sodly

I know this is an old topic but it caught my eye. I'm a fan of "Western" (Hayward) Macks. One thing that they all seemed to have in common, at least in my memory, was un-shielded exhaust stacks. Part of what burned (pun intended) that into my memory is the fact that I got a hell of a burn on my arm as a kid climbing into our new Superliner with those stacks one time. I never understood why they didn't have any heat shield like all trucks today. They have a real distinctive look that I didn't care for at the time but have now come to really appreciate because of their uniqueness. Does anyone know the story on the chromed (??), unshielded stacks? These were the ones bolted right to the cab back before the RWs got air ride cabs. Maybe they were an early production thing because I've seen some first gen Superliners without them. I think even the Rubber Duck Convoy truck had one. And I've seen them on western F models. Are they the same muffler as the shielded ones.... just without the shield? Does anyone still produce them? I'm surprised I never see them on restored first gen Superliners. I think they're so cool.

So who is Simon and where are they out of? I figured it looked like a western truck (and a western Mack, of course). Yarnall, you had one what and sold it? A Simon truck? I'm confused. Thanks!

Or provide better photos? Would like to own an original California Mack Western like this.

Here are the others I've found photos of. Can anyone contribute any more? Or does anyone know the whereabouts of any of these trucks?

I hope this hasn't been covered before. I searched and didn't find any thread specific to Superliner fire trucks. I was hoping to compile all the known Superliner fire/rescue truck photos here in one thread. I know some have been scattered about here and there in other threads. Didn't someone say that one was in private hands and was featured in Bulldog magazine? Does anyone have that article? Here's my contribution. This is a 1979 Superliner tractor that pulled a water tanker for my local VFD for many years. It was sold in 2008 with 14,000 miles and was completely original as far as I could tell.

Here's one I saw today still on the job.

Does anyone know what ever became of this truck? Just curious.

Just putting a feeler out for a clean, original Superliner. Generation I or II. Original paint (even if faded) would be a bonus. Looking for a good, reliable "play" truck... not a project. Needs to be in or near Nebraska. Any Midwest Superliners available out there?

Saw one at the ATHS national convention in Salem.

That's one of my faves. Does anyone know what became of it? Anyone have any interior pics? Wonder if the fire versions are any different.

Do you have any Superliner fire apparatus photos? I've seen a few. Here is a tanker truck that I looked at locally several years ago.

Yes it has black carpet.

Is it a first gen? I would love to see that!

What is it on a Pete or KW? 127"?

Something I've always wondered but never been able to figure out.... What is the hood length on a Superliner? Is this measured as BBC (bumper to back of cab)? Or bumper to windshield? I've always wondered how the length of Superliner hoods compared with the other big conventionals of their day like a long nose KW W900 or long nose Pete 359. Does anyone know?

Derp! Yeah. Been so long I forgot. Definitely Reyco.

As I recall it sold for about $20,000.

A few years ago, back in 2008, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase an all-original 1979 Superliner with 15,000 original miles from a local rural VFD. The fire dept bought the truck new locally and I had seen it around for years and years. Like most front-line fire equipment, it lived in a heated building all its life and was serviced regularly. I grew up riding in a first-generation Superliner as a kid in the early 80s so, needless to say, this truck pulled at my heart strings HARD! Long story short... after much personal deliberation I ended up passing on the truck. I just didn't have a place to store such a big a toy (not that I didn't want it badly). I have never seen a cleaner, more original, unmolested, time-warp first generation Superliner... well, not since about 1983 anyway. It's too bad that I didn't have a realistic reason to buy it or a place to store it. I just didn't pan out at that time. Anyway, I think it was a pretty rare truck so I thought I'd share some pics I took at that time here with others who might appreciate it like i did (and still do). I believe the truck had a 300 Maxidyne with a 5x2 twin stick-- correct me if I'm wrong on that. It's the only time I've seen a factory two-stick setup in a Superliner, which I thought was kinda cool. Note the factory paint everywhere, including on the engine! Sadly, my worst fears came true when I heard that a local farmer ended up buying the truck and promptly began butchering it up to his liking. He took the camelback rears off and put on an air ride suspension and made a corn/grain hauler out of it. As far as I'm concerned what he did was criminal. I later heard that he wasn't happy with the power so he soon sold it again. Not sure where it ended up after that. In my opinion it probably should've gone to the Mack museum in the first place. There can't be too many original Superliners like this in existence unless they, too, were pampered fire trucks. Has anyone seen one this nice and original in recent years? I haven't.

Tell me about paint options on Superliner Is vs. IIs. Seems like many of the Superliner Is had fancy paint schemes with lots of stripes and contrasting colors. But most Superliner IIs I see are typically much simpler, mono-color, cabs. I realize most manufacturers cut back on fancy paint jobs through the 80s but could you still always get any color and scheme you wanted on a Superliner? I suppose they'd do about anything if you were willing to pay, right? Were color choices more or less endless or were there just certain standard colors available to pick from? And did that list shrink over the years? How about striping and paint schemes? Maybe it's my imagination but I seem to see less IIs with the fancy factory stripe jobs. For that matter, why did all the manufacturers go away from fancy paint schemes on trucks through the 80s? Stuff fromt the 70s and early 80s were sure a lot more interesting to look at. Does anyone have pictures of other factory striping schemes?

Dimensions! This is helpful. Thanks. When you say "inner rail" does that mean that both RW600 and 700s are double framed? And I guess the double frame rails don't run the full length of the frame, from what you're saying.

For some reason I've always had the impression that Superliners (at least the earlier ones) had relatively thin-looking frame rails when they're parked side-by-side next to a KW or Peterbilt. I always thought this made them look less substantial. Is this my imagination or do other manufacturers use deeper profile rails? Maybe I was only seeing RW600 rails. Or maybe Mack frames are simply thicker guage... or doubled... to account for the difference. At any rate, it's always bugged me. Just wondered what the real scoop is.

That's the thickness of the rails, right? Were the rails the same size otherwise (aside from caliper thickness)? If you measured from the bottom of the rails to the top (the vertical face of the rails) would they be the same? Or were they all the same height, just thicker... or doubled... on the RW700s? Sorry for the confusion.

Well, since this forum's been quiet lately, I guess I'll post more ignorant questions. Can you spot an RW600 Superliner vs. an RW700 just by the height of the frame profile? In other words, do the 700s have a taller frame rail and the 600s a shorter, or narrower, frame rail (when viewed from the side)? Or is it just that the 700s have double frames or heavier guage frames maybe with more crossmembers? I'm just wondering if there's any way to ascertain if a Superliner's a 600 or a 700 by looks alone. Are there any visual cues? Anyone know?

Please post your F Model pics. Seems like there aren't a lot of photos online, considering how long this truck was around. And you seldom see restored examples. I've been looking at Hanks a lot lately and even there it seems like I see more pics of trucks with F cabs (like Hayes... which, ironically, were probably a lot less common than Fs) than actual Mack Fs. I'm particularly interested in seeing the light weight versions, the california-built trucks. I tried to search the archives for this information but it won't accept a one-letter search term ("f"). It makes it pretty hard to search for F Model Macks without using "F" as a search term. Plus, many of the photos in old posts are likely dead by now anyway.

Is this an unusual truck? I saw a late 70s Superliner that was purchased by a fire department to pull a water tank wagon. It's a full tandem tractor and it's only ever been a fire truck from new. I've seen lots of R models and B models in fire houses but I don't think I've ever seen a Superliner fire truck. Has anyone else? Any pics or insight would be appreciated. Thanks.