Rob

Most folks I've spoken to that have used that service tend to donate $50.00 or so. I've always went double due to the amount of trucks I require information on. It is my understanding the museum exists on the donations but not sure if solely. I think the service they provide, and the literature sent in the package is invaluable if you do minor repairs on your own truck because you will get a service manual that is very complete. Rob

One of those dirty jobs........... Rob

For those of you who left the sunny beaches of Fla. and moved to our lovely mountains. DIARY OF A SNOW SHOVELER December 8 - 6:00 PM It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses Print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow! December 9 We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the whole world? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had! Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life! December 12 The sun has melted all our lovely snow.. Such a disappointment! My neighbor tells me not to worry- we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow onChristmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. I don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man, I'm glad he's our neighbor. December 14 Snow, lovely snow! 8 inches last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplough came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish I wouldn't huff and puff so. December 15 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska , after all. December 16 Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel. December 17 Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room. December 20 Electricity's back on, but had another 14 inches of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling! Took all day. The dam snowplough came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying. December 22 Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white crap fell today, and it's so cold, it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to pee. By the time I got undressed, peed and dressed again, I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plough on his truck for the rest of the winter, but he says he's too busy. I think the butthole is lying. December 23 Only 2 inches of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she, nuts?!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying. December 24 6 inches - Snow packed so hard by snowplough, I broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a bitch who drives thatsnow plough, I'll drag him through the snow by his balls and beat him to death with my broken shovel. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was too busy watching for the damn snowplough. December 25 Merry fricking Christmas! 20 more inches of the damn slop tonight - Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God, I hate the snow! Then the snowplough driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's a fricking idiot. If I have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to stuff her into the microwave. December 26 Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves. December 27 Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze; plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him, he only charged me $1,400 to replace all my pipes. December 28 Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. My WIFE is driving me crazy!!! December 29 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard.. How dumb does he think I am? December 30 Roof caved in. I beat up the snow plough driver, and now he is suing me for a million dollars, not only the beating I gave him, but also for trying to shove the broken snow shovel up his BUTT. The wife went home to her mother. Nine more inches predicted. December 31 I set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling. January 8 Feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

It is not an RL due to the steel frame. The cab is newer than 1970. The truck looks to have standard R series cab trunion mounts for the front mounting. If the steering gear is located inside the frame, it is a standard R. If the steering gear is mounted on the outside of the frame. It would be an RS. On both the RS, and RL series, the frame rails run straight from the front to rear of the truck. The standard R series frame rails "splay" out under the cab meaning the front is wider than the rear of the frame. The truck serial, or vin number is stamped into the passenger side frame rail just before, or after the Rt. front wheel. I've seen it both places. Rob

You must be talking bout "Mr. Mike". Yes, it an approved business expense as it will be a working truck. I'm done with crap in the backyard. I've always liked the long hood trucks and this is an 80 Superliner, (round headlamps) with a bad 400 Cummins. I've have a 1693TA Cat to install so should be a good fit. Known the truck since 1985 and trust it's maintenance history, so should be a good one. I was in the Navy with the owner's son and now both are retired. I got to know his dad quite well as he ran B models for many years in the area and I used to frequent Tidewater Mack which catered to the B models very well. When I departed in 1988 I told him I'd be interested in the truck when it was for sale and have now bought it. I'm told it needs paint and an engine rebuild, but that's about it. Having some history, I believe him. He did buy it new so guess that makes me the second owner. The twins were "sacrificed"; (I keep telling myself that). Rob

Anyone interested in hauling a dump truck from Hampton Roads, VA area to either Indy, Chicago, St. Louis, or someplace in between? Should be probably about 21,000 pounds. It does run, drive and all ten tires are up. Should also start on it's own as it is recently retired along with the current owner. It would probably make the trip on it's own, but burn 10 gallons of oil along the way. No real hurry, can be as late as late spring of this year. Too many other projects right now to start another. Thanks, Rob

