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Stories of age and old trucks

Entries in this blog

New Month - New Toy

So - we are into September. Summer's pretty much over and the leaves are changing. We are making nice progress on the B-67 project. Fabricating mounts for the air tanks and air valves. Installing the radiator and all associated pieces. Got the shutters working nicely. The cab is coming along real good. It's in the body shop paint booth now (finally). We hope to have the cab back on the frame within the next few days. With the radiator installed, we should be ready to fire the old girl up for the
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

4

Long Time - No Blog Too

Hard to imagine how fast summer slips away. All of a sudden, the days are shorter and cooler, and the nights are still dark. Anyway, I got a new clutch, rebuilt pressure plate and had the flywheel cut this week. Got new throw-out and pilot bearings too. Time to join the transmission and engine together. This old 711 should look and run with the best of them I think. All new Aeroquip hoses and ends. New gaskets and seals done. Everything cleaned and painted and ready for re-installation
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

1

Progress Report 07/16/09

Moving right along, and spending right along too!! Anyway - Got the 711 engine out of the old R-600, and did the transfer of those "few" items that need changing to fit in the short hood of the B-67. Basically, everything on the outside of the engine except the exhaust manifold and the rear section of the air intake has to change. The engine was steam cleaned and degreased. It got two good coats of hi-temp enamel tonite, and looks great! I took off all of the aluminum water manifold and
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vanscottbuilders

0

Catching Up

Moving along on my B-67 project. Ready for new wheels and tires, and then it will roll again - for the first time in about three years! Nobody ever said I was fast. Anyway, I'm real happy with the way the frame and running gear are coming together. And I'm very appreciative of my uncle, Jimmy's, work to keep the project moving forward. The cab also is coming along really well. Although I'm not doing that part of the work at all. The body man is doing a great job and is priming this weeke
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

3

Dmm-800

I just "inherited" a truck that I know absolutely nothing about. Somehow, I wish that was unusual, but it's not. I've never even seen it. As a compensation for a Mack engine that I bought from a local company that had a cracked block which was unknown to me or the former owner, I have been given a Mack DMM-800, less the rear ends. The truck has a brand new Mack certified 350 hp engine and an Allison ---750 transmission and a retarder (once again - I don't know anything about it). So -
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

1

Back To Work

Well, Huntsville is over, and I'm low on excuses for not working. Jimmy has the B-67 frame coming along nicely, and the air suspension is fitted and ready for me to pre-paint before final assembly. The clutch linkage is all rebuilt and re-bushed and new bearings installed. (Like the rest of the truck - it's way overbuilt and almost indestructable, if cared for properly. But, you do have to take care of it!) The body work is progressing nicely. A lot more welding and straightening than I th
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

0

Progress Report

B-67 Periodic Update: This week I got the rear end disassembled (for the 2nd time) to fix a nagging little leak between the carrier and the axle housing. Next time I'll know better than to try and skip this step. There was no other need to take the carrier out, so I didn't the first time around. And I didn't know it leaked. Oh well. And at the same time, I got to do a super cleaning out of the axle housing. I'm really happy with the apparent condition of the rear end in general. The ge
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

1

More Truck Progress

The cab, fenders, doors and sheet metal are being delivered to the paint shop this week. Decided to send that out to a very professional shop. My own brush and roller techniques are highly guarded secrets, and since the truck is going to a new home, I didn't want to let any secret information out. Meanwhile the frame and running gear are ready for final painting. I'm thinking I'll do that myself. Everything's been sandblasted and epoxy primed some time ago. Painting it all "Chassis Black
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

3

Better Days

So - Spring is upon us and it feels really good. Although I did stand on top of a six foot pile of old snow in Star Lake last week to photograph the roof of a building! Probably the last one of those for a while. Without counting any unhatched chickens - our building business is looking better by the day. We have done what we had to do to cut the expenses and get the ovehead down. And we have gotten very aggressive with finding new work, and leasing our unused properties to get some ca
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

6

Spring Progress

Taught myself some new swear words trying to disassemble and reassemble my B-67 tie rod ends. They are the adjustable and rebuildable type. But getting the nut out from inside the tube on each one after fifty years is a lot easier said than done! Used a four foot pipe on a long breaker bar with a 3/4 drive straight head socket and still had a lot of trouble. About a quart of penetrating oil and two cans of WD-40 later, I finally had them apart. But I had broken the socket in the process. I
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vanscottbuilders

0

More Front Axle Progress

Been a little quiet in the truck shop recently. But, for a good reason - I've been pretty busy putting together new work projects for our building business. It sure does feel a whole lot better now than it did six weeks ago. Anyway, I'm still working on my B-67 front axle. Gathering up the original B Mack parts is getting harder every day. But I've had pretty good success, and a lot of good help with finding the pieces I need. It will have new king pins and bushings, tie-rod end kits, n
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

1

Late Winter Optimism

So - It's the end of February. Mud season has issued a warning to us that it's not too far away. The snow comes overnite and melts to mud during the day. But it feels good. The sun looks different and the light is better somehow. Spring is close. It's lighter earlier and later in the day. Everybody just plain feels better. And our building business has gotten a couple of shots in the arm. Work looks OK for the spring. Still a long way to go to get out of the woods, but I'm pretty optimisti
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

