Noticed last night that there seems to be a large number of B model Macks on E-bay.
Has everybody kept up with that? Looks like some pretty nice stuff.
Nice day here in Upstate NY. This is a good time of year for us.
Just got the news that one of the tracks on a rented Fiat Allis dozer just beat the tractor to the dirt pile. That's not usually too good. Apparently the chain broke. Turns out the owner knew it was worn badly - and just hoped it might work for another day. Cheap So and So.
So, before I go out to the job and lose my cool - I thought I would relax and post another blog entry.
It's hard to get too mad at my operator. Fred is a ret
I commented yesterday on the life span of a Ford Jubilee tractor, or for that matter, any of the old tractors.
With proper maintenance and occasional work as needed, these pieces of equipment will run a long time.
That's one of the things I like about heavy trucks.
You can take almost any of the common older trucks and update it with safer brakes and plumbing, freshen up the diesel and do normal maintenance work, and it will serve you for as long as you want it to. Then you pass it on to the
A while back I stumbled on a 1953 Ford Golden Jubilee tractor for sale by the side of the road.
You can guess what happened next ....
Anyway - the tractor turns out to have a Sherman three speed auxiliary transmission, which was a dealer installed
aftermarket option. Pretty handy.
My brother has my grandfather's original Jubilee. It has been used and abused by all of us for most of our lives.
As kids we all learned to drive on it. Some of us did our level headed best to make it go much fast
We got a new forklift in the truck shop today - I think it's a sign of old age. It was a nice surprise, though.
I share this shop space with my uncle, and it is strictly hobby space. So the lifting equipment is really a luxury.
We had a large (24' x 40' x 20' high) bridge crane installed with a 6000# hoist a while ago so heavy parts could be moved about the shop easily.
But it wasn't good enough. The forklift is to move those parts not located under the crane area.
Like I said - I think it's
Don't worry guys-I know everybody was loading their jumper cables to come over and get me started this morning,but it fired right up.Now I gotta go to Lynchburg and unload then to the shop for fuel and some new batteries,then to Dillwyn to load Kyanite going to Fremont,Oh. So I'm off like A herd of turtles as Bill would say.
Paul's Monday sounds better than mine,but I had mine on Sunday this week.Started out looking like it was gonna be one of those days.I couldn't get the computer to come on because it wouldn't take the password.Not an AOL or website password,but the HP password to start it in the first place.I'd type it,but nothing would happen.Tried restarting 2 or 3 times,same thing.Finally I just shut it off completely and turned it back on and it worked.As I think I once heard somebody say here "stupid compute
Another Monday morning.
It's pretty nice in Upstate NY this time of year - if you only look at the weather and the scenery.
When you live here - you become expert in shutting out the thoughts of state taxes, hidden taxes and fees and the extremely expensive and ineffective state government. The weather and the scenery have to keep you happy, and right now they can.
Anyway - I am still contemplating the used truck business, and thinking of specializing in one or two manufacturers.
The R model
I've sat around here all day and haven't done anything but pick the tomatoes and go to the mailbox.And wrote some checks to pay some bills-phone,electric,credit card,etc. I know I should relax and try to enjoy A day off,but I can't help feeling A little guilty for doing nothing.Tomorrow I'll probably feel like doing nothing,and I have to go back to work. A truck drivers life I guess.
Just going over to the yard to give the old R-600 some exercise.
I just cannot get over how well this old girl runs. And the more I use it, the better it goes.
I've got two friends that would like to get their Commercial Driver's licenses, and I think this might be the perfect vehicle.
It's a simple 711 diesel with a direct drive duplex transmission. Big windows and no bunk make for a great view, and the lowboy trailer is easy to see over during a road test.
We are about to flip the trailer
Been a few days since I was here last -
Funny how time goes by and so much happens that we take for granted.
I'm another year older. My puppy became a national champion last week. And last, but not least, I got my new gearset from "Thermodyne diesel" in Minnesota. That's got me very interested. The rest of the stuff is just stuff - it happens all the time, then you die.
