vanscottbuilders

Tom, Do you know anything about Tidewater Mack in Virginia? I'm looking for seals and bushings to put my B-67 rear end together. Beam Mack (Rochester, NY) told me that Tidewater purchased all of the obsolete inventory for B Models from Mack a few years ago. Or do you have any other ideas? Thanks, Paul VS

I need some help, and I hope I can find it here. The rear end of my B-67 is apart and ready for re-assembly. I need a source for all of the seals, bushings and brake shoe clips required for the CRD78 carrier and 541A rear end housing. (Single axle) The brake shoes can be re-lined, or if I can find them, I would buy those too. Specifically, I am looking for the old style brake cams (coarse spline, flat paddle cams), brake cam bushings and seals, brake shoe seals and clips (16 pcs. each), new shoes & linings (if possible), brake springs and a pinion seal. The seals at the cams and brake shoes are a rubber cup with a felt "seal" inside. The cams are probably useable with some cleaning and sanding. They are rusty and pitted on the bushing wear surfaces. But I don't think I will ever wear them out, so if necessary, I will reuse them. The brake linings are "bolt-on", and I should be able to get those done locally. The shoes look like they are pretty good. I would oil up the springs and reuse those too, if I couldn't find new ones. It would be good to find 20 of the old style "fine thread and coarse thread" wheel studs. Our local Mack dealer was not much help, even after an hour or so of looking at old microfiche. Ultimately I will need three sets of these parts just to complete the trucks in "the pipeline". I will be out of touch until Friday - so Thanks in advance. Paul Van Scott

You guys are way too new for me. My experience and knowledge of Mack stops in the early 70's. Sorry if I have given out any bad information. It would be my guess that the reason for the exhaust valve spring beef-up for the optional combo engine brake was for the pressurizing of the engine, as I said earlier here. That is the primary stress point of the exhaust brake. Paul Van Scott

You can see my shop, and you can see my house and - you can see a little mystery - There is a car in my back yard that isn't mine or my wife's - so naturally, I have used it as ammunition for years of entertaining conversation. Just exactly who are you seeing, honey, who drives a large white sedan? Great Fun. Paul VS

I like the bulldog heading off into the sunset! Paul VS

Jeff, I suggest that you talk to Barry at Watts Mack - they have a TEC engine brake kit for all two valve diesel Mack engines. TEC is a good replacement for a Jacobs brake. Jacobs apparently does not offer the two valve engine brake for the Mack engines any longer. Paul VS

Tom, I guess none of us are quite as brave as we used to be. One of my first over the road jobs was pulling bottled spring water in the winter from Old Forge, NY (Adirondack Mountain area) to Albany, NY for the passenger trains. It was always done at night, so the plows weren't out. And it was with a dry van - so there was no stopping - or it would freeze. There were two of us (drivers) native to Upstate New York, so we always drew those runs. Your story reminds me of those times. Quite often Saranac Lake, NY is the coldest place in the country. And Barnes Corners, NY quite often sets the snowfall record for a given year. Both places are in the Adirondack Mountains. I probably would not consider making those trips today - and I wonder how, as an 18 year old kid prone to driving way too fast, I survived as long as I did. And how often I was passed by another truck going like crazy in snowstorms. Nothing but a whiteout for a few seconds. Purely white knuckles. So I have a pretty good idea of what you are talking about! Although it sounds like you are pretty good at what you do. Keep it up. Paul VS

Jeff, There are several exhaust brake manufacturers, all with basically the same idea. The units simply provide a controlled obstruction in the exhaust system to pressurize the exhaust back through the cylinders, to provide resistance to the piston coming back up on the exhaust stroke. It's a very simple principle, and a very effective way of getting engine braking from a diesel. However, it is not without risk. First - the higher rpm diesels are more efficient at exhaust braking. Mack engines, with redlines of 2,100 or so, are slow turning, and thus, not as good at exhaust braking as the new "pick-up" diesels, which wind up to about 3,500 rpm. Second, and most important, pressurizing the exhaust system also provides resistance to the valve train by making the valve spring work harder to close the exhaust valve. Therein lies the rub - particularly with older engines. The valve springs need to be beefed up to stiffer units, if you are going to use an exhaust brake with substantial back pressure. (ie.: more than 25psi) The unknown piece of this puzzle is "how strong does the spring need to be?" Too strong, and you will be doing damage to the valve train and camshaft, and, if not strong enough, the valve will float, and potentially contact the piston. That's not typically a desired result! Other diesel manufacturers (Cummins, Caterpillar, and Detroit) have all offered exhaust brakes as options in the past. The Williams exhaust brake was the pioneer in the field. As Jacobs engine brakes became more popular, exhaust brakes fell out of favor, for the above mentioned problems. Today, they seem to making a comeback with the advent of diesel motorhomes and pick-ups. Mack, as near as I can tell, never offered a factory approved exhaust brake. There were a lot of units installed by the dealers. Probably made for some interesting warranty conversations, when the engines failed. From my research, I have found that the Mack 673 and 711 series diesels were designed for 35psi backpressure, as new. Age and hours weaken the valve springs, so it stands to reason that a used engine will not stand that pressure. With a healthy valve train, I would not be afraid of a 30psi brake unit. Again, however, you only have about 2,100 rpm to work with. As the revs wind down, so does the braking effectiveness. In the end, I am not certain the effort is worth it. Keep us posted. Paul Van Scott