I don't know anything about being a guru but I supplied the transmission. It was a TRL-107 from a 72 R model Mack. Originally this trans was behind a 237, (ENDT-675) that I installed into another truck I had at the time. I never calculated the ratios, or really had much to do with the conversion. It was picked due to the removeable bellhousing for bearing support fabrication, and the case mounts to hold it in place so it wouldn't rock under the stress. Seemed to work alright. The truck was a 78 R-686 with a ENDT-676 engine and a two stick six speed that did not have the deep reduction first gear. Rob

Be mindful of your elbow and eyesight. Rob

I've always been told that a stiff dick has no conscience. Rob

I've seen this done with a Mack transmission before but it did not hold up. The input shaft was twisted off three times before the project was abandoned. An aluminum mounting block was pieced and welded through the bellhousing with a pillow block bearing mounted to support the input shaft. A coupling was then engineered to spline onto the input shaft. This seemed to work well but did not hold up to the torque multiplication of the driveline. The truck had a 4000 gallon tank and was used to pump/transfer effluent to a field from a confinement pit for hogs. Lot of weight when full, and in soft ground, the reduction gearing was needed. Rob

Hi, yes a #1 flywheel housing is what you would need to mate the original trans to a newer engine. Mack most times used this size behind their diesel engines. The bolt circle will be about 20-7/8 inches, there will be 12 bolts, and they will be 7/16-14 t.p.i. A #2 flywheel housing will have a 17-5/8inch bolt circle, 12 bolts, and they will be 3/8-16t.p.i. Parts for the old "Thermodyne" series of engines are getting scarce. I understand you can change the rods, and score the heads with using new pistons and such, rebuild them. It's not too cost prohibitive but still would run in excess of $3000.00. Parts like this are not on the shelf neither. All the rebuild kits I've seen available are vendored by FP Diesel, (Federal-Mogul) and state for "Maxidyne" converted engines. I assume this means the rods and heads but have no actual "hands on experience". I've not seen a set of rings in a long time as a lot of the older "Thermodyne" series engines used a "keystone" ring in the compression grooves and those are long ago obsolete. I have a friend that converted an old B-61 to an RD-450 IH engine years ago and ran the truck in farm sprayer application for at least a dozen years. When the engine was just plain worn out and parts virtually non existent, we replaced the engine with a fresh 1979 DT-466 with the pump turned up 20% that yielded right at 300 horsepower at 1700rpm, and 760 ft. pounds torque at 1430rpm, (if memory serves). This truck is still used and after I repainted it, still looks good. The plus side is the engine looks like it belongs there. It was tough to find the flywheel housing #1 size for that engine in this area. One was eventually acquired, but after a seven speed Spicer from a 1997 International 4900 series was installed onto the #2 housing. The flywheel housing is still around, (I think). The original Mack Duplex transmission was never reinstalled as "anybody" could now operate the truck as the newer transmission is syncronized except in low gear, so it stayed that way. Rob

Chrysler, and Mack. It don't get better than that. Rob

I have a couple of those engines on gensets and they work well. I don't think they are as well fitted to this duty as the old Detroit two stroke, but they do fine. Mine are set about 300 horsepower at 1800 rpm, and have never really presented problems other than the mechanical injection pumps have needed worked with. I've recommended to a few folks this engine fitted to the B series chassis as I believe it will work well. Finding an SAE #1 flywheel housing seems to be a little difficult in the used market in my area as SAE #2 is very common. The only drawback to this engine that I've seen is that it does not have a lot of low end grunt such as the larger engines do. This would not be a problem as it is much stronger than the Thermodyne series engines in the early days were anyhow. For an engine that will be run pretty much at a constant rpm, I think this engine is a good choice as they will provide a long service life. They are quite common in farm tractor usage and set to about 275 horsepower, (usually). They last alright until they, (owners) get to playing with the pump. It is then that the weakness of the lower end shows up. If kept to about 325-350 horsepower and worked easily, they last fine. Personally I like a DT series Navistar engine. You can readily get 300 horsepower out of the 466 with about the same reliability as the Cummins, but a full out of chassis rebuild can be done for less than $3000.00. While I've not had any experience with rebuilding the C8.3, (505 cubic inches), they cost considerably more. The cost of initial acquisition up front is more expensive I've seen also with the Cummins. With any of the newer engines the torque rise is what breaks things. A driver with an easy foot from a stop, using easy acceleration will have no problems. Rob

