BillyT

Like it?!!! That is one of the sharpest Bs I've ever seen!66 BC,I also like your truck like the bed! That's the fire truck bed right? The semi gloss paint and old fashioned lettering add to the overall "look"! TTT the white plus the perfect choice of accessories spokes, hubcaps,mirrors,look great!

Had a friend from Birmingham UK who was an o/o ran into France and Italy in the alps, I never asked but I suspect those drivers knew enough of the other drivers languages to get by! Plus being drivers they can understand each other's problems etc! He told me the drivers that run thru long uninhabited stretches of the Alps carried a tow bar to help their fellow driver if he broke down!

Used to love riding with my dad on tow jobs in his old Diamond T! Especially at night it had a lot of lights! I bought it from him for fifty bucks when he sold his business! Gave it back to him and he traded it for a 20 ton winch! I'll bet young Kirk will know how to drive a stick long before he can legally drive! Unlike the youngsters today!

Are there more left handed and ambidextrous people in OZ and the United Kingdom than in the U.S.? I've never driven a right hand drive vehicle and never used my left hand for shifting except when splitting a compound two handed! I guess it would be the same for an Aussie or a Brit driving a left hand drive vehicle for the first time!

How about a Mack attack!😁

My cousin and his best friend (a former master freight driver) never pulled out with less than 96000 gross (in the 73280 days! They never got caught to my knowledge but they did "pay" the Astro had 34000# rears and a lot of drive line stuff wore out plus the aluminum cab structure cracked due to flexing of the frame! My cousin did all his own work so that helped!

You're all correct! Where you sit determines where you stand! I don't know if it applies to trucks but up until 1973 or74 sae rated hp at the flywheel w/o accessories! HP at the wheels with engine accessories is usable HP! Another feature of a full automatic Allison etc is I suspect they hold up better with proper maintenance! All the garbage packers in Fla are automatics! In a low wage state where many workers are what I refer to as "marginals "they are more likely to tear out a standard tranny drive line than an auto! The five speed maxidyne was and is popular in multistop city work as are automatics! The vast majority of teenagers today can't drive a standard transmission,so it's easier for the three week diploma mills ( Roadmaster!) To train the students on an automatic! Is standard transmission training an extra cost option? 😁 I'm only half joking here! I suspect the fact that all pickups today are only available in automatics reflects the fact that there aren't any prospective buyers who can drive a stick! Virtually all the up to 26,000 GVW non-CDL trucks I see are automatics!

Gearhead, the port of Tampa Florida recently upgraded its facility so it could serve the largest container ships and cruise lines. The new multi-million dollar cranes came from China!

I worked for a us mail contractor before deregulation 1975, at that time each run was assigned so many hours to complete usually a more than reasonable time! You had to be paid at least postal scale + whatever the cost of benefits was (about two dollars an hrs at the time) this was to prevent contractors from paying low wages and encouraging the postal service to hire contractors instead of union employees! The company Waite Inc was running worn out equipment and preparing to go out of business! So I broke down several times but never got paid for " down time" There was probably something in the contract providing breakdown pay but I was never told about it! The trucking industry by its very nature has always attracted the most unethical businesspersons and always will! Any of you older members remember Midwestern Distribution out of Ft Scott Kansas, or North American Van Lines "New Products" Division? They basically invented and refined the concept of " lease.purchase" to the detriment of the lessor of course!

Gonna compete with Bandag?

Pretty damn eloquent statement from a self professed "farm girl" TD, I'm in awe!

FXFYMN, The 5.9 would make a great repop motor for many old trucks,similar torque to a 673, half the weight great fuel economy! I knew a hotshot contractor in the early 90s put a 5.9 with a ten speed RR in a one ton Ford Chassis used a little electric compressor to run the range selector,Heavier chassis than the Dodge!

A belt drive tandem!! I wonder how many of us remember when they were on the road, I always wondered how many miles they got out of the belts!

Yarnall,I love the lines of the A! Reminds me of a 36 Ford car! Outbehind the barn,I guess the Scania isn't in the Beaver Valley with a mango tree in the background!

Astute observations Red Horse!The implications of 19th century roads in 21 century America are many and varied! I've never seen paved roads replaced by gravel! Normally paved roads are repaired or replaced,and unpaved roads are either repaired or paved! Our infrastructure nationwide is in dangerously poor condition bridges and dams in particular! The repair or replacement of these structures could create thousands of jobs if properly handled! Many have suggested a WPA type system like during the great depression. Looks good on paper, but if you talk to the old timers who were there they will tell you it was an inefficient and corrupt system! The guys who were part of it lived in rudimentary barracks and most of their small wage was sent home to their families to pay for basic necessities! Much better than being homeless and starving , but it wouldn't work today without some modifications! I have to take " the boss" shopping but I'll return whether you like it or not later😁

Patina belongs on rat rods!

What a waste of skill! Thankfully for those of us who have it,the one thing money can't buy is taste! I spent a good portion of my youth replacing rusted out panels and hand rubbing lacquer, and Street Rodder has an article a couple months ago where a journeyman painter shows how to f..k up a clean 57 Chevy by creating patina!

How can I remember where I was at during a debate years ago and I can't remember what I did three minutes ago?😁 The first time I heard Obama speak I was in Chicago, I said to myself "who is this guy!" I was very impressed. Anyway, none of them and certainly not Reagan is a simpleton!

KSB, I tend to be VERY apolitical,but due to my extended time on the planet I seem to have an anecdote related to every situation! I'm near Cairo Illinois the night John Carey is debating George Bush,remember Carey was captain of his debating team in college! GW, not so much😁 After a few exchanges it's GWs turn to answer, I say to myself no,no please be still! I'm ready to run the truck thru the guardrail! I actually pitied him! I always thought GW would be a good guy to have a beer with, but maybe not run the country! Bottom line you can't judge a man by his public speaking ability! Pos Bill Clinton could sell ice cream to an Eskimo! (Ask Monica) As I said before I liked Andrew Carnegies statement " I judge a man by what he does not what he says!

At least he BUILT the libraries! He came to America penniless from Edinburgh Scotland! Or was that Edinborough? Don't remember!

Just the thing to hang quarter panels! You'd have to use a #20 lens with that!😁 My Lincoln had a continental 4 banger, My Hobart had a 2 banger Wisconson.