Speed

I'm with Theakerstwo; I'd get a pair of road lights,and wire 'em from the key switch,so you don't forget to shut 'em off and kill the battery. Also,add a separate fuse as close to the power source as possible. And be sure to adjust 'em at night,without the headlights on,for the best vision without blinding the whole county. Even after you get the headlight problem sorted out,they're still good for a back up,in case a flock of night hawks takes out your headlights. Don't ask how I came up with this particular example.... Speed

You sure didn't get hurt on that deal. I thought for quite a while about putting a flatbed on mine,but as it turns out,the 5th wheel plate it came with has been pretty useful,so I plan to build a light weight 5th wheel flatbed trailer,about 30-35 foot long,with a dovetail and slide out ramps,for it. I'm currently working on a deal to end up with a 15,000# PTO winch right behind the cab for loading and retrieving vehicles or whatever. I have a lot of other big ideas I'd like to incorporate,but I think I'm going to follow the advice of all my friends and KISS,for now (Keep It Simple,Stupid!) or at least until I have a complete,working,legal truck/trailer. BTW--what's your drivetrain set up like? Mine came to me with a 5 speed w/direct high and a 3 speed Brown-Lipe with an overdrive high,single speed rear end with a 6.86 ratio. Speed

That's a tough question to answer;this sounds like a cop out,but it really is true. The truck is worth exactly what you're willing to pay for it. In the case of my EH,I did a bunch of saving and sold another truck,paid a $500.00 deposit to hold it,and when I could arrange the trip I took the remaining $1,000.00 to Carson City to buy it. Once I got there the seller tried to squeeze another $300.00 out of me,but I finally did get it for $1,500.00,which I felt,and still do,was a steal for a runner. I'd be inclined to say a similar price is pretty fair for yours-it looks like the main differences is yours has some glass and misc. small stuff either removed or missing completely,but that doesn't seem like it'd affect the value to a large degree. As always,if I'm wrong on this,I'm sure the members who are more learned on this subject will set the records straight. Speed

Though I'm far from being an expert,I have to think it's an EH,probably made between 1940 and 1945,due to the painted grille and hubcaps. I'm sure the long-timers here will steer you right on this. I have a 1945 EH and it looks a LOT like yours,only mine was complete,minus the bulldog. Did you get any parts with it? (headlights,etc.) I was glad to hear the engine is a runner,and that you're keeping the EN354 in it. These engines seem to be pretty tough-mine was stored for several years when I got it,and outside of some fuel problems at the beginning,it also has been a very good runner. I drove it 300 miles home,towing my Chevy one ton,without a serious problem. Excellent save! As was mentioned,the Mack truck Museum can give you a lot of good info,and be sure to send a donation to them. Speed

They could be,depending on where you shop and how much of the work you can do yourself. I priced a full house dual stacks set up for the EH through IOWA-80 and Virgo Fleet a while back,and it came to almost $1,000.00 in parts,and that didn't include building/modifying brackets etc. It's possible to do a nice job for maybe half of that if you pick and choose components,shop through more than one vendor and do some fabricating rather than buying some parts. Speed

Being an ass must be part of the Snap-On job description. Aside from two Snap-On dealers I dealt with back in the 70's they've all been jerks;arguing over warranty replacement,won't order a replacement until their next stock order,etc. But,at least they are expensive enough to make me really,REALLY think about how badly do I need that special tool...

Yeah,and how long would it be before the robot takes control of your rig if you don't drive the way it wants you to? Speed

I've really had good service with MAC and CORNWELL tools. The only thing I don't like is that if I need something I have to chase down their truck,and these guys cover much of northern Nevada-that's a lot of places to hide! Haven't managed to break anything yet,but they don't seem to be hard to deal with on replacements. CORNWELL did refuse to replace a breaker bar when I was still mechanic'n in the shop,because it had the handle broken off and welded back on. The guy said "Dammit-ya shoulda just left alone,then I could've replaced it!" Next time he came through,though,he brought a replacement in anyway. He said he'd have to buy that one,but it's okay,he gets a good deal on tools... Speed

Try Iowa 80.com-they sell dual stack kits in several different pipe sizes. Speed

One of my ex-employers had an Autocar with air assist;the drivers all liked it a lot,but the neatest thing about it was that when driving in town or on the highway,they could throw a switch (looked like the power divider switch) and shut off the power assist. Most used it only at low speeds or in soft ground where the truck was heavy steering,and in the yard for jockeying trailers etc. The truck drove fine at anything over 20 mph,so it wasn't needed then. Good system,as I remember it... Speed

Damn-it must be tough being able to get that kinda road speed at 2 grand. My ol' gas rig has a 6.86 rear,direct 5 speed,and I think,about a .84 or so over on the Brownie,and currently has 9.00-20's on it,soon to be 10.00R-20's. As near as I can figure it,the 10.00's will give me about 4 more inches of diameter,which should bring me to 45 mph at 2,000 rpms,or 57 mph at 2,500 rpms. If I could cruise at 2,900 r's,I'd be able to match your 65 mph,but I don't see that being an option,at least not for very long. Speed

