Speed

Hi all; I'm trying to figure out the link up Mack used for my E model with hydraulic brakes and HydraVac to pull trailers with air brakes. I know it was set up to do this at one time,but most of the system is now gone. It appears there was some sort of control valve connected to the brake pedal linkage under the floorboards that operated air brakes,but I can't find any info on it. I might have a compressor located,and have air tanks,and some of the original plumbing,the air gauge and control on the steering column-what parts are missing are the big mystery. The reason this is kinda important to me is that I have 3 large trailers to move,2 are only going about 3 miles on a gravel road,which I can cover by loosening the slack adjusters,but one may need to be moved about 30 miles on I-80 and 2 lane highways so I'd like to have the trailer brakes functional enough to be legal. Garth,you might have this set up on your truck-if you do,could you get a few pics of it for me? I have some sort of apparatus on the firewall that looks to be related to an air system,but the lines are gone from it so I don't know what it does/did. I was also given a 40 foot 5th wheel RV,which I believe I can pull with my Mack no problem. Thanks in advance for any info you can send my way. Speed

Thanks Greg,I'll check that out. I'm also considering going the custom route and using one of the aftermarket power window kits the hot rodders are using,when I can afford it. I might also go with an aftermarket wiper set up. They've designed some of this stuff to be easy install and pretty near idiot-proof,which is about what I need. I found a glass shop here that will do all my glass for $450.00,if I can get the rubber seals for the front/rear glass. (They can get 'em,but their supplier's kinda expensive.) Anyway,for now I have things to a use-able state,I need to work more on some drive train issues. I'll post some questions in the proper forums to address these. I've come to realize that when I got my truck I had intention to get it basically operable and just drive it,but as I go on,just to make it a functional truck is going to require pretty much a full restoration,minus the engine rebuild and most of the body work. so I might as well just figure on keeping it off the roads and get things done right as I can get the money to do it. (Besides,I have an old GMC dump truck I can put to work relatively easily now) As with all the other kinds of trucks and cars I've messed with over the years,I'll keep looking for parts sources,information and Mack Truck enthusiasts to share stories and information with. Speed

BTW-I'm told the alternator I installed is set up to use an electronic tach like any newer Diesel would use,so it's just a matter of choosing one I like. Speed

Hi Greg; WOW-what a great looking rig!! You've done a great job with 'er! I'm going to be doing some trailer pulling with mine in the next week or two;I was given a 40 foot 5th wheel RV trailer I need to take to my property,about 30 miles away. After that,there's 3 other trailers (two 45 foot flatbeds and a 44 foot reefer) I will need to move,but those will only be about 2 or 3 mile pulls. I'll have to loosen the slack adjusters to move them since I still don't have an air system in place. I discovered my truck wasn't exactly overheating when I drove it from Reno to Elko;turns out I have a bullet hole in my top radiator tank,poorly patched,that was leaking each time I put the truck under an extended hard pull. Guess I'll be pulling the radiator for a rebuild next spring. I can do that while I have it on blocks to do all the wheel cylinders. Not 100% sure yet but I might be using the to load scrap onto a trailer. I'd like to be able to use the EH to pull the trailer to Reno or SLC and back,but I'm pretty sure it'd be too costly to get the truck up to legally proper condition to be cost effective. I'll still have chances to use my from time to time though. Anyway,I sure like your truck,keep it rockin'! Speed

I agree-just disconnect your driveline at the axle,tape the end up good so the u-joint bearing caps can't fall off and tie it up to a crossmember or someplace where the end won't touch the pinion yoke while you're towing it. If it's a show truck it wouldn't be a bad idea to wrap the driveline in an old bath towel where you tie it up,and/or wherever it might be against a crossmember or the likes. You can also save a little rolling resistance by singling it out and running the tires close to max. (posted on sidewall) inflation. Speed

THAT'S IT!!! That's exactly what I've been looking for! It indicates in the link that a mounting cup is available,too. Thanks! Speed