My old R Mack is covered with snow and ice. Probably won't go for another ride until spring. It's the only one thaty had to stay outside this winter, and I feel bad about it. I'll pull the batteries out of her this week for charging and store them in the shop. so they don't freeze. Just another case of the PreChristmas Blahs. On a Brighter Note: We got the H-63 inside Dennis' heated barn, so it's good until spring. We did get all of the Mack Museum info on the truck, along with a shop manual reprint. That's always such a cool service from the Museum. Turns out that the truck was sold new in Tennessee to a Mack dealer as part of a ten truck "stock" order. Apparently early in its life, it went to Georgia, where it remained until this past summer. We have the name of the most recent Georgia owner, and will try to track the ownership history back one step at a time. The B-67 should go under the knife next week for the cab roof and back panel transplant. Then it's on with the reassembly. I'm getting anxious to put that together. Right now, my cab is on a wheeled wood frame, so you can move it around the shop and on or off a trailer with just one person. The rear end should be finished next week, and the front axle should be sandblasted and primed in a few days. Just need to take the springs out to a shop for some normal work and replacement of several broken leaves in one of the rear stacks. I do think I will use the Superide air suspension crossmember, which lets me use the original springs and rear end housing. I'll rebuild the front axle and brakes on the truck - I just want the truck back in one piece as soon as possible. It looks like my Eager Beaver 25t lowboy is sold and leaving right after Christmas. So I am seriously on the hunt for an affordable drop deck flat bed. Apparently there just aren't any cheap, decent lowboy trailers around, and this is a good one. So it sold to the first person who came to look at it. Interesting that I just got a good line on a B-61T from a local freight company who used Macks for years. The truck is complete and was running within the past few years. It's another single axle diesel tractor. If I can get it to answer to a whistle, I'll see if it can come home with me. And Tom - After cooking up a fresh turkey last Friday, I tried my own version of Turkey Hash. Onions, celery, potatoes and carrots with the broth from boiling the bones and scraps for two nights. Used some of the broth to make stuffing which I put in the hash along with a couple pounds of chunked up turkey meat. So it wasn't very soupy, but really moist and tasty. Fantastic! Thanks for the idea.

Morgan, I have had really good results with Yellow Freight for moving a transmission and a rear end carrier with gearset. On both occasions the rate was surprisingly reasonable. And - they deliver to your door. The shipper has to be able to crate or palletize the transmission and load it onto the trailer, then you have to be able to get it off of the trailer. The rest is easy. We just recently used them again for a large commercial air compressor - same great results. Give them a try. Paul VS

That would be a very cool truck/trailer combo. Good luck with your project! Paul Van Scott

I'm looking for a white Christmas too - Good thought! Paul VS

TandemB, There is a stamping on the rear end carrier housings that should indicate the rear end ratio. I am not certain as to the exact location, depending on the model of rear end. Someone will chime in here with the exact location. But, being an impatient person, I have found that if I look for a flat machined surface on the carrier and clean it off good, the ratio numbers have always shown up. Usually with initials showing the carrier type, such as "CRD". Be a little careful though, the numbers you want will be stamped, not cast, in the housing - made that mistake once already. The subject of changing the ratio for more speed is pretty controversial around these forums. If you are using the 673, 711 or 673T diesel engines, there isn't an overbundance of horsepower or torque to allow a high road speed along with good pulling power. If you are using the truck as a dump truck, that might be a real consideration. As it was recently explained to me, Mack used the heavy duty rear end differential assembly, with all of it's big gears, to deliver the bulk of the torque multiplication, rather than using the relatively weaker transmission assembly like other manufacturers may have done. Consequently, the old Macks were extremely durable, albeit slow. The Macks could also use slower turning, lower horsepower engines. Again, for dependability, and also for fuel efficiency. Monkeying with the Mack formula now, fifty years later, probably has some consequences that we haven't planned on. There isn't any one answer - but, I think that using a different transmission with an overdrive (or two) for better cruise speed is a logical solution, especially if you are going to work the truck with the original diesel engine. Paul Van Scott

