Will a 1926 Mack Model AB Run After 80+ Years?

[The Heinz]

I've been following this Jennings Motor Sports guy for a while now, and was surprised to see an old Mack on his channel. He's insanely good at rescuing super old cars and trucks, and has the most optimistic outlook on things that genuinely inspires me. Take a look and see what ya'll think about this old girl. He says he'll actually restore her too! 

 

[steve s.]

Yes, he did get it running. As for being " insanely good at rescuing cars and trucks" that is debatable.  His approach is pretty crude, and not really the way an antique truck be should handled. He did several things that may have done more harm than good, but I guess this is the kind of thing that sells on youtube. On the plus side , he is learning, and he may have saved a great old Mack from the scrapper's torch, so I have to give him credit. 

Edited May 7 by steve s.
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[The Heinz]

16 hours ago, steve s. said:

Yes, he did get it running. As for being " insanely good at rescuing cars and trucks" that is debatable.  His approach is pretty crude, and not really the way an antique truck be should handled. He did several things that may have done more harm than good, but I guess this is the kind of thing that sells on youtube. On the plus side , he is learning, and he may have saved a great old Mack from the scrapper's torch, so I have to give him credit. 

Genuine question, but what would he have done wrong? I watched it "in a hurry," so I may have missed something, and I'm always willing to learn the correct method. I love his crude setup honestly, gives the videos some charm in my opinion. 

[BOBWhite]

I didn't see much wrong either but I do think he was pretty lucky getting bolts out. I see more people using impact guns on stuff like head bolts and I just don't really see why. I'd get it if you were in a shop and had a time crunch but on something this old? A breaker bar just had more feel and it will give you an idea of how tight to torque it back too. 

Starting fluid on a gas engine is another thing I don't understand. I found that a squirt bottle with some 2 stroke gas is the best for getting a stubborn engine to go. 

[steve s.]

Let me begin by noting that I didn't say he did anything "wrong". There are always better ways to do things. A person's approach to things makes a lot of difference, too. If I was trying to start a 1975 Ford F-150, I might have used the same methods as he did. But to me, a 1926 AB Mack needs to be treated like a one of a kind machine. Number one rule- do no harm. Here are some things he could have done to prevent or reduce the possibility of damage: Pull the oil pan first. Don't mess around trying to flush 80 year old goop out of the crankcase. Even with the large inspection holes to look in, there is undoubtedly crap he missed. Baffles and trays hold gunk, and what about the oil pump pickup screen? I would want to see that it was clear and clean. Pull the pan, and clean it right. What if the cam was rusty and ready to wipe out the tappets ? How would you know if you don't check? Taking spark plugs out with a pipe on a ratchet. Can you think of a better way to break them off? He is lucky that he didn't, but that last one was squeaking dry, and he just kept turning. A better idea is to turn the rusty squeaky thing back and forth while applying lubricant-much less chance of pulling threads or snapping something off. And then when the plug came out- several ounces of his rust busting liquid went right into the cylinder, dirt, rust, and all. And then he pulled the head. He let all that crap go into the cylinder for no reason. He could have taken the plugs out on the bench. He really would have been better off to take the magneto off the truck, and made sure it worked on the bench. He could have turned it with an electric drill, and saved himself a ton of needless cranking of the entire engine. And by the way, when he was cranking and cranking to check for spark, he had all of the plugs in. It sure would have been easier to crank with the plugs out, no? His use of starting fluid was amazing. Not only did he use way too much and too often, but he when he was attempting to start it for the first time, he  could have sprayed some fluid into the spark plug holes to use less and get it where it needed to be faster. The last thing I will mention is that he ran the truck entirely too long without any coolant in it. He could have done great harm to his piston rings and cylinder walls, and he would never know it. Even if the water pump leaks, put some damn water in it or don't run it so long. Remember, do no harm.