Hi Greg; I'd like to see your truck. I see you rdline your engine at 3,000 rpm's-what rpm do you use for road speed on the highway? I believe my engine's strong enough to pull to 3,000 but I wouldn't run it that high for more than a moment. (I probably have,by accident,but I have no way of knowing for sure.) I'm guessing I could safely cruise it at around 2,700 or 2,800,but I really don't know. I haven't had time to do much on my recently,I have an old GMC dumper I need to get in order soon for a couple of jobs,and my brother Dutch is building me a newer,bigger one ton duallie work truck as we speak,so I'm getting ready to drive my '62 Chevy one ton to Reno on the 10th,where we'll pull the engine,tranny and wheels and install them on the "new" truck,remove whatever else I think can be used by another '62 owner,and scrap the rest. (I hate the thought of scrapping it,but at least its heart(engine) will be beating in my next truck and other parts will keep a couple more '62's on the road. And I figure I should get about $125.00 for the rest of the truck as scrap.) Once the new truck is ready to roll I'm buying a car hauler trailer for a friend up here in Elko,so I'll have to replace a tire on that,straighten an axle and wire the lights,brakes and a plug,load all my spares up,and haul a$$ for Elko. Once that's handled I need to get the brakes done up on the ,flush its cooling system,replace the output shaft seal on the Brownie and the pinion seal on the rear end and work on getting trailer air set up on it so I can put IT to work. And in the spare time I never seem to have,I have one car to dis-assemble and 3 cars to re-assemble. By then Winter'll be here and I can start working on the inside of the house. I guess I shoulda posted this as an update;seems like once I start writing,I have to tell it all. I forget that not too many people'll care what I'm doing. I dunno-I guess it's always kinda interesting to see what others do withTHEIR time off the clock. Speed BTW-check out the link to JC Whitney at the end of "Another Tach Question";it's a 12 volt neg. grd. tach that goes 0-4,000 rpm's,and it looks like there's a mounting cup for it available! WAY COOL!!

I know-it just seems kinda punk to have a tach that goes to 8,000 rpms hooked up to an engine that won't see 3,600. Kinda depressing... Speed

Very cool truck! And,by the way-none of my trucks will likely ever see the fast lane,but ya know what? I don't care! Speed

I keep forgetting that Packer,Andy and I are about the only "E" owners out there-if they ain't already got it,it probably ain't out there... Speed

Most bigger truck stops have scales;it'd be a good idea to go run it across the scales. They'll give you an official print out showing the weight on the front axle,the weight on the rear axle,and a total weight,and it'll be pretty accurate.Usually costs around $10.00 around here. Besides-that'd give you a good excuse to take it for a drive!! Speed

Packer; Whaddya think-could we make those fit our E models? Probably be easier to just build 'em from scratch... Speed

:thumb:Thanks Greg; I did it pretty much as you said,but it turns out I was lucky-the previous owner had already done 90% of the conversion. I already had 12 volt lights,generator,electric fuel pump and gas gauge(it looks stock but is accurate),and I bypassed the Ammeter and went to an aftermarket volt meter because the ammeter only went to something like 60 amps,but my new internally regulated alternator is rated at 140 amps,and I don't need any magic smoke coming outta my dashboard. (And,BTW-the stock generator pulley DIDN'T fit-I had to special order one for 56 bucks) I had my brother Dutch rewire the whole truck for me,and we ued a GM fuseblock,light switch and dimmer switch;I also changed the dashlights over to new style bulbs-much better!,and used a standard GMC horn. Now I also have a pair of air horns plumbed into a lanyard valve and an air tank,awaiting some kind of an air compressor. I just posted a question in these forums about a tach for my gas engine. The coil was already swapped for 12 volt,with a built in Ballast (judging from the ceramic cap on one end of it) So far,my only "problem" is the battery seems to be getting too good a charge-after a couple hundred miles I could smell that overcharging battery smell. I think a dual battery bank with GOOD quality batteries will solve that problem. (I MIGHT have to run a bunch of clearance lights,too.) Now,if I can get two of my brakes to quit dragging,and if I flush and re-fill the cooling system,and if I replace the input shaft seal on the Brown Lipe,and the pinion seal on the rear end,it'll be ready to roll. Speed

I have located an electric tach I want to use on my truck,since it's a 12 volt unit and only has a 0 to 4,000 rpm scale. My problem with this is:This tach is designed to be triggered by the alternator-can it be set to trigger from my coil,as a regular gas engine tach would? How do these Alternator driven tachs work? Seems to me it'd be like running your distributor off a v-belt drive-it couldn't possibly stay accurate. I can probably run it off the alternator on the ,but if I can make this work off the coil on my I might get another one for my GMC dump truck. Thanks! Speed

