This is the Mack daddy of trucks, or it was five decades ago. The 1959 Mack B67T seen here is in Watkinsville, Georgia and is listed on eBay for $4,500 with four days left on the auction.
The B Model series was made by Mack from 1953 to 1966 and is what I and a good majority of other people think of when they think of “Mack Trucks”; it’s an iconic design. 127,786 of the B-Series Macks were built and a lot of them are still working to this day. These were, and still are, tough trucks.
The seller mentions that they have a replacement panel for the dented one on the rear, so if you’re going to restore this one instead of use it for work, that’s a good thing. I can’t think of one reason why I would need this truck, but I can think of a million reasons why I want it! There are no engine photos, unfortunately, but this one has an 11.0L, 672 cubic inch, inline-six turbodiesel Thermodyne open chamber, direct-injection engine with about 205 hp and 560 lb-ft of torque. and a 10-speed transmission. Whew, that sentence was a Mack load in itself!
This is a “day cab”, obviously not meant for sleeping in, but of course we’ve all slept in a car at some point in our lives. Guys? Haven’t we? Hey, where’d everyone go?.. I love this interior, and I know that sounds weird when talking about a manly-man, rugged diesel truck. Look at how nicely and simply that dash is designed; well done, the Mack brothers would be proud of this model. This is a Class 8 truck (33,001 lbs. or more); just so you know what size car trailer to plan on buying for hauling your future Barn Finds cars home. I know that this Mack won’t appeal to everyone, but my philosophy is that any real car guy or car gal can at least appreciate every vehicle for what it was or what it represented. There is at least a little bit of goodness in every vehicle ever made. What would you do with this great truck?
Wow- this one appears to have been in service pretty recently. I agree, the interior is amazing. A little slice of American transportation history right here on these pages.
I worked for this company back in the 70s and 80’s. Drove a B model many times.
Would make for an interesting pickup truck.
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2010/06/09/rhinebeck-2010-be-sure-to-say-hi-if-you-see-us/54-mack-b-80-at-700/
That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Nice find, Healeydays!
You will never exceed the load limit in this rig.
Depending on what you plan on using it for and how you license it you may actually not need a special license to drive it. The need for special driver’s licenses based on the GVW of a vehicle. You just turn into a pickup truck or possibly a car hauler it’s quite possible you could keep the GVW low enough that you wouldn’t require a special driver’s license for.
It’s certainly a great looking vehicle and in remarkable condition for the age. It seems like the price is fair for what you are getting.
This is on my bucket list of vehicles. Be so awesome to build a bed for this and get some chrome stacks and wheels on it.
Excellent. Nice find, Scotty ( or nice reporting of a nice find) Actually, this is a very rare truck. It was called a “Contour” cab or concave cab. Back then, length laws were strictly enforced ( all but abolished today) and this truck with it’s rounded back of the cab, was the only truck, I believe, that could haul a 35 ft. trailer, and still be under the total length ( which I believe was 55 ft. at the time) Even a few inches of trailer meant more money for some shippers. The 205( or simply 200) engine was a popular motor, and the “Duplex” transmission( left stick, a 5 speed, right stick a 2 speed, some were reversed) were indestructible. Truth be known, these were hot/cold, noisy, cramped, underpowered, rough riding beasts, and I don’t see any mention of power steering, which very few of these had ( unless added later) I drove a Mack R model with manual steering and I had “charley horses” in my arms by the end of the day. B models are cool, and a chrome grill really sets these off nice. Be great to haul toys on a flatbed, but take my word for it, they were miserable to drive day after day.
There’s more (If you care) AAA Trucking Corp. was a union freight hauling outfit from South River, NJ. that started in 1957,( after buying out Garford Transportation) and Mack B models were their 1st trucks. They lasted into the late 70’s and appear to have run into some trouble with the union in 1979, and deregulation put an end to many of these outfits.
Actually my father and his brothers owned AAA Trucking Corp and it started in Trenton, NJ. The did not buy out any Garford Transportation as far as I know. They started in a garage in Trenton where they would build a make shift platform at night and used a truck to deliver products during the day while also working additional jobs. They grew to be one of the largest transportation companies on the East coast going from Washington DC up through Boston and had numerous terminals besides the one in Trenton….I believe there were 12 or 13. In 1980 a family conflict caused the company to begin to have problems until the company was dissolved sometime in the late 80’s/ early 90’s. They had no affiliation with Tiger Transfer in the west.
Thanks for the first-hand information, Marlene!
Hi Marlene, thanks for that info. It’s great when certain vehicles touch a family member. It shows the coverage this site gets. I got that info from a site that featured Garford Trucking. It says, in 1957, the 6 Bonacci (sp?) brothers purchased the operating rights to Garford Trucking, which, as a kid, you may not have known about. I had no idea how big AAA was. http://www.flickriver.com/photos/14024074@N05/sets/72157632084742284/
Actually I was corrected by a family member… AAA did buy Garford Trucking. A driver in Linden who drove one of our split stick B Models was the son of the owner of Garford. So AAA did purchase Garford.
