Jerry's Mini-Mack 65 G10

Hi Guys, wanted to share pics and story of my pet project.  Did you know that in the mid 1960's Mack Trucks considered jumping into the light truck market. They purchased 50 G10 van bodies from GM and equipped them with Mack's own inline 300 CID Thermodyne six and a three speed manual trans with Borg Warner overdrive. The powerplant had 180 horsepower and pumped out a whopping 286 foot pounds of torque at 1800 rpm. Low end torque and the overdrive let them cruise at low rpm and get good fuel economy. Well the added expense of the deluxe drive train must have dampened spirits of the buyers and the Mini-Macks never made it to production. Now that's my story and I'm sticken' to it. Here's my project. I hope to get her on the road soon. Enjoy! Thanks for lookin' Jerry




For lots more project pictures check the Members Gallery
http://vintage-vans.smugmug.com/Cars/Jerrys-Pet-Projects-65-G10-guy/31084206_L8dxkq

Very nice looking van. Kool story as well.

That's awesome! What a sweet van! I love the mack story. Lets see some pics of that mack thermodyne six!

Here's the engine as she is today!

And some progress on the interior!

That is so cool, and a helluva 6 banger!

Sharp Looking Van with some "Cool History"..!!!..

Thanks for sharing the story and most of all...The Pics! That's one Beaudacious looking Mini-Mac! Please send more pics as you progress! Nice piece of work!

Can I ask what the two bars running horizontal across the support posts behind the driver's seat are for? Also, I love the coating you used on the doghouse lid. What is it?

Thanks to Vanny and others for the nice comments.  The bars you see were intended as an attaching point for cargo and also to help protect the outer skin from getting dented from the inside. The whole lower portion of the van and the dog house were coated with Lizardskin ceramic and acoustic coatings then protected with a layer of Rhinoliner (spray on bed liner). The coatings are rather expensive but they really make a big difference with temperature and sound control.  I found the seats from a link here at V-V thanks to Vantasia.
http://suburbanseats.com/p-universal-sports-car-bucket-seat-pair.aspx?catid=235

I have lots more pics and info posted in the members gallery,
http://vintage-vans.smugmug.com/Cars/Jerrys-Pet-Projects-65-G10-guy/31084206_L8dxkq

BTW the Mack story is a fabrication but I like it.
Keep those vans rollin   Jerry

It's been a productive month.  MiniMack hit the streets if only for a test drive.  Got the glass put back in and needed to see how the gear ratio felt with the new drive train. The stock rear produced 2000 rpm at 65 mph.  We are running a high torque 6 and a three speed manual overdrive. That is within my target rpm range so no need to change the rear gears.  

Very nice restoration,I'll say.Pretty innovative with the Bulldog.I like it.

Hi Guys, got the dash and steering wheel finished this week.  I love it when a plan comes together! Thanks for the nice comments and support. Jerry

That is one "Sharp / Clean" looking 1st gen..!!!...I Love that steering wheel and the rhino liner on the motor box has got me thinking...... ..I would be "Proud" of that one for sure...

That steering wheel looks better than new. Excellent work!

Looking real sharp! Love the use of the "rhino lining" Nice work

VERY NICE JERRY!!!!!!!!! One of my favorites!

Seeing this for first time, very nicely done!  I like that utility green interior and the use of the Liz Skin (Rhino) liner.  A lot of other nice ideas here, like how you kept the door kick plate area black for scuffs....SO happy to see someone using the Suburban seats I found, aren't they sweet?  I made a similar mounting set-up with a plate over the wheels and a strut frame at the doghouse side.  I kept the controls to the outside and the pass. side does require moving the seat forward to adjust, I may try what you did someday, ya got me thinking!  Very nice.  What size and brand is that aluminum radiator and does it help keep it cooler?
BTW, I like your revsionist historical account story, I didn't know that!  (Model railroaders do the same thing when they do what's called "kitbashing" a model engine that never really existed, so this would be a kitbashed van!)

