SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE
DO YOU WANT to know the best thing about Roger Preston’s 1976 R700 Mack? It’s the people; the family that now own it again and the man who restored it. Actually, if I’m really honest, the best thing about it is the standard of work that’s gone into the restoration – it’s absolutely top shelf.
Nope, sorry, let me change my mind again. It’s not the people or the quality of work; it’s the fact that a 43-year-old truck can still have that ‘new truck’ smell. That is incredibly impressive.
Oh who am I kidding; the best thing about Roger Preston’s R700 is the unforgettable sound of the air start – every truck fan knows it, every Mack fan yearns to hear it and on the day I shot this beauty I unashamedly got Roger to move the truck more often than I should have, not to ‘chase the light’ or ‘get a better angle’ as I told him. It was just to hear that Mack-nificant air start whistle. So yes, the best thing is definitely the air start. For the record though, the people, the quality of work and the smell all make the top five.
Enough about the reassuring resonance released every time an old Mack starts up (sorry but it really does do it for me). Let’s move onto the
