This week’s CAT Scale Rig of the Week is a classic design that is now an award-winning show truck.
Diane Eschen bought this 1962 Mack in 2012. It sat in a garage for about four years until Diane’s husband Dennis and their nephew Mike started working on it.
The truck, now called “Miss Marge,” had a top speed of 40 mph during its work life. Diane said they’ve stretched the frame to 193 inches and added an air ride suspension with an Eaton rear end. They also went from 22-inch tube tires to 34.5-inch tubeless tires and replaced the Dayton spoke rims to Budd wheels. It can now reach a top speed of 62 mph.
Diane said that there is still a lot of body and paint work to be done, but inside they added an air-ride Bostrom seat, a 20-inch pink steering wheel, insulated the walls and ceiling and made a homemade headliner. While Miss Marge no longer pulls freight, she does pull a 26-foot camper trailer that is also in the restoration process.
Diane has also added a lot of Mack logos and bulldogs all over the truck and pink accent pieces like eye lashes, shifter knobs, an ashtray and more. She also added that the built-in sleeper was rare as Mack did not produce many at the time and only a few are registered with the Mack Museum.
Miss marge can be typically seen at truck shows and in local parades.
Do you use the CAT Scale app and have a rig you’d like us to feature as the CAT Scale Rig of the Week? Send photos to [email protected].
A former military public affairs specialist, Cody Graves has a journalism career that has spanned radio, television and print. For the last ten years, he produced special sections for Arkansas’ only statewide newspaper. During his time in the U.S. Army Reserves, Cody served tours in El Salvador, Iraq and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his spare time, he plays guitar in a local band and spends time with his dogs, Lucy and Daisy.