vanscottbuilders

And - they probably never got stopped! Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss. But you wonder if the ignorant offenders even realize it.

With the cost of fuel today, you can plan on 2.50 to 3.00 per loaded mile for hauling. And if you have to pay someone to go both ways - well, you can do the math. Getting the trucks home is becoming one of the biggest expenses of a restoration. Good Luck!

Tom, I wouldn't mind a tandem B-61, or that style truck, (a closed cab B-85 or similar truck would work too) but, ideally, I'd like an L cab. Like a B-73 with the L cab or an affordable LT or LTL tractor. Please keep your eyes open. My thought is to use the B-67 a little and sell it when the time is right. I'm going to need to have some fun with it - I've got an awful lot of time in it. I would like to sell the R-600 without having to do the restoration, and I am considering selling the H-63. All to gather enough money to really do a nice L series cab. I also have decided to part with a couple of my old farm tractors to raise some extra cash. And I have a lot of pretty nice B model Mack parts and pieces that I will sell at some time if I have to. The 285 with a triplex that I already have and a modern tandem air ride rear under that big L cab with a small bunk would probably be my "keeper". One other truck I might consider keeping would be a Pete 359, but everybody has one of them. At least the big Mack is unique. I know where there is a nice B-73 with the big cab. I just need to come up with the right money to bring it home before somebody else does. The B-67 is my first big truck project, and doing another Mack truck should go a lot easier, and hopefully, somewhat faster. Ah Well - So many great ideas - so little time!

A freshly overhauled Mack 285 hp Maxidyne engine was offered to me this week, and I bought it. The company that owns the motor no longer uses the DM's and R models that the engine was spec'd for. The overhaul was done by Mack, and the engine is on a test stand complete with a radiator and starter. I bought the test stand and everything. Hopefully I'll be able to test my old 673's and 711's, too. Heck it's the closest thing to a running truck I've got! Maybe I'll just bolt on a transmission and rear axle and go for a drive. Going to need to find a new project though, because this engine won't fit in the B-67, and I would like to use my Jake brake on it. Guess I'll have to apply a little pressure on Kevin All.

The ElCamino's were pretty handy, if you didn't mind the small cab, and the small pick-up box. I actually had two, a 1970 and a 1973. The 1970 was a better vehicle. Anyway Joe, don't you think Tom should step up to the pump and spend some of his money to buy that green B-61? See if you can convince him that he cannot take the money with him, and that it will get moldy under his mattress and smell bad.

Tom, More nice cars! The 70' Chevelle's and ElCamino's were favorites here too. (I had an ElCamino). When you go to the classic car auctions and shows, it's amazing how many of those 1970 Chevys are advertised today as LS-6 big block cars. That seems funny, since Chevrolet only made a handful true LS-6 units! Maybe the one I miss most was the '70 LT-1 Corvette. It was the only year for the big horsepower, and it was just a nice driving car. I couldn't afford it new, but a few years back, I was lucky enough to have one for a while. Anyway - you should inquire about that B Mack. You never know, the owners might take some sympathy with your story, rather than just scrapping it. Paul VS

Hey Garth, There's nothing like those dry western trucks is there! The sheet metal looks almost perfect. Have Fun. Paul Van Scott

Those are some pretty nice cars to have had. And I've had a few myself. I was always partial to that '66 Chevelle. One of the nice things about being around long enough to have had the 60's & early 70's cars as new, and the 40's and 50's cars when they weren't too old, is that we don't have to spend the really big money today just to find out that they drive like old cars! And, just as you pointed out - now we can say "We've already had those, and ours were new!" Anyway, I don't really think we have to worry about collectible cars being scrapped. There are a lot more car collectors than there are truck people. And the car prices are high enough that everyone sees stars when they find a car, no matter what shape it might be in. I'm really concerned with scrap prices as high as they are, that we are going to lose a bunch of good old trucks very quickly. Along with tractors, equipment and anything heavy. It really bothers me even more when I think about all of the steel and other metals being sold overseas. The continued selling out of America could kill us. If it hasn't already. Sure does make you wonder what happens next.

