joemac

While we're on this tracking spree, can someone perhaps find the current owner of the 1959 C model that was originally delivered to Oreland, Pa.? It was sold in the late eighties(?) to Barto, Pa., who sod it in '94(?) Last spotted (that I know of) in Bucks County, Pa. a year ago. At least that's when the photos were posted to Flickr. A year ago, today. What are the odds?

Thanks for that. Interesting about the construction differences. The model I'm making is to be based on the Sidney cab. It would be great if I could be reunited with the old '59, even just to get some critical detail pics. Maybe I can track 'er down. I have two of Harvey's books and nowhere does it actually explain the differences. Not slighting the books, it's probably just common knowledge that I was unaware of. Apparently, there are others...

I'm near Morgantown, and also very glad to learn that Harvey is still with us. The only 'truck' I have is a '95 Isuzu Rodeo that I inherited from my son. Six-cylinder, four wheel drive, not what I'm used to. I'm looking to sell it. The photos were limited to details of items, such as ladder racks and latches, construction items; boring stuff.

Well, thanks for the friendly welcome(s). I lurked a bit here before joining, after seeing that it seemed like a good bunch. Mack458, yep, that is she. It depresses me to see all that dust, and to think how she was kept parade-ready back in Oreland, as is all of their apparatus, even today. Barto apparently repainted the truck and added/replaced a few things, nothing that couldn't be returned to original. If I could do it, I'd buy her and restore her to show condition (assuming the owner would be willing to sell), but I've limited income and no place to store and work on her. I'm about half-way between Harrisburg and Philly, near Morgantown, south of Reading.

Hi Gang, my name is Joe, but most call me Joemac. It's been my nickname since I first joined the fire department at age 16, since my last name starts with Mc, and there were already so many Joes. As a small boy, I was fascinated, well, obsessed with fire apparatus. One of my earliest memories is being intrigued with the golfleaf striping on the local rigs, which were based a few blocks from my house. When I was six and a half, I was alerted to something outside the front door that prompted me to separate myself from the TV to investigate. What I saw had be spellbound, in the truest sense of the word. I quickly went out to gawk at the most beautiful vehicle I'd ever seen- the brand-new 1959 Mack C85 pumper that was parked in front of Souder's Food Market, directly across the street. Bill Souder was earlier affiliated with the Fire Company and so they stopped on the way to the firehouse on its maiden voyage from Sidney, Ohio. This was September of 1958. The following month our first grade class went on a field trip to the firehouse for fire prevention week. I was beaming with pride, as I knew far more about the goings-on there than any of my classmates. After his spiel about the new arrival, the tour guide asked if anyone wanted to guess what it cost. I raised my hand and answered, "twenty-eight thousand dollars", to which some class mates scoffed and giggled. Imagine the look on the faces when he said it was exactly right. I was in good stead with Bill Souder and had gotten all the inside info. That rig grabbed my soul and never let go. Ten years later, I was riding on the tailboard or in the jumpseat of that beauty. I got to know her on an intimate basis by washing and polishing every inch, as often as I was allowed. I drew a picture of her and donated it to the firehouse that was eventually framed and hung in the office. When they built a new house in the eighties, it was prominently displayed on the wall in the trophy room, even though I'd been long gone for years. I never forgot that Mack. Someone asked me about fifteen years ago, what my favorite vehicle of all time was. They probably thought it would be an old Porsche 356, or a later 911, since that was my current passion and what I worked on in my shop. I said it was a fire engine, but not just any fire engine. I've had a couple of photos of her in my cell phone since I've had it, and as the wall paper on my PC. I recently started working on building a model of a CF for the old fire department, which I visit on the fourth of July for their annual parade. It got me thinking and planning on building a 1/32 model of the '59 C, which they sold to Barto Fire Company years ago, who sold it off in about '94. I'd love to find out where she is now, and the closest I've gotten is some photos posted to Flickr, one year ago today. http://www.flickr.com/photos/91402685@N07/8369225794/in/photostream/lightbox/ I've heard through the grapevine that there are those back in the old town who are looking for another project to restore. I would be extremely happy to arrange for the old girl to go back to Oreland, where she belongs. I'm awaiting someone's response from my messages. Any help in tracking her present whereabouts and status would be greatly appreciated. Who says you can't love an inanimate object?

Well, to use the popular vernacular, "my bad". I thought I'd read that the esteemed Mr. Eckart had passed a few years ago. The way the self-proclaimed expert spoke the other night, it seemed he referred to him in the past tense, also. My sincerest apologies. Talk about starting off on the wrong foot... At any rate, thanks for the explanation. I was aware that the body dimensions were a variable among rigs and I was nearly certain that the cabs were the same, excepting the open-cab models differing from the canopy cabs.

I was taking some photos and recording the dimensions of physical aspects of a '65 C95 at a firehouse near my sisters' last night. I was occasionally slightly bothered by a 70 year-old guy who wanted to talk. As much as I wanted to listen and converse with him, that wasn't why I was there. I had a schedule. At one point, I asked him ( a self-proclaimed Mack C expert) what the differences were between the various models, 75- 125. His response was to walk us around to the front of the cab and indicate with his finger where the cab was two+ inches wider on both sides. My BS meter pegged. I eventually got his phone number after his numerous offers to help. He was name-dropping, the dearly departed Harvey being one. Claimed he had fourteen rigs at one point, down to eight now. Had the first and second Fox models that originally went to Jersey. I didn't sleep well. It bugged me. I called the curator in Allentown, about a 35 minute trip from here. He explained that it was the drivetrain and pump capacity as well as some other features. The cabs are all identical. Which is what I believe. How could this guy get something like that so wrong? Or, is he right?