Rob

You guys that are pilots will understand this one: I got called to northern Illinois this afternoon to recertify a VASI system, (Visual Approach Situation Indicator) for proper operation. Seems a guy put his Cessna 172, (1968 model) down into the grass off of the runway sticking the nose gear and flipping onto it's top. Although badly shaken but basically unharmed, the pilot blamed the lights for inproper operation. Although the responsible technician responded and checked the lights, I was called for third party non biased evaluation. All equipment was working at the time of the incident, and upon my checks without interruption. I don't know where this will go but the aircraft is scrap. The tail section parted from the airframe near complete as did part of the left wing. Wasn't really any gasoline spillage either and no fire. The airport authority used a forklift to carry the airframe back to the hanger for inspection. Rob

Seen that one a couple weeks ago and it does look nice. Given the cost of E9 series "hard parts" I doubt I'll ever own one; such a shame too. Rob

What can you do when you're asked for by name and reputation........ Rob

That's what happens when no polar bears are around. Of course this is after drinking a gallon of "Red Eye" and wrestling an eskimo........... Always have my camera to document the evidence too. Rob

If I was good at banging grizzly bears, she would be asleep when I finished. and NOT from boredom. Rob

Thought they looked just like the TRXL-1071 in my R795. Thanks for confirming I've not lost my mind, (completely). Rob

Looks like an old two stick six speed to me from an R700. Anybody think different? Rob http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/bfs/2093368622.html

I seent dat just da udder day. Only Spot wasn't around to enjoy the view. Wish I was that good. Rob

I've always found it amazing in the automotive world how many pieces/parts are vendored to the manufacturers. I have Macks that use Rockwell Standard, Grumman, Delco, Leece-Neville, Bendix, and many other vendor's parts. Yet when you purchase a replacement part through the OEM manufacturer, it always has their respective name upon the package/lable. I've met the gent that purchased my 74 RL797LST new. An inexperienced operator on an excavator took out both the cab and hood when the truck was close to new. It was repaired using new Mack supplied parts including hood, and service replacement cab. When the hood is open, one can plainly see the Rockwell-Standard logo, or lable that is laminated into the fiberglass construction. The cab was actually manufactured by the Shellar-Globe company in Ohio and shipped to Mack. My understanding is the frame rails were manufactured by Alcoa in Ohio also, and shipped to Hayward for assembly. All of the OEM's do this. They own the patents and manufacturing rights to the designs, then sub most of the manufacturing. They then run the assembly of the some of the parts. This is why the slogan "made in the USA" can mean so little. Sure it's assembled here, but "made"?, I question this part. With the global economy we live in and credit as easy to spend someone else's money the way it is, I don't really see a viable stopping point without serious overhaul. Rob

My 711 engine that is turbocharged has much greater power than the B67 with an ENDT673 engine from what I've experienced. In fact, the 711 probably does not pull like a 237, but it's not a long way from it. I've never pulled anything of significance however the guy I received the truck from told me it didn't have any problems pulling a gross weight of 90,000 to the elevator. Until it broke a stratoflex fuel line and stopped running, it was used a lot during harvest. This is the truck I call "Yella Dog". Rob

I've rebuilt three of mine with $15.00 rebuild kits from PAI. It is usually the sealing rings at the core ends that go bad and are very easy to change once the cooler is removed from the engine. Rob

HI Gregg, I do not know if anything other than the syncrovance eliminated from the injection pump was done, or not. This truck is original as far as the engine block and heads and had little over 77,000 miles when it was turbocharged. Everything external looks to be 100% original. Rob

My 1964 711 has been turbocharged since April, 1966. It was a retrofit from Mack to keep the valves from burning in the heads by pushing more air into them. The byproduct of this was more power. My grandpa had purchased three B61's with 711 engines and not one ran 100,000 miles before needing the valves done because of burning. These trucks were also retrofitted with turbocharging and supposedly they were good trucks afterward. This is as I remember grandpa telling it many years ago. I don't have a boost gauge in either this B61, or my B67, but I'd bet pressure build was slight. Rob

I get it through my paint vendor but the company will sell direct. I'll round up an address and post it tomorrow it I remember.......... Rob

With good surface prep it will stick to anything. It is marketed primarily for bare steel. Chassis Saver is a direct competitor and they are virtually the same. Rob

POR-15 is a durable paint direct to metal paint/primer. It has the acid to etch bare steel blended into it. The stuff is difficult to get off of skin as it soaks into the pores and sticks. It must however be topcoated with another paint as it will start to chalk. I've seen truck frames look 10 years old in six months with sitting outside in the sun full time. I use a product called "Chassis Saver" at about 1/2 the cost and as good of durability. Rob

