1955 LTH , The adventurous sister .

[1961H67]

Yes the transmission and rear ends are original, 10 speed Duplex with a divorced 3 speed Brown Lipe auxiliary transmission, lol , direct and overdrive . When I was talking to Wayne Hyatt about it, he asked if it still had the “ Brownie Box “ the way his Dad ordered it. And it would have had a drive shaft emergency brake, with a lever between the seats and a drum on the back of the transmission. I have no clue if that spring brake system was a aftermarket truck item or something from a off road vehicle,, it’s worked well for probably 60 years,, They had no worries about DOT or weight scales up there,, I think they had my drivers license number memorized at the westbound scale on I85 coming out of Charlotte with my Western Star! 

 

 

 

[Geoff Weeks]

I think spring brake was the only requirement that was made "retro-active" meaning any tractor had to be fit with them even if they didn't have them at the time it was built. Most requirements allow for "grandfathering" so if the vehicle was built to the regulations at the time of mfg, it didn't have to conform to newer regulation. AFAIK Spring brakes are the only exception to that.

Again, from what I remember reading, the Tru-stop driveshaft disk brake met the stopping distance requirement but not the self applying requirement of the spring brake law.

I can't remember if the spring brake law only applied to tractors or if it included straight trucks over a set GVW. 

I know I have seen plenty of straight trucks with a mechanical driveshaft brake over the years, but more recent ones used a hyd over mechanical on the front of the diff for lighter trucks without air brakes. 

[1961H67]

Good thoughts, I’m not sure when that became law, My 61 H Model had a driveline brake when I got it in 1995 , and they used it to move a 175 IHC loader for years before I got it ,,,but here in NC they were just state inspections , the federal inspection did not have to be done until about 1990 because I let my NC certificate go dead after that . Our 65 C Mack has a setup like the LTH but uses long rods instead of cables,,, Probably like you said,when they passed the law in the 60s there were several aftermarket companies making spring brake conversions. 

[1961H67]

I’m about halfway through this story so I will continue before I forget something, The last time I talked with Joe Janes , John C Millers nephew he told me all he knew about the truck and some of the details. John & Mary Miller were big into Tennessee Walking Horses, sometime around 1970 he sent the LTH back down to middle Tennessee where he had a farm, Joe said he was unsure who did the restoration & custom painting and chrome work . He said there were once some pictures of it when it was finished but he had no clue where they ended up. The old Mack had helped make John C Miller millions of dollars , and  for a truck in the early 70s he wanted it to look like a million bucks. It was painted yellow, added roof a/c , lots of Chrome! Axles , glove box, heater cover, dash, twin exhaust and aluminum tanks ( personally i like the box/steps on a LTH , but this is the way he did it ) . It has a clock in the glove box cover, and a 8 track tape player ( I found a Jonny Horton “ North to Alaska “ tape that I keep in it ) . All the tires were branded with their names on them. A long way from working hard logging in Northern California &  hauling equipment in Alaska. This Sister started wearing a lot of “ BLING” ! 

[cruiseliner64]

Outstanding truck and what a history behind it.It deserves to be in a hall of fame for trucks....

Paul

[mechohaulic]

13 hours ago, 1961H67 said:

Good thoughts, I’m not sure when that became law, My 61 H Model had a driveline brake when I got it in 1995 , and they used it to move a 175 IHC loader for years before I got it ,,,but here in NC they were just state inspections , the federal inspection did not have to be done until about 1990 because I let my NC certificate go dead after that . Our 65 C Mack has a setup like the LTH but uses long rods instead of cables,,, Probably like you said,when they passed the law in the 60s there were several aftermarket companies making spring brake conversions. 

most long (1/2in) rods on spring brake set up were replaced with cables due to long rods had a tendency to snap from vibration and stress .

[mowerman]

I looked at a B model. I almost bought back in 83 it had chains connecting them big heavy tow  chains. First and last time I’ve ever seen anything like that… bob