The ex-truckers I talked to would agree. They all thought this model and the next one were hard working but gave up nothing to creature comfort. They all seemed to prefer K-W’s and Peterbuilts.
bumper to bumper length laws went from 45 ft to 50 ft in the early 50’s. This truck with the concave cab could easily pull a 40 ft trailer and probably a 42 or 43ft. WE had two Internationals trucks that could pull a 45 ft trl and still be 50 ft. These were not a dream for a driver. Only length laws in effect now are one 53 ft trl or 2-28, 6 in. trls. Some of the western states allow three and also various states allow for what are called turnpike doubles, which are two 45 or 48 ft trls. Only bumper to bumper length law is 65 ft if the tractor has a load carrying box or platform. .Boat and car carriers are allowed 75 ft
I wonder if AAA Trucking was affiliated with Tiger Transfer out west? Same color scheme, right down to the pattern on the bumper. Tiger ran only single axle Macks, and I don’t recall any model other than the B-Series because it was gone by the 70’s.
Hi geomechs, I found a picture of a Tiger Transfer truck, a long wheelbase B model ( length laws were different out west), similar colors, but no bumper paint like that. I’ve seen several companies that did that back then. Kind of a safety thing, Especially gas haulers. It’s unlikely they were involved with each other. AAA was a short haul LTL (less than a load) carrier on the east coast, while it looks like Tiger was long haul, western state thing. I suppose if you liked orange and black B models, there’s bound to be some doubles in paint scheme.
Hi Howard. You must have magical powers; I couldn’t find a Tiger truck anywhere. I was sure they had the same bumper scheme but then, memories can fade over going onto 50 years. But otherwise I sure remember those old black and orange Macks. It seemed that there was never a time when you wouldn’t see one parked in ‘No Man’s Land’ between the American and Canadian customs clearing a load north, or clearing a back haul south. I don’t remember where it was based from; I thought it was Great Falls but someone told me, Everett, WA.Then someone else told me that they had an affiliate in Canada. That could be too, as there was ‘Canadian’ Freightways, which was identical to ‘Consolidated’ in trucks, color scheme and logo design. Even the uniforms. Can you imagine the days when company truck drivers wore uniforms?
Hi geomechs, I’ll try a link, but it delays my comment for some reason. ( thanks to Hank’s truck pic’s for this)
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/bc_trucks/older_pix/tiger_transfer_mack_bridal_falls.jpg
Hmm, guess the link worked. I had a few jobs that I had uniforms, no little bow tie and hat, though. That was optional.
I remember well the similairty begtween Canadian . Freightways and Constolidated. Red abd Green lettering, I think. i am dual Canadian American and was back and forth across that border constantly and the two trucking outfitss were everywhere.
This one should be in a museum or in front of a drive in or diner. A beauty. What a difference today. Power steering, brakes and seats mean anyone can manhandle theuoybrutes. There is a huge shortage of drivers and they are recruting with all they have. Saw a young lady starting training and I doubt she could exceed 4 feet tall.
Great find Great daily driver
That truck is super Cool.
4500 was not much.
Keep it as it is, only make a stabil driving truck.
I love that patina :-)
Oh that Mack truck is sweet!
I love those Macks. Never driven one for real but did pretend drive a few when I was a kid. There was a supply company located near the school that had a couple of Macks parked out back. They were out of service but still pretty complete. My pals and I would climb into them and pretend to be truckers. Complete with the “chi chi” of the air brakes and the grinding of the gears. A friend of mine who was a trucker was going to teach me to drive but unfortunately he passed away before he could. Still want to drive one today.
Drove some B model Macks as concrete trucks, 8 yd. mixers, then had a tri axle W/10 yd mixer. Could never get the tri axle to run straight down the road, always wanted to lean to the right and dog track, and as all of them the cabs were OK if the driver was 5’6-8″, I’m 6-4 and cab was cramped, and the transmission’s were a pain, ours had P.S. Then I drove Oshkosh mixer trucks W/8 speed transmissions then later automatics, what a nice driving truck, 1st ones were 6V71 later 8V71’s, later Cummings 190’s.
I met a guy in a tiny town called Burkesville KY that owned an oddly similar one of these that had belonged to his grandfather. Seems one day his grandfather noticed there were a LOT of bulldozers and other heavy equipment getting mired up and stuck in the many oil fields that had sprang up during Ky’s “oil boom” back in the late 70’s(?). So he proceeds to spend a bunch of money on his old Mack and converted it into one helluva a wrecker according to the grandson. He claimed they made a small fortune pulling stuff out of the mud. When the engine finally wore out it sat for a few years then a local junkyard got in a wrecked beer delivery truck from which he scored the engine and installed it into the Mack. Said it was now unstoppable-LOL! Well, it certainly looked and sounded like it!