Glad to hear you're alive. I was afraid you'd succumed the aftershock of refusing final treatment, (most enjoyable part). Not much going on in the way of truck restoration right now in my dept. Been bringing in customers' cars to ramp the business back up. Seems like all profits are headed to the utility companies right now due to the cold. Hope that will change shortly. I don't watch "games" on TV. Don't much watch that thing no way. I put on a few pounds over the holidays and have been trying to shed them back off. I guess you've seen that I changed my profile photo. This is the one people have been asking to see; Rob with more clothes on than when I was in the health club weigh in lineup. Still, "doubting Thomas" does not think it is so. I don't know about the wiring harnesses mentioned. I've always made/repaired my own. I can control the quality of the product that way and it's what I do at work. Good to see you post again. Rob

Hi there, what engine is in the truck as there were several gasoline engines in that era. Also if it is updraft, or downdraft. Rob

You did good and probably the same thing I would have. Me an momma spent nearly every free minute with the kids when they were young. Rob

Please clarify what series of truck you have. RS, RL, R, etc.. Need to know more before I can be of help. Thanks, Rob

Nice heavy trucks. I enjoyed the photos. Don't need to apologize about the Pete photo. Nothing wrong with a good running Pete. It's the ones that require a lot of "shop time" that are the problem. Thanks, Rob

I've seen a TRXL1071 trans behind Cummins 350 myself and it fit, and worked well. After three Fullers, the owner said enough. I don't know what other than driveshaft modification was done. I know he used the original clutch the Fuller used. The "Selectair" valve can be purchased through Mack, or PAI. There is really no difference in quality. To me, they look as if the same manufacturer produced them. Rob

Can't spend too much time with the kids when they're young. Rob

I've never realigned one myself but have looked at both new trucks, and ones that are worn out. If you look at your crossbar there will two weldments to the tube itself. These weldments rub or mount against the arms that are the trunion stand. I would say zero clearance is what is acceptable with a +/- factor of about .100 which really is not much. It is normal for some walk of the axles to the side during a turn due to the forces of the arc not being equal. I've read someplace that you either cut the weldments free and reposition to weld, or weld up and dress them, or the stand for the same purpose. I don't think it is that hard of a job but like everything else on trucks, heavy. adequate jacking equipment and stands are a necessity. Rob

B. F. Goodrich Tire division is owned by the Michelin Rubber Co. Has been since Goodrich exited the tire market in 1996. Goodrich only manufactures rubber products for the defense, and space industies along with scientific experiments. Rob

Sounds like it is time to rebush, and realign the locator arm stops on the stand or cross tube if Camelback suspension. Rob

That is exactly what I was thinking when it was mentioned earlier. The ECM's in these newer vehicles are looking for a given set of operating parameters that are considered normal in operation. These are nothing more that varying voltages, or resistances. When the readings vary much a fault code is set and/or engine derate is the result. All the computers can see is a differential voltage, or resistance in the control circuit. There is nothing to do with actual flow so the system can be "tricked" into thinking it is normal, or bettered in operation. Rob

How can flex pipe be garbage if I love it so much?? I use it for everything on truck exhaust in rediculous lengths cause it's so easy to run. Think I prolly got 40 feet on my trucks with only minor leaks. Actually I only use one foot sections also. Always the stainless variety because it holds up well. I have found it best to be used as a vibration isolator staged about 24 inches back from the turbocharger outlet due to the heat, and exhaust acids breaking down the pipe. If you aim a non contact thermometer at the exhaust adapter right at the turbocharger, and then 24 inches further down the pipe, you will notice a considerable difference. I also do not use clamps on the flex to rigid union but rather weld the ends solid. Never had much luck with the band clamps, (no matter the brand) not leaking after a period of time. Stainless band clamps are used on all slip fit unions however. Rob