Mack Truck Image and Information Page
The Mack
Story:
The Mack truck is found by Max abandoned on the side of the road. A man has died inside the cab, and his body is discovered by Max. Apparently, the man was wounded but managed to drive away and escape, however he later died of his injuries. Max finds the Mack out of fuel, so the man drove until the tanks ran dry and then stopped. For some reason he stayed inside the cab instead of trying to walk away. Maybe he was too injured to walk, or he knew he would die and he didn’t want wild animals to eat his body. Also, the man probably shut down the Mack’s electrical system, or else the batteries would have died and the glow plugs would be useless. Max returns to the Mack and manages to get it started. He then drives it to the Defender’s compound. The Mack sustains quite a bit of damage from a gunshot to the engine. The scene where this takes place is very realistic, as we see hot radiator steam blowing out. The engine would only last a few minutes with a radiator damaged like that, and that is about how long Max drives the truck before stopping. The Mack is repaired and armored, most notably with heavy steel plates welded to the brushguard. Vertical slits are cut in this armor to allow air to pass through to the radiator. When the Mack is used to haul the tanker and break out of the compound, it crashes through and demolishes several marauder vehicles in its escape. Finally, the Mack becomes involved in a head on collision with another vehicle at a combined speed of about 200 mph. The Mack does survive this collision, but immediately afterwards there is a turn in the road. Max, the driver, was jarred from the incredible impact and the Mack swerves off the road, crashing onto its side. The impact breaks off the Mack’s fifth wheel and bends the frame irreparably. In the world of Mad Max, the Mack probably still rests there.
Specifications:
The truck is a Mack R600 COOLPOWER. A coolpower has an aftercooler mounted to the side of the cylinder head, and uses a tip turbine fan to boost and ram air over this aftercooler. It uses 2 air cleaners and sometimes had vertical bar shutters to open and shut in front of the radiator to maintain proper temperature. The engine of the Mack could have anywhere from 285, 300, 320, or 350 Horsepower, depending on fuel pump, injector and turbo combinations.
The cab of the Mack, at least, is early 1970's up till about 1978, as it uses the old style roof clearance lamps.
Modifications:
The Mack has a small handle bolted to the outside of the driver’s door. Other equipment on the Mack: a large brushguard, two non-matching silver fuel tanks, an orange air tank on the right side, and wheel guards over the rear tires. Also, the Mack has two air cleaners and two exhaust stacks.
A shot of the Mack taken while filming
A good look at the front of the Mack
Overhead view
Another Overhead view
The very rare Mack sticker from the Japanese movie book
A look at the rear of the Mack from Emil Minty's personal pictures
Another rare look courtesy of Emil Minty