Every few years, American Mack historian and collector Dan Thomas invites a group of close friends to join him on a trucking pilgrimage.
I’d heard along the grapevine of Dan’s epic, cross-country adventures with friends, his first dating back to the ‘90s. Like an arcade claw game, Dan and Co. would pluck perfectly restored Macks from his immaculate collection and drive them across the country to display at that year’s national truck show.
Dan’s collection, housed between his aeroplane hangar and a commercial premise, includes the likes of priceless chain-drive Macks, rare B-Models, H-models and unrestored projects waiting for Dan’s spare time.
Success in business has afforded Dan’s ever-growing passion for truck collecting, restoring and Mack history. Images: Thomas Wielecki
And after weeks of correspondence with Dan, I’d be joining him on his next voyage, a 2,000-mile journey from Oregon to Madison, Wisconsin.
Among the convoy including Dan’s rare 1980 US Super-Liner, one of only 12 made with this specific Cummins KTA-600 engine, and a striking Canadian-built Super-Liner towing a stunning Coors Light trailer, is his personal favourite – a Brisbane-built 1990 E9 Mack Value-Liner carrying former Mack CEO Zenon Hansen’s ‘67 Cadilac Eldorado.
Now nearly 12,000 kilometres from where it was born, the classic Bulldog is the first Australian-made Mack ever imported into the States.
Harrison joined Dan on a 2,000-mile journey to Madison, Wisconsin to display his epic collection of rare Macks at the national truck show. Images: Thomas Wielecki
And steering these historic vehicles would be Peter, Gary and Greg – all Australians. It’s evident Dan has built a strong connection to Australia over the years – he talks fondly of the Aussie way of life, the brutish trucks we design, the shared passion for the industry, and his love for Slim Dusty.
“My old friend and former truck enthusiast, Dr Bill Comcowich, would go to Australia and do seminars on dentistry, and came back and introduced me to Slim Dusty and his amazing songs about Mack and Aussie trucking,” he explains.
That chance connection opened a floodgate of Australian trucking lore for Dan. Soon, he met Aussies who were visiting the big American truck shows — enthusiasts like Peter Champion, his brother Tony, and Phil Dixon. Before long, Dan was making his own pilgrimage Down Under.
Dan’s Brisbane-built 1990 E9 Value-Liner is the first Australian-Mack ever imported into
the United States. Images: Thomas Wielecki
“I met people there who were just as crazy about trucks as me. You know, that Aussie kind of dry humour, big horsepower, red dirt, big road trains — I loved it all,” he says.
“I think Tony was the first one to suggest it, ‘you’ve got to have an Australian Mack in your collection’. And all the Aussie boys agreed that the truck I had to get was an Aussie Value-Liner.”
This was in 2013, and after months of searching, Dan’s Aussie contingent came back with the holy grail. The totally original, genuine one-owner V8 Mack Value-Liner we’re about to take across the USA.
Read the full story in the Winter Issue of ROADBOSS Magazine, out soon.
