mattb73lt

Not the easiest swap to do, but it can be done. Main problem, as you're finding out, is availability. Locating a set of hubs, front or rear, can be tough. I left the Dayton hubs on my B42, but swapped the rims to 22.5" on the FA505 axle. I like the look and the B model chrome hubcaps. On my B73 with a FA507 axle, I wanted to put Budd hubs on to run Alcoa rims because it has a lot of aluminum and stainless and I wanted that look. It was a whole separate project to do it, with a whole other project to add brake drums to the front hubs as they came off a truck without them. Matching up the the hubs to fit the axle/spindle arrangement can be problematic. It can be very time consuming tracking everything down and making sure it'll all fit. My best advice would be to be patient and network through everybody you know and sites like this. Be adamant and keep asking everywhere you go about them. Some will surface. As others have stated, you can also work an axle swap to make it happen.

Oh, I will go through that drill again. Both the bell housing and flywheel!!

Block #2 is ready for the machine shop. I think this one will be the candidate for the rebuild. It's newer and has less issues than the other one. I'll probably use the heads off mine and combine a lot of both engines into the new one. I cleaned the exterior of this one with a wire wheel on a 4" angle grinder after scraping all the crud off it. The only issues I've found was in the bell housing area. Two broken bolts and one of the dowel pins had walked it's way out.

Still plugging away on getting things apart and inspected. Talked to the machine shop last week and the block should be heading into the hot tank this week. I need to head there and swap some parts out from the donor. I did de-sleeve the donor. While slimy and crusty, the block still seems to be in better over all shape. The lower bores are pit free and look good. There is a light frosting of surface rust on some areas, but it cleans right off. I did place an order for a sleeve and piston set from Mahoney & Son, so we'll see what comes of that. I have a pretty good list of part numbers to acquire for the rebuild, both current and superseded numbers. I was able to borrow a heavy duty engine rotisserie and that makes life soooo much easier working on this engine. Spent a day fabricating a mounting plate for it as my friend didn't have one that fit a 220 directly. I think once the machine work is done and all the required parts are collected, it should assemble pretty quickly and be back on the road by spring.

Once it get back on the road my plan is to run it for a while, but probably put an under frame muffler or resonator on it to quiet it down a little. The insert in the stack helps, but it's still pretty loud.

That looks really nice. Is it a straight pipe or is there a muffler somewhere?

I think the "Loaner" runs hot!?!?!? Set fire to my mixture of ATF and Marvel Mystery oil heating up the cylinders while trying to un-stick the engine after sitting outside forever. After letting it sit for a few days it popped free allowing me to disassemble more of it. IMG_4308.m4v

Yeah, so am I. Nothing yet from the machine shop. I did harvest a lot of parts out of the "Loaner" 220, though. Lots of Cummins parts laying around the shop. Found a 6" pipe wrench laying in the pan??? I wonder how long that's been in there?

Excellent work!! Looks beautiful.

Pretty soon he's not going to be able to stand up in there like that!! He's getting big.

Here’s another quick video of it running just after I got it hooked up several years ago. It’s in really good shape with little wear on the ways. It still pretty tight, overall. 7075352D-39FA-4BC3-A8E1-D5A039AC6163.MOV

Yes, if you look at the video, you’ll see a large pulley in the center of the line shaft with no belt on it. That would be the one for the belt with the twist for reverse rotation. The clutch lever pushes in both directions to engage one or the other drive pulley off the same shaft. The way this is set up I can only drive in one direction. You need a longer run to make that twist and I don’t have the space to do so.

IMG_2099.m4v This is the lathe running with one of the brake drums on it. It required a 3" spacer under the headstock for clearance. That's why the side cover is open for the lead screw drive. It just fit and truing up the drum before I turned it wasn't easy due to it's weight. The white handgrip above the drum is the clutch lever for starting and stopping the lathe.

I've wondered that too, thinking of that time period. Could've been steam, gas, water or electric. I was in a mill once up near Cooperstown, NY. It was a wood shop that was powered by a 20' wide water wheel. When they opened the sluice gates, the waterwheel would fill and start to turn. The whole mill was set up with line shafts and flat belts. You'd pull individual levers near each machine to activate them. Once the water wheel came up to speed the whole building came alive. it was really amazing to witness.

It's a South Bend, believe it or not, from 1916!! Got it from a gentleman I worked for in high school. It was his father's and he used to build race cars. It's very complete and had a lot of accessories/attachments that came with it. It sat in my shop for a long time before I hooked it all up. Not the easiest lathe to set up due to having to mount the drive pulleys to the ceiling. I wouldn't want that crashing down on you while you work. Certainly not the most modern one I've operated and I'd love to have a more modern one, but the price was right. It certainly comes in handy for the work I do. The biggest thing I've turned were the 85# front brake drums for the B73 to open up the pilot holes. Here's a few pics of it.

Very nice. Excellent work and a great storage area, too!!

Gutting this 220 out. Removed the important camshaft today. Quite the effort to get to it. Threw it on my lathe to spin it by hand and clean it. Pushrods are all serviceable, saving about $800+ for new ones. Getting to the connecting rods tomorrow. As crusty and gummed up as this block is, it seems in better shape than the one I have. The deck is really clean and it is newer, 1964 vs 1959. So it could become a runner if mine proves bad or uneconomical to rebuild.

It did, now I have one!!

That was quick. Got the engine back from the machine shop. I think it has the right patina to match the truck!! Actually, a “Loaner” clapped out 220 a friend loaned me so I can rob parts off to fix mine. A bunch of internal parts need to be replaced on mine that we found on tear down.

They were both, 6 & 12 volt positive ground. Mine was 12V+ ground, a 1963. My friend has one, but 6V+ ground and a 1956. I think early production was 6 and later was 12, but that’s just what I’ve seen. Check the voltage regulator cover, a flasher or maybe the size of the battery box. Something electrical will be marked with the voltage.

I believe the mirror heads are still available in stainless along with the the brackets they mount to. The arms to the doors are the hard things to find. I was lucky enough to find a complete set in stainless of reproduction ones. They’re styled after the B model ones and I had to fill and redrill the holes in the doors as they were a different pattern. I still have the original steel ones if you need some? They could be chromed.

I think those are pretty rare. I've only seen a few in pictures plus the one in that movie. Maybe they were early production? The single air motor design in the cowl was a better arrangement, though.

Nice find. Be careful waking up the Hall-Scott, those are pretty rare engines now and parts can be hard to find. If you can, keep it indoors. Fire trucks don't do well stored outside due to all the chrome.

My B42 had fixed (non-operating) shutters when I got it, having a EN402 installed from the factory. From what I've seen, I believe they were an option on smaller gas jobs. I put them in, from a donor, when I converted it to diesel. The diesel engined B's all seem to have them, except the very late production ones the had that fixed grill. Fire trucks are a whole different animal. I would think they would've had shutters as they were built to operate statically for long periods while pumping. The shutters would help keep the engine at operating temps while in extreme cold conditions.

He’s 76, Rocky Rockwell. The Murphy Rd Cummins by Brainard Field is long gone and now an O&G stone place. I used to go there when I worked at Brainard. Cummins Metro Power in Rocky Hill is the place now. Not too helpful, unless you spoon feed them what you need.