It's a love affair for many people who own and restore vintage trucks. They get the rig they've always wanted; sometimes it's the model they've been in love with from when they were younger, or maybe it was the first truck they drove. And while these trucks were all great in their heyday, most receive modern updates usually consisting of beauty and reliability. Electronics and modern powerplants and air-ride suspensions are the norm on modern class 8 trucks nowadays, so combining these modern conveniences with the classic lines of an old truck makes for a nice combination of usability as well as drivability in this day and age.

For Tim Hoover of Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, he's done just that, but going one step further, giving his 1964 Mack B-75 more than just the typical bigger engine and an air-ride suspension as most owners do. Instead, Tim used a wrecked 1994 Mack CH600 and its complete driveline and electronics to update his classic Mack, making it one-of-a-kind, allowing him to roll down the highway in comfort and style.

Initially built by Mack in 1964 for the Timken Bearing Company of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, Tim's B-75 was originally powered by a 671 Mack Diesel Engine, a 5x2 transmission and had a Timken single axle rear end.

Needing a comfortable, reliable rig to haul his collection of antique pre-war trucks to truck shows around the country as well as for other uses, Tim decided to combine the best of both worlds and give his B-Model the ultimate makeover, merging the timeless lines of the B-Model with a modern Mack driveline. So, after acquiring the wrecked 1994 Mack CH600, the cab, hood and sleeper were all stripped and the CH600 went down to its bare essentials as Tim engineered placing the B-75 cab and hood on the CH600 chassis.

Since the CH600 had a tilt hood, an air-ride cab and sleeper, the B-75 was built before a time of air-ride cabs and being that the B-75 has a butterfly hood and does not tilt, one huge obstacle for Tim was how to use this part of the CH600 with his vintage Mack. The answer? Tim engineered a sub-frame for the B-75 hood, fenders and cab along with the sleeper, to ride on the pivots from the point of the radiator at the front-end of the truck, allowing the B-Model cab and its custom- built sleeper to ride on the Mack CH600 air-ride cab suspension.

Since the two trucks were built 30 years apart from each other, obviously the B-75's dashboard and other interior parts would not work with the modern Mack driveline and electronics it needed to operate. Tim gutted the B-75's cab down to its shell and re-engineered its dashboard, using the complete Ch600 wiring harness and dashboard components to function in the B-75 cab.

In addition, Tim decided to build a custom sleeper for his B-75. Using extrusions provided to him by Jim Artman of Delmont, Pennsylvania based Rest-Rite Sleepers, Tim designed a 96-inch custom sleeper that includes a rear door and will comfortably sleep 3 adults and has all the modern amenities. The sleeper is self-contained with a generator providing power when the Mack's engine is not running. Like most custom sleepers, Tim's includes a shower, sink, hot and cold water, microwave an entertainment system and more! Both the sleeper and cab have custom interiors and are finished in a beautiful white and tan color.

After two years, Tim's big Mack finally rolled out of his shop in 2008 and currently has over 35,000 miles on it since being built. It is painted in Ford Competition Yellow, sports a 252" wheelbase powered by a Mack E7 pushing 470 HP through a Fuller 9-speed transmission to 3:53 rear-ends on a Rockwell air-ride suspension with 24.5 aluminum rims wrapped in tall rubber all the way around. The B-75 uses the CH600’s factory fuel tanks, carrying 150 gallons on each side. Tim also installed a set of Minimizer full fenders over the B-75s drive axles to help minimize damage by rocks that the tires might kick up, road spray when in wet conditions as well as to help protect the truck and his trailers.

Besides his 1964 Mack B-75, Tim also owns an impressive collection of vintage pre-war trucks, some of which include a 1937 Mack AC that is powered by the oldest 6-cylinder Cummins diesel engine known to exist, a 1942 Mack ED pick-up truck, a 1949 Mack FW that pulls a 1946 Dorsey lowboy trailer, a 1921 Autocar model 21 dump truck powered by a 2 cylinder engine, a 1922 White model 45 5 compartment fuel truck, a 1917 FWD whiskey barrel truck and an extremely rare 1926 Rehberger truck. Tim tells us that his Rehberger is only one of two known to exist and that the company had been based out of Newark, New Jersey and originally built stage coaches.

Tim has been married to his wife Debbie for 38 years and together they own and operate Hoover Stone Quarry. Outside of old trucks, Tim is a volunteer fireman at the Saltsburg Fire Department and also loves vintage KTM dirt bikes.