Bollweevil

Clean coal, I hope? I still wouldn't try to take a bath with it. Merry Christmas.

Rosman to Haysville is just a hop skip and a jump, even closer from Haysville to Morganton, Ga. Shoot, we are almost neighbors.

Glad to hear from you. Did you stick a pin in the map? If you haven't, please do so. Then we can see how far we will have to travel to come to supper. LOL Tom and Paul like BBQ, Rob will eat anything, and Possum and Taters is fine for me. James

Well, if anything, it gives you a sense of your own mortality. From the inside, looking out through my own eyes I'm still 16. What a shock and a disappointment when I see myself looking back in the mirror. I like 16, I thought I would live forever. Unlike Hank Jr. whose rowdy friend's have settled down. All of mine are checking on out. Since growing up is not an option, I refuse to do so, I guess I'll have to start looking for some younger friends. I am sorry for the loss of your friend Gary. I learned early on that in order to have friends , you have to show yourself friendly. You certainly do that. To have really close friends requires a bond of trust and fellowship. That comes a little harder, and makes such a loss hurt even more. James

I haven't had an occasion to check prices in some time. The Eaton oil used to run about three to four times as much as engine oil. That's just another blast from the past. Engine oil is now four times what it used to be. I melted two 14715's in two years, before switching to Eaton synthetic. I could see the difference right away, prior to change over on a long gentle grade the engine would pull high gear. But the transmission temp would rise about as quick as the EGT, almost. I would have to drop a gear and back out of the throttle. After changing all I had to worry about was the EGT.

50 wt. mineral oil or engine oil for the 12513, but a word of caution, THEY WILL NOT MIX. Don't add one to the other, or you will h run the risk of having the result turn to sludge. Either is fine for your application. Although more expensive, for everyday or extended use the Eaton synthetic is a better choice. Your transmission could run 50 degrees cooler easy.

Well Mike, in and of it's self pulling up stakes and moving to Goodlettsville, or Morganton is not such a bad thing. That is, if they leave their bad habits wherever they are coming from. Mainly, not minding their own business. I am not two old yet, to not love trucks, and they don't just have to be Macks. Trucking however, at least doing it your own way, has changed enough to be just a memory. I am not advocating a return to the past. Just to be honest I am not tough enough to go through all that s**t again. Sometimes, on a real good day, I still think I could take a load of air freight from Atlanta to LAX in 36 to 38 hrs. As for what the state of California thinks of me, I could care less. I could rip California out of my atlas and it wouldn't matter. I'm not going back. It would probably be a good thing if the automobile manufacturers would follow the lead of Caterpillar, move completely move out of California, and tell the state to build their own dang cars. Someone is going to haul freight for a buck a mile plus fuel surcharge, even if they have to strap a converter as big as a VW to their truck. It may be the Land of Fruits And Nuts, but there are also some good people who are just as enthusiastic about their AC.s B's LJ's RS's. Not to mention some fine Pete"s KW"S, Emoryville's, and others. They shouldn't fall victim to a hair brained ruling. James

Well, If you are a die hard owner operator with an E9, V8 CAT, KT Cummins or any sort of mechanical or electronic engine, You are faced with 3 choices. Park it, Re Power it, or stay the hell out of California. Keep in mind that whatever California comes up with, makes it over here sooner or later. What will happen to the trucks that won't measure up? They will probably go to Mexico, and come right back at us. Some of the reasoning behind this is based on junk science, not all of it. You have to see the Los Angeles basin under a smog alert to understand the magnitude of their clean air problem. What I haven't seen addressed is the antique, historical. or collector aspect. Keep your eyes open for some real deals on Hayward built models. James

Having the reputation of being a craftsman means something to me also. In my area, local builders, have flooded the housing market. In fact, a lot of building contractors continued to build for two years after the market began to dry up. The crazy thing is, that as long as the banks would provide construction financing, they would continue to churn them out. Along the way buying up new trucks, cars, boats, and toy's as fast as they could finish one and start another. Now, when someone say's that they are building a spec house I have trouble getting my mind wrapped around $350,000 to $400,000. When I think of a spec house, I still think of a whole lot less. Some of these builders had 5 or more of these sitting empty, with no hope of selling. Having taken all the money out of them, and blowing it, they have had no other option than to let the banks have them. With easy financing gone, and the value of real estate approaching it's actual value, new construction has been almost at a standstill. However, there is a limited amount going on. As you may very well guess, the contractors with the reputation of being craftsmen are the ones doing it. A strange thing is that not all areas of the country are in such a recession. If a person is willing to travel, there is work going on.

DANG. I love a challenge, You might as well take it on over Tom, along with a hand full of corn cobs and a quart of turpentine. On second thought, you might ignore the insult until it's finished. LOL

Damn the torpedo's boys, full speed ahead. Surrender is not an option, relocation is. There is construction going on somewhere. Even if the economy completely fails, people still need food and shelter. I have a 24/7 job taking care of my mom. I don't need a job. If my situation was different, I would find a place to put a produce market. In California, I've seen rolling restaurants. Half again as large as the typical roach coach you see here. You could buy a fresh hamburger, fajitas, or a burrito half as big as Texas. All made on a grill right before your eyes. Could you imagine one of Toms BBQ sammiches. Possibilities far outweigh disappointment. Build some rocking chairs for abused truck drivers, but don't give up.

