Muck Boots 'n' Slickers - Life of a Livestock Hauler

Sometime experiences is an expensive purchase... But... Look on it as an investment. No telling what that mindset gained in that experience may save you/gain you in the future.
We opened a materials handling equipment company ( forklift shop) in 9/79. 3 of us, me the instigator and 2 partners dam good mechanics.
We all had experience with Clark, We would work on any brand they made parts for. In the first 2 years we eat a whole lot of profit, figuring out how to get into something and having to spend time not necessary and sometime parts or gasket/seals. But we learned......WE GOT GOOD.

3 years in we had had the opportunity to work on nearly every make/model in MS (from an antique Clark "Clipper" to a CY300D 30K Diesel.
This series of learning enabled us to take a job. fix it right, quickly, and deliver it back. In less time out of service and at a "little" less total billing to the customer, but well above what we actually put. For 14 years, we stayed $2.00 per hour under our competitors labor rates as they raised.
EG: A Yale dealer quoted Yale factory time to replace a head gasket on a truck with Mazda overhead cam, some 18 hours. We did it in 12 and bill for 15, Yale gasket price but from NAPA Mazda. Trick was we did not lose the timing chain tension. They said pull the OHG, C/weight, radiator, fan, w/pump, crank pulley, and front cover. Note timing marks, record, reassemble.

Tore their shop Forman up so bad he mistakenly asked the customer (formerly his) to see our invoice and left saying it was impossible.
After we sold out in 93, I told him how to do it.
Old joke...
Tell the mark to: Give me a dollar.
He does. Stick it in your pocket.
Then he asks for it back.
Reply:...
Don't be a baby, and cry and whine;
Get you a dollar like I got mine..
Some times you jus gotta get out there amongst them and get it your share...

 

Looking good coming out clean.....

 

Looks better than a reefer.

 

The company is better too..folks can speak your language!

 

100% agree on 3406 Jakes being pretty weak compared to their competitors! I always figured the transmission manufacturers were the ones who decided what the factory horsepower ratings were back then and honestly probably still today. All I know is of all the V8 diesels tried in heavy and medium duty trucks none are left, besides the Powerstroke and Duramax, which are really light duty engines that get put into some medium duty trucks. So there must be something that is much better about the inline 6 that is better for heavy use.

 

An inline 6 produces more torque than an equivalent V8. And all the heavy duty truck V8’s got 3.5-4.5 miles to a gallon. Which wasn’t a big deal when fuel was .75. When fuel is 4-5 bucks it is a big deal.

But, yeah also during that time frame drive line components were and still are the weak point, but so was technology. A ktta 600 was only putting out 1750 torque. Today you have 12 liter engines putting out more than a huge 19 liter did. A 450 3408 was around 1650. Now that sounds low, but all the other smaller power plants were 900-1250

 

Another thing about the 3408 was the 65 degree block verses most other V8’s are 90. The 3408 was really stood up more straight verses conventional V8’s. The only way to do that was off set the rod journals on the crank. The rods don’t share a journal like a conventional V8. The crank looks like an abomination in honesty. They were stood up for several reasons one being space. I believe that’s where that unmistakable sound they have comes from. I am bad to make the blanket statement that they share the cylinder pack with the 3406. While they do share the piston and liner the 08 does have a different stroke. The longer stroke of an inline is where the improved torque comes from. The 08 also weighs 5 or 600 pounds more than a 3406 which is a disadvantage.


CAT pumped up the fuel numbers on the 08 to something crazy like 6 mpg. I have the advertisement somewhere idk if ol boy that was doing the testing got high or maybe they run it down hill idk. Thats an artificial number in my opinion. Some had trouble too but for the most part they were a reliable power source in that time frame.


The 3406C engine was out of production for around 20 years when CAT brought it back due to its durability and fuel economy as a gen set power unit.

 

I aint a mechanic but IL 6 is naturally balanced and 6 mains makes a purdy tough engine .