawn up and ordered in one shot which should make it easier

All the air lines should be copper tubing. Rather than replace them all, I would look at blowing brake clean through them to make sure they are clean and carry on. 

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53 minutes ago, 70mackMB said:

Does your wife know you have her car?!!  :whistling:  LOL!    .....Hippy

Thats my trusty tow rig.  Just wait till I have to haul all 4 with the tires mounted.  I would use my hippy van but she isn't running at the moment

20150518_1049161.jpg

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6 hours ago, mowerman said:

Man, that thing looks pretty clean for the year.. bob

That picture is almost ten years old, she is a little bit worse for wear now and currently number 3 in line for a restore.

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  • 5 months later...

Well work pulled me away for a couple months.  Dropped off some parts to be powder coated the other week and now I am just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit to get the back half of the frame painted.  Hopefully will have a warm weekend pretty soon. 

Finally have 6 new tires to go on once stuff gets painted.

Trusty tow rig putting in work

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Still trying to source a leaf spring pack since the junk yard has basically been ignoring me for weeks.  If anyone has one laying around I would be more than happy to take it off your hands

img_20230918_184520914.jpg

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If I can't find a replacement spring pack then I might end up doing an air ride conversion.  Probably will keep my axle and fab up some stuff to make the donor suspension work. 

Found a Mack CH 613 air ride suspension for a single axle for 600.  But since this is my first truck I am not to familiar with any of the air ride setups.  Anyone able to provide some input on whether the suspension from that truck would be a good choice?

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