Just want to thank Barry and the folks at WATT'S MACK for their patience and expert service when I called and ordered a Bulldog to replace the one stolen from my EH model.(And for the BMT Forums!) I was assured it would fit my original mount,(it did) I was told how soon to expect it to arrive(right on the money),the price was very reasonable,and I was pleasantly surprised to learn they even accept PayPal! Can't say enough good about these people! Thanks again! Speed

Thanks,Steve-I just looked at the website,and I see a LOT of stuff I'd worried I'd never find for my truck! How did you find this guy? I expect I'll be doing a lot of shopping there,though I haven't yet checked any prices. I guess if I need it and they have it,the price is right,huh? Speed

Thanks Bob; I finally got the brakes "nearly" operable on my EH. At least they work well enough to drive the truck when necessary. I kitted the master cylinder and installed a HydraVac off my '60 GMC 370 (approx. 5 ton) parts truck. I ran new steel lines to it,and made nice bends to make it look good. Bled the system and when I fired the truck up had excellent pedal but NO brakes. Reversed the lines to the HydraVac (Had to use different lines due to the different lengths of them) and re-bled the system and got very good braking except for an air pocket in the line back to the master cylinder. This happened because the only line I had the right diameter was too long and required several "shortening bends" to fit,and it "retains" air. not worried,I'll buy the right size lines for it when I work on it next. I also have 2 drums to pull,as I have 2 brakes that lock very easily and 2 that work fine now. Sheesh-it never ends... Speed

While you have it apart,what's the chance of switching the offending bolt to a different kind,or grinding the head down a little for clearance? Maybe with that and touching the elbow fitting lightly with a grinder you can make enough clearance so the two parts won't touch anymore. I had to do that on my Triumph motorcycle to get clearance between the fuel shutoff valve and the carb I used. Speed

Hi Steve; Thanks for the reply and the links! I've been looking at that first one,I've been seeing it advertised in Rod & Custom for awhile. I like the design,and it helps that it's less than half the price of the other two. Dutch tried a kit on his '50 Chevy truck,but wasn't very happy with the design;it was noisy and wouldn't park most of the time. I don't know where he got it from,but I know the one he started with was a pretty low buck set up,he ended up spending a little more but the one he upgraded to worked pretty good. I'll have to ask him where he got that one. He's developed sort of a knack for adapting factory stuff to work on the old trucks lately. I think I'll either go for the "ITS A SNAP" ONE (high zoot version) or the single speed single wiper set up (El Cheapo bare basics version). Having travelled many miles with intermittent,marginal or no wipers,it doesn't take much to make me happy anymore. I can always upgrade later on when I have all the other neccessary stuff covered. Speed

Hi Andy; I'll try to get pictures-I'm a little camera-challenged right now,but I'll do what I can. My camera won't hold pictures reliably-half the time when I try to download my pictures to the computer there are no pictures in the camera. Today I pulled the door panel off the left door and removed the pieces of the window,cleaned 'em up,and taped the 3 main pieces back together with clear packing tape. Then I took an old nylon dog leash and fished it up alongside the glass and attached the lower end of it to my window at the bottom,so when I pull on the leash it pulls the glass up,then I can half-hitch it around the inside door handle that doesn't do anything anyway. (I'll need to find a way to bend the whole door out at its center and push the door-jamb out before it'll open,close and latch correctly again. IDEA'S ANYONE?? ) Since the door's kinked in the middle,the window doesn't slide very well,but at least now I can close it for bad weather and open it when it's hot. I have the master cylinder rebuilt and installed,I installed the HydraVac,and I pulled all the bleeder screws out to make sure none were full of crud,all that's left is to bleed everything. Oh-I did a lot of re-plumbing,so I should go through and lash down all the lines and make sure nothing's gonna chafe holes in itself. I also had a park light that wouldn't light;traced that down to a bad ground. I'll run a separate ground wire from inside the headlight housing to the frame,that should cure the problem. More to folow. Speed

