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Posted

My Dad ran a 671 Detroit. Originally rated at 238 HP but cranked up to around 300 HP. It had to be overhauled around 500 - 750K miles, but it was relatively cheap to do compared to a Cummins. Todays engines I'd be stunned at the cost.

Posted
On 1/27/2025 at 1:35 PM, Kennythetiger said:

What does a new semi engine cost?  

The first one or the second one? 
 

first one was around $40k just for the long block. Roughly 60k by the time I replaced parts and got it up and running. 
 

The second one will cost me around $15k by the time I get it back on the road. And that’s after warranty covers their part. 

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Posted (edited)

Ain't truckin fun? I came >< close to buying a new 1986 Marmon conventional. Imagine this one in metallic cinnamon brown w/John Wayne "Hondo" logo on the sleeper. 3406 Cat, but the thing that scared me was a 7 speed Eaton transmission. I ran a lot of mountains and considered "the more, the better." They were sweet looking trucks hand built in Garland.

May be an image of text

John Wayne - Hondo (1953)

Instead I stuck with my worn out Freightliner cabover that finally gave out and I quit o/o for a steady check.

Edited by RPM
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Posted (edited)
On 2/1/2025 at 10:19 AM, RPM said:

Ain't truckin fun? I came >< close to buying a new 1986 Marmon conventional. Imagine this one in metallic cinnamon brown w/John Wayne "Hondo" logo on the sleeper. 3406 Cat, but the thing that scared me was a 7 speed Eaton transmission. I ran a lot of mountains and considered "the more, the better." They were sweet looking trucks hand built in Garland.

May be an image of text

John Wayne - Hondo (1953)

Instead I stuck with my worn out Freightliner cabover that finally gave out and I quit o/o for a steady check.

Edited by Gil Bang
Posted
3 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

My BIL had a 3406.  Doing an inframe was a fucking beating with that big-ass heavy head. 

Friend had an old Pete with a 1693. F'n bulldozer engine.

Posted
2 minutes ago, RPM said:

Friend had an old Pete with a 1693. F'n bulldozer engine.

ah shit.  1693T was what the BIL had.  3406 is the more modern engine. 

 

 

Posted (edited)
12 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

ah shit.  1693T was what the BIL had.  3406 is the more modern engine. 

Drove an old worn out 3406B and a couple newish C models. I think it was 88 or 90 when the first computer fuel injection versions came out. Was driving for Harold Ives back then running new coe Freightliners. They were set for 300 hp totally gutless. They could go over 450hp. Drove an 88 KW walkin pulling a 45ft reefer (that thing was a pita) set at 425 with a 13speed. It would walk up mountains no sweat.

Edited by RPM
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Posted
On 2/3/2025 at 1:13 AM, shadow_operative2.0 said:

You ever do the Iron Maiden shit? 

Yes I did. 23 dates across the us. I wasn’t in a great mood because sparkle cake went down on the way to pick up for the tour. I can say it was cool. Ended up with at least 10 t-shirts. Lol

sat and watched the whole show from opening act to the encore the last night of the tour in San Antonio. I can’t really say I’m a big Maiden fan. Obviously I’ve known about them since the 80’s and know a few of their songs. I will say that put on one hell of a show. 
 

production was extremely happy with the job we did for them and say they will ask for us again when they come back later this year for the 50th anniversary tour. Rumor is it’s going to be stadiums for that tour. This one was hockey and basketball arenas. 18-20k seats and I believe they sold out all but 3 shows. 
Nico retired after the South American leg so I believe if you want to see them this next one may be your last chance. 

On 2/3/2025 at 1:14 PM, MontereyMX said:

Perks of the gig 

IMG_6224.jpeg


I got to put my toes in the Pacific for the first time a few weeks ago.  

 

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Posted

In other news got word today that the new long block is ready to ship to the shop in Maryland. We have a big break is the schedule coming up in the middle of March so hope to be swapping back into sparkle cake around that time. 

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Posted
On 8/12/2024 at 2:51 PM, drifter379 said:

Ole sparkle cake is back up and running. Had a few loads to shake the new motor down. So far so good. 
 

but now I’m looking at changing companies again. My current company is down to one active customer and they don’t have enough to keep company trucks and owner ops moving at the same time. 
 

