Hanging on to the 318 power.............and my ear plugs

John,
Nice pic and looks like great spot for 318,flat and straight. Glad to hear professional drivers wear earplugs, if i don't with the 318 i have migraine in 5 minutes. Don't know how the old school guys did it.Mike Pacitto told me he drove to ohio from mass and back in a 318 tow truck,wonder he can still hear .....Brian

Brian,

That's probably the only time I've worn them in a truck, as I have custom plugs made for shooting, and brought them along, just in case....

My work truck, Sterling with a Mercedes MBE4000, only turns up to 1750, so it doesn't make much noise. Back when I first started driving, R-model Macks came with straight pipes from the factory, they were loud especially with no airconditioning in the summer. I guess that was music to my ears....

My Father was hard of hearing after he retired from the trucking business, as were many old schoolers. I'm sure I've lost some hearing between the job and shooting, so I'm just trying to be careful.

Even those of us working as a mechanic around these engines have suffered hearing loss. I know I have! We used to rebuild a 6, 8, or 12 Detroits and run them on a stand in the shop, up to full operating temp, with just the manifolds and no pipes! Talk about loud!!!! I would go home at night and my ears would be ringing. Real smart huh! (but fun )

Well,you know mufflers are for old folks............and they work ! Sometimes you have to re-engineer the factory setup as you now appreciate peace and quiet ,instead of the loud straight pipes . You would appreciate Dave Mueller's modification on his V-12 powered tractor where he added two 4" shorty mufflers under the cab to supplement the original style vertical mufflers . It made the lunch trip from Bovina to Andes very enjoyable with the windows down .

I got that idea from a friends 318 powered White, Before I reworked the exhaust one year I drove the V=12 to Macungie PA show and would have rather walked home! Between the heat and the noise! It is great to have the Junkmans stamp on something I built. Viva Jimmie Diesel!

i wouldnt recomend using ear muffs for hearing protection. i dont think thats legal to do that. i heard storys of guys doing that and they got pulled over by law enforcment and got quite an ear ring after the fact. must be my hearing isnt the greatest, i love the sound of a 318 with both windows down. but i guess everyone has their own preference. right stubby?

richie

Back when I started out all us young guys thought that more noise was better, now that I am the "old man" in the garage, I realize my errors in judgement. People are constantly telling me to turn down the volume on the TV, or even my nextel. Oh well, hindsight is twenty twenty.The 361 that my friend PK bought from Dave is the quietest 318 I ever heard, has mufflers and resonators. I have told him he needs to turn up the volume a bit, some people never learn. That's what my wife tells me.
Mike

I wear the little foam earplugs, you can still feel and hear the love with windows down. I run either r model with no muffler or 318 quite often, not to mention heavy equipment. I can see the hobbyist taking the no earplug gamble but I can't(sometimes i do for a short ride,cummins or 1693 cat I can get away without)..Brian

probably if i didn't get a headaches sometimes I would be just as deaf as the next guy in a few years

Now that I got everyone off the subject, dockmen-your truck?

Brian,

No, it belongs to Mike Roderick, I drove it down to the 2010 Show from the Watertown area and back. Sorry I can't post a photo of it with this tablet, but it is an 360 that had a Military body on it which now has been removed.

Dockmen sent me a pic

my mack dm and the brock are with out muffs. love to hear that cummins on stage 3 jakin with loaded lowboy. a friend heard what he thought to be a chopper near there work place till a fellow worker told him it was my brock rollin thru, he told me the truck sounds sick, then he said it was two thumbs up.
gg2

I like loud pipes and big jake noise on the outside, but in the cab I like it as quiet as possiable so I can listen to the radio/cd player. Not to mention being able to have a normal conversation with the person riding to the show with you.

That's why a 300 series cab is so narrow, so you can lean across an SHOUT to the guy next to you!!!