Terry T

Larry, You didn't meet Mike at Auburn? I was thinking that Michelle was there too but maybe she wasn't.

Welcome aboard. You're right in the heart of Mack country & there are plenty of good folks with resources here at BMT.

This old 1960 B61 abandoned in a alley in Chicago. Mike Pagel had a buddy in the towing business that was always finding him stuff,van trailers,amd a cool old truck now and then. He called me when he got this B in,just had to wait so mamy days.tjem it was mine. As you cam see in the 1st pics,getting it stuffed into Mikes empty trailer he ws getting was kinda interesting. At the time there was a loadimg dock at H&L Mack. I made sure it was,ok to use it so all was good on my emd. Mike was goimg to line things up with his boss to use one of their flatbeds and loading dock to tranfer it from the van. Evidently he forgot,amd had to be with Nancy that day for somethimg. I showed up at Morgans early that Sat.a.m.and while i was,hooking up,got less than a friemdly greeting from the bosses son. I explaimed the whole deal,all the time he was mumblimg under his breath about this not being Mike Pagel Trucking amd a few otjer thimgs. But i was able to leave witjout amy further trouble,after assuring him i was all legal,amd wouldmt need hiz trailer,which hadnt been moved in over a year or more,for very long. I buzzed dowm to Mediapolis,back up to the dock,unhooked my truck amd drug the B61 off Morgans flatbed amd headed back to Muscatine. I called Wayne Johnston up amd he went up amd hauled the B to my place. All was now good. It was pretty rough,but still had a engine amd 10 speed Duplex transmisson. Most valuable was a set of factory flared fromt fenders for wider front tires.these are found mostly on B53s. It took me about 25+ years to fimd a home for them.but i finally did. A youmg man from PA came alomg wanting them,he was collecting odder B parts amd parts trucks,so he bought the whole truck,amd some more stuff i had. He was passimg thru afted picking up his newly aquired Packard,amd a set of wings for one of his old airpalnes,too. He collected alot of stuff. So,thats how a old B model Mack,was abamdoned amd saved in the alleys of Chicago,sent to a yard in IA,and then returned to PA,whEre it all began. By the way,this trucks serial number is 33300. It is 70 numbers off my old blue truck. Richard Janesky I love the U-Model tow truck! Mike Harbison Sr. Richard Janesky its actually a DM,U models were lighter weight,for tractor duty. Its hard to judge sometimes by pics. And thede were some that were converted,but this is a DM. Richard Janesky Mike Harbison Sr. I see that now from the bigger front tires.... my Dad had 3 U-model tow trucks and I spent some of the best days of my life driving them..... Mike Harbison Sr. Richard Janesky yep,they were fun to drive. My son has a little U with a small crane on back,and i have 3 U model tractors. One is a U492T with a 3208 Catand a automatic. Gotta get it to run,they only made 2 of them. Mark Lowry Mike Harbison Sr. , I remember stopping by Morgan's yard one time and hearing that exact thing, " This is not Mike Pagel Trucking"

As I re-read this before I posted it I thought about that too. She was an outgoing woman to say the least.

I chatted with Mikey this morning & there will be more of Mike's stories to come in the near future. Mikey said he would try to get around to joining our group as well.

