Hand-Built 1/8-Scale Model Mack Truck

Hand-Built 1/8-Scale Model Mack Truck With meticulous attention to detail, Gene Gregory handcrafts scale-model vehicles and tractors. “I used to restore tractors, and when that got too expensive, I switched to scale-model pedal tractors,” Gregory says. That was satisfying, but he longed to build scale-model vehicles that actually ran. He soon crafted scale-model 4-WD tractors, bulldozers and a flatbed semi to haul them. These were described in FARM SHOW Vol. 43, No. 4. While finishing one project, he came across a picture of a C-cab Mack truck. “Those were classic trucks,” Gregory says. He soon began building a working model. The most helpful part of this project was finding actual blueprints that provided wheelbase dimensions and side and top views, which allowed him to precisely determine 1/8-scale dimensions. A Texaco dealer’s Mack truck photograph was also helpful in determining scale. He built the chassis of his Mack from 3/8-in. by 1-in. channel aluminum, using connecting crossbars for frame stability. Axles, springs and rolling blocks completed the undercarriage. The overlying cab and fenders were made from 80-ga. aluminum and formed to match the design in the truck photos. The windshield has a wood frame, just like the real truck. Parts and pieces for internal components were equally precise. Gregory carefully cut apart a junk radiator to build a scale-model version for the C, complete with an opening to add water. Tiny clutch and brake pedals, the shifting lever, and the emergency brake extend through the cab floor. The steering column holds the steering wheel, the throttle and the spark delay lever. “It’s all built as realistically as possible,” Gregory says. The wheels are also built to scale and machined from aluminum, including the metal spokes. The rear wheels are dualled on a common shaft, with drive chains on sprockets leading to a differential. He made a metal form around the wheels and filled it with polyurethane rubber to create authentic tires. Gregory even roughened the edges to give the tires a working-truck appearance. Several of Gregory’s earlier models were radio-controlled, but he chose not to add power to the Mack. Still, it’s a work of art. Authentic parts are replicated to scale, and it’s painted in the true Texaco service-vehicle colors. The Texaco graphic replicates a 1933 sign. The box floor and side stakes are made of real wood, cut to scale and fastened with stainless hardware. Gregory says the build took nearly 2 years because he worked on it only part-time. The completed vehicle measures 26 in. long, 9 in. wide and 12 in. high, and weighs 25 lbs. He says the vehicle is a classic replica of the real Mack, a model he’s extremely proud of, and that it’ll go to his daughter Karen when he passes on. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gene Gregory, Loudonville, Ohio 44842.

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