The Giacci family were reunited with this very special truck in 2017, but it’s been a long road back to its former glory.
The Giacci family’s beautifully restored 1966 Mack R600 isn’t just nice to look at – it has been on an extraordinary odyssey, spanning multiple decades and continents.
The “Flintstone” truck won Best Vintage Mack at this year’s WA Mack Muster and Truck Show, and James Giacci couldn’t be prouder.
“The Mack is very special to our family,” he says.
“My grandfather imported it from the US back in 1968 – and it has found its way back to us without us even having to look for it.”
James Giacci’s grandfather is Mario Giacci, an Italian immigrant who started a small transport business with his family back in the 1950s.
That business, which was named Giacci Bros, grew from humble beginnings in Bunbury, WA, to operating across Australia.
In 2004, Mario founded another company – MGM Group – with his daughter Giuditta and son Michael.
Giacci Bros was sold to Qube Holdings in 2014, but MGM Group has seen huge growth, with a bulk division (MGM Bulk) being added in 2015.
Mario is now something of a legend in the trucking industry, especially in WA – and at 85 years old, he’s still very active in the business.
The Mack was known as Number 5 and driven by Mario Giacci back in the day.This year he was also inducted into the Wall of Fame at Alice Springs where he was joined by his family and friends who chartered a private jet to be part of the celebrations.
The R600 Mack was one of the first semi-trucks he ever bought, and it was totally by chance that it came back into the family’s possession.
“The R600 was our family’s first American Mack, imported directly from the Mack factory in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the US,” James said.
“It was my grandfather’s truck at the time, and clad in our family’s iconic green, white and black.”
But as the company expanded, they needed to modernise their fleet.
The rig was stripped right down to the chassis rails before restoration.So, they sold the truck and it went to the east coast, where it was put to work for multiple companies over the years.
“Initially, it was used to cart grain for Jones Transport in the Young Arena,” James continued.
“After that, the truck was doing some farm work for a local farmer in Queensland.”
The Mack was licensed until 2006, and in 2012 it was auctioned off, finding itself in the stewardship of Melrose Cranes in NSW.
They had big plans to restore it, but life got in the way, and it gathered dust in the corner of their shed for many years.
Eventually, the truck was rescued by a Mack enthusiast called Dallas Fabian.
“He did some digging and found out that the truck had been issued to Giacci Bros from the Mack factory in the US back in the day,” James said.
“He got in contact with our family because he wanted to see photos of how the truck was presented when it first got to Australia.
“The colour scheme had changed multiple times over the years and he wanted to restore it to its original glory.”
When the Giaccis saw the truck in question, they realised that it was Mario’s old rig.
“We recognised it because my grandfather welded the bullbar with his hands and it still had this ugly bullbar on it,” James said.
“Once we realised the significance of the truck, Dallas agreed to sell the truck back to us.”
The Giacci family were reunited with the truck in 2017, but it’s been a long road to getting it restored.
“The responsibility for restoring it fell on the shoulders of “Shotgun” Charlie, a Mack restoration expert.
“He stripped it down into a thousand pieces and was getting ready to put it all back together again.
“Unfortunately, he ended up passing away during the process, and receivers came in and froze all his assets – including the truck and all the pieces.”
James Giacci is proud to have the iconic truck back in the family. Image: James GiacciThe Giacci family had to go to auction and buy the truck back yet again, and spent over two years dealing with lawyers, trying to prove that the parts belonged to them.
Once they finally got all the pieces back, they handed it over to City Panel Beaters in Bayswater, who performed a full restoration from the ground up.
“Everything is OEM+ to the era,” James said.
“They did a fantastic job; it probably looks better now than when it came out of the factory.”
James adds his grandad has incredible attention to detail when it comes to his trucks.
“As an example, the fuel tank had a dent in it,” he said.
“When it was being rebuilt, they told us that the fuel tank was damaged and it would be a lot easier and cheaper to get a replacement than to repair it.
“My grandfather said they had to repair it because when he was a kid, his left foot used to step up on that fuel tank as he would climb into the truck to start his shift.
“He didn’t care if it cost $15,000 to repair it.”
The highlight of the Mack’s journey post-restoration has been its presentation at the WA Mack Muster and Truck Show, where it caught the eye of the judges.
James said the family were delighted to go home with the award for Best Vintage Mack, and they have big plans for showing off the truck in the near future.
“We’re going to be taking it to local truck shows and meets, and creating some cool content around it.
“We’re also working on a short film about the story of the truck.
“Finally, we are building a new workshop in Bunbury, and we plan to have the truck on display in the office.
“That way the general public can come in and have a look at this piece of transport history.”
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