T J Wheelman's 1916 Mack AC BullDog Facsimile

16 April 2007
# 1261

From TJ:

        Hello again Stovebolt. Some time ago, I sent photos of our 1941 GMC CCKW Swampbuggy that is now in the Gallery. I wasn't sure if you'd be interested in this little project, too.

        This is my 1916 Mack AC BullDog facsimile that I built at the turn of the century out of my old ragged out 1976 Chev 1/2-ton. I built the body myself from steel and spent 1000 hours on the project over all. This has been by far the biggest project that I have ever taken on.

        In 2002 I rebuilt the engine and have kept the truck well maintained since, driving it each summer here in Alaska as time and weather permit.

        The truck has the Chev 250 in-line that is just right for buzzing around on a sunny Saturday. Yes, I've also toyed with the idea of building a great big monster engine for the unit, too.

        Mack built the AC from 1916 until 1938, producing just over 40,000 units. The model AC is where the mascot Bull Dog originated from -- after the English soldiers during WWI nicknamed the AC "BullDogs" because of its rugged durability and "smucked" front end appearance. Mack Truck Company got wind of this and adopted the English bulldog as their mascot. For the English, the bulldog is what Uncle Sam is to us Yanks.

        All of the AC's had chain driven rear wheels. A later version Mack "AK" had shaft driven rear wheels.

        Hope that you get a hoot out of these photos. Oh, and the little bombshell is a gal from Canada. We used to go tearing all over the place in this truck. It was a lot of fun.

Peace & Blessings,

TJ Wheelman
"TJ"
Bolter #9163
Anchorage, Alaska