RRJordan

Just for fun and hopefully without any offense: Many years ago I asked a senior driver what he drove and he said, "An Italian Mack." I never heard of such a thing so he explained, "It has an offset cab--it's wop-sided."

Distant memory suggests some old buses in NYC that were GM powered had two speeds, possibly a low range torque converter and a high range lock-up. Incidentally, when did Mack transmissions go from sliding gear to dog clutch constant mesh to synchronized? From a little experience in the 1950s it seemed like I was stirring something big and heavy down in there.

Steam is usually rated in boiler horsepower, which is very different from brake horsepower.

Anyone remember Cooney Brothers out of Tarrytown, NY, '50s and '60s?

The spirit you have shared with us during the restoration of your Mack has been inspiring. Thank you! My brief experience with driving Macks dates back to the mid-1950s. There were only two lessons: "That one shifts like this"...with some quick hand motions. And, most importantly, "Keep your thumbs out of the wheel!" That's all I can contribute. I spent a lot more time in Vermont than I did in Macks, but I enjoyed both. We look forward to further word of your successes.

Here is a story from 40 or more years back that I hope, given today's sensitivities, is still just innocent and funny: We were stranded in a little South Carolina roadhouse during an ice storm along with a couple heading to Florida in their Cadillac. He assured us he could drive in the ice storm because he was a St. Johnsbury driver, held the first license for doubles on the NYS Thruway, and knew all about bad weather. Doubles were new and novel in the East and I was impressed. I asked what he pulled them with. His answer with a straight face was "Italian Macks." I fell for it and he explained they were "Wop-sided U Models."

In the mid-1950s Cooney Brothers out of Tarrytown, NY, had a fleet of B-63s. They were indeed said to be beefed-up B-61s. I doubt that any of those early ones had turbos. They were supposed to be 170HP. I was very junior and mostly in an LF and never got to try a B-63. Anybody remember Cooney?

In the mid-1950s I drove a badly worn and overloaded LF with a Lanova a little and on upgrades passed couple senior drivers proud of their new B-63s. I was strongly warned never to do that again!

When the topic of steering comes up, I think of the very overloaded LF ten wheel dump I drove a bit in the '50s. For city turns you could gear way down, let her crawl, and stand up in the cab to get your back into it. I was a skinny kid.

Sorry to hear about troubles in the Bronx and Fordham in particular. I lived to the north in Bedford Park when Fordham Road was a very good shopping and entertainment center. It seems to have changed in the last 70 years.

Neat detail--anyone else remember the woven rope mat used to catch kegs thrown from the truck?

We left a major insurance company after many years when we found rates increasing because of "loyalty." Loyalty was interpreted as the habit of paying them and probably being too lazy to change, so they could get away with it.

Years ago the word about IH was you couldn't say anything good about them, but you couldn't wear them out either. I had good service from Travelalls, 1/2, 3/4, 1-ton, mostly 4x4, but they did need attention.

Thank you Vlad. You are a kind and thoughtful gentleman to remember with us.

Mack, LF, and Lanova caught my attention as I drove that type of ten wheeler for a construction materials company one summer in the mid-1950s. That dumper, probably a 1950 model, looker okay, but had been wrecked and rebuilt and had a bad reputation, so it was assigned to the junior kid who didn't know better. It tracked like a crab, smoked a lot, and was generally poorly maintained, but it pulled well. On hills it would stay with or pass the yard's new B-63s even when everybody was overloaded by ten tons as was usual. On long flats the LF would show 52 MPH when the new trucks could not break 50. Senior drivers made it very clear they were not to be passed, so those contests ended quickly. The Lanova must have been a big one, whether it was original or not. The main 5-speed box was called "backwards" because first and reverse were in the far right slot and second and third in the near left. The 2-speed behind it was a very low "pit stick"-no splitting. If you started in first high uphill, you stayed there until flat or downhill because by the time you got out of first and across the gate to second you were rolling backwards. At least the clutch was not needed except to start. Its a wonder the kid and the truck survived the summer and it is good to know there is another LF Lanova out there.