I'm gonna go ahead and swipe this one because it involves me & one of my (former) trucks Quite awhile back,my friend Terry Tombaugh picked up this old F model to add to his collection from its 2nd owner Dan Roediger. It was bought new by King Bros.from Lima,OH. Serial number F795ST1011,it was originally powered with a ENDT865 V8 and a 5 speed. Later it was repowered by a 711 with a turbo added,with a 15 speed Triplex. I told Terry if he ever wanted rid of it,to let me know,as you all know by now,i really have this thing for F models. One night he called and asked if i still wanted the truck he was gonna sell it and his B61. So we made a deal on the F and he said he'd keep it safe until i could get it. So,when the ATHS convention came to South Bend,IN,instead of hauling a truck with me,i just brought Super Mutt and a empty trailer. That way after the show,i could swing by Terrys,get the truck,and also a Freedom Edition SuperLiner hood he had also found for me in the meantime. Last day of the convention,Terry showed up to meet me. He checked out the show and then later that afternoon,we he headed to Churbusco,IN and the Tombaugh Homestead. I made arrangements to meet my convoy partners the next morning,as they wanted to follow me back. Coming out we went thru part of Chicago,i told them wasnt no way i was going back that way,i was going thru the back roads and cross the boarder at Mommence,IL. I used to haul sows there,and it was a better route than being anywhere close to Shitcago. So,we got to Terrys,borrowed a wrecker and got royally soaked loading in the rain. Then we went to Pizza Hut and ate before calling it a night. Next a.m.i took off bright and early,met Tom and TJ George,Michelle Cole,the Zemlìckas , and Dick Boyd at a fuel stop. Appologies if i left anyone out,only other one i remember,but he only met us for lunch,was Wayne Graham . Rest of the way home was stress free. The old F now rests safely in the back 40. If someday id ever run across an orphan 865 V8,id like to make it a V8 truck again,just because its such a low number,the 11th built, and from what ive researched,quite possibly the oldest F795 that exists. Don Johnson I think King Bros had a bunch of tricks leased on to Matlack at one time. Terry Tombaugh She never had an issue with starting right up. She also never stopped. Wedge brakes, pre-spring and air didn't go to them anymore... One morning, about 01:30, I thought I'd be safe to driver here the 3 miles into town to put some diesel in 'er. I had it all planned out, block of wood for a brake at the station & everything, drive slow, stay to the shoulder just in case... The only thing that I didn't have planned out was that John Hart (Town Marshall) at the time would be at the station getting a cup of coffee when I got there. He knew me from towing & working crashes so he actually just looked the other way. Dan Renovetz 2 great stories...............and a reminder to "Don't burn any bridges " ! Hey Terry, you're another survivor of the old ATHS forum "Roadkill Cafe" ! I proudly wear my tee shirts, recieved by the danations of support to Frank and John Costly. Wayne Graham Mike, I remember that. I gave Michelle a tilt steering column and wheel for her ln 9000 which she took home and installed. Mike Harbison Sr. Wayne Graham yep,i remember you bringing her,something,couldnt remember exactly what

The story behind her name is kinda odd. I didn't intend to have another pet but a friend asked me to foster her for a week.... That week lasted about 4 months & during that time I kept telling people she's "not my cat". Well a girlfriend came along and about the same time I learned that the cat's previous human had found a home for her but, in my opinion, it wasn't a suitable home so she became my cat. The girlfriend set out to find a name for the cat and Naomi is about as close to "not my cat" as she anyone could come so... Naomi is my cat. The C Model is a bit more rough than it appears. It has donated some parts. If I remember right a fender to a B67 (if that's possible) and something to another C. I'll look at Mike's FB page and if I can find the stories he was posting I'll ask Mikey if it's okay for me to share them here.

This came up on my Facebook memories from this day last year. It's a long post but it's what many of us on this forum & the old ATHS (now JOT) forum used to do & many of us are still trying to do. It still doesn't seem possible that Mike has left us. The stories that he was posting on FB about trucks late at night, when he wasn't able to sleep, were awesome stories & his memory of each truck was incredible. Saturday Mala Sue & I went over to Grovertown, IN to a Dog Rescue that she is involved with. For me, being an old truck driver, Grovertown is a place that I'm familiar with because back in the day it had a truck stop or two that everyone was familiar with because going west it was one of the last spots to hit before Chicago and going east, of course, it was one of the 1st spots to hit after leaving Chicago. We get to the rescue and we're hanging out, doing dog things, talking to the couple who run the rescue, I have some things in common with them, have some mutual acquaintances and just having a nice time with dogs & puppies. While sitting with them my buddy, Mike Harbison Sr., sends me a message asking if I'm familiar with a certain antique Mack in Mishawaka, IN. I'm not but we talk about it for a bit via text. During this time several of the dogs come into the part of the house that we're in and I make some new friends. Although I don't have any dogs, just my cat, Naomi, I do adore dogs and they tend to adore me too. A couple of the dogs are typically very reluctant to warm up to people but they take to me. It's something that has happened most of my life. It kinda seems like dogs like me more than humans! So anyways as all of this is going on I realize that for the past 20ish years I have kind of been involved in a sort of "rescue" myself. Mostly a Bulldog rescue but not of the canine type more of the Mack type. Mike Harbison Sr. & I began our friendship about 20 years ago and he once asked me if I could go to Goshen, IN and pick up a Mack he had bought and store it for a bit until he could arrange to get it to his place. I did and about 3 years later it left my place. I also bought a Mack from people I know & sold it to Mike a day later & delivered it to him a few weeks later and later on he bought another old Mack that I had acquired. Because of a couple of old antique truck forums that I got involved in back in about 2001ish I am involved in a sort of antique truck rescue. It was much more active during the 2000-2010 time frame than it is now but there are still a few of us who are trying to save history from the scrap metal business and preserve a little of what helped build our country.