Would you please send me the details on this load. We have been moving equipment to Florida on lowboys from New York State. Although we are usually loaded home, we might be able to help, if your time frame is not critical. You can send info here, or a personal message to me on this site. Thanks, Paul Van Scott

Aren't some of the DM800's longer in the hood? With a set back front axle as I recall. Seems that CP Ward had one in Rochester NY on a lowboy for years. I'm certain that it is a steel hood. It's definitely not the same as a long nose R model though. Just my two cents........... Paul Van Scott

Excellent stories - All really good. But, remind me NEVER, EVER to fool with Rob's wife!! Wow. Paul Van Scott

John, Texas is a great place to find an old Mack. No rust! Unless it was used for fertilizer or farm duty. The R model was prone to rusting pretty badly in those areas of the country where we salt our roads. Really nice ones are in short supply in the Northeast. Thaddeus is right, a 237 or a 285 Maxidyne would make great dependable power, and a simple five or six speed transmission is all that is needed. At least through 1967, you could get a normally aspirated END-711, which is a 205 hp diesel. It's got a mixed reputation for dependability. Apparently it worked quite well in city service, and not so good on long hauls. Read the old posts and forums on BMT to learn where the various identification numbers are located on the frame, engine, transmission and rear axles. There seems to be an infinite number of combinations of engines, transmissions and particularly rear end ratios. Mack, perhaps more than any other manufacturer, understood the value of gearing a truck to a particular task. The wheels are really your preference. A lot of the western trucks had Budd wheels originally. Switching from Daytons to Budds is probably not worth it, however. And, as an East coast person, I like the Daytons. An R-600 or an R-700 would suit you well. It would be very cool if you could find a long nose, tandem axle tractor. But, for your 1st project truck, you might want to avoid the older Mack V-8 diesels that might have been in those long nose trucks. Parts are getting rare. Good luck, and please keep us posted. Paul Van Scott

We had a rude awakening this week about the high cost of acquiring old truck projects. Jimmy had an early 70's Brockway. High mount cab, long frame tandem axle. An old concrete block truck with no body. We had taken out the auxiliary transmission to keep for another project. Anyway, there wasn't much left of the old girl. It had been parked right next to the railroad tracks, and all the glass was gone, the hood was off for years before it came to us and it didn't run. The opportunity came along to sell it a while ago for $500.00 to a local guy with a few other old Brockways. The fellow never took the truck out of our yard. So Jimmy offered to haul the truck for scrap and split the money with the new owner. Now for the rest of the story - If that truck was really worth $500.00 is really questionable. But, it brought $2,700.00 as scrap! No wonder we are losing a lot of good restorable iron every day. So - How do we fix this problem? Makes me feel really good about asking $3,500.00 for my R-600. It runs and drives perfect. You could drive it home easily. But, using the same junk price, it would bring over $2,000.00 as scrap. And no hassles. No, I'm not scrapping it, or anything else I own. But it does make you think. And, being the extremely kind and patient person that I am, I'm sure I'll exercise real diplomacy the next time someone tells me my price is too high. Cars have been being crushed for years. There are a lot more cars than heavy trucks, however. And the collectible cars are worth a lot more money as projects than as scrap. So the threat is minimized. With trucks it is really sad. The inventory is small, and the scrap value is at an all time high; and a lot of history is being lost as we speak. My own suggestion is to gather up any projects you might want, and hold onto them, at all cost. The good stuff is going to skyrocket in price very quickly as the inventory dries up. Just think - your wives and girlfriends might even thank you for making such a wise investment! And you'll have a toy that very few others can have. Case in point- A few weeks ago, we had a coal train derailment in Palmyra. About 22 loaded coal cars, almost all in "light rollover". (1,000,000 pounds of coal) The salvage company immediately banked up the coal for reloading. Then they cut all the trucks off of the rail cars, and proceeded to cut up the hoppers right onsite! According to their foreman, at today's prices, it is much more economical to scrap the cars rather than send them in for rebuilding! That's unbelievable to me. Anyway - that's this week's rant.

