One of the saddest aspects of our hobby is that limited production vehicles, sports cars, and other such vehicles are vastly overrepresented, while the pedestrian vehicles that keep us going as a society often get used up and discarded like trash. Perhaps the most underrepresented segment is that of commercial trucks. If you are looking for a unique old warhorse from this segment, this 1978 Mack MB 611 for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Woodstock, Illinois, may be the ride for you. Solid, with surface rust only, this rough but ready Mack can be yours for a very reasonable $4,000. What do you think its original role was? Thanks to Hans H. for the tip!
So, what do we know about this flat-faced Mack? According to the ad, this is a 1978 Mack MB 611. It has a 260-horsepower diesel engine and is backed by a 13-speed manual transmission. The seller also tells us that it has Mack rears with a camelback suspension. What this actually means to most of us is a mystery. If any of our readers, many of whom are repositories of heavy-duty truck knowledge, can elaborate, please do so in the comments.
We are further told that this truck is in nice shape with no rust. The pictures above and below bear witness to this, except for some surface rust. It is stated that the truck will run. However, the injection pump will need to be repaired because the fuel supply fitting has broken off. The odometer is said to read 92,000 miles, and the truck is equipped with a “wet kit.” One interesting feature in the pictures is the installation of what appears to be an RV-type air conditioner on the roof of the very Spartan cab.
The biggest question concerns the original use of this Mack. There is a thread on BigMackTrucks.com featuring what looks to be the very truck we see here. Some speculate that it was a U.S. Mail truck, while others think that it was used by the United States military in some capacity.
A look inside reveals a cab that would be completely foreign to someone used to more modern heavy-duty trucks. The dash and center console appear to be made completely out of steel, and the seat probably wasn’t very comfortable for a long haul. Slapping a rooftop air conditioner may have made driving this truck a bit more bearable. The question remains as to how it was powered, as these air conditioning units are almost always alternating current.
The seller’s statement that this truck has 92,000 miles on the odometer is factually correct. It is also somewhat ludicrous to assume that this is the original mileage. Trucks like this often saw hundreds of thousands of miles from the factory to the junkyard. If it were a military truck, then this might be the case. Government auctions occasionally feature vehicles with ridiculously low mileage accrued during their time with our armed forces. Those are usually hard miles, though.
Hopefully, some of our regulars will chime in on this find. There is a lot to learn from vehicles like this. While seldom seen anymore, they are important to our history. It would be great if this one was preserved.
Do you know anything about this type of Mack? If so, please share your thoughts and memories in the comments.
I’m sure a Cabover like this will make Howards eye twitch like Inspector Dryfus in the old Pink Panther Movies. ( Hope you know I’m joking Howard) Jeff when you said, “while the pedestrian vehicles that keep us going as a society often get used up and discarded like trash.” I couldn’t agree more with you, sadly might I add. This one has a Fifth Wheel on it, so it was absolutely used to haul trailers around. I’m not 100 percent certain, but, I don’t think thats an air ride seat, I think its solid mounted, so, you’ll feel EVERYTHING for sure. This is indeed a work truck, probably for local runs. We have way better experts on Barnfinds than me, and can’t wait for them to chime in. This is another great write up Jeff!! Thank you for puting these old workhorses on here. I always enjoy them!!!
Trucks like this are likely responsible for more bad backs and kidney damage than any other cause. I drove an old cab over F model day cab as a spare whenever my assigned truck was in for service. Those things were hateful and they had an air seat. If I had to drive this thing any distance I’d take a sick day! Still a good example of how trucking used to be when real drivers ( not steering wheel jockeys) ran the roads.
Wait, wait, you read it folks, even the author admits, and I quote, “the most underrepresented segment is that of commercial trucks”,,BINGO! Why is that so prevalent here? Unless the staff is in the Cayman Islands, how can they ignore the fact these posts regularly get a slew of comments? Ha,,,told them,,,what?
Okay then, 1st, someone ripped off the bulldog, how can one —hole look at another? Every Mack had a bulldog, even these. I’m not sure where or how the “wet-line”( hydraulic pump) came from, but I’d bet this was an old mail truck or some sort of military, because this would make a dangerous dump tractor. The hydraulic tank isn’t big enough for a dump trailer, maybe turned a belt? USPS still uses these Mack cabovers today. The a/c, actually just the condenser on the roof, was a popular add-on for trucks, but I doubt offered by Mack. All I can say, if you have any teeth left, this should rattle the remaining ones loose. The ride sitting over the steer could be described as atrocious, but all in a days work. For backing in, you couldn’t beat it. Almost like a road yard spotter. It is crude by todays standards, show a new grad this truck, they’d go screaming into the night, but very typical and this truck didn’t go very far anyways, strictly a city rig.
Not going to go into my usual rant about the sad shape our trucking is in, but rather, with the weather we are having in the east( nice here) a huge tip of the hat to the men AND women that run our rigs so we can enjoy strawberries at our kitchen tables in winter,,I still think about that with every truck I see,,amen!
Since my Peterbilt 359 fell into the BFs abyss, again, I’m done with tips of any kind, but if you value your viewers, give ’em what they want, more trucks. Thanks, Jeff.
I remember driving by the Mack Truck Headquarters back in
1979.Too me,it’s sad that so many American truck companies have
been taken over by foreign companies.
Why can’t I edit after I post? I forgot to add that we have a fairly
new Mack truck plant South of Salem,VA,& a newer Volvo truck plant
in Pulaski,VA,both not too far from here.
You must be around Roanoke?
MB Macks (replaced by the MR) were as common as the trash they hauled. Overnight had them for tractors, cities across the country ran them as trash trucks, many freight companies used them for intercity delivery. Don’t think I ever heard of a 260hp unless it’s a Scania, and most any Mack engine would twist that RT613 in two. Kinda long for the average tractor. Camel Back suspension? Come on guys! Doesn’t that spring stack look like a hump on a camel’s back?
Lots of farms in that part of WI. Could have been a farm truck, which don’t see much time on the winter roads