Project "Gunsmoke"

licensed to kill

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Supporting Member
I'm getting after my B61 Mack project so thought I would start a thread on it. It is looking like a bigger project than I anticipated (as usual) and I REALLY want it done by spring so hopefully if I have this thread to update it will provide some incentive to get things done. It;s just like a big ol' hot rod so most, if not all of the procedures are the same as doing an early car. This is the truck that I will be using the frame from.
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Cody….A little overwhelming……will be following this closely.
 
This is a link to an old friends Mack in Saskatoon.
I haven't talked to him for years so dont know if he's contactable.
Fred
 
So, I pulled the truck into the shop last monday afternoon so i guess I am 1 week into the project. Pretty happy with my progress so far as i have it stripped down to the frame and the power steering box installed with the stock steering column. Something I wasn't sure could be done.
This is the stock steering box, VERY much like the setup in a Model A ford, in fact, it has a Gemmer box, the same make as the model A ford. I marked the location on the column where it goes through the firewall so as not to interfere with the wall with my support bracket.
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The issue is that, as you can see, the stock steering is integral with the box but the power steering box is not so i had to come up with a way to support the column to the frame (so I don't need a slip joint for frame/cab movement) and still use the divorced steering box. With the stock box/column in place, I made a support bracket to hold the column in the exact place and angle independent of the box.
The steering shaft with the column removed.
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I removed 2 of the bolts holding the box on and used the holes for the bracket
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I made a collar to fit the column and cut the column to about where i thought it would need to be, split the piece I cut off to put back as a spacer for reference then added an 1/8" spacer to make up for the width of the cut to retain the sock overall length.
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Added some gussets and welded it all together so now the column can stand alone without the original box. I added two 3/8" set screws @ 12:00 and 3:00 to hold the column in place inside the collar.
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I made paper template of the "new" steering box so I could set it on the frame to get the position and orientation right.
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The steering box installed. My first attempt it was too far forward (you can see where I patched up the hole i made for the pitman arm shaft as well as where i patched the stock hole just behind the box). With the box installed in the wrong place i was able to take measurements to get it just where it needed to be and it appears to have worked out quite well.
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It's not quite finished as i still need to install a bearing in the bottom of the column, cut the stock steering shaft and weld it to the steering yoke and deal with the drag link but, barring any unforeseen complications, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. That catches me up to right now. Next will be to pull the rear and adjust the wheel base and install the air ride suspension. Stay tuned.
 
I got the old rear out and installed the new air ride hangars today. They are within 1/32" from side to side so that should run straight. I'm sure there is at least that much play on all the bolts. Kinda slowed down as i dropped a piece of angle iron on my toe just before starting to measure/set/drill for the hangars. Might be broken. At the very least I'm sure I will have to drill a hole in the nail to relieve the pressure. I can hear my son already..."
should have been wearing steel toes bah bah bah". Anyways, still have to locate and drill for the shock brackets, air bags , pan hard bar etc. Will post pics on the weekend with the weeks progress.
 
Angry face…or shocked face….well woulda been better to go “Really??”
Well at yer age, you at least figured out out to laugh at yourself, actions and relieve the pressure for some comfort! Lol
…did I tell ya about the time this past winter I got rust/metal flakes in my eyes….never mind!
glad you are taking us along on this beastly build!
Thanks,
Greg
 
Nice one Cody, they are a cool looking rig. I drove a couple of those in working conditions years ago and an International 180 Loadstar twin stick. Man the new Mack's I had been driving until recently with 650 H.P. Volvo engine was a nice ride, oh yes and an auto :) doing oversize loads makes it a pleasure to drive.
 
Weekend update. Here is the weeks progress. Brought the "new" diff in the shop.
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Decided on a 156" wheelbase and located and installed the hangars.
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Then I had to install the other mounting hardware, shock brackets, air bag etc.
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Had to transfer the bolt pattern to my frame so, rather than measure twice, drill once, weld the hole closed and drill again, I decided to use a paper transfer. Put the paper on the frame rail that the rear came with level with the bottom edge (for reference), then held the ball end of a ball peen hammer in each hole and smacked it with another hammer to punch out the holes.

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Then bolted the pattern with the already drilled hangar bolts and taped the pattern to my frame and centre punched the holes.
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To ensure that the centre punch was, in fact, centered, I cut off a 3/4" bolt and drilled a hole through the centre on the lathe and used that as a guide for the transfer punch.

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The rest of the mounts installed.

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My fame is 2" narrower than the one the rear came from so i had to move the down pins inboard 1". I cut the old ones off, centre punched them and then using the punch mark as a guide marked off 1" with a caliber. I then drilled it down JUST enough so as not to break through (didn't want to get filing in the rear) then tapped it for 5/8 NF, cut a bolt off with just enough threads to reach the bottom and then left enough to locate the rear.

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And the rear is installed
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So are those arms that the bags sit on a factory thing or did you fabricate them? ..pretty nice the way the bags raise them…should be a decent ride with the bags behind the axle instead of on top of it….
 
Do you have to put a pan hard bar on that set up or is there something else holding it on centre that I don’t see?
 
Last question for now..why the 156 wheel base..is there something you want to put on it for that wheel base?
 
So are those arms that the bags sit on a factory thing or did you fabricate them? ..pretty nice the way the bags raise them…should be a decent ride with the bags behind the axle instead of on top of it….
That is the airliner suspension that came out of the 2016 freightshaker. Air bags on top in the middle of the springs actually make the ride rougher as they act like a bump stop. To get "air ride"the bags need to be on one end.
 
Do you have to put a pan hard bar on that set up or is there something else holding it on centre that I don’t see?
That's a great question (good eye). Yes there is a pan hard bar that i still need to shorten and install. Interestingly, in theory, the pan hard bar SHOULD need to be shortened 1"because the frame is 2" narrower but when i installed it, it looks like it only needs to be shortened maybe 1/4. Anyways, I still have to shorten it and instal, it yet.
 
Last question for now..why the 156 wheel base..is there something you want to put on it for that wheel base?
The chassis that i am using was 167" and i thought it looked too long. I have another with a 147" and it looks much better but perhaps a bit too short. So, since i am going to be hauling my holiday trailer with this, I measured from the king pin to the side of the trailer and used that measurement to make sure that i could jack knife the trailer if I needed to without hitting the cab. I added about 10" to leave room for a tool box or something behind the cab should i choose and located the 5th wheel there, then moved back a few inches for the wheel base. Hope that makes sense.