Mike developed a number of health issues but ultimately I believe it was cancer that got him.

His son, Mikey, is and has been looking out for them. I believe they will be in good hands and safe for, probably, the next generation to enjoy.

This is the C Model that Mike Harbison bought near me and asked me to pick up and store for him many years ago. It did eventually make it to Morning Sun and is still there today.

Yes. Mike Harbison on FB is Mikey, Mike Harbison Sr on FB was Mike. In the pic Mike is sitting on the golf car & Mikey is standing next to him. I took this at his benefit 09/18/21.

Good deal! Like I told Mikey, He might have a lot of NOS/Great condition items that you might like to repop!

I just messaged Mike Harbison (Mikey)

Way back in the day I delivered to Central Indiana Hardware in Ft Wayne & Indy, IN. The Indy location at the time was in a building that looked like a strip mall in front with an alley in the back and was cramped but easy to hit until the neighbor was doing renovations and a roll-off box was dropped to the east of the dock. I got out of my truck just as the whse guy was pulling out the ground level door with the forklift. He stopped, looked, with a puzzled look and as I got to him he asked "how'd you do that?" I said it's just like parallel parking. He then told me that Yellow was just there with his Ford C & little city trailer and the driver told him there was no way he was going to get in there.

I just flagged two more.

Went to Big Sky one year skiing back in the mid-'90's. The actual night time temp was -35* at our condo & two days later the actual afternoon temp at the base was 40*. That's a 75* swing in 2 1/2 days. We'd shed another layer of clothes each run down the mountain & we were still sweating. I've skied in several states but for the beauty, peace & quiet hands down MT was my favorite.

Rob Swallows. I believe he was from central Illinois. Lot's of knowledge about almost anything mechanical. He was an "original" as well. He was on when I joined back in the very early '00's.

When younger people ask me what it's like I always tell them it's like late summer when the locust/cicadas are out. For me it sounds like late summer year round everywhere. Hearing aids have helped a little but not much.

The only two forums I still check in on & I check in almost daily are BMT & JOT. JOT mostly for the WAI and also for Dima's update on the Russia/Ukraine war. He's a long time member & Ukrainian. It doesn't matter which side of that war you believe in his daily post (albeit favoring his country obviously) brings the whole thing closer to home and helps to remind us that the people it affects are real and lives are being lost. I use to be extremely active on both sites now I mostly read & browse. The earliest days of the ATHS & BMT forums were even more fun because they both had chat rooms. Eventually we all migrated to just one and typically we would have 20-50 people in and out during the course of 2-3 hours each night & some were from other parts of the world not strictly in the US & Canada.

If I'm remembering correctly this is actually the 2nd BMT site. The 1st being antiquated and replaced by this one. I joined BMT in '02 or '03 I believe. I don't remember for sure anymore. There have also been several members from the beginning of the century who have passed, some struggled with update to the forums & not being tech savy. As was previously mentioned there was an issue that started with politics and that caused many to leave, some were banned because they didn't understand that "anything goes" does not belong here. Prior to Facebook I was a member of about a dozen different forums involving old trucks, racing, wreckers, horseshows, cars, and many other things. Facebook pretty well crushed forums to the point that only this one & Just Old Trucks are still around for me to enjoy. The rest are now gone. I think most of these things as well as others have played a big part in the loss of members.

A little lesson learned more than 10 years ago when I was still married & had 2 dogs & 3 cats. All blankets, bedding, towels, & anything else pets might lay on, go in the dryer 1st. After 30 minutes in the dryer then they can be washed & dried. The dryer has a way to capture hair (lint trap). The washing machine does to (Pump inlet). It's much easier to pull out and clean the lint trap!

I cannot even begin to help you with this one. If the rest of this group is stumped as well try the guys over at Just Old Trucks. ( justoldtrucks.com ) There are members there that are overly familiar with trucks from the beginning of the 1900's through the end of the 1900's.

I'm going off topic here for just a moment to commend everyone. I believe that this is the 1st thread to go into triple digits here at BMT. I'm not positive of that but I think it is. There use to be a racing forum that I was on that had a thread that went to 424 pages and stopped so we began a 2nd thread to continue on and the software was updated at some point and that thread went beyond that amount but then Facebook happened and most forums were abandoned. I'm glad that this forum did not meet that fate.

Did you hit up Mikey? I sold my 70 F to Mike several years ago. Might be able to look it over and see if they could be made or there might be something laying around.