History Frank Mack's Welder, Ol' "Zeus" a little O/T (Pay attention FAB 32 !)

Not only a great story, and well told, but the offer just seals the deal.
Now this is what the HAMB should be all about - No Drama, no BS, just great Hot Rodders doing cool things.

 

Cool

 

man i love these types of stories , you know what would be cool is get a striper to lay down a zeus on a cloud hurling some lightening bolts on the old welder , i bet it would still draw a good bead , we had a war surplus monster welding machine at the old paper mill years ago it weighed like a 900lbs and rolled on solid steel wheels the duty cycle seemed like 24 hrs till your hand went to sleep an you saw spots

 

Zeus...cool....I need to name my welder too.... great story

 

Bring it on over after I get the welder. We'll take turns "melting" it together. Only one thing, my wife has always wanted a big pond, stocked with fish, and a bridge going over it. She used to fish off a bridge with her dad when she was young. If she catches us welding it together she might not let you take it home.

Frank

 

Hey Frank,

I am glad you'll give Ol' Zeus a good home,.... My son Kory came home from a Christian concert last week with the typical spring time "creeping crud" head cold,.... well, Now I have it just in time for the 3 day week end (Wooo-Hoooo !). So it will probably be late next week when I bring Zeus down to you,...... Don't forget, you owe me a cup of coffee !,..... And make sure you have a space for him, Do you have a cherry picker?,..... If not I'll bring mine, were going to need it.

Dennis

 

So Frank, can I use it?

 

Sorry to hear your under the weather Dennis. I'll roll the A-frame down the approach to the garage for the unloading session. I know Zeus is quite a handful but this combination has loaded and unloaded my Bridgeport and the power shear that's in the shop so I'm confident we'll be able to get the job done.

 

awesome story, brought a smile to my face

 

Pete, You bet you can use it. Are you using 1/2" stock for your new frame or doing some repair work on an aircraft carrier? Either way it will probably be a good exercise to find out if Zeus "still has it".

Frank

 

you rock, Harm.

 

That is a cool story and it looks like Zeus is going to have a good home.

I have one of those big old Forney welders with the plugs on the end of the leads that you pull out and stick in another hole to change amperage that is probably as old as I am but it will weld anything that you can drag up to the shop if the power lines can serve up enough amperage to it.

 

wow... I love this place and I love that welder! Excellent!

 

That is great, I've always loved Franks T Roadster ever since I saw it in the American Rodder mag in the 80's. Sounds like you & Frank were very good friends, I'm sure he's proud of the gesture you've just made. It takes a special kind of person to do that rather than cashing in & chucking it on ebay. Good Karma is a wonderful thing.

Personally I'd have requested to have had the copper pulled out of it when I died then had my body squashed into it then they could have buried me in it. But thats just me.

ps - If I ever meet you in person - I'll definately buy you a cup of coffee

 

Well,...

Zeus is in the capable hands of one "fab32-Frank",... It made me feel good to see the two "old timers" together at last.

This may sound weird,... but I get attached to stuff I pick up along the way,... And sometimes, the item, and the person it should belong to, makes perfect sence to me,.. like a perfect match.

A few years ago as fab32 and I were talking about Frank Mack, you could see that fab32 was not only a admirer of Frank's roadster but a student as well,... I always thought to myself "What a shame Frank and Frank never had a chance to meet" ,.... they would have really hit it off.

In the back of my head I could see ol' Frankie smiling and saying (as he would when I gave him a part he wanted or needed),...

"Yer quite the business man "Cee-Kooo" (Frank's pet name for me) You buy something and give it away",.... (then he would always make me laugh with this one)

"You know, that's why you remind me of the poor snake,..... Who didn't have a Pit to Hisssss in"

Frank Mack was a one of a kind,... I have read some things about Frank in some books over the last few years,... that simply aren't true, along with some "Facts" about his Roadster that are totally wrong. Ol' Frankie was a guy that most of you would have felt proud, humbled, and honored to know.

Frank Mack was a Very close friend, A fellow MHRA Road Knight, And I miss him like a Brother or favorite Uncle ,...... I have no doubt Frank would be very pleased to know where old Zeus ended up,.....

And he would have gotten one more laugh, at that ol' poor snake.

 

Frank,,,can I use it?

 

harms way, if it was a perfect world, Frank's T would be sitting in your new playhouse, and I would come once a year and polish it.

 

I thank you so much for that sentiment,.... but like I had mentioned before, Sometimes it's just a perfect match. I really miss seeing Franks Roadster on a regular basis,.... I feel a personal connection with that car,... But Frank was really happy that Bruce Meyer ended up with the car.

Frank was especially pleased to know how excited Bruce was to get the car, And Frank felt a peace about it, because he knew it would be preserved for future generations to enjoy, and in the very best hands.

As much as I cared for Frank and his Roadster, I could have never given it the level of preservation and exposure that Bruce has been able to give it.
I would have loved to have had it,.... but it went to the right guy!

As it turned out, not only is Frankie's roadster being well kept and maintained,... But I made another friendship that I value greatly through the proses,................. And the beat goes on,.......

 

Not completely true In a PERFECT world the Mack T would be parked in my garage and I would drive it down to Georgia once a year to have you polish it. Then we would take it for a couple hundred mile drive and listen to that flatty purr. I talked to Bruce Meyer about the car when he had it at the Autorama after he purchased it. He told me he had the car dis***embled for a complete restoration/reconditioning. After they got it apart not a single thing needed to be replaced..........just cleaned and re***embled. The inside of the engine was like it had just been put together. Of all of the cars he owns he said this one was the best designed and finished car in the stable.
As Dennis posted, the Welder has arrived at my place. he was not exagerating about the weight. If I were a devious person I'd pull the copper out of it to s**** and retire to Arizona off the proceeds. However that ain't going to happen. Zeus will remain in tact as long as I'm the caretaker and plans are for it to strike a few more arcs before I ***ume room temperature. Thanks again Dennis, to say "I owe you one" would be a gross understatement.

Frank

 

like others have said... great story and gesture.

We had an Allen welder on the farm that was similar to the description of the Forney. It was a heavy ol' beast and had those same type of holes you'd plug the lead into for different amp settings.
It had wooden "insulators" that surrounded the plug where it joined the cable.
Of course they were cracked and parts were missing.
When we went to change the setting, sometimes we had to use the disconnect to power it down to avoid gettin' a buzz; especially on rainy days.
Occasionally, we'd cut steel with it....just plugged in to the highest amperage outlet and use some cheap rods to burn through. Not the most efficient, but it worked.

 

Mine too Larry, mine too...

 

I miss Fab32 and Larry. Thanks for bumping this.
And....I never got my turn to use Zeus....yet.

 

Awesome story I'd love to hear about **** like this