Hi all; Just wanted to let you know what's new with the EH. Due to other obligations,I haven't had much time to work on it lately,but I did get a few things done. A few days ago I installed a CB radio,(mostly because it fell off a shelf in the shop and "reminded" me I was going to do that before I left Reno with the truck. It fit perfectly under the dash just left of the steering column. I used a magnetic mount antenna,which I placed on top of the boom of my hoist. It seems to work fine,haven't had the truck on the road since,so I don't know yet if the movement of parts of the boom will cause any static. I cut and installed some carpet in the truck,too: ;it's not great,but it'll cut down on noise,dust and air leaks,plus whatever tools or parts I drop on the floor will no longer roll around until they fall through the E brake hole. Since the door windows are pretty much done in,I wedged the right side glass in the up position,dropped the left one into the door,and cut a removable cover from sheetmetal I can set in place to keep the weather off the seat while it's parked. On my list for upcoming tasks is to buy rebuild kits for "Wurlitzer" Chevy truck dooe window regulators and see if I can make them work on my doors,get new windows cut and installed,and hopefully do a similar job on the windshield. I ordered a rebuild kit for my master cylinder,picked it up and found out it was the wrong part.(at 10 minutes after closing time at the parts store.) Went in the next day and returned it,got a different one ordered,went home and started installing the HydraVac. (I still need to build one more brace for it.) Tomorrow,if I don't have to work,I'll get the rest of the parts I need to finish the brake work as I know it. I also worked on installing a muffler (again),but will need a piece of pipe I don't have to finish that. I discovered my front bumper tends to be hard to place in close quarters,so I cut up a stingray bicycle sissy bar and made some markers for the ends of my front bumper. They help a lot! I scavenged a large electrical box with a lockable door and installed it crossways just behind the boom to store tow chains,oil,tiedowns,etc. I'm negotiating a deal on a pair of big old fog lights which I'll install on the front bumper brackets. I priced out tires-new ones at first,then used ones; I guess I'll have to sell something valuable or buy one per month if I ever wanna have good tires on my trucks. Looked into getting proper mudflap brackets and hangers for my truck(s),but the best deal I'd found a few months ago,$18.00 per side has gone up to about $35.00 per side,so I'll have to pass on those for now. (I still might order some mudflaps from Watts though. ) I found a place I can get the universal one speed wiper motor with the arm and a 10 inch blade for about $30.00,so that's also in the works. Before it gets cold out there I need to pull the heater and try to find a fan/motor that'll work with the stock heater. Things are moving along,a little slowly at times(after driving my home from Reno I'm used to "slowly" ),but I try to keep working on the truck,do what I can when I can. If you have any ideas,suggestions,parts or literature you think might help,please feel free to throw 'em into the mix. Thanks to all of you who have helped by answering my questions and offering encouragement. Speed

Hi all; For those few EH owners,I thought I'd pass on some parts info. I just bought a master cylinder kit from CarQuest,part number M-6 (CarQuest part #),for $33.03,installed it today,and if I don't have to work I plan to install it tomorrow,as well as finishing installation of a HydraVac I pulled from my '60 GMC parts truck. I still need to get a fitting for the vacuum connection out of the intake manifold,a couple of brake lines,a Y fitting and some adapters since the uses 5/16" lines and GMC uses 1/4" . If it turns out I need to rebuild any wheel cylinders Dutch says he can get just the seals from a brake rebuilder in Reno for about 3 bucks a handful. I'm hoping to have 'er operable again in a couple of days or so. Speed

Feels good to actually drive your "new" truck home;I've always seen it as sort of a good start for my trucks to arrive at their new home under their own power. In the case of my and most all of my other vehicles,"TOWING IS NOT AN OPTION" applied. I thought about driving my '62 chevy one ton to Reno,getting my new '57 GMC 2 ton dump truck running,loading the '62 in the back,hooking the '60 GMC ten wheeler parts truck on the tow bar behind it and driving that convoy home,but I only have about 3 decent tires out of the 16 tires on the 2 GMC's,so that obviously won't be an option. (Unless one of you would donate a set of six 10.00-20's and a set of six 11.00-22.5's for this trip.) Instead,I've been working for a guy,helping him move all his cars,trucks,trailers,wood,steel,engines,transmissions,various parts,boxes,bags,furniture etc. from the house he's vacating about 5 miles to his storage yard for the last couple of weeks in trade for his stopping when he goes through Reno after his next delivery to northern Ca.,loading my trucks and bringing 'em home. I still have to drive to Reno a day or two before,to bring down some loading ramps,swap wheels around to get 4 inflated ones on each truck,replace a valve spring,rebuild a master cylinder and bleed some brakes,probably replace some hoses and belts and install a battery so as to be able to drive the dump truck onto the trailer and pull the parts truck on behind it,then drive back home in the '62. I guess this'd be "choosing my battles"?? I'm not backing away from an adventure;if this was the Mack recovery,I'd do it again in a heartbeat,but driving these beasties home would require money I don't have right now. Speed

In MY world,the hammer is more of an "OWWW!!--Sh*#%%&@^t!!!!" tool... Speed