I been talking to Stage Call and will be trying out the entertainment industry for a while. Seems like the only thing that slows them down is global pandemics. (Damn I probably shouldn’t have said that)

Just passed a white Stage Call semi. West bound out of Tuscaloosa on 20. That you?

Posted
On 2/10/2025 at 11:30 AM, MontereyMX said:

Just passed a white Stage Call semi. West bound out of Tuscaloosa on 20. That you?

Not me. I was in Nashville yesterday headed to DC. 

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Posted

Due to devastating information revealed to me for the first time yesterday afternoon looks like it is sadly time to lawyer up. 

Anyone have a recommendation for a lawyer in Hagerstown,MD? It’s shop related not warranty. 

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Posted
1 hour ago, drifter379 said:

Due to devastating information revealed to me for the first time yesterday afternoon looks like it is sadly time to lawyer up. 

Anyone have a recommendation for a lawyer in Hagerstown,MD? It’s shop related not warranty. 

I know a guy in that area.  I'll give him a call and ask.

 

 

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Posted (edited)

Used to deliver lightbulbs to GE in Hagerstown. Fuck that place in general. Only place in Maryland worth a damn was the truckstop in Jessup in the 80's. The hotel had a bar in the basement and that place was always turned to 11. Lots of Army women looking to get laid.

Edited by RPM
Posted
On 2/11/2025 at 3:44 PM, Gil Bang said:

My buddy says to call Pete Holland in Annapolis.

Thanks for the recommendation, made contact. Said they were too busy and could not take up my case. 

Posted
1 hour ago, drifter379 said:

Thanks for the recommendation, made contact. Said they were too busy and could not take up my case. 

sorry.  Try the Maryland Bar Association and ask for a recommendation?

Posted

Have reached out to 6 different lawyers so far. 5 said they were too busy without ever actually talking to anyone. The 6th called and asked a bunch of questions and today said they were too busy also. 
 

this is a never ending fucking nightmare. 

Posted
1 hour ago, drifter379 said:

Have reached out to 6 different lawyers so far. 5 said they were too busy without ever actually talking to anyone. The 6th called and asked a bunch of questions and today said they were too busy also. 
 

this is a never ending fucking nightmare. 

 

You might try legal aid organizations. Depending on where you live: 

https://www.trla.org/

They cover about half of Texas. Similar groups cover other geographic areas. 

One caveat: they provide free legal assistance, if you qualify, and if they have the funding. With what is happening right now, they may be having some funding issues. Nothing to lose by giving them a call. 

 

Posted (edited)

Here is the situation. The shop shipped the motor to warranty without stripping it down to a long block. Shipping cost was roughly $3k. They insured the motor based on value. 
 

warranty company won’t deal with parts on the motor other than the long block. They shipped the motor back to the shop. Shipping cost was roughly $400. They insured the motor by density (weight/size). 
 

In the process of the motor being shipped back to the shop it was damaged to the cost of roughly $20k (the parts that weren’t stripped originally) 

Shipping company paid the insurance claim at $0.10 per lb. So roughly $300. 
 

so now I am out of pocket roughly $20k in parts that were in perfectly good working order when I broke down. 
 

the shipping back and forth and the nearly 5 weeks waiting for the insurance claim have been the biggest reason for the delays in getting my truck back up and running. 
 

TLDR. Fuck me for things I have no control over. 

Edited by drifter379
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Posted
8 hours ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Any luck with a lawyer yet? 

Nope. All say they are too busy to take me on. Someone said that’s Lawyer speak for your fucked. Or something like that. 

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Posted (edited)

IMG_1194.thumb.jpeg.82397fd9513966fd5e02fecd2c02341b.jpeg
 

I picked up ole Sparkle Cake yesterday. If everything had gone as it should have I would have only paid $11k after maybe 3-4 weeks. but after all of the insane bullshit I had to go through to get my truck back on the road I ended up paying $31,876.72 6 months after the process started. I guess I am lucky that I manage my business and finances in such a way that I am able to survive this major set back. I have spent $90k dollars since June of last year on this truck. If all works out well and I can get another 600k miles or more out of this motor I will be extremely happy. The reality is if anything else goes wrong in the next couple of months I will be sunk. I’m hanging on by a thread. Hopefully this saga is over and I can get back to posting about tour life. 
 

so I picked him up in Hagerstown MD and drove nearly 600 miles yesterday to Nashville TN. No issues at all. It’s running perfectly with no leaks. I’m sure a couple will happen but that’s just part of the break in and shake down. 
 

