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I read something recently that said the LAFD shop mechanics never had to get into the internals of the Mack gassers, but they could do a Waukesha in their sleep since they did so many.

IH hit a home run with that cab design. Really terrific looking rig.

Congrats. What a blessing!

Randy, I e-mailed you back. Thanks. Carl

I'll be there with the 52. I am looking for inside storage for the truck for the five days before the show somewhere in the area from northern Maryland to the Macungie area if someone can help me out. I am teaching in Harford County, MD June 11 - 14, so it would be much easier for me to bring the truck up on Sunday June 10th and than go directly to Macungie instead of schlepping home on Thursday, loading the truck, and turning right around to cover the same ground again Friday morning.

And if you are really a "belt and suspenders" type borrow, rent, or buy an explosive vapor meter to check the tank before you work on it. The local FD has them if you know someone there who would be willing to come by and check it.

Clutch isn't slipping is it? Do some research on the diesel place forums. I bet you will find someone with the same issue and what they did to correct it.

Try this site: http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/? I have used it several times for my D-Max. Real dieselheads for the smaller diesels. I'm guessing the tranny does not have OD given its age, but it may have a "trailer tow" switch that will change the shift points and lower fuel mileage.

And DO NOT use any type of silicone sealant. It will cause paint blister and rust.

Funny, but the opposite was true. When most of these were created winter travel was by sleigh or horse and the "dry" roadway was hard on the sleigh. At least that's what the nice lady at the bridge in Conway, NH that we visited told us.

I hope to be there Friday, but it might be Saturday. Just going for the day as it was just too expensive to tote the 52 up there and stay for the week end.

Worked part time at a boat shop for about 15 years where we did a lot of fiberglass repair. You could gel coat them, but it's pretty hard to get a decent finish on something that big without the proper gear. Gel coat is applied to the mold before the glass is laid up, so the wet glass bonds to the gel coat, not the other way around. One thought I had was to check into the "heat shrink" product that sign makers use to "wrap" a vehicle. It should be sun durable and would encapsulate the glass fibers. Have you looked on-line for suggestions? A while back one of the TV shows about boating, ShipShape TV, featured a re-build of an older Sea Bird boat where the host used a roll on product to replace the gel coat. I cannot remember the product, but I'm sure a shop that specializes in fiberglass supplies could steer you in the right direction. You might even ask at West Marine if there is a store near you.

Kind of off topic, but did you know the reason the "cover" is on those bridges is to make them strong enough to carry the load, not to cover the roadway. The roof assembly is part of the box truss that carries the weight in much the same way the roof/wall asembly of a box trailer does.

Have you figured out where you are staying in Macungie yet? If you need transportation to and from let me know; I'm staying at the Homewood Suites on Rte. 100 out near I-78.

Make sure you get a spare with the 17,5 tires. A buddy of mine pulls a Landoll with these tires and he tells me he has had a devil of a time finding replacements when one has blown out. And he said when they do find one the price tends to be outrageous compared to what he pays at his normal tire shop.

I'm guessing the shipper was damn lucky he didn't have to go through a DOT inspection on the trip from NH to your place. Having the trailer red flagged somewhere along the line would have really sucked. Re-doing the infrastructure on an oldy but goody like that is always money and time well spent. Looks real sharp with the old Dog in front of it.

Amen. Pictures almost always make 'em look better than they do in person. A long road trip to go look at it in person beats the hell out of being stuck with a beater that is going to cost a bundle to get on the road.

It would put the thrill into a response when the driver had the "wet road" switch on and we would go through a red light at about 20 mph with the driver standing on the brakes and looking like "What the hell?" It was a great day when we removed them from all of the rigs.

It has been on SPAAMFAA for quite a while. Don't know if it sold yet, but I'm sure price is an issue.

From SPAAMFAA: FOR SALE: 1947 Mack Engine Type L85 VIN 85LS1126 Open cab double combination pumper. 750 gpm. Truck is in excellent condtion with no rust and the paint is in great condtion. Brand new steer tires, starter rebuilt in June 2010. New muffler. Master cyliner rebuilt along with hydrovac unit. Pump works but we have removed the tank due to rust. Truck shows as Londonderry but we believe it may have been engine 5 in Nashua, NH. It may have then been sold to a private owner in the Londonderry area. Have the Mack Service manual. Hale Pump zd10 #11728. $16,000.00 Located in Wall Twp,New Jersey. Contact Tom at Email or call 908-433-7955 (07/22/10--10-58)

Made me cry like a baby just thinking about it. Talk about a crime!

Have you checked the SPAAMFAA web site? There was one on there in NJ from NH. I also recently saw one from St. Paul, MN on EBay for a real decent price. Don't know if it sold.

I had pretty well decided to live with it until it breaks while I looked for a replacement tranny. Given that it's mate does the same thing, even a replacement may have the same issue. Thnks again. Stop by and say hello in Macungie and if we can get off the grounds I'll take you for a spin to see what you think in person.

Rob, Thanks so much. I'm positive it is in the tranny since it only occurs in fifth and when I removed the floor the sound diminished due to what I believe was the lack of the "diaphragm" effect from the floor. I will definitely try the idea of muffling the sound with some type of insulation to see if that diminishes the noise. I have thought for some time that the noise is related to some type of excessive gear lash since it only occurs under a “no load” condition. Is it possible to shim the shaft to take the excessive play out of it?

Thanks for the help. Noise sounds like diamond plate rattling, but only occurs in high (fifth over) gear when I slack off the accelerator. Noise is louder as the truck goes faster, but does not occur at the same speeds when I am not in high gear. (In 4th @ 50 MPH no noise; in 5th @ 50 MPH the noise is there) Don't feel any vibrations in the gear stick. What is strange in my mind is the twin truck to mine does exactly the same thing and the owners of that truck haven't been able to find the source either. I have had the cover off the tranny and everything looks really good; no shavings, gears turn smooth as butter. I'm running 85-140 in the tranny now. Suggestions for a change?