It could be a multitude of factors. One quite simply, age. For years Mack used a sythetic, or alkyd oil based paint on their trucks. These did not retain their "luster" nearly as long as the later acrylic based products. There is also the possibility of improper preparation of the substrate, or inadequate dry time between under, and topcoats. Basically what happens in reality is the sun breaks down the ultraviolet screeners in the topcoat allowing penetration to the primer below. The primer has no sunscreeners within it's chemical composition and "kicks" the topcoat off of it. Now exposed and porous, water and humidity can penetrate and you have rusting. I'm sure you've seen or heard the phrase "Non photochemically reactive". This means there are no suscreeners in the product. All topcoat paint is photochemically reactive to resist this breakdown to the sun. This, along with the cost of pigments to make up the final color are what drive the cost of paint so high. Hardeners, accelerators, and most other additives tend to make the product more "user friendly" or faster/slower for shop throughput. Clearcoats have little to no pigmentation in them. They are very photochemically reactive to resist breakdown. A gallon of clear that costs say $300.00, has much more UV screeners included than say a $100.00 per gallon product. It's damned crazy what it costs to paint a car or truck these days using quality products that yield long term good results. Rob

Hi Randy, first thing I'd do is remove the hood and D/A the paint off of it complete using 60-80 grit "D" weight sandpaper on a 6" sander. This will leave you with dark spots where the rust is showing. Youi can take a small sandblaster and spot blast the dark areas till they are lightened up a bit, then put on nitrile rubber gloves and soak a clean cloth in phosphoric acid. Wipe the complete hood panel that is now devoid of paint letting the acid "dwell" on the surface but do not let it dry. Dry the panel with another clean cloth. You do not need to rinse with water. This will effectively kill the rust in the pores of the steel panel and etch the surface allowing for better primer or undercoat adhesion. Then paint as usual. After acidizing the surface I usually use an epoxy based primer/sealer to the bare steel followed by two coats of surfacer primer. This is then blocked down flat either by hand or with a power sander, then topcoated with color and/or clear. Rob

Hi Gregg, the R612, (1980), and the RL755, (1978) have rear hubs that look exactly the same to me with exception of the diameter of the spokes. I've not looked any closer than just looking at them but am not wanting to swap the hubs on these two trucks. I'm going to pull a hub on the R612 this week and take measurements of the housing, and bearing to see if I can round up something that will work. I've purchased new 16" drums for the truck and don't want to be stuck with them if not usable. I've not looked into returning them so don't know if restock would apply or not. Thanks, Rob

Does anybody know who makes full tandem fenders in steel treadplate? I have them on the R612 but they have been ripped and welded back together in several places. These look like the aluminum ones readily available but I'm wanting to stay with steel. These have the rolled contour of the tires with the edges bent down.

Does anybody know if the rear drive spokes are the same from 24.5" as opposed to 22.5" where they bolt through the brake drum(s)? I have a line on a set of chrome Dayton rims in 8.25X22.5" that might look good on my R612 with Budd hubs on front. Thanks, Rob

Don't remember who it was off the top of my head was asking a high school principal, (ex history teacher) why Dolly Madison chose a triangle layout of the 13 stars for the original colonies. Rob

Tonight I was under my R612 installing new air lines for the range and overdrive splitter sections. I have found a couple of things I need to replace. One is the line mentioned earlier that actually feeds air to the high range piston from the slave valve on the upper right side looking at the rear of the trans. The second is the bushings and throwout shaft for the clutch housing. There about 1/8th inch play fore and aft in the bushings that are in the housing itself. I'm sure from my limited experience the shaft is shot too. My question is should I pull the trans from the truck and renew these parts as they present no problems I've experienced so far? I have verified that shifter blocks, and forks have wear in them by removing the shift tower and looking down into the area(s). I have all these parts here at the shop for another RTO-12513 trans on the floor. Everything I've described can be readily done in the truck except the cross shaft. Rob

There are many grades and prices for paint out there. I've used almost every brand on the market over the years and am currently using Sikkens. This is only due to support in my area. I used PPG for years, but when they wouldn't make a problem I had in the shop right, I had the vendor remove the PPG paint bank that day and Sikkens installed the next. I've also had Dupont too without any problems whatsoever except support. Seems that every ancillary item to use their products cost the shop. Although this was true also with PPG, the cost was greater. I've been happy with Sikkens for nearly nine years now. Support and training is great with active vendor support without pestering. They also seem to have a long term employee retention rate. So far there has only been a single problem with a new undercoat. The problem was identified, and rectified without question by this vendor. Rob

If it were me I'd use the six blade fan. Nothing wrong with the five blade but the six will move a little more air through the core, but the main reason is efficiency. A six blade moves the same amount of air with less parasitic drag on the engine. Rob