Hi-Plains mail-hauling ‘97 Mack delivers new flavor to truck beauty shows

By James Jaillet

When the company Robert Ewing works for, Hi-Plains Leasing, bought a ’97 Mack previously owned by the United States Post Office, turning the truck into a show rig was one use he hadn’t envisioned for the box-bodied, snub-nosed “Gone Postal.”

Other than a paint job, Ewing and Hi-Plains used the truck as purchased for nearly three years before taking it out of service, putting it into the shop and, ultimately, leading it onto the truck beauty show scene.

“It becoming a show truck was no where on the radar,” Ewing said. “We bought it for the sole purpose of filling a niche we had at the company. It just sort of turned into a project we wanted to do. We wanted something everybody at the company could be involved in and be proud of.”

Hi-Plains owner Gary Disher purchased the truck at an auction in 2006 for its ability to be used hauling construction equipment and moving large machinery in tight situations.  The three-axle set up, automatic transmission, short turning radius and ease in maneuverability made the truck useful to the company, Ewing said.

A trip to the Mid-America Truck Show in March of 2009, however, steered Gone Postal’s utility in a different direction.

Gone Postal is undergoing a second round of modifications now in preparation for truck shows coming up later in the year.

“[The show] really got my boss going,” Ewing said. “He got really fired up at the uniqueness of all of the trucks, and we thought this would be a unique piece to throw in with all of the Peterbilts.”

After the show, Ewing went to work under the direction of Hi-Plains owner Gary Disher, and for the next four months he spent 40 hours a week in the shop converting the old USPS truck into a show rig.

Before the real customizing process could even begin, though, Ewing said some changes and relocations of certain parts had to be made.

“The truck was still put together the way the factory turned it out,” Ewing said. “It was built totally for utility purposes. The exhaust, batteries, fuel tanks – everything on this truck was built for ease in production and maintenance.”

Ewing said most of the custom parts were used, and they picked up almost all of them in the Denver area. The 80” visor was made at Outlaw Customs and modified and mounted at Hi-Plains. Outlaw also supplied the wheel covers, toolboxes and tank straps.

Interstate Turbo supplied the truck’s fenders, which had been in inventory for more than a year when Ewing and crew. got their hands on them.

The rest of the custom parts, Ewing says, were either shelf items at Western Truck parts or parts taken off of other Hi-Plains trucks.

Ewing finished the first round of Gone Postal’s renovations in July of 2009 (when Custom Rigs’ editor, Bruce Smith, caught up with them at Outlaw Customs’ shop in Denver), and he and the Hi-Plains crew began to escort the truck to shows around the country.

Driver Robert Ewing and Hi-Plains Leasing converted Gone Postal, a former USPS truck, to a show-quality custom rig.

However, after only a short road tour, the rig went back into the shop for another round of modifications. The truck has been under wraps since the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas last August.

Ewing said this time they’re concentrating on a few interior changes. Because the truck’s exterior features some aluminum diamond plating, Ewing said he wants to finish the truck’s interior with diamond plate floorboards and door padding. They’re also looking to add an 18” Texas-style fiberglass bumper before it’s unveiled again.

Some engine modifications – to make the truck more powerful – may be on the way, as well. Ewing said Pitt Power has been doing work with the E7’s to give them a power upgrade.

As for the future of Gone Postal, Ewing said he and Disher plan to take the truck to the Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas in June and the 2010 Great American Trucking Show in Dallas in August.

“After Dallas, I think we’re done,” Ewing said. “But it all depends on what the boss wants to do.”

Post-Dallas, however, Ewing and his boss are in sort of a disagreement about how to use the truck once it settles back down in Denver.

“It’s kind of a tug-of-war between myself and the owner. I want to get the truck on the street, running around town where a lot of people could see it. He really doesn’t want to put it back to use immediately,” Ewing says. “But, I think I’ll win it.”

OWNER’S NOTEBOOK

OWNER: Gary Disher, Hi-Plains Leasing

MODEL: 1997 Mack MR 688 S

BUILT BY: Robert Ewing, Hi-Plains Leasing drivers and shop crew

ENGINE: E7 Mack 350

TRANSMISSION: Allison AT 540

PAINT/GRAPHICS: Rush Peterbilt, Denver, CO;  Stan’s Signs, Henderson, CO

EXTERIOR MODS: relocation of air tanks, install left-hand fuel tank, lowered headache rack, dual side pipes, full drive axle fenders, extensive exterior lights, polished dual intake pipes, lots of chrome

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