Where to start restoration

[Bradf]

My family is wanting to restoring our 1956 Mack Semi Truck.  It has been stored in a cold storage building since the late 70s.  The interior is shot, lots of rodent damage.  Is there restoration shops that specialize in Mack’s, or do we look for general truck restoration shops?  We are in Iowa, but I could haul it to the right place

 

thanks

[67RModel]

I would say probably the best known Mack restoration shop / specialist is Matt Pfahl in Connecticut. The other one I know of is Mickey's Macks, owner Mickey Delia in Jersey. I have zero experience with either of them, however, their names have come up often over the years when discussing Mack restorations and from what I have heard are they both highly regarded. 

[1961H67]

That all depends on how much money they want to spend, and how “ Nice “ they want the end result. It’s very labor intensive and a lot different restoring a 56 Mack vs a 56 Chevy. But it can be done, and there are shops out there that can provide that service. 

[70mackMB]

Bradf, Welcome to BMT!       l don't know of Mickey's but l have seen Matt's work and it looks better than new.    .....Hippy  

[Brocky]

As Dean said above, ANY restoration is very labor intensive!!!! With restoration shops getting big buck$ per hour!! How much of the work can you / your family do yourselves????? What are your mechanical and/or body skills???? Do you have a facility to work in??? Does your family want a showroom perfect restoration or just a very showable truck??? Take a bunch of pictures (post them here!) and visit the Iowa 80 museum in Walcott IA and ask a bunch of questions.. They will also know of vendors in your general area to do individual parts of the restoration: Engine, Brakes, interior, and paint..  IF you can do a lot of the work, there is a LOT of help and information on this forum. With no pictures it is hard to guesstimate how much it would cost, BUT for a top showroom restoration, entirely by an outside shop, I am guessing off the top of my head, the price would be well in excess of $100K!!! The bottom line is your ability's and checkbook VS your family's wants!!!!!!!!!

[h67st]

2 hours ago, Brocky said:

As Dean said above, ANY restoration is very labor intensive!!!! With restoration shops getting big buck$ per hour!! How much of the work can you / your family do yourselves????? What are your mechanical and/or body skills???? Do you have a facility to work in??? Does your family want a showroom perfect restoration or just a very showable truck??? Take a bunch of pictures (post them here!) and visit the Iowa 80 museum in Walcott IA and ask a bunch of questions.. They will also know of vendors in your general area to do individual parts of the restoration: Engine, Brakes, interior, and paint..  IF you can do a lot of the work, there is a LOT of help and information on this forum. With no pictures it is hard to guesstimate how much it would cost, BUT for a top showroom restoration, entirely by an outside shop, I am guessing off the top of my head, the price would be well in excess of $100K!!! The bottom line is your ability's and checkbook VS your family's wants!!!!!!!!!

Plus one on Brocky's comments, I spent $62k on mine and that was with me doing quite a bit of the work.

[Brocky]

My 1949 Diamond T model 201 one ton pick up was done entirely by a restorer and it cost me about $65K.. Plus the original price of the truck and transportation to and from the shop in Amarillo TX..

[cruiseliner64]

Welcom to BMT Bradf.Yes restoration is a very expensive game.It really does depend on how far you want to go with it.Put up some pictures and some of the guys on here could guide you.Best of luck with your truck.It sounds like a very interesting piece of Mack history...

Paul

[mattb73lt]

Welcome to the forum first off!! There's a lot of knowledgable people here to help and point you in the right direction. All of the above comments are from people that have considerable knowledge and who are well versed with trucks and I would seriously consider the advice that's been offered. It takes a lot to restore a truck. Money, space, skill, resources and above all, motivation!!

If you're looking for a shop to carry out the whole restoration, due diligence in researching the shop is a requirement. It costs a lot to restore a truck and the wrong shop can cost you dearly in money and time. History, reputation, honesty, location, recommendations from previous customers all can play into finding the right shop. Be prepared to pay if a shop handles the restoration. Shop costs, man hours, parts can add up very quickly. I've known Matt Pfahl personally for over 30 years. His shop in Connecticut has grown from a single bay in his parent's backyard to a massive six bay shop with about nine people working for him. Professional, nut and bolt restorations take two to three years and can cost well over six figures.

Do it yourself restorations are a whole other affair. Shop space, personal skill, tools, specialized equipment, resources all factor into completing a restoration.  Many restorations start off with a lot of motivation, but peter out and stall as money, parts and expenses, problems mount up.

Pictures of the truck your considering restoring would help. Evaluating what you have is important. It may need minor work and cosmetics to make roadworthy of be a money pit that's to far gone to consider restoring. But, could offer parts to restore a truck to it's likeness with some original parts.

 

 

 

[hicrop10]

First welcome to BMT.Now on to your questions.I’m in the middle of restoring my 1964 B873SX tractor,some quick history it has been in the family since new.Pictures are below..I have all the original paperwork.Dad paid $27,300 for it.Now onto your questions.First get all the paperwork from the Mack museum.Evaluate the truck,does it run,stop,steer and preform like it should.Before you go into the bodywork and paint have the truck mechanical sound.Then onto brakes and tires.If you don’t call it quits by now your into it for the whole deal.I had a running truck when I started(save a shit load of money).Thebody is not bad at all it was garaged most of it life.I’m having Mickey from Mickey’s Mack do the cab,fenders,hood and all the paint.The chassis I sandblasted myself and had a local towing company paint it,they had a big enough paint booth,did a great job as you can see from picture's.

There are plenty of great,knowledgeable guys here that are more then willing to help and there’s no dumb questions.They have all been asked and answered.Take multiple pictures of everything you take off,and bag and tag everything.You can call me would love to talk with you.215-669-1252,Mike Durkin.

[mechohaulic]

agree with all the above. restoration is time/money.  heading states  '56  Mack semi. possibly a B model ? which would be a more common Mack . reproduction parts might be easier to acquire VS a G / H cab.  one of Matts pristine works was on display at the local CT truck show  recently; a B-61 dump. I know the owners and remember this truck as a daily driver (i'm old too).  work so well done ; I wouldn't want to drive it. better then day it was build. I've know Matt for many yrs.  post some pictures as many do on BMT so we all can watch start to finish. 

[hicrop10]

Here’s somemore pictures.