ME AND MY CAB
Page 18
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East Yorkshire-based owner-driver John Scholey tells us why he loves his 15-year-old Mack R686RT.
When I acquired the truck four years ago it was in a dilapidated state, in particular the cab was rusting and full of holes and the vehicle had over 2.4 million km (1.5 million miles) on the clock.
I ran it for two months and then took it off the road For a further three months for a complete renovation of the cab and chassis and a considerable amount of mechanical work, including the cylinder head gaskets, oil seal and gearbox. The battered cab was completely stripped of paint and fibreclass panels were repaired where necessary. Original round hem. ights were replaced with four square halogen lamps.
I chose metallic wine and old English white for the magnificent paint job which is the handiwork of Chris Soanes of CD Soanes Commercials at Hutton Cranswick.
Six months later a sleeper pod was manufactured and fitted by Dalesman Motor Homes. It measures 1.95m long by 90cm wide and provides adequate room for the driver to have a comfortable night's sleep. The pod is trimmed in a light-blue heavyduty material, making it very warm and totally draught-proof; entry and exit is gained only where the original rear window was fitted. Adequate locker space is provided under the bunk via a small hatch door in the side of the sleeper pod.
Shortly after fitting the pod I replaced the original Mack seats with Pioneer full-air suspension seats with lumbar supports and arm and head rests, giving a more comfortable ride. The original dashboard has been untouched; it is full of clocks and dials, including a pyrometer which records the temperature in the exhaust manifold.
The exterior of the truck has been enhanced with a genuine Australian kangaroo bar and bumper finished in highly polished aluminium, which was the first of its kind in the UK.
The next renovation project on the cab will be to replace the door panels and fittings with original Mack parts which are available from Western Truck of Leyland, Lancs—the dealer I originally bought the truck from.
My truck was built at Mack's Pennsylvania plant in July 1979 as a right-hand-drive model. It was imported into the UK by the then Mack distributor, CTS of Bolton. It is powered by the ENDTB 676 six-cylinder Mack charge-cooled 11-litre engine, which produces 228kW (306hp) at 1,800rpm. The Mack's interior in keeping with its original design.