doubleclutchinweasel

It couldn't possibly hurt...

Like this ring, right here???

One thing I learned about Macks, back when I was a little guy riding around with Dad, is that a lot of the minor parts could be bought at a hardware store! Later, when I was trying to keep mine up, I fixed as many things from the local hardware store as I did from the parts store. They did a really good job of using "common" parts that were easily sourced. I remember, at one time, the ignition switches were from Briggs & Stratton. Makes Mowerman's avatar even more appropriate, doesn't it?

Sent a message. Got no reply. I'm moving on...

First thing I did on mine was replace every air line on it, the slack adjusters, and the brake chambers. Got rid of the rotten hoses on the frame and replaced with DOT air line tubing. After that, I felt a lot more comfortable driving it! With all the collective knowledge of the guys on here (you know who you are!), there's not much you can't find out on this forum. Keep posting pictures! We love pictures!

Pans are a “deep draw” product. The metal can pull extremely thin during the manufacturing process. That is a common cause of cracks in the thin areas.

Yeah, I got through to Jeff earlier too. I see he already got back with us with an update. Classy guy.

Still dead. I don't have personal emails for any of the guys over there. Maybe some of you can contact Jeff? Hope everybody is okay over there.

I have a friend in Mentor. Runs a tool and die shop. He makes all of my custom cutting tools and bars. Takes my mental nightmares and turns them into reality.

I suspect the splayed shape of the rails would give most people fits.

The R611 I drove for Shuler had the 24V starter on it. Had a push-button to engage the starter. It was basically a manual relay that put the 12 volts from each side in series to the starter. The one thing I will say is this...it would ALWAYS spin the motor over! Even when the batteries were low, it still had enough power to turn that pig over on the coldest days. Of course, my more-recent R611 had the basic 12V setup, and I never had more than one 12V battery in it. And it did fine too. Only saw a couple of really cold mornings where it said it hated me. But, plugging in the block heater allowed us to come to an understanding, and away it would go! And, yes, air start is still cool!

Rats. They've got sharp tails. Or... SQUIRREL!!!

I'll try to see if I can find it and put some more info on here, time (and The Boss Lady) permitting!

I seem to remember seeing those, too. Made sense to me!

That's where I'm at. Not sure where that truck is. Will have to investigate.

True. Definitely something other than "Bulldog Enthusiasts".

I have airline schematics, too. Not sure what kind of parking brake setup you have on there. Mine came with DD3 brake units. Very complicated system with extra air tank and an "inversion valve" (see pictures). I swapped it over to regular spring brake chambers, which was very easy. It also eliminated a bunch of hoses and stuff. Worked better, too.

They are actually fairly easy to work on. Very well designed beasts. The biggest issue I saw when one was changed to negative ground was that some of the gauges would not work correctly. For instance, I had to change the volt meter on mine, because it was not possible to reverse the gauge (single wire, ground through case). Had to get a 2-terminal gauge so I could connect the wires to the terminals with the correct polarity. Also, I think the fuel gauges did not like being reversed. But, I am fuzzy on that one. Light bulbs do not care. Nothin at all wrong with positive ground. Just have to isolate any add-ons that you have (like radios or phone chargers).

I don't understand all the "hot girls" that showed up on here for one day. Of course, those pictures may not be of them! Might have actually been a 400-pound guy living in his mom's basement for all we know!

Yeah. An R is my favorite truck of all-time. As important to Mack history as the venerable B series, in my opinion.

Kinda hard to see, but here is a typical wiring diagram for an R of that vintage...

So, it would have been a 12V alternator.

They were 6V batteries in series, making it a 12V system. 2 6V batteries in series on each side (for 12V effective), and a set of those on each side in parallel for more reserve. Some even had a relay to bridge the 12V batteries on each side to provide 24V to the starter.

Positive ground was the standard thing back then. Lots of them were later changed over to negative ground (mine was when I got it). I also like that yours is the "early", light green interior. Later ones were changed to a darker green color. The light green like yours is like the one I rode in with my Dad back when I was a kid, and later drove myself. Those green dash R's really have a special place in my memory. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

I see on todays "birthday list" that there are a butt-load of "pretty people" listed who only showed up for one day and never came back (along with a few "regular" folks who are long-gone). Did they try to use this forum as a dating site for a while? "TruckersOnly.com"? Good grief!