The inaugural Spirit of the Hume Truck Display takes place at Broadford, Victoria, on February 18 and 19, 2017. Jimmy Harris is taking his 1984 R Model Mack
Jimmy Harris of Browns Plains, Victoria, plans to drive his 1984 Mack R688RS down the Hume Freeway to the Spirit of the Hume Truck Display at Broadford, Victoria, on February 18 and 19.
The retired truck driver and his wife Susie regularly take the American Truck Historical Society (ATHS) merchandise van to truck events but rarely get a chance to show off their R Model.
The truck was originally owned by Allan Wilkinson and his son Steve Wilkinson. Jimmy bought it in 1993.
For the next 19 years the Mack carted logs, general freight, frozen food, hay, organic milk, road-base gravel and earthmoving machinery.
“A lot of people will say the old B Model was the truck that made Mack, but the R Models cemented it, because the R Model was a more comfortable truck and was just as reliable, if not more reliable,” Jimmy says.
The Mack has been on club plates since Jimmy retired in 2012. “On club registration you can justify having it sitting there in the shed. It owes me nothing so it can stay in the stable.”
The truck display at Broadford is being organised by the Historic Commercial Vehicle Club (HCVC) with support from Mitchell Shire Council and assistance from local residents including Archie Baines, Annette Chapman and Ashley Chapman.
The event will take place at The Common, at the corner of Murchison and Piper Streets, Broadford. Classic trucks, cars, motorbikes, tractors, static engines and models will be on display.
A dinner dance at Broadford Shire Hall on Saturday night, February 18, will be a highlight of the weekend.
For more information about the new Broadford truck show, visit the Spirit of the Hume Facebook page or phone HCVC President Alan Taylor on 0425 718 191.
To book for the dinner dance, phone Annette Chapman on 0417 818 782.
Read more about Jimmy’s Mack in the January issue of Owner//Driver magazine. Subscribe here.