The General Has Been Sitting For Some Time

[General Ike]

So the General Ike has been sitting for some time.  Probably about two years.  The batteries are shot and have resisted my attempts to rehabilitate them.  I was going to put fresh batteries in on Saturday and then go blow the carbon out in prep for my middle son's 5th birthday a week from Sunday.  Last time it sat this long I didn't have any problems.... But I'm looking to you guys to see if you'd do anything other than check the oil and go.  Its got a 6v53T in it.  I'm assuming if its wet underneath that I'm good to go.

 

 

[j hancock]

Going to be one hell of a birthday!

Yup, check all the fluids especially the Deeetroit. Has it been upgraded to air brakes?  If not, I would plan on doing a brake fluid change.  Brake fluid absorbs water over time which will allow rust to form in and make a mess of the brake system.

[41chevy]

Make sure the rack is free or prepare to cut the air intake in case it runs away. Seem as Detroit's  are somerwhat prone to that.  

[General Ike]

1 hour ago, j hancock said:

Going to be one hell of a birthday!

Yup, check all the fluids especially the Deeetroit. Has it been upgraded to air brakes?  If not, I would plan on doing a brake fluid change.  Brake fluid absorbs water over time which will allow rust to form in and make a mess of the brake system.

Its got air brakes.  Thanks.

[General Ike]

No real way to be sure without taking the valve covers off right?  Because the rack can be "semi free" but an single injector hung up, no?

[Maddog13407]

Id like to see some underhood pictures of this elusive Detroit put in a B model.

[General Ike]

Id like to see some underhood pictures of this elusive Detroit put in a B model.

If I can get a hall pass I will be under the hood by 0800 tomorrow. If I recall correctly the Borough of Gettysburg had a wrecked loader or dump with the Detroit in it when they decided to refurb this rig 30years ago. So they sourced an Allison automatic and pitched the 707 in favor of the Detroit added a 1100gallon tank and air brakes.


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[1965]

2 hours ago, General Ike said:

No real way to be sure without taking the valve covers off right?  Because the rack can be "semi free" but an single injector hung up, no?

If it has old style rack; if 1 is hung all are; new style they are spring loaded individually; you should be able to tale by working throttle & kill; if both are mechanical; I would pull kill & whirl over & ease it in till cranks & have plywood to shut air off if it doesn't have emergency kill

if it has no emergency kill & no one changed racks it should have newer style spring loaded 1's; but if more than 1 or 2 injecters are stuck governor can't over ride & it will still run off

been sitting up 2 yrs I would make sure to have a way to shut air off

[Mack58B42]

Great looking truck!  And came off the line not too long after mine....  I've got 1216, but it's got an enclosed cab, and a pump panel that's not quite as busy as yours.

[1958 F.W.D.]

Detroit in a Mack is a shame. Detroit in a B Model is a tragedy. 

Edited January 7, 2017 by 1958 F.W.D.

[General Ike]

Detroit in a Mack is a shame. Detroit in a B Model is a tragedy. 

Not the case at all. 6v53 is a bulletproof mill. Turbocharged ones are as well. This was a great swap considering the fact that it was done with existing resources during the economic crawl of the late 70s and early 80s in a place like Gettysburg where there is more tax exempt property than taxable (not that there is a fire tax anyway) due to the battlefields, college and Lutheran Seminary.

You own a dripper now too that you rode to many a fire. If you can't beat them.... own one!!!!


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[1958 F.W.D.]

10 minutes ago, General Ike said:

You own a dripper now too that you rode to many a fire. If you can't beat them.... own one!!!!


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And if I could afford to, that thing would be yanked tomorrow and replaced with a 237 or 300 Maxidyne. 

[gearhead204]

37 minutes ago, 1958 F.W.D. said:

Detroit in a Mack is a shame. Detroit in a B Model is a tragedy. 

this conversion  allows the operator to not need a siren! you just straight pipe the 53 and every thing within a 1/2 mile radius is headed in the other direction!

[General Ike]

And if I could afford to, that thing would be yanked tomorrow and replaced with a 237 or 300 Maxidyne. 

And you'd be spending silly money. That would be like wasting cash to swap a good 7.3 from a Ford with a trusty 5.9 Cummins or vice versa


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[General Ike]

this conversion  allows the operator to not need a siren! you just straight pipe the 53 and every thing within a 1/2 mile radius is headed in the other direction!

Its turbocharged so it's not that loud.


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[ff6cav]

Found this video of it on Gettysburg's facebook page, just after it was taken out of service

[ff6cav]

And I shot this clip at the 2010 Adams County Volunteer Emergency Services Convention, it appears to be near the end of the restoration.  They also had an L and CF engines that were originally red and ended up getting "slimed".  Unfortunately the L was lost in a fire, and the CF is now with a training facility elsewhere in PA.

[Mack58B42]

I drove an '85 International pumper when I was active in my department, and it had a Detroit 671.  Loved that thing!  Sure, when you started it up it would put out a cloud of smoke that would kill anyone within 300 feet, and if I was home (2 miles away) and someone else took it out for a spin (which not many could do - it had a 10-speed Road Ranger that about only 3 of us in the department could drive) I could definitely hear it leaving the station with no doubt about what truck it was.