Maybe --- Mine was owned by Beck Motor Freight of Philadelphia, Pa. It was half of a two truck order, and part of a fleet of identical trucks from what I understand. Beck may not have been the only owner, however. Or the doors have been changed, as I could make out another name On the other hand - I think that roughly 50% of all B Macks were red with black fenders. Which is why I'm looking at a new color. I felt so bad about denying you any Carlisle photos that I changed my avatar. Just for you. It's my 1966 R-600, which today I discovered has 22" rubber and a double frame. You might have thought that I would have seen that before. It's all part of a carefully laid out plan to keep me from learning too much too fast.

I DIDN'T DO TOO GOOD DID I? I took the camera - I just didn't take it out of the bag. Spring Carlisle is mostly a parts and project sale. Some completed cars - in all conditions, but mostly just stuff. The auction is outside of the show grounds, and is a Barrett Jackson style sale with all kinds of vehicles. I don't think you are allowed to take pictures in there. I did catch up with my friend Pete Black. Pete hauls show cars around the country. He's done it for quite a while, and loves it. He was loaded with six cars from Carlisle going to California, I think.

Tom, That B Mack looks just like my B-67 did when I brought it home. Same colors, and looks like the same condition. Paul VS

Hi Joe, I didn't take one single picture, sorry. But I did get an education on current pricing. Very Scary!! The show was good - it usually is. Seemed like a tremendous amount of junk, though, which I think might be a sign of the times. I did find a guy who restores steering wheels, and the work looked really nice. So I might give him a try. That would be worth the trip all by itself, if he was good. Overall, it was a lot of fun and good to catch up on pricing. Paul VS

Not too difficult - but parts can be tough to get. If you are using a 673 the hydraulic pump will probably require a Lovejoy connection between the generator and the pump. Later engines have a provision to drive the pump from the air compressor drive. You might contact Matt Pfahl, who has the parts, or Kevin All at AllMacks, who also should have the parts. Matt's kind of an authority on the power steering stuff. Good luck. Paul Van Scott

I like the sounds of that scooter !! Welcome back among the living. Paul Van Scott

Yup - way off. But have a good week anyway. Paul VS

I'm leaving in the morning for the Spring Carlisle car show. The opportunity came up to go with a couple of friends, and I haven't been in ten years or so. Mostly looking for colors for the B-67, and just checking on current pricing of different older cars and pick-ups.

More good pictures, Thanks. The Freightliner is very similar to our '96 model. I like that truck with the mid-roof bunk and longer hood. Jim ordered the truck new, specifically for heavy work, and it only has 300,000 original miles, so we keep it. It's like an old shoe for him. Cat 3406E w/ an 18 spd. deep reduction Fuller and two speed rears, 48k axles on air. Heavy frame specs and heavy front axle, and an auxiliary steerable lift axle. It was designed to pull 300,000 lbs. and still be comfortable on the highway with lighter loads. If I could figure how to get film photos into the computer, I could send some pics of different loads. PVS

Welcome to BMT. With your experience and family history, you will be a real good addition here. Paul Van Scott

A DEAD CAT ???? THAT'S GOT ME LAUGHING GLENN. Anyway - Glenn's right, if you're not up on a compression stroke, you need to find the obstruction before you go any farther. The injectors are the easiest place to start. And the fix is the easiest to do. Then it gets more difficult from there. Good Luck, Paul Van Scott

I've always been intrigued with oversize and overweight trucking. My uncle, who most of you have heard me speak of, has been in the heavy haul business for more than forty years. The last twenty or so with his own business. It doesn't matter what the industry is though - Whenever you "change the game" and don't try to compete with every other person in your industry, you stand a better chance of making some real money and developing a reputation for something. You get paid for what you know. Moving those long beams is like that. Not everybody can do it. Not a lot of people understand the planning and permitting that goes into a "super-load" like that. Cool Load! Paul VS