Posted 13 years ago
hornhospital
(1 item)
Here's an update!.... I got the front axle out, but discovered both front rims were cracked. Got the stub of the headlight base out. S-M lists two sizes of headlight base. I have no clue which I have, but I'm going to mic it and email them, then order new rims for the front, new axle, one tire, one headlight and the bulldog for the radiator. Repainted it a few days ago. Pictures attached. Now to scratchbuild the box bed as close as I can remember it. I'm going to use Plastruct for the "steel" parts, and probably basswood for the boards (I'm a lifelong model railroader/scratchbuilder). I may even put nut-bolt-washer castings on the box bed frame members!
Previous posting: I recently found a diecast toy Mack truck I believe that was from my childhood (1950s-'60s). It is 18.5 inches long from rear frame to front bumper, it's 6 inches wide across the front fenders, and is 6 inches high from "ground level" to the top of the cab. I was sure this large diecast Mack truck had been thrown away long ago, when it turned up in a storage building I was having torn down a couple weeks ago. I remember having this truck or one very much like it, and very vividly recall my dad's hunting dog chewing a tire off one of my trucks. I think this is that same toy. It is missing the left front tire (blasted dog!), the bulldog casting from the radiator, and the right headlight. I tried to take a closeup of the only casting marks on the frame: C-2007 and a logo of some type that I tried to zoom in on. I'd love to know (1) who made it? (2) when was it made?, and (3) where can I get replacement parts (radiator bulldog, headlight and tire), if indeed they are available? Thanks much for any info!
Smith-Miller look up that on ebay ,hope this helps!
For parts search for Thomas Toys,the age ,I'm not to familiar with these ,sounds about right in the '50s ,but not sure. YOU NEED TO RESTORE THIS!!!!!!!!Very cool
This is s Smith-Miller and they are in business again....go to Smith-Miller.com...they have all the parts you need....great truck!!
Gargoylecollector and toytyme, thanks SO much!!!! Mystery solved! It's a MIC-made (Miller-Ironson Corporation) and they have the parts I need. I need to make SURE which interior I need, since they are pretty 'pricey'. What i can't figure out is, what was the truck to begin with? A long wheelbase single-axle truck doesn't fit any of the descriptions and pictures I can find. Maybe a gasoline truck? Since the tank would have been made of wood, it would have been gone long ago, considering how it was stored. I'm going to email Smith-Miller and ask them for advice. Again, thanks SO MUCH! And, yes, it will be restored!
My guess would be a log truck [see "thetexasantiquetoycollector.com"and find the last truck on the page that says sold ]
That's what I surmised from searching eBay after you told me "Smith-Miller" was what to look for. There's a log truck with trailer for sale on eBay that matches my truck. Long wheelbase and single rear axle. Wonder what the trailer hooked to? There's no "trailer hitch" on the frame. Also, I am shocked at what these things are worth! Good grief!
check out ebay #150725462050
Yup, that's the one I was talking about. <thumbup>
Also [on bay] there is a log bed for sale for $19 that looks like it may have an eyelet on it ,maybe you should keep an eye on it!
#260921402624
Got it on my watch list! Thanks!
You don't remember what bed it had? The long wheelbase like that was used for the box van body, that's the one I have, and the tanker truck. All of the lumber truck and van body truck I've seen all have the black frame. Only the tanker had the red frame.
As for the the interior, yours is not the MIC so you don't need it. Check ebay to price compare the parts you need as well.
Keep us posted, Great truck to own.
Tom, your posting clicked with me....it reminded me why I even had a Mack L model. In 1958 my dad sold our two dairy farms in NW Wisconsin and we moved to my mom's hometown, Silverhill, AL. To make the move he bought a Mack L that was an ex-tanker in Duluth, MN. The tank had been removed, and I remember us going to Duluth to pick it up. It was all red, just like the S-M model. On the way back to the farm I rode with dad. I recall getting a terrible sore throat from the exhaust fumes...the floor was partially rusted out and the exhaust system leaked, I guess. My dad built a truck bed with removable sides (I remember him ordering a 1/2" drill from Montgomery Ward that he used to drill the framework holes...I still have the drill!). We loaded what furniture and household goods they didn't sell at auction in that truck, and we drove to Alabama. SOMEWHERE dad picked up that model. I don't recall ever seeing it before we were living in Alabama, but it had to have been the fact that it matched his truck for him to buy it. It may or may not have had a tank when he got it. I don't recall ANY type of bed or tank on it. I was 7, and would have recalled that. I don't think it was new when we got it. The "real" Mack was used to haul grain after we bought a farm down here. He had it for several years, then traded it for a 3/4 ton '55 Chevy pickup, and the new owner continued to use it on his farm for a number of years after that. I don't know what happened to it. By the late '60s I'd lost track of it when the 'new' owner died.
I'll bet the model was originally a tanker, but I have a dilemma.....do I restore it as a tanker, or do a "one-of" model of the real truck after dad made it into a flatbed with sides?
Question: Is it OK to strip and glass bead blast it to remove the old paint and corrosion? I have 30+ years experience doing metal restorations, so I know what I'm doing, and I won't damage the casting. (see my website airhornhospital dot com) I can't see any value in leaving the finish like it is, unless you guys say don't do it because it wouldn't be "original". It's only original once, but I think it's past the tipping point where the value would only be enhanced by redoing the paint. Comments still very welcome, and thanks again to all of you, especially AzTom, who flipped the mental switch that made me recall all those dusty details.
It would be OK to Glass Bead it and paint it. If it were mine with those memories, I would make a wood bed to match the one your dad made, at least as close as you can remember. A wood bed can be fastened to that truck without doing any harm to the value of truck. That would make it worth more to me than a mint original SM truck.
Have fun and enjoy those memories. Keep us posted.