It's a bit unknown to me how the engine/transmission combination will react to the new ratio. Going from a 5.46 gear to 4.2
I made those two turns and I'm loaded for Sunday.Went to Zelienople,Pa. Monday then over to Macedonia,Oh. to reload coils for Roanoke,Va.Then I went to Orville,Oh. and over to Macedonia to load coils to Roanoke,Va,where they make truck frames out of them.Even Mack truck frame rails are made there.Usually I'll have three coils,and I put seven chains on them because they are so tall and narrow-about 6 feet high,and 14" wide.I always horse shoe 2 chains,then criss cross 2,plus throw a chain across
Have you ever wonder how the name MACK came about? Well let me tell you You see it was a dark lonely strech of highway and the guy who invented what we call Mack trucks today was hauling some equipment with his own invention of a truck that he had put together himself. He had been out on the road for some time when he came to a scale house, yep those guys were around way back when..... He pulled across the scales when he was hit with the red single, the red single was a overly ripe tomato thr
Well,as happens every week it's Monday morning again and back to the old grind.Got to go to the bank,drug store,and post office,then to Lynchburg to unload the load of coils I dropped Saturday morning.Then it's off to parts unknown.I'll make two turns this week,and next weekend I'll have to leave on Sunday. I hate it but my out-go has been exceding my income lately,so I must be off!
Wooo Hooo...2 weeks to go in the "BMT Blog OFF" contest! So far, it looks like Other Dog is in the lead followed closely by Paul Van Scott! It ould still be anyone's race! So get blogging! It ain't over til it's over!
Got home yesterday after our safety meeting and went to the garden and pulled up what was left of my cabbage,(saved what I could),squash,watermelons,and A row of snaps.Then I ran the tiller over it and sowed turnips,mustard,and spinach mustard,and sprinkled it with the hose.It's so dry everything I pulled up had done all it's gonna do,so maybe I'll have a turnip and some greens if it ever rains. Then I went to the store and bought A case-the Ice Road Truckers marathon comes on at 1:00,and the Mi
Just as suspected,I see little or no difference in the way the truck pulls. Jeff said "I told ya so,it's the torque-the torque is still 1850 foot pounds,there ain't gonna be any difference".But still,75HP is quite a step,you'd think it would pull a little better anyway. I think maybe the guy that did it has computer skills like me-when he got done instead of clicking "save" he clicked "delete" by accident.
I have just contracted with Yellow Freight to bring a 450# pallet from Minnesota to Upstate New York.
The overall cost is $237.00. I can't drive to Minnesota one way for $237.00!
As hobbists, I guess my point is that we should not overlook the obvious way to get our parts around the country.
Common carriers are everywhere.
Faced with driving out to Minnesota, I probably could not have justified the purchase, even though I really need the parts.
So it has occurred to me that the R-Mack has not been as collectible as some others.
It seems, I believe because it looked essentially the same from the mid-60's up into the 80's,
the truck lacks a desireability that might exist with a B model or an L model Mack.
Perhaps in the next generation, when these trucks actually are considered "old", they will become
more attractive to the collectors. I wonder which of the power trains will be most sought after?
The R Mack as a work truck, howeve
At least besides the aching tooth and a heat wave that leaves me drenched in sweat every time I chain down A load or tarp A load,and the fact that it's so dry here -my garden just withered away,and I've only cut the grass A couple of times,last time a couple of months ago-I have A little good news.I left the truck at the Cat shop in Lynchburg last night so they can turn the horsepower up from 475 to 550.You would think it'd make A world of difference,but it's hard to say.The last Cat I drove was
Just got in ,i've been to Midland City,Al. with A load of beams,reloaded shingles at Peachtree City,Ga. to Oxford,N.C, then loaded Kyanite at Dillwyn,Va. to Negley,Oh,then had a two pick up reload at Ambridge and Leetsdale,Pa coming back to Lynchburg,Va.I was going to drop the trailer in Lynchburg,but I got there at 5:00 o'clock and they went ahead and unloaded me. 'Course I only had 2 beams on. It was still 100+ in Alabama and Georgia Monday,but it was 56 degrees this morning (Wednesday) when I
