Oh So Sexy: Justin Clein’s 750hp Mack Superliner

Words by Chris Smith. Photographs from the original ACT archive; no individual photography credit is printed in the supplied feature.

Roaring with the deep guttural pitch of a 750 HP V8 Mack E9 engine Justin Clein’s latest truck sounds as impressive as it looks. With paint colour named “Oh So Sexy” and rebuilt from the ground up, this 1987 Mack Superliner exudes old school cool, writes Chris Smith.

Clein Excavations & Tipper Hire is a family owned business based in Chinchilla, Queensland specialising all aspects of LNG, civil, mining and general earthworks including plant hire, heavy haulage transport and bulk haulage.

It’s hard to imagine this business is just in its 5th year of operation with owner Justin Clein growing the company to a workforce of around 40 personnel since 2009. He admits his attraction to the industry is some of the people in it. And he says in his 15 years in the industry there have been major improvements in safety. However, he stresses the lack of minimum rates is a definite negative.

The first truck he drove a Mack R600 which is fitting because he was inspired to create his recent project from his early memories of his dad’s Mack trucks.

“My father had a few Macks when I was young which probably got me interested in trucks and I have always had a special spot for the V8 Superliners,” he tells Australian Custom Trucks (ACT).

“I have always wanted to refurbish a series II V8 Superliner as they were a legendary truck in their time.”

He also admits he was inspired by his wife Loretta to complete the project, a fitting celebration for five years in business.

The Mack Superliner wasn’t an easy find by far Justin tells ACT.

“I searched for nearly 12 months for the right truck and as a last resort I placed ads in most of the main papers in each State and Territory and received a phone call from Tasmania,” he explains.

“After a number of phone calls to Tassie I had to send a mate over to look at the truck as I was busy with work, after he had inspected the truck we worked out a deal and had it brought back to Chinchilla.”

What came next was a further 12 months of trial and error to get the truck to what it is today. Justin had it in his head just how he wanted her to look and feel however the balance between customisation and the original shape proved a challenge.

“Being my first truck restoration it presented a few hurdles along the way,” he admits.

“I had an idea from the start on what I wanted the finish product to be and trying to keep the truck close to its original form whilst customising it often caused a few headaches.”

He said one of the biggest challenges was finding the right parts.

“It is getting difficult to get parts for these trucks now especially the E9 engines, so we imported some parts from the USA for the engine but most were sourced through Mack, Gleemans and QLD Fuel Injection Toowoomba,” he says.

As well as restoring the engine the gearbox was upgraded from a 12 speed to an 18-speed Mack box to cope with the massive power output checked on the dyno at 750 HP (560 KW) with 2030 ft.lb (2752 Nm) of torque.

The choice of colour fit in with the existing maroon fleet livery however the paint on the Superliner PP Candy ‘Oh So Sexy’ gleams under the sun. It has a strikingly vibrant candy red hue to a darker maroon out of direct sunlight.

Justin chose to keep the truck a solid colour for two reasons, firstly to keep it looking traditional and secondly the choice of colour made working with graphics difficult.

The truck had only been to one truck show when we first met up with Justin and it proved then that it would be a head turner.

At the Lights on the Hill in Gatton in February the Superliner won Best Pre-1990 Truck, Best Bonneted Truck and the People’s Choice a big score for the first time entrant however a deserving winner.

“Everyone I spoke to thought it was a great truck. There were a lot of comments on the colour and the detailed engine bay,” Justin says.

“A lot of people were very happy to see someone take the time and effort in restoring the truck to this level.”

The team that created Oh So Sexy Beast included John White and the Team at Qld Fuel Injection, who Justin says did an excellent job with the engine.

Steve, Nick and the Team at PJ’s Custom who completed the majority of mechanical and paint work.

Dennis Nothdurft of Chinchilla also completed some mechanical work on the truck.

Ashley from Auto Extreme Brisbane completed the Stereo and DVD installation.

“The end result is great, I couldn’t have asked for much better,” Justin says proudly.

Specifications and details

COMPANY: CLEIN TRANSPORT

NUMBER OF TRUCKS: 8

DRIVER: JUSTIN CLEIN

TRUCK: 1987 MACK SUPERLINER

REGO: BULLDOG

USE: SHOW TRUCK / HEAVY HAULAGE

RUNNING: AUSTRALIA WIDE

GCM: 120 tonnes

TYPE OF SLEEPER: MACK BANANA

WHEELBASE: 5510MM

POWER: DYNOED AT 750 HP

TORQUE: 2030 ft.lb

TRANSMISSION: MACK 18-SPEED

FRONT AXLES: 7 TONNE (15,400 lb)

REAR AXELS: 44000 lb (20 Tonne)

BULLBAR: KING BARS

PAINT WORK: PJ’S CUSTOM SPRAY PAINTING

CHROME: PJ’S CUSTOM SPRAY PAINTING

LIGHTS: HELLA HID