The Mack MH series, sold as the Ultra-Liner, was Mack’s cab-over-engine truck of the 1980s. Its full-length frame rails were strong enough to be reused for the second-generation Super-Liner, and in 1985 Mack built a Magnum special edition that covered both the Super-Liner II and the Ultra-Liner.
Mack MH series at a glance
| Maker | Mack Trucks |
|---|---|
| Type | cab-over-engine (COE) highway truck |
| Frame | full-length frame rails, reused by the Super-Liner II in 1985 |
| Magnum edition | 1985: 250 trucks in total, 64 of them Ultra-Liner COEs |
| Magnum engine | Mack E9 V8 diesel, 400–500 hp |
| Magnum gearbox | Mack T2090 nine-speed |
| Magnum finish | black with red and orange cab striping and a red interior |
| Related conventional | Super-Liner, which used Super-Liner II rails from the Ultra-Liner |
There is no dedicated Wikipedia article on the Mack MH; this page is based on the Super-Liner and company articles.
History of the Mack MH series
The Ultra-Liner was the cab-over half of Mack’s heavy highway pair in the 1980s: the conventional Super-Liner carried the long bonnet, while the MH put the cab over the engine for maximum trailer length. The detail that mattered most for the rest of the range was structural. When Mack introduced the second-generation Super-Liner for 1985, it adopted the full-length frame rails of the MH Ultra-Liner, which is why the two trucks shared a chassis even though they looked nothing alike.
The same year brought the Magnum, an appearance package created to mark the launch of the Super-Liner II. The Magnum trucks were black, with Magnum lettering on the hood, red and orange cab striping and a red interior, and the standard engine was the Mack E9 V8 of 400 to 500 hp with a Mack T2090 nine-speed transmission. Mack built 250 Magnums for 1985: 186 Super-Liner IIs and 64 Ultra-Liner cab-overs. The Ultra-Liner has since become the rarer half of that pair.
Design and features
- Cab-over layout: the cab sits above the engine for the shortest possible tractor.
- Full-length frame rails: strong enough that the Super-Liner II adopted them.
- Magnum edition: black paint, Magnum lettering, red interior and the E9 V8.
- Scarce survivor: only 64 of the 250 Magnums of 1985 were Ultra-Liners.
Mack MH series versions
- MH (Ultra-Liner): the standard cab-over highway truck.
- MH612 and MH613: the model designations recorded in this collection.
- Magnum Ultra-Liner (1985): 64 black special-edition COEs with the E9 V8.
The conventional partner of the Ultra-Liner was the Mack Super-Liner, and the earlier cab-over line was the Mack F series. The cab-over that came before both is the Mack Cruiseliner. More trucks are in the Mack collection.
Sources
- Mack Super-Liner, English Wikipedia: the MH frame rails, the Magnum edition, the E9 V8
- Mack Trucks, English Wikipedia: company history and plants