I will be in Nashville until the end of March. I’m looking for a place to stay either an extended stay hotel or an air b&b. Anyone have any recommendations. I don’t plan to go anywhere near broadway. Most of the music and artists I like is going to be found in East Nashville at places like the 5 spot. Also if anyone is in Nashville I’m always down to break bread or grab a drink or two. 

Edited by drifter379
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Posted
2 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

Don’t we have a poster that lives in Nashville or used to?

I imagine there has to be at least one. I’m going to see The Franklin County Trucking Company Wednesday night at The 5 spot. 

 

Posted
On 2/19/2025 at 11:02 AM, Kennythetiger said:

Drifter, sometimes that’s lawyerspeak for “I don’t think you have a very good case.”  ☹️

Spoiler

There are a whole lot of reasons why a lawyer won’t take a case.  

One, it may not be something that they have experience and expertise with.    Most people don’t realize how extremely specialized lawyers are. The law changes constantly and unless you practice in an area regularly you are clueless and could easily malpractice someone.    

So unless Drifter is dealing only with law firms who handle this type of claim, it would be stupid to accept it.

Second, and I mean, no offense, but $20,000 is a really low value case.   People simply do not realize that when they have an accident, the highest cost is not what the person suing them can recover, but what they save in paying for attorneys fees to defendthem.     If a firm charges by the hour, winning your $20,000 case could easily cost you the whole value in hourly fees and costs.   Even if you win, you won’t get that back.   They likely realize you are going to be very unhappy if they bill you $20,000 and successfully recover your $20,000.      This is always a problem for someone who is looking for an attorney to work on their case without a contingency.   And if you can find an attorney to work on your case for a third, it could be really easy to have to work so long and so hard on winning your case to collect less than $7000, if they could put that same time and money in a different case and make 50 or $100,000.  It’s simply math.  And lawyers are businesses, and they have to look at the bottom line to see how much they have to spend in order to return X.   Add into that you have to worry about clients who will be extremely unhappy because they want the case resolved quickly or have unreasonable expectations about how the whole process works.    

Third, Clients who say that they want punitive damages or to make the son of a bitches pay $1 million, or similar statements makes a lawyer run away from that client.  Unrealistic expectations is always a number one reason to politely decline a case.

Fourth, the last time I posted about this, I talked about arbitration in warrantees or contracts.  If you have an arbitration clause it would be rare to find an attorney because arbitration normally means you get screwed.  Even a great attorney can’t help getting screwed in arbitration.

The last thing is that litigation takes forever. The average cases in my local state District Court take three years to five years to be resolved.   That’s the way it is most places.   We don’t like it anymore than the clients do, but a client who wants instant justice needs to be walked away from because it won’t happen and the client will always blame the lawyer.

After giving you all the bad news, I do feel that you can find someone to take the case. It is WAYYYYYYY to soon to say you have a bad case.  There are lots of new, struggling, hungry lawyers who might take a case like that if there was no arbitration on contingency.  Knowing it will be a long process means you might accept that you truly have a whole lot of time to find somebody.  

I understand the shop sent the block with all the other parts, which was no -no, so they may have some fault there if they knew that.  The shipper obviously bears the most fault for having it damaged on their watch and that should be your main target.

But since you mentioned that the warranty company insured the shipment for $400 (by pound) when it was worth 20K, you need to look at your paperwork to see if that was always the written agreement, or if the warranty people screwed up by not asking you if YOU wanted to be insured at a greater level before they shipped it back.    If they didn’t check with you, and the warranty agreement does not require them to send it insured by the pound, you may still have something to bitch at the warranty people about.  

I hate to see people get screwed. Drifter, I obviously can’t represent you because I don’t practice in that state.   But I can tell you things that might make your case more interesting to a lawyer if I had more info.  if you ever want to message me about anything feel free because this situation sucks. Gratis, of course. 

Best of luck, my friend.

 

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