BUILDING A BETTER B-MODEL
“MY NAME is Neil Hughes and, when I was a kid, I always wanted a B-model.”
That was the start of my interview with Neil and his son Patrick. When you repeat it out loud with a little pause after Neil’s name, you can almost picture yourself sitting quietly in the back row of some addiction anonymous meeting, listening to a man opening up on his obsession. All we lacked was some chocolate biscuits and weak coffee.
Thankfully, Neil’s addiction has not been as detrimental to his health as those that require meetings. However, his wife Evelyn, who doubles as the finance manager, may disagree as to the downside of his addiction. The end result is I’m conducting this interview not inside a church’s back office but in the shadow of one of the most pristine B-models I’ve seen. It has been a much bigger project than Neil first envisioned, but he’s finally fulfilled his childhood dream and got himself a B-model.
If you are reading this and are not familiar with a B-model Mack then there is a better than fair chance you are reading the wrong magazine. The B-model Mack is about as identifiable as the Wiggles in a snowstorm. First introduced in 1953, nearly 130,000 B-models rolled off the production line over the next 13 years.
The B-model set a new benchmark for style with its rounded hood, cab and fenders. The aerodynamic design approach was also matched by the introduction of the legendary END673 Thermodyne open chamber, direct-injection diesel engine. In its day the Thermodyne