I know exactly where you are coming from. As near as I can tell - and it has been a while since I was on the road full time - there is always a reason not to listen to the CB - maybe because the music's better on the radio, or you like the sound of the diesel, or you just don't want to listen to the jerks! Some things will probably never change. Like I said before - we do it because it's fun! PVS

Early in the 70's - People used to ask me how I liked hauling liquor off the docks in New York. Had to tell the truth - We do it because it's fun!! Paul VS

Doug, That sure looks like a really nice R model. What are you going to do with it? Paul Van Scott

I got to rambling on one of the BMT forums tonite - and it occurred to me that forum probably was not the place to ramble. I'm not a very active political rabble-rouser, but day by day I am becoming more concerned and more confused with where we are going as a country. Every single person in this country has to be committed to some small change in thinking. It's not even very drastic. Our total dependency on foreign oil, regardless of the price, is completely fixable. We have to reduce our oil consumption by about 50%. Some ideas: Think about your driving habits. Could you take more than one person to the same place? Could you combine the errands into one trip? Could the kids ride bicycles to school activities? etc, etc. It would be hard to believe that every person couldn't make some real savings without adversely affecting their lives. You have to come to grips with the fact that this is your problem. Blaming someone else does not make it go away. But working together makes the problem go away quite easily. Alternate fuels have a real future, particularly as fuel prices rise. Research and development costs become more feasable. Bio-diesel has some promise, as does ethanol. Both are good for the American farmer, too. Hydrogen has shown some real progress. The GM hydrogen vehicle research center is local to me, so I watch and read the local news on their progress. Just as important as the oil situation is the rampant buying of cheap Chinese junk. And it is almost all just cheap junk. Certainly not necessary to our everyday life. Yet we can't seem to get enough of it! Indeed, as a society, we seem caught up with buying the cheapest stuff we can find. I see it every day in our business. Hard to believe the things that people will do to achieve the "look of success" and cut all the important corners for a well built home. Their normal response to my question is "we are only going to be here for five years or less." I cannot get my arms around that attitude. Short story: I like to buy Filson outer wear. It's made in the USA, and very heavy duty. It's expensive, no question. Several years ago I had my first Filson work jacket. I'm hard on jackets and pants - real hard. Anyway after about two years the sleeves and bottom of the jacket began to fray and show wear. That wasn't right, so I took it back to the little store where I got it. Walk-in and surprise - the owner knows my name! Try that at WalMart. I explain the problem, he gets on the phone while I'm standing there, has a short conversation with Filson and hangs up the phone. He walks over to his rack, selects a new jacket just like mine and hands it to me. He says "Filson wants you to have this, no charge. Your jacket should not be showing wear yet, no matter how rough you are." Now - I challenge you - TRY THAT AT WALMART. Yes this is a $150.00 work jacket, but I only need one, and it will last longer than three cheap ones. In fact that replacement coat is now five years old, and going strong. Did I pay too much. I think not. And Americans worked to make the coat. Meanwhile we are concerned with the massive influx of Mexican and Central American illegal immigrants. Face it - why shouldn't they come here? We don't want to do the work that they do ourselves - we might get our lily white hands dirty. Or worse - we might not make a huge wage doing those menial jobs. And God forbid that perhaps someone collecting welfare might have a job opportunity. It's just easier to stay home on the couch. So we give the immigrants benefits, take in their children as citizens and make it easier and easier for those people to simply ignore the system. That's not right, and we have only ourselves to blame. Let's look at the system and figure out why these people choose to ignore it. Let's not forget, many of our own families all came from elsewhere to work here for a better life. The only thing different is that they did not ignore the rules. In fact they were proud to follow the rules. Seems like this is a fixable problem, without having to build a fence on a river! If we can all make an effort and a commitment to a change in our thinking, we can rebuild our country to greatness, and we can live very happy and free lives. If, however, we continue to simply blame others for our troubles, we will continue to get weaker and weaker. We will probably suffer through a recession over the next couple of years. I'm no economist and I don't really know what that means, but it doesn't have a real nice ring to it. The solution is with every one of us as a united country. How's that for rambling? Paul Van Scott