It’s been about 5 years ago that we met (we had him use the Mack to tow off an old mobile home from some property we had purchased.) but as AFAIK he’s still driving it today.
Blast from the past. I actually worked for that company in NJ. These trucks were still going into NYC daily back in the mid 1980’s. They also had some of the next generation “R” models. Wonder how this truck got to GA? Roadway bought AAA in the late 1980’s so maybe they moved it down south. Brought back some memories.
I saw Marlene’s comment above. She is correct. I worked out of the Pinebrook NJ terminal off RT 46. They also had a Terminal in Trenton, NJ where I also worked from time to time. They had terminals peppered in the NE with one in Salisbury MD the furthest south. This company had a great niche as they were used as an inner line carrier to deliver NYC and Philly. No fear. This was part of local 411 I believe. I would love to talk to some of those cats that worked there when I did. Most are probably passed away by now? Never worked harder in my life. Tough job.
Ken, my husband was the assistant manager at Pinebrook terminal from 1972-1981. He would travel daily from Trenton area to Pinebrook before the highway was completed. Actually AAA also had a terminal in Baltimore which serviced DC so they went that far south. It is interesting reading these comments and also seeing the pictures of the truck. Brings back many memories!
I started working for them in Salisbury Md in 1977 till 1989 when they closed. Great people They sold to a group of X trucking people and sucked it dry. Ed,Gene son of one Gary Bonacci’s
My neighbor in NJ drove for AAA they were on Quakerbridge rd. I drove a B61 wrecker in the early 70’s
I would rather drive a Brockway
Nice find. My dad drove for AAA in Reading, PA He use to bring these B61’s home for lunch and me and my brothers would climb all over them (and get yelled at all the time also). I can’t wait to show dad these pics. He just turned 90 years old!!
Showed the pic of the ole B model to my 90 year old dad. He couldn’t believe there was still one around. Interesting enough he knew the names of the original founders. Told me Some interesting stories… like having to pull the b models around with another b model that they would leave run at night in extremely cold weather to start them due to having air starters. Have the really appreciate modern ‘options’ now days!
My dad drove for AAA Trucking out of the Quakerbridge road terminal for over 30 years. Infact, I believe that him and Freddy Newman were the last 2 guys who were in B-models back in the 80s. His name is Andy Semler. I remember being a little kid and the Bonacis arranged for our cub scout troop to get a tour of the terminal and an up close view of the trucks. Gene Bonaci was the man who hosted the day. Great memories.
Hey Marlene I worked in Salisbury Md for Uncle Lou,Gene,Rick Ed and Genes son Gary.1977 to 1989.Some of my most memorial times while working in the trucking industry as a driver. Uncle Lou was a very good man who cared about the people that worked for him.
I grew up in Trenton and remember when AAA terminal was on NY Ave. in Trenton before moving to their beautiful terminal on Quakerbridge Road in Hamilton. My step father, Bob Carroll worked at both terminals.
Bob Dowd
My father drove for AAA out of Trenton most of his life. He worked at the NY ave. terminal then the Quakerbridge Road terminal. His name was Bob Dowd I remember him driving B model Macs back in the day.
My dad worked for AAA, he was inbound dock supervisor in Baltimore Md in the early 80s. I remember being a kid he would take me to work sometimes. I was always fascinated by the color scheme of AAA. Now Im driver for Overnight/Ups Freight/now T force freight for 24yrs.
L
I was a driver for AAA trucking from 1974 to 1978 at satellite terminal in West Babylon New York it was a very good union job you made very good money the B models were all used for city tractors we had one that had a 10 Speed Rd. ranger 1958B model and when we work nights from midnight to nine in the winter months because of seniority you were asked if you would like an extra load on overtime after working eight hours at night everybody used to compete to get that tractor because it was one of the best running B models in the yard we had about four or five of them the top seniority had the all R models when you moved up the food chain and went to city driver you got an MB model cab over driving a 22 foot bobtail I moved to the West Coast in 1979 and I always wondered what happened to AAA after the de regulation of the trucking industry was a damn good job and good people to work withI was 22 years old at the time and went on to finally get another good union job on the West Coast I am now retired at 67 years old after 45 years of trucking
I grew up in Hamilton NJ and I remember seeing the AAA B Models, R Models and if my dusty memory is right U Models. My neighbor worked in the office on Quakerbridge Rd. Seeing this truck brings back memories.
I worked at the baltimore terminal from 1980 till closing in 1990. Lou was hard as nails but we loved him. Things were good till the “connected” people bought the company and bled it dry…..
My Grandfather Bill Tucker drove for AAA Trucking for about 25yrs out of the Quakerbridge Rd terminal. I remember picking up the phone when the dispatcher would call for work. That was a awesome job he had, and provided well for us. After they went under, my grandmother would tease him and say, “I told you that job would’nt be permanent.”