65-G10-guy wrote:Here's the engine as she is today!

Jerry, I'm just seeing this gallery for the first time.  Gorgeous!  Great color choices everywhere.  Great mellowed yellow/green color.

I love the clean look of the doghouse both inside and out. Your radiator cap is right there at a good level for access.  Mine is low and tight and very difficult to access.  Would love to know what setup that radiator is.

Also, did you use two separate Lizard Skin products for heat and for acoustic or is it all in one?  I will be using the same product as Space Truckin gave it a good review as well.

Lastly, was Rhino pro spray or did you do it yourself because it looks much better than the roll on products I've seen.

Lastly II: If you have any tips for painting a steering wheel...

SWEET VAN!!!

I myself am curious about the "suburban seats" how is seat height (seating area), I installed fiero seats in Space Truckin and my head is real close to the roof, is the "suburban" seating area/ cushion lower

Space, the Suburban seats a relatively low, very deep dish fanny area, plenty of head room when mounted about 1-inch above wheel well and I'm 6'-0", I can measure and send height later....

Vantasia,
That would be great, a dimension from "fanny area " to roof. I am 6ft also, and with fiero seats just a bit high, maybe 1"inch-1 1/2"inch too high  

Thanks

I measured seat height; center of fanny dish to roof is 38" with the seat tracks about 1-inch above wheel well which was close to the original track on the drivers side.  The front edge of the seat is about 17" above floor which is close to a stock seat that I measured in a friends van. When I sit in the seat, 2-1/2" head to roof but that's only if you sit very straight up, normal driving, about 3-4" clearance.  When I look straight ahead, eyes hit windshield about 5" down from top gasket which seems about right.  Also , when I get in and out, I don't hit my head on the door jamb or roof.  If you mounted the seats right on the wheel well, you could again another inch.  Hope this helps you decide.

First, Thanks again Vantasia for finding the seat supplier to begin with.  They really are one of the best finds for the van.  Height wise, they work really well. The butt panel is well below the dog house so you don't set up too high.  Unlike the stock seats the sides kind of wrap around you so it is a little harder to get into the seat but it is much more comfortable.  I added some grab bars over the doors to help hoist my old butt in there.  

The steering wheel was painted with polyurethane.  That was a recommendation from the autobody supplier we use.  

The radiator was a custom build by Mattsons Custom Radiator in Stanton CA.  It cools with no problem. We did lots of little mods to make it all work  The nice thing about this forum is it's a great place to research and learn about the challenges and innovations of other people. The motor is a bored chevy 292 with a compression boost and a few other tricks.  The thermostat housing sets higher on this motor than he stock one so we brought the radiator up a bit and made a special t-housing to keep the upper hose as low as possible and added a bleeder on top so we could eliminate any air locks since the t-housing is slightly higher than the radiator cap. We replaced the water pump mounted fan with an electric version, also from Mattson's.  All this may seem like overkill but it works well.  

The lower interior was coated with both Sound and thermal lizard skins then covered with pro installed rhino liner.  Not all bed liner products are alike and the abilities of the individual shops will vary tremendously so do your home work on installers. Also the Lizard skin people's tech line was quite helpful.  Lizard skin products are not compatible with all bed liner products so again make those phone calls. These coatings will put a dent in your wallet but the payoff is big and I hope to spend a lot of time in this van so it was well spent.

I am a model railroader so kitbashing is an appropriate term.  Funny I hadn't thought of it that way.  Sorry about the long reply but I wanted to address all the Questions. There are lots more pictures in the members gallery.  Thanks, everyone for the praise and support.  This site is awesome.  Jerry

Vantasia,
Thank you for the dimensions on the "suburban" seats, just measured my Fiero seating and I am at 34 3/4" inches at "fanny dish area" and 19" inches at front of seat. All being said I will be ordering a set of "suburban" seats

Update
Just ordered seats

On the road at last.