Red Horse

No doubt this class 4, 5,6 truck will help International. But hate to say it, F'liner is the gorilla in class 6 and 7, not International.

No Jim-been a while. But always interesting. I saw the first Mass DOT tow plows there when they went in service-that was I think two or three years ago and I think I have seen one in service since. You can't believe this Altech site though/ Facility is not that big-maybe 8 install bays and if I had to guess they lately have a 100 plus chassis waiting their turn.

Ford has their work cut out for them-some of these "benefits" are debatable but looks like advantage to GM- wonder if they have a similar "attack" piece for Ram? Will see if they start showing up in the Altech facility that is one town over from mine. Inventory there awaiting installs is virtually all Ford in class 4/5. Every now and then a Ram shows up.

Those HF blue tarps work well-just don't leave them out in the sun😎-that UV is a killer.

Jim-so if I recall your pal's 650 is a gas job? Is he satisfied with his decision to stick with gas? Supposedly the V-10 will be history replaced by a new 7.3L gas V-8-or so the rumor is. By the way-you sure that 550 is not a 2018?. Someone told me no gasser in 550 for 2019-which lends credibility to the the 7.3 rumor as if they are not ready to release that motor, not likely they would continue to offer the V-10 then dump it in the middle of the model year.

Very nice Jim-did you gt shifter back together?

Nice Matt- was thinking about your project today and the fact you haven't posted in a while Looks like you have been busy!

I would agree-it seems the sleeper market today has gone to the extreme where the occasional need for a "bunk" is no an available option. remember the add on 36" boxes? I wonder if those are even available. Amazing how Ford could engineer the market for the Au/NZ markets with I would have to believe minimal sales and today they can't afford-or won't-go to the trouble of giving the class 7 buyer another engine/trans option to the in house Power stroke/Torque shift.

As did Mack B models? Or Kevin were they an outsourced mod?

Hah wonder if that went through the Manning Equipment mod center at Louisville??😎 Actually I like that 52-F-7 or F-8 blowin' smoke. And what is with that turbo noise in virtually every one of these trucks?? And I guess "side Pipes" were the in thing in ?Mexico??

Wow- I wonder what the life span of that air cleaner was? With that 6V -53 under that alligator hood you would have thought there would have been room to stick it under the hood with a big air scoop. Any clue when this picture was taken? By the looks of the vehicles in background not that long ago?

Looks like-at least judging by the gear shift a 10 speed RR? Wonder if this thing started life as a tractor?

Uh -on second thought, not quite!

this looks close-original 68 color-I think it was caled turqouise?

Matt- I checked F-650 Lo-Pro Diesel order guide. You can get an air ride in either 12,000 or 19,000 pd rating with juice or air brakes and of course 19.5 wheels. GM though will own the market I would bet in class 4 and 5 as Ford does not offer air ride rears and I don't think Dodge does either. Keep us posted on your thoughts when you get this new truck.

So Paul-what is definition of "Nostalgia BB/Gas? No clue about the NHRA today. Back in 68 my 428 CJ Torino (Notch back-rare car would like to have it today) ran D/PS. what would a comparable class be today? The 428CJ was rated at 335 HP but I believe NHRA factored it to 365. In any case sounds like you are building a beast for sure!

Clarification-6500 GM ? Truck at dealers? Your first impressions will be interesting.

Hah-exactly my thought today when I saw the news pop on the screen. I truly believe however that for sure that has been his most critical accomplishment-just think of the forward years that would have been in jeopardy had crooked Hillary been in the Whitehouse in terms of the SC make up.

Bottom line-competition will improve the "breed". Ford is arrogant-as evidenced by the marketing guys comment I referred to recently-"like they don't have to do anything"-guess what-as I see things around here, Dodge does well in class 4 and 5 and seems to me they do it on price-so owners have told me. These GM/Binders will be doing it on specs or so it seems-again pricing within reason.

thx for posting. You should post this on BON and see what response is. I'm assuming this is all related to the 6500-which is a 22,000 lb max class 6. I do believe air suspension is an option on an F-650, with 19.5 or 22.5 wheels. I think most of the other items are pretty much equal-def tank next to fuel tank, all kinds of upfitter switches etc. I would think FL is the same. Biggest positive I see is the Allison options-as well as the tilt hood. And both of those IMO will be a big attraction for a lot of fleets Now if these positives you identify ALSO pertain to 4500 and 5500 across the board, Ford and Ram are going to be scrambling again assuming pricing is in reason. As I have posted before, there is an Altech facility not far from me and I frequently drive through yard. In class 4 and 5 it is virtually 90% Ford.awaiting boom/bucket installs. Be interesting to see how quickly the GM and Internationals start showing up in those classes. As for 7, 8 FL and International predominate but seeing more and more Paccars.

RR- Please share. Beyond the tilting hood, as a class 6 what sets it apart from the existing competition??

Well as I see the Syria situation, we had a bit over 2000 troops there who were providing the direction for the Kurds and everyone else. Without that co-ordinated direction it sounds like things will go downhill fast. There are far to many knowledgeable high ranking military types besides Mattis who think this is a mistake. Once again it seems this is another campaign promise that regardless of what the facts/experts say, Trump will play to the galleries with another..."I said I was going to do it and I did". Factual situation has nothing to do with it. As for Nauert, I could not believe it when I heard that news. No doubt she is a very good presenter but........My guess is Bolton will be in the background pulling the strings that make her arms and mouth move. As for Tillerson, now he is .."dumb as a rock". Well so much for Donald's selection skills. I voted for the guy and from my perspective, my no.1 objective ( Supreme Court) has been met. Given fact he won't change his ways in spite of having some good advisers, I have lost faith in his ability to accomplish much more. If he could not do it controlling Congress, think of the next two years☹️

To say nothing of the ongoing cost. Think of it-368 million worth of equipment! How many highly paid techies does it take to run that gear? Carb story says 450-at average salary of???? And what is there mission? To outthink the automotive industry? Or just monitor it? How can anyone do business in that fugged up state?

Great- I wonder when the electric vehicles crank out wonderful emissions numbers who will be looking at the emission numbers of the plants generating that electricity as well as the impact of battery disposal when the batteries ultimately fail.

And for sure, nothing wrong with the alternator!