B-73 Restoration

[mechohaulic]

20 new cross members on 24 ft deck == crossmembers ft apart +- ? head board staying as is with wire mesh top ?

[mattb73lt]

5 minutes ago, mechohaulic said:

that spring shop the B73 is in ;; that's not perrualts in waterbury is it ?? didn't know if they still existed and I NEVER  saw the shop that clean 45 + yrs ago

It is the very place! Been in business over one hundred years. They still do great work. I was in and out of there in about three hours. The front end is now spot on level!

[mechohaulic]

then it's  the same pit that been there for 100 yrs ;LOL==  NO I wasn't there when it was built but close to it. looks much cleaner. they were the best back then. took alot of work for Mack and others  there . use to be a shop foreman back then == wore "coke bottle glasses" for you youngsters coke bottle glasses were thick lenses. can't remember his name ; hard working guy.  was a challenge  to back anything long in there off the street. imagine the B73 wasn't easy

[1961H67]

I love old garages like that! Imagine all the Hard work that has gone on there! 

[mowerman]

Getting harder and harder to find places like that. Glad you got it figured out bud…. That would’ve been driving me to drink. Bob

[mattb73lt]

On 8/16/2023 at 9:36 PM, mechohaulic said:

20 new cross members on 24 ft deck == crossmembers ft apart +- ? head board staying as is with wire mesh top ?

I’m going to leave it pretty much as it is and repair what’s there. I few changes. I’d like to find some polished aluminum chain lockers to mount on the head board and with the new wood deck it should look awesome.

[mechohaulic]

12 hours ago, mechohaulic said:

then it's  the same pit that been there for 100 yrs ;LOL==  NO I wasn't there when it was built but close to it. looks much cleaner. they were the best back then. took alot of work for Mack and others  there . use to be a shop foreman back then == wore "coke bottle glasses" for you youngsters coke bottle glasses were thick lenses. can't remember his name ; hard working guy.  was a challenge  to back anything long in there off the street. imagine the B73 wasn't easy

2 am I woke = His name is (was) ED. like many things back then ;; hard working crew .especially spring work . 

[Freightrain]

On 8/10/2023 at 11:45 AM, mattb73lt said:

A little B73 spring work today. Once in a while you need some help. Adding a helper leaf to the left front spring that was sagging a little after I put the engine in last year. Re-arching it helped, but once it got the weight of the engine and cab on it, it was lower than the right side and had a little reverse arch where it was originally bent. I wanted to put two new top leaves in, but was told it could be up to a year to have them manufactured. I don’t plan on doing any heavy hauling with it so this will be a good alternative.

I had a new main leaf made for the drivers side of my B.  It was deformed and all the clamp bolts were snapped.  They bent the eyelet in house and it worked great.  I had to do a touch of grinding on the width of the  eyelet because as they rolled it, it flattened out a touch and would not fit in the pocket.  Just by a hair.  No biggie.

 

I've always wanted to remove a few leaves to soften the ride some.  I don't need 12k weight rating!

[mattb73lt]

All kinds of stuff getting done. Friday, the B73 hit 500 engine miles and got it's first oil change. No issues since getting it running and it remains very dry on the top and bottom. The oil was still pretty clean and I still have to cut open the old filter just to see what's in there. All 20 new crossmembers have been installed and the head board work should be next. I dragged the hydraulic system out and was able to separate all the lines from the valve body. It'll need all new lines and a valve body as none of it is serviceable. A few lines need to be lengthened for the new installation. All the pistons are ready for installation as are the lifting frames, everything needs paint before assembly. I need to source some wood strips for the top of the frame rails that the body slides on. I'm hoping to get the bed back this week for it's trip to be blasted and painted, that won't be cheap. I'm also going to order the deck wood this week, too.

[Brocky]

WOW!! Great Progress..

[mechohaulic]

deck wood !!  entire bed wood ? ;; painted or nature finish ?   the bed is going to tilt/tip and slide down ???