Must be one of the perks of the job;who's gonna tell the PRESIDENT he's a loser? Speed

I've been "half-double-clutching" my trucks for years,ever since my '51 Ford F-5's 4 speed "crash-box";I bring it up to shifting speed,pull it out of gear,then hit the clutch and shoot the next gear. Downshifting,same general idea;bring it down to shifting speed,knock it out of gear,rev the engine to about the right rpm for the shift,then hit the clutch and slide it into gear. Half the motion and gets the same result as double clutching. Probably not the best way to shift,but it works and I've never broke anything so I guess it's okay. BTW,Packer-just looking in my book it appears the Mono-shift is a direct 5th transmission,so it'd be more gears,but same speed/rpm's. They DID offer a straight 5 speed that was Overdrive 5th. (I wonder if the Bus 5 speed is an overdrive??) Speed

I really like the Dodge 413,and the 383 too. seems like they have the big block torque,but they rev like a small block-best of both worlds. Getting scarce these days though. This subject makes me wonder how politically incorrect it'd be for me to use a 413 in my E model if the EN354 ever breaks..... Speed

As I understand it,this is related to the type of care available;if there's more than one Hospital available to potentially provide care for a person,the hospital can legally refuse treatment,but if that's the only Hospital in the area,they'd be required to provide at least basic treatment regardless of the patient's financial status. At least that's how it plays out here. Speed

I've been having trouble with the "smoothly" part of the program,which I've narrowed down to: The wrong lube in the secondary box. Maladjusted,loose,badly aligned linkage on the secondary box. Possibly a shortage of coordination at the shift knob end of the shifters. I still maintain that part of it is in how quickly this engine picks up and drops rpm's,leaving a significantly narrower "window" to make a clean shift. Maybe if I change the leverage ratio to require a little more gas pedal travel to reach full throttle,I could make the engine speed a little more controllable. Or,maybe I just need to squirrel up the money to license,insure and fuel the truck and just drive it full time for a while,hopefully get used to it and get better with the "smoother" part of the program. Speed

Regarding my comments,race has absolutely nothing to do with my thoughts on the "State of the Union". I'm sorry if you're reading it that way-no offense meant. Speed

Well,SOMEBODY sure elected the Devil,but I'm not gonna own this one-I voted for an Independent,even though I knew he didn't have much chance of a win. He still surprised the heck out of the media with the amount of support he did get. I can't help thinking if the Republicans don't get their act together in a big way,the Independents could take the next election. Depending on who they back,that might be a good thing. Speed

My truck has a 5 speed w/direct fifth and a 3 speed Brown Lipe 6031 with overdrive high. It shifts pretty much the same as the boxes on the diesel models,no syncronisers,etc.;the hard part of splitting on the gas jobs is the engines pick up and lose revs faster,so it's harder to match rpms. Other than that,same game. Speed

I'm sensing a definite Anti-Obama atmosphere around here-I KNEW I chose the right people to hang with ....and about the only "Change" I'd like to see him involved in would be a change of his Country of Residence. Speed

My 1945 EH model has an EN354 flathead six;the parts clip I got has an EN354 too,but it's a Re-Con REO overhead valve six. At least it's tagged as a 354. Speed

That's a fact!! I take the same line of thinking towards owning an expensive car;I'd have far more fun driving an old beater than I EVER would driving a 1/4 million dollar car,where I'd be consumed with worry over breaking it,scratching it,or wrecking it. BEATERS RULE!! Of course this concept applies to varying degrees. A decent car or truck could be every bit as fun as an old POS.(Probably more so,if it's reliable...) Speed

There's another option. If your truck is beating you up on the road,take an OLD truck for a drive. I'll volunteer the use of my 1945 EH. 300 miles or so in a truck like that really helps you appreciate how much things have improved,and how hard it must have been driving truck back then. Still,with a decent set of tires on it,(and better brakes,and more power,and taller gearing,and electric wipers) my old Mack wouldn't be too bad to drive. It actually rides relatively decent on paved roads at road speed,but could use a little work on stutter-bump control. Speed

Traditionally,the lower the production number of a particular model,the greater the value,all other factors being the same. Just by nature,if there were only 50 of an average trim model ever made,one of those would likely be worth more than one of the top of the line model that there were 2,000 per year made of them. Of course,there are a lot of variables that can alter the formula-rare accessories,uncommon colors,special drivetrain,etc.,as well as general condition,as Mike said. There's also the popularity factor to consider,but I don't believe that affects value as much. Speed

The top pic I could deal with;the other two,I'd have to pass on that action . Those ice road truckers are sure a special breed Speed