BC Mack

the C119's were two variants... 26 were AC-119G 'Shadow' and 26 AC-119K 'Stinger' there were only two AC/NC-123K 'Black Spot', development aircraft, de-modified and sent to RTAF not as well well known was the Navy AP-2H & OP-2E 'Neptune'... teamed up as gunship and sensor droppers. as said, the original C47 Spooky and AC-130's got all the publicity and many have never heard of the multiple other types, large and small, that were in some cases simply field modified as was the initial B-25 with 'cheek pack' guns... BC Mack

No hurry... I've also got 50 year old boxes of airplane photos, somewhere...!! My interest in your recollection stems from my interest in post war civil aviation history but the conflict in SE Asia blurred civil and military operations... the last Boeing 307 Stratoliners were operated under French registration for the ICCS during the "peace talks"... and of course Air America became one of the worlds largest 'airlines'... Continental Air Services, Bird Aviation, PA&E... and on.... too many 'airplane' stories came out of that conflict, it all interests me but makes me shake my head sometimes... the A26K per usaf serial practice when they were re-manufactured in 64 should have a prefix letter of 'B' but Thailand wouldn't then allow 'bombers' so it was re-classified 'A'... and don't forget that Johnson (IIRC) misquoted the Blackbird as SR-71, protocol dictates it as a 'S' for supersonic and prefix letter 'R' for reconnaissance... and was supposed to be RS-71 just like the RC-135 is now.. I think the French Nords left when they were replaced by 'loaned' C119's... then the French left..!!! I could go on, but it is a Mack forum... LOL BC Mack

http://napoleon130.tripod.com/p61blackwidow/id21.html correct... four BC Mack

Lakewood did you do the check Paul suggested? pull off the air outlet hose, if the blades aren't spinning when the engine is running it make be broke off on the exhaust side. I know you have already stated the turbo was ok but this will confirm that the exhaust side is still driving it. smoking exhaust manifold is not usual... if the exhaust can't get out due to a blockage, that's a clue worth following up.. is it some oil just burning or is it forcing it's way past the gasket? if turbo functions correctly you can take the exhaust manifold off and see if one of the ports is giving off excessive smoke or full of oil as the engine runs have you done the cylinder cut off check yet? that should keep you busy until a mechanic turns up.... LOL BC Mack

Lakewood at idle very little fuel goes into the engine but when you rev it up more fuel is added, so, the light grey smoke at idle and black when revved up would indicate moderate/severe over fueling.... so, go ahead with the test I gave, by cracking the pipe at the pump you remove the fuel to a single cylinder, if you give a quick rev and there is no black smoke you have identified the cylinder. even with these faults, does the engine sound like it is mis-firing?? if there is a break in the turbo boost system you will get no added air to the engine, and black smoke which is unburnt fuel... but you are getting grey at idle so I'm figuring fuel system fault. keep us posted. BC Mack

Lakewood small steps..!!! primary tends to run about half full, consider that normal... not liking the water in sec... that came from the fuel tank... refill the filters with NEW fuel not from tank, when you get it running you need to try and isolate if a particular cylinder is giving you the problem... not sure if we have determined whether you have a mechanical or electronic engine yet, have we??? it is a Mack 6cyl in line??? you need to do a cylinder cut out test... in general terms, with the engine running crack each of the steel lines that come out of the fuel injection pump, turn the nut about 1 flat and a small stream of fuel will come out, do one at a time and be prepared to add some throttle to keep it running... if you have a dead cylinder the rpm will not change at all, it's just like pulling the spark wires off your car but not as shocking..!!!! if you think you can determine that one isn't changing the rpm, and the smoke clears up a bit, then you now have to determine if you have a problem in the pump or at the other end of the line the injector has gone bad, lost the tip, or a valve in the head has broken, or a cam issue.... all bets are off if electronic. my gut feel is you have a cylinder filling up with fuel, that then burns in the manifold and may explain the excessive heat you state near the turbo... but I've been wrong before, a few times in fact..!!! LOL if the cut out test doesn't prove one cylinder, then you may have a timing issue in the pump or engine accessory drive. sorry, just shooting in the dark here but these are tests you should be able to do with basic knowledge and get that tank seen too, or if you fill from home, check that tank too BC Mack

Hey there Lakewood.... as you can imagine for us, it is always difficult to help diagnose issues over the internet with just typed words... I have to do it over a two way radio with bus drivers so even talking doesn't really help when the driver is not mechanically minded or knows not what the parts are called... so, are you able to take pics or video of the areas you are describing and put them on the forum..??? from the information so far you have been given a few pointers, you have probably a fuel system or maybe turbo issue, but it could be as simple as a blocked air cleaner, and these are issues easier to determine by experienced people at your location using eyes, ears, smell and experience BEFORE tearing everything off the engine. if the smoking exhaust continues to smolder for 10mins after you have turned the engine off park the truck, you have oil or raw fuel burning in the stack .. with limited info we can only guess what is wrong and are not really helping you as whatever we say to repair you cannot do the work yourself anyway... if you let us know which town you are in someone may know of a good/honest shop for you to get to fix it... watch what the guy does and get back to us if you need second opinion or parts suppliers. we're all behind you, you came to the right place... BC Mack

while it is normal for some to pound out studs in situ... it is considered bad practice by my profession as it does impart loadings on the bearings which can lead to premature failure... however, there are tools that use screw threads to re-re them and these are safe to use... if the studs are at the worn out point it is good practice to inspect the bearings and add a new seal.... in fact, a mini overhaul can then be done, s-cam bushings and slacks inspected. see how I turned a 15 minute job into 2hrs...!!! welcome to the repair industry..... LOL BC Mack