[mowerman]

Hell, I think it’s gonna look like it’s ready to work.. bob

[mattb73lt]

12 minutes ago, mechohaulic said:

deck wood !!  entire bed wood ? ;; painted or nature finish ?   the bed is going to tilt/tip and slide down ???

It's a 24' Jerr Dan roll back with a 10K winch. The deck is a wood inlay. I'm going to use Apitong, a red Brazilian hard wood, for the decking. It's used a lot for trailer flooring. I'm ordering it through Atlantic Trailer over in Cheshire.

[mechohaulic]

when Your done the B73 will be beyond show piece.  

[mattb73lt]

I'm hoping it'll turn a few heads. It's the largest and most comprehensive restoration I've ever done.

[mechohaulic]

I'd say You are on a VERY SMALL  list  of anyone doing such an amazing restoration of such a large scale for private use. we know of those doing such restos ((Matt Phafl ) etc  who build for a business ; Matt does have his own also. for a private owner such as yourself :: some what speechless I guess the way yours is turning out. looking forward for sure to see it in person. 

[mattb73lt]

Thank you for that, it's much appreciated!!

[mowerman]

Hell I must’ve missed that photo of all of brand new cross members beautiful job. Thanks for sharing. Bob

[1961H67]

Looking absolutely gorgeous! I refloored my 53’ Landoll with Apitong , that’s what came on it new,, most new lowboys come with it,, It’s very tough! And it will look great on yours for sure. 

[mattb73lt]

Picked up the deck this morning and dropped it at O&G in Torrington for blasting and paint. The manager actually set me up with another party they do business with and had a much better price for the work. Should have it back in about a week or so. Then went to Atlantic Trailer and ordered the wood, 17-16'X7" boards should cover the deck. 860 fasteners, six drill bits/counter sinks/drive bits, also ordered to install it. I'll head back over in the morning to pick everything up with the B42. It had a big work out today running stuff around. Interesting how different the two trucks are. The B42, smooth, quiet, easy shifting. The B73, harsh, loud and rough. A lot of the roughness will go away with the body mounted, the harshness will go away as things wear in. And while I love the loud bark of the Cummins and Jake, it'll get a decent muffler in the future. Another day of gathering things up and logistics.

[mowerman]

I’m thinking after all this money and effort maybe you need to start making money with it ha ha ,,,amazing .also, you mentioned the ride , if I would’ve had to take a wild, guess I would have thought that the B model would’ve rode better… bob

[Red Horse]

On 8/21/2023 at 8:13 PM, mattb73lt said:

It's a 24' Jerr Dan roll back with a 10K winch. The deck is a wood inlay. I'm going to use Apitong, a red Brazilian hard wood, for the decking. It's used a lot for trailer flooring. I'm ordering it through Atlantic Trailer over in Cheshire.

The late Phil Noonan.  Fruehauf salesman who bought the Wallingford  branch..great guy!  You going to make your show debut tomorrow?

Hope to see you there..it will draw a crowd with or without a body😎

[mattb73lt]

7 hours ago, Red Horse said:

The late Phil Noonan.  Fruehauf salesman who bought the Wallingford  branch..great guy!  You going to make your show debut tomorrow?

Hope to see you there..it will draw a crowd with or without a body😎

No, I have to work Saturday and Sunday, now. Big weekend at work.

[mowerman]

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo ya speaking of mufflers ,,,here lately guys pass me with straight pipes and i guess im getting old because i dont really care for all that racket these days...bob

[mechohaulic]

18 hours ago, Red Horse said:

The late Phil Noonan.  Fruehauf salesman who bought the Wallingford  branch..great guy!  You going to make your show debut tomorrow?

Hope to see you there..it will draw a crowd with or without a body😎

Phil Noonan ; that name sound real familiar. sadly I see the 'late" Phil Noonan. list of those I worked with/around from dealers/sales personal /mechanics /drivers etc seem to be having the "late" in front of their name.