Well, we're at $3.699 for diesel in Upstate NY. And it is going to get a lot worse. This isn't going to go away. Just like most low tech industries today, we are working for a lot less money today in the building industry than we were twenty years ago. Seems ridiculous. The only fix is for each and every one of us to reduce our our dependency on imported oil. And, at the same time, we need to stop buying imported junk! The fact that the WalMarts and K-Marts and Kohls and on and on can exist in this country by pushing Chinese inferior products on us is just plain criminal. And it's our own fault - we keep buying useless stuff, and lots of it. Just to feed our arrogant greed. It's very sad to look at what we are doing to ourselves. Let's stop buying imported junk, and go back to making our own goods. That fixes a multitude of problems in our society. American pride goes way up, welfare goes down, and we can work on becoming a strong country again. Seems like a worthwhile goal. To fix the oil problem permanently, we need a suitable alternative for about 50% of our current consumption. Bio-diesel has some promise, as does hydrogen as an auto fuel, and ethanol as a general use fuel. Obviously as the price of crude oil rises, the alternative fuels become more feasable. We probably will never be able to make public transportation a reasonable alternative in the US. We just plain like to drive too much. So public transportation is not a realistic part of the picture, at least not yet. Less expensive and renewable electric power sources will also be a big part of the "oil hostage" solution in the future. But the biggest and most powerful piece of the whole puzzle is you and I. All of us, every single one, has to make an effort to change. Period. I believe very strongly that we have the best country in the world. A little crazy at times, perhaps, but the best country in the world. If we can't work to keep it great, then who will? Sorry for the rambling, but I've had enough of hearing everyone try to blame someone else for these problems. These problems are our own fault, and we are the only ones who can fix them. Let's get busy. Paul Van Scott

gvam, Check the web for AllMacks in Harpersfield, NY. (allmacks.com) Kevin All has a lot of restorable trucks on site, and he has been a great guy to deal with. It's worth a trip for you (maybe 4 hrs.) to his facility to see the inventory. My B-67 was originally a Beck Motor Freight tractor from Philadelphia. It will be finished as a composite of about three trucks, as a result of the cab rust and changing the rear end & transmissions. I may be going a little farther with the restoration work than I needed to, but the end result is a truck that I know I can depend on for regular use. I absolutely hate things breaking when I'm using them, so I am willing to do what's necessary while their in the shop. A truck like this could have been roadable without taking the cab off, and without ever removing the engine or transmission, if someone were just going to ride around on Sunday afternoons and go to the shows once in a while. Still a great toy, just not as useful as a completely renovated example. That's what is nice about the old trucks - anything goes! And everybody likes them. And - they can be finished over time, at your convenience. If I can be of any help with your project, please feel free to contact me through BMT. Thanks, Paul Van Scott

I won't be alone in telling you to contact the Mack Museum. The curators there do a great job of providing you with information on your truck. Don't forget to send them a donation. (protocol) You will find their contact info elsewhere on this site. Welcome aboard! Paul Van Scott

I'm just waiting to stop talking about them, get them finished, and post my own truck pictures for the calendar. Congratulations on yours! Paul VS

Took delivery today of the H-63. Always nice to get a new toy! The only damper on this whole deal was that the engine turned out to have a bad rod bearing, and a pretty blued rod end. The transmission is questionable, but we are not too concerned. Kevin All (AllMacks) has been great to deal with, and he assures me that if the transmission is not good, he will exchange it for one of his other ones. Not too bad for a truck that was purchased "as is, where is". We do have a spare 673 in good running order out of Jaime Samuell's B-61 that was exchanged for bigger power. The rest of the truck is really solid and straight and very complete. We are still waiting for feedback from the Mack Museum. They apparently have a pretty good backlog, which is encouraging. Must be a lot of projects under way. Our ultimate goal for the truck is to go with a red cab and black fenders. Very similer to the Carolina Freight H-63 that you see on the various photo pages and East Coast shows.

I like turkey. Matter of fact, I am cooking one Friday for dinner with some friends who were sick over Thanksgiving. Barry - you can come too if you want! Paul VS

Joe, Congratulations to both you and your wife - who did all the work !! The best way to post pics is to get the photos to Barry's address at wmsi@alltel.net Thanks for the update. Paul Van Scott

GOOD LUCK!! Paul Van Scott