I am very sure NO P61's were in usaf service much after WW2, early 50's at best... other than these 3 and a couple of wrecks in the Aleutians none survived the scrapper long. the last flyers were fire bombers in CA, one was actually an F-15 Reporter, they were comically called "Pregnant Widows" by the aircrew due to the large underslung retardent tank. The F15 was the last to fly crashing at Hollister in 1968, parts from this and the owners stock eventually made it to Reading PA to help in the rebuild of the Mid Atlantic P61C which is being slowly restored to flying condition. 41 Chevy... would like to see those photos, I think the P61's could be OV-10 Bronco's which are very similar looking with twin boom tail arrangement. Also for you, a privately owned A26K COIN Invader is just finishing up a long term restoration to stock condition, wing hard points and tip tanks etc, and should fly again in the next few weeks near Dallas TX... they've named it "Special Kay"... BC Mack

I'd rather see THIS to represent Canada 150...... at least it has real Canadian content alas, I can only dream.... BC Mack

https://www.eaa.org/en/airventure/eaa-airventure-news-and-multimedia/eaa-airventure-news/eaa-airventure-oshkosh/04-17-2017-commemoration-of-doolittle-raid-75th-anniversary-at-airventure-2017 should be interesting to see 16 B25's mass take-off..!!!!... I assume it will be a little more legally spaced out than the last time this was done during the filming of Catch 22..... probably one of the best flying scenes ever filmed, had to be done in Mexico as the FAA would not sanction it, Frank Tallman gathered together nearly 25 B25's at his base near Los Angeles in the late 60's and these airplanes that would have been scrapped now form the nucleus of today's restored B25's seen at airshows today. BC Mack

I think it should be called the "LSD", those interviewees are definitely on something....!!! never seen this 'angle' used for a truck launch, hope they didn't use Hillary's advertising agency... should be about as "exciting" as the NEW Cascadia can't wait til Thursday BC Mack

What... nothing from Swishy???, maybe on the 20th then?? LOL BC Mack

welcome to the madness.... if you are ever over on the mainland, I have my E9-500 Ultraliner up in Squamish, it came from the Island, Buursma Contracting.... BC Mack

BIG tourist city, if that's what you like.... bus tours, shopping, Stanley Park, mountains to climb.... depends on how much time you have... oh, and bring MONEY, not the cheapest place on the planet..!!!! gas hit 1.42cdn a litre this week.. about $4us per usgal!!! BC Mack

You wouldn't get me in that wood framed fibreglass wrapped slug of a daycab Borderer anywhere near the Alps... probably a contractor or "subbie" in PIE colours.... That may be a Gardner 180 engine badge on the radiator above the 'circle A'... if so, that 40ft TIR tilt trailer better be filled with foam..!!! LOL BC Mack

LOL... Swedish Chef... April 1st.... good one..!!!! this photo is of a REAL Scania kitchen installed in a 140 BC Mack

The C-124 is an evolution of the Douglas C-74 Globemaster 1 (which was first used in the Berlin Airlift and was planned to also be a passenger airliner with the provisional designation of "DC-8"), not many were made or seen, however, if you watch the original 60's movie "The Italian Job" with Michael Caine you will see one mocked up as a Chinese airliner unloading gold bullion in Milan Italy... At the request of the USAF for an outsized cargo carrier Douglas simply added an extra deck... if you ever meet an old aircrew member raise your voice as he will be deaf, they were called 'Ol Shakey' for a reason and if you ever get a chance to explore one at a museum take a look at the fold down floor that quickly converts it to a double decker and the rear mounted freight elevator... The latest generation of Globemaster 3 is leaps and bounds ahead in ability and technology. BC Mack

given the name on the building I wonder which model Harley they plan to put this R4360 in to.... nicknamed the "corncob" for obvious reasons, each row of cylinders is displaced a few degrees to direct air flow to the rear, notorious for running hot it's amazing they lasted so long in military service on the C-124 and C97. I've also added video of the rescue of a C124 from Aberdeen Proving Grounds MD, most museums picked them up there in the 90's... planes were grounded soon after Vietnam was over, just plum wore them out flying to VN and Germany too... I used to hear them at night flying over England from Dover Delaware to Frankfurt, heard them coming for 20 mins before they were overhead London, slow and noisy... BC Mack

Amazing how history repeats itself.... back in the 60's a similar thought process went through the industry that drivers couldn't see very well.. so Atkinson produced the "Viewline".... I don't see the argument. Have they seen those US truckers with a chrome front bumper used as a sunvisor, and the seat so low the forward view must be that of a submariner looking through a periscope...?? Maybe they will smarten up post Brexit and stop being silly buggers and get on with running the country and not just making up new rules to secure 'work' for jobsworths..!!! BC Mack

I just watched the youtube video of the restoration.... luckily it had a decent cab to start with but still a very commendable effort to all involved... BC Mack

http://www.tekno.nl/en/71271-overdorp-18040.html?___from_store=nl BC Mack

Photo of India - Nepal border..!!! Not many enclosed sealed trailers over there. I suppose they will be using the "open TIR" provisions and carry the seal in their pocket... LOL Can't wait to see them 'tramping' to Europe.... BC Mack

two stroke Detroit???... are you having trouble getting it to run?... works well with a temporary external primer on the secondary filter to run the engine while the rest of the fuel system bleeds out. BC Mack

We've bought over 600 buses since 2008 and ALL were disc all around.... I think it is hard to buy a bus or coach in North America today that is not disc.. BC Mack