But in the 7 years that I drove it before it went out of service, it was pretty much the most trouble-free engine we had, and very forgiving - you could lug that thing down to 5mph in 7th or 8th going around a corner, and it didn't much care - just punch it (there's that cloud of smoke again!) and it would pick up right where it left off....  I pumped it at quite a few fires, and I still miss driving it.

I wanted to buy it when it went out of service, but it wouldn't fit in my garage.  It's for sale now, but it's been sitting outside for about 8 years, and the seasons have taken their toll.  If things go as planned, a friend and I will take ownership, but we'll have to evaluate the cost to restore it.  I have a feeling the next stop on its journey might be a conversion to a dump truck, unfortunately....

On the opposite end of the "loudness" spectrum, we also had an '84 Pierce/Ford cabover with a CAT 3208 that I think is the quietest truck I've ever driven.  I've been in cars that were louder than that thing was.  It was slow as molasses on the road, but sure was smooth!

[j hancock]

Thank goodness it is no longer slime green!

[1958 F.W.D.]

28 minutes ago, Mack58B42 said:

I wanted to buy it when it went out of service, but it wouldn't fit in my garage.  It's for sale now, but it's been sitting outside for about 8 years, and the seasons have taken their toll.  If things go as planned, a friend and I will take ownership, but we'll have to evaluate the cost to restore it.

Precisely what  happened with us and the 78 Hahn mentioned above, except the guy who bought it from the Dept was so desperate to get rid of it (and wanted it to go to a collector) that we paid practically nothing for it. And that's the ONLY reason we acquired it without indoor storage (at the time.) Plus me and my old man were the ones responsible for maintaining it, so we knew the driveline was in superior condition (even being a 2 cycle mechanical asshole.) 

[1958 F.W.D.]

8 hours ago, General Ike said:

And you'd be spending silly money. That would be like wasting cash to swap a good 7.3 from a Ford with a trusty 5.9 Cummins or vice versa


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Oh, no I would have a reason- I would open the drain plug and then fire it up and firewall the throttle first. 

[General Ike]

First video above was when Jere Lady picked it up from GFD's storage shed behind the station. Second video is from the county convention but the rig isn't 100% complete as the hose reels aren't installed. It would be almost two more years before the rig was finished and he shipped it to me in Florida.


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[General Ike]

And I shot this clip at the 2010 Adams County Volunteer Emergency Services Convention, it appears to be near the end of the restoration.  They also had an L and CF engines that were originally red and ended up getting "slimed".  Unfortunately the L was lost in a fire, and the CF is now with a training facility elsewhere in PA.

The L was sold to Gere Lady and was lost in a fire when his barn burned. It was at GFD the entire time I was there in service as E1-4 but it never saw fire while I was there from '96-'00. It was a 1947 I believe. Ran its last job pumping a fire at Sentz cleaners right off the Square in Gettysburg in the mid '90's.

The CF was the old Engine Zero from Yardley. It became E1-3. I caught a ton of fire on that rig. It was acquired to act as a stand in for E1-2 (1977 Seagrave) when it was refurbished and had a Pierce body mounted. They decided to keep it when E1-2 came back and it was slimed. Gere Lady coincidentally owns E1-2 now as well. And while we are at it he owns the old hose wagon, Wagon 1. Or at least he did when I did my Pre delivery inspection of the General in 2011.

Last I knew, the CF, E1-3, was at the Harrisburg Area Community College fire school.

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[Mack58B42]

52 minutes ago, 1958 F.W.D. said:

Precisely what  happened with us and the 78 Hahn mentioned above, except the guy who bought it from the Dept was so desperate to get rid of it (and wanted it to go to a collector) that we paid practically nothing for it. And that's the ONLY reason we acquired it without indoor storage (at the time.) Plus me and my old man were the ones responsible for maintaining it, so we knew the driveline was in superior condition (even being a 2 cycle mechanical asshole.) 

We will also be acquiring it for next to nothing, but besides the body/trim deterioration, it also has mechanical issues at this point and may need a new set of injectors/pump.  If that's the case, it'll probably not be worth keeping as a fire truck, and that would mean selling it to someone who can turn it into a dump trunk and make the mechanical repair costs back.  On the bright side, my friend just bought a large industrial building, so at least it will be inside while we evaluate our options.....  But we're going to try to keep it if we can.  He is still a member of the department, but didn't drive it, so while he'd like to save it (he already has one of their retired trucks), he doesn't quite have the emotional attachment to it that I do, since I was pretty much its lone driver for its last 5 years of service.

I like Hahns, too.  I had a chance to buy a nice one just out of service a few years back, but same issue - it wouldn't fit in my garage.

My door height is only 8'-6".  My goal was a 10' door, but when digging the foundation we hit ledge, and I couldn't afford to blast out 2' of ledge at the time, so had to settle for a 9' door, which is actually only 8'-6" (which I found out the hard way!).

[General Ike]

Id like to see some underhood pictures of this elusive Detroit put in a B model.

As requested




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