1

Mid-winter

Not much to report in on. I've been tracking down all of the little parts for my B-67 front brakes and tie-rod ends. Think I have everything except the little brake shoe retainer springs. Going to have to find a spring vendor and match them up. I did find an old fashioned clutch and brake shoe re-lining business in Rochester. And they think they have a Mack 673 clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, throw-out and pilot bearing assembly all re-lined, resurfaced and ready to install stored upst
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

1

New Toy For Jimmy

Took a little ride to Central Ohio last Thursday for purposes of picking up my Uncle Jimmy's new Kenworth W-900-A. It's a very well maintained 1980 model with a Caterpillar 3408 and 6+4 transmissions. It has a custom built air to air intercooler fit for a little added oomph. Pretty smooth ride. Kind of like the big truck equivalent of a Harley Davidson Electra-Glide. Nice Toy! Just sort of oozes down the road. And he looks just right sitting up there too - Big guy with bright white
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

1

Front Axle Progress

The new kingpins are finally installed and the bushings reamed to size on the B-67. It's the 1st time I've ever actually seen it done. And, I think we got a really good result. A long-time friend of mine has a tremendous amount of experience with heavy front axles, and he sure did make it look easy. I replaced all four of the bearings and races (cones), after finding that three of the four had problems. The backing plates and brake shoes are all painted and ready to be remounted, and
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

0

Missing Dog

So - people are starting to talk, and it isn't all good. They want to know why, at the time of the new President's inauguration, did Other Dog go missing? Speculation is rampant. Are they body doubles? Is he Secret Service? Or, have they finally caught him and locked him up? Did he hurt himself working with that hammer? What's Up? Does anybody know?
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

3

Gold Parts

So, I finally got my kingpins and all the front axle bits and pieces for rebuilding. Took a couple of weeks before the local Mack dealer was able to locate what I needed. After seeing the bill, I understand. Gold kingpins and platinum bearings are very hard to find. Wow!! The front axle parts were almost as much as I paid for the entire truck. And about double the cost of the parts for the rear axle, which was rebuilt from hub to hub. If I ever sell this B-67, it will be without the fro
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

2

New Year 2009

So I'm sitting here thinking about what I can do to make 2009 a better that 2008 was. And I'm thinking of what the government and the new administration could do, realistically, to make the new year better than the old one. Can President Barack manage the "national attitude" and create some optimistic thinking in Americans? If so, then I think we can start to solve our own problems. We really don't want the government involved in fixing the problems anyway. When was the last time you saw
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

8

Quality Built

I had some time this week to completely disassemble the front axle of my B-67. It's actually fun to take this truck apart. Everything just cracks loose with a wrench, then unscrews by hand! It looks terrible. All rusted up and nasty looking. But you just snap it loose and twist off the nut. That simple. I am really interested in the simplicity of the design and the quality of the machining and the castings. But what really has me impressed is the assembly. Everything is fine machine thre
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vanscottbuilders

0

The Week Before Christmas ---

Learning all about kingpins and front axles this week. Took my B-67 front axle apart to see what I need. Going to put in new kingpins, bushings, tie rod ends, bearings and seals. But - the good news is that I don't need to put on new brake linings. The old ones look new. They should be - it's obvious that the front brakes haven't worked in a long time. The shoes are rusted on the pins solid, and neither brake can was working. Our W-900A is sold. It's going back to the person we got it
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

4

New Day

I realized today that I haven't posted in a while. Not much to report. Good progress on my B-67 frame. The rebuilt rear axle is mounted and lined up, with the new springs and maxi cans. The front axle is mounted and lined up, but still needs rebuilding, to include king pins, bearings, tie rod ends and seals. The clutch linkage is this week's job. New bushings thru the frame are probably going to have to be made. Mack doesn't have any, and the original shaft is pretty worn. So I thought I
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

9

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish everyone here a Happy Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of the "feel good" holidays. Our economy might be poor, and our concerns growing every day, but right now we don't have to think about any of it. Just eat, be thankful and be happy. And - it is turkey season - so Tom, you better lay low for a couple of days.
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

6

Shop Organization #2

Spent today taking apart my wood pallet racking. Some ideas just don't work out. This was one of them. Got some used heavy duty steel pallet racking, and plan to spend tomorrow putting it together and getting it loaded up. Other than my failed attempt at building the racks, I am really happy with the way this shop is coming together. Once all of the pallets are up off of the floor, there will be plenty of room to work on two or three trucks at once, without getting in each other's way. A
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

4

R Model Cab Cure

Those of you who have seen the pictures of my 1966 R-600 know that the rocker panels and the rear cab corners are shot. Not too unusual with this cab style. The rest of the truck is pretty nice. I have brand new inner and outer rocker panels from Mack by way of Kevin All for the truck. But the cab corners have eluded me. And all of the parts trucks I have looked at have a little ridge in the cab corner that is not in the early trucks. So I needed a fix. And - low and behold, two fixes f
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

6

Shop Ready

The new shop is finally ready for use. Just got in this morning and finished up some heavy duty pallet racks for my parts. Now we can unload the two flatbeds that are backed in the shop, and get a little organized. Should be fun getting the old B-67 set up for reassembly. Might change up my thinking a little - I had been thinking that the B-67 would be my restored driver with the mods to make it a little more useable, like the air suspension, Jake brake and Maxi brakes. Now I'm seeing t
vanscottbuilders

vanscottbuilders

2

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