You are asking for a lot, and I hope you are not expecting a short answer. Trucks in general, and the trucking industry in particular are constantly evolving. In the heavy duty truck industry you will find no planed obsolescence. This is evident in the construction part of our industry, by the number of 20 year old or older trucks still in service. Mostly Mack's, and for a good reason. An engine transmission combination designed to be tailored to start and move a load under any conceivable condition, coupled with a final drive that was not designed to be good enough. But, which however was engineered to be indistructable. Along with a suspension equally at home on and off road, And an adjustable platform, {single, double or triple railed} to hold it all together. What else, except a cab built Mack tough, with classic good looks. To begin with, creature comforts were on the short side, but as I mentioned, it is evolving. You could better appreciate A Mack Truck experience by spending day after day after day on a construction site. When you can spend 12 or more hours a day operating a truck, then get out and go home, instead of getting out and getting under it, it adds to peace of mind, and the bottom line at the end of the week. People like trucks for different reasons. People like Mack's, sometimes to the point of being fanatical, dependability is a good enough reason. A major concern at this time is the survival of the Mack logo, and The Mack tradition. A lot of the members on this site own and preserve some very nice examples of Mack history. Get acquainted.

Yes Sir, you are quite right. This all goes back to Mr. Newton, "Every action has a reaction, equal in force but opposite in direction." Very often, experience is the best teacher. You can tell a child, " don't mess with a dog while it's eating." but until it experiences the reaction, your advice will likely be ignored. A truck can be a pleasure to operate, but unequally dangerous. I shall be forevermore thankful to those who have given me the true value of their own experiences, along with their advice. " Don't mess with a dog while it's eating, watch your overhead for power lines and cables, get your rig level before raising the hoist, make sure the safety is unlatched, etc etc." Safety around equipment should be everyone's concern, without having to worry about offending someone.

Well, it is as plain as the nose on your face. It is an automatic lubricator for the rudder angle indicator on a cross country alligator. At least that's what my friend Rob Ware says. But, he was a submariner, and you know that they would say anything.

Being an old Navy man you should know what that is.

Only 3 ft.? Was that your first time looking through the windshield and seeing nothing but blue sky and truck hood? Well, you can drive it like that, sort of, but you can't steer it too good. That is the scary part. Knowing that it can happen and not getting panic stricken, is part of being a good operator. Don't feel like you are the only one that has ever happened to. If you could see me now, I am holding my hand up. Nor can you expect that it will be the last time it will happen when you are behind the wheel. Just stay cool on your stool.

Welcome to this site, for the most part it is made up of people who love old trucks. And are somewhat still amazed at what they were, and what they did. Thanks for the baby pictures, you have a beautiful diesel baby. It looks just like you. People back east would really be amazed at just how many fine old trucks are still around the high desert. Not to mention the remarkable condition that they are in for their age. Come back now, ya hear.

If you want to be able to talk to someone while you are there, then you need to take someone with you. It has been a lot like that around Blue Ridge. Not so bad since the housing bust has taken effect. When the work went away, our neighbors from south of the border are going away a little at a time.

I need left and right front spring hangers, all of the bumper mounting eyelet's are broken off. I don't remember if I sent you a picture of Bob Cody's black RS797. His truck had an aluminum front frame cross member which was also the front spring hanger. I would be interested to know what a Cummins powered truck was supposed to have. The engine is way too long for the one piece cross member- spring hanger on his truck. Looking at the side of the hanger, they look the same. He replaced his manual box with a steering box from a CH, by drilling one new frame hole, and reshaping the front of the box slightly with a 4'' grinder.

There is a good explanation for the steering gear looking like a Ross. It is. A worn out Ross at that. I had even gone so far as to run down a rebuilt unit, in Atlanta. I guess I just had Sheppard on my mind. Let me Know when you get the wrecked truck home, I need some front end parts if you dismantle it.

Let's see if this works

How did that situation get so out of hand? First prize for best story submitted will be a fax copy of one of Tom's famous BBQ sammich's. When he gets the computer fixed.

Look on the bright side Rob, without them you'll have more time to work on your truck collection.

Purple Stuff, Mean Green, you can find something in your area with a caustic agent. Having the tanks off makes it easy, you can pour about a half gallon in each tank, and roll them around. The last ones that I did were on the truck. After the tanks were clean, the next challenge was getting all the water out. I finally set a Reddy heater up on blocks, aimed it at the tank, and fired it off. It didn't take long and it was bone dry. Of course you could take them inside and set them on the stove. As if you are not in enough trouble already

I am glad to see DADDYSLILGURL back, Since she got that CDL, I was afraid she had taken a load to California, and couldn't find a load back east. One of the worst things that can happen is to start looking over your shoulder at that bunk. Next thing you know you'll want to start stopping and eating. Sleeping and eating, sleeping and eating, ruined more drivers than you can shake a stick at.