Heil Formula 3000 and Formula 4000     Concurrent with the introduction of the new Formula 5000, Heil's Colectomatic Mark III was re-named the Formula 3000 for 1980, and was carried over unchanged other than its name. Body sizes were pared down to just two choices, 16 or 18-cubic yards, as the venerable hinged-hopper design was in its final years of production. This was the Heil rear loader that had started the Duo-Press revolution in 1960, and had brought the company great fortune. However, it had been rendered obsolete with the introduction of the Mark IV back in 1972. Even if demand for this aging design had waned by 1980, management could be forgiven for keeping it around simply as a legacy. It is noteworthy that Heil had also acquired the rights to the Gar Wood LP-700 and LP-10 00 residential packers, but never built either model. Going forward, the Heil Formula 4000 would be slated as the residential rear loader in the lineup. FORMULA 4000     The Mark IV was also unchanged for 1980, and was renamed the Formula 4000 and filling the slot as Heil's mid-range rear loader. Derived from the same patent as the Mark V, it had somehow escaped the Leach litigation which had killed its bigger brother. That it survived was fortunate, since it would go on to quietly rack up sales in excess of 15,000 units over the next forty years. Compaction in densities from the 2-yard hopper were advertised at 800 pounds pre cubic yard. Body sizes remained at 16,18,20 and 25-cubic yards capacity, although even smaller versions would be built after the Formula 3000 was discontinued.     Electric packer controls had been joined by an optional two-handled mechanical lever setup in the late 1970s, and by 1980 the latter had become standard on the American versions of the F4000. It had a split-cycle with safety stop at the mid-point and a 7" gap the hopper sill. Four different container hoists were offered. The Duo-Press ejector also was unchanged (the same style as used on the 1960 Mark II) with its horizontal cylinder and protruding snout in the back of the panel. The packer blade was revised in 1984-85, eliminating the old claw-like bracing for a cleaner horizontal-strip pattern similar to the 5000, but was otherwise unchanged.     The Formula 4000 was one of the few Heil products that did not get the new DuraPack curved-side body in the late 1990s. It retained its braced-box design, although it did get the snount-less ejector panel used on the rest of the DuraPack family. The hard-working 4000 never got the glory of the Mark V or Formula 5000, but quietly soldiered on for almost forty years, the longest run of any refuse body in Heil history, until only recently. Though no longer part of the Heil lineup, a version of the Formula 4000 tailgate lives on under the McNeilus brand as the Metro-Pak mid-range. Some versions are still being sold by Heil in South America as the PT-4000. For 1980, the Mark IV became known as the Formula 4000 20-yard Formula 4000 with special Heil lettering to announce the new lineup Formula 4000 now had four different container hoists to choose from Dual-lever packer control: left handle controls blade, right handle controls slide F4000 used same Duo-Press ejector during most of its run; large snout in panel houses horizontal cylinder barrel Fort Payne, Alabama is home to the largest factory dedicated to refuse body production and nothing else Mid-1980s F4000 got a new, clean-look packer blade Side view shows a body style virtually unchanged since 1972 The roll-bar container hoist on a 4000 The F4000 took over for the retired F3000, and special narrow-width bodies as small as 10-yards were added The 4000 would not receive the curved shell DuraPack body, but did get a new ejector panel by 1998 A completely open front became standard, as did the snout-less concave ejector panel The high-angle, floor-mounted ejector cylinder would become an industry standard 2010 Formula 4000 was almost unchanged after 47 years in production Still produced in South America as the PT-4000, the venerable workhorse finally received a curved-shell body 5/29/17 © 2017 All Rights Reserved Photos from factory brochures/advertisements except as noted Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers