1958 F.W.D.

Just out of curiosity, is anyone NOT planning on attending Macungie this year due to high fuel prices?? Are you clamping down on any of your other antique show attendance???? The 140GZ Waukesha in my FWD firetruck is thirsty, and the kids need to eat......So the firetruck is going to be sitting a lot this summer.......

Gentlemen- located the proper size (cut off from a same model tranny) tool from an old-school Wauky man. Thanks for the suggestions!

Some of you may remember me asking a few months ago about getting the Lipe Clutch in my 1958 FWD firetruck rebuilt. I took someone's advice on here (Thank you whoever you were, I can not recall at this time your name!) and sent the clutch to D & W Rebuilders in Baltimore, Md. The clutch itself was all the way down to the rivets and then some!!!! Wendell at D & W rebuilt it for me, even with a complete set of shims, which had all been removed and lost over the years. It is a 5 speed Clark trans, with a 15" Lipe single disc clutch. Now that I have it back I am ready to re-assemble everything, but I need the alignment tool. All my possible sources all said they dont have that "oddball" one. I need a 1.5" shaft, that has 10 teeth which are .25 in width. I can't locate a new one to buy on the internet without paying an arm and a leg (for something I will only use once....hopefully...) Anyone out there have any suggestions?????????

Tower Ladder- I just saw this thread, are you still in need of pictures? I see that the back of your cab is the straight/flat style which only FDNY purchased- I have some 1/25th scale FDNY decal sets- numbers, letters, door decals, etc. if you are interested in them.

How about it? Any Waukesha fans here? Nothing like the low, bassy rumble coming from an 817G Wauky doing low RPM's with the tranny in a medium-range gear!!!

Thanks for the tip Paul, I am looking into them.

That reminds me of when I got hired as a proby (civilian) firefighter at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard- If you have never been in the Philly Yard, parts of it are a "city within a city" having tall buildings from block to block....The (main) firehouse was in the center of a long block, with 10 story buildings on either side of it, on both sides of the street.....We had this 1976 Maxim ladder truck, with an 8V-71 natural.......The officer had to scream at the driver to tell him where to go, and the poor guys riding in the back jumpseats had to wear hearing protection..........And when you pulled out of the firehouse into the street, and mashed down on that throttle, the resulting sound that echoed off the buildings would make you think armageddon was coming.

When I was growing up, I spent a lotta miles in the right-hand seats of my father's two "F" Models. First one was a 1974 single screw, 300 with a 5 speed. The other one was a 350 with a 10. Oh how I loved to listen to the whistle of those Air Research Turbos when going up through the gears, or when you hit a hill. I also miss climbing back in the bunk, and falling asleep with the movement of the truck, the road vibrating, those Mack engines screaming, the sound of the turbo, the squeak of Dad's air-ride seat going up and down......An occasional bump in the road...... I miss coming into a new city that I had never seen before, at dawn.....Looking around and seeing it waking up, being on an interstate, and watching the locals doing their morning rush to work, holding cups of coffee.....Seeing the sun breaking through the tall buildings of a city center...... ......In the middle of the night, cruising along an interstate, seeing an occasional truck in the opposite lanes, hearing an occasional squak of "Hey Westbound, you got it on?" on the CB......Everything is quiet, peaceful, except for the hum of the driveline......The only light in the cab is the backlights of the gauges....I can see the reflections of the gauges as I peer out the passenger window into the dark night. These were my weekends and summers from the time I was about 3-4-5 years old (short trips) to the time I was 12 or 13 when Dad went into the office of the company permanently. The summer that the boss finally bought his tractor I was so depressed........Once in a while after that Dad would get a tractor and make a weekend run, OHHHHHH THAT REMINDS ME!!!!! Wow!!! Typing this brought back a huge memory! Not too long after Dad made the transition into the office (the boss brought him into the office of his then-growing very fast company, Dad had experience setting up ICC authorities) the boss would send Dad out occasionally when he ran short of drivers. I remember one time Dad telling me "C'mon, mom packed you a bag, we're going to Chicago!" We got in the car and went to the yard.....Imagine the look on my face when we pulled up to a brand-spanking new ULTRALINER (a demonstrator suppled by now long-gone Philadelphia Mack)!!!!!!!! I just got off the phone with dad as I am typing this, he thinks he remembers it had a 350 and a 10 speed.....Twin Screw.....All leather interior......Freaking Gorgeous! I remember the CB ringing off the hook with drivers asking "What the hell izzat?" because the Ultraliners had JUST come out and weren't really popular yet.....I also remember guys coming over to look at her in truckstops and rest areas........Dad thinks he remembers we were pretty close to 80,000 and that truck went up the "hills" in western Pa (going across the turnpike) like they werent even there. This was 1982 or 1983. Wow....This is one of the times I wish I could re-live my childhood!

Ye ask and shall receive...... The second pic (above, in the previous posting) is circa 1960 or so. The third pic in this posting is circa 1976 give or take a year. As you can see the truck was painted a deeper "maroon" red by the company that bought it from it's original owners (My fire company.) I will post the story in the story thread, it's a good one! Moral of the story is, is that I now own the first firetruck I ever rode on when I was three and a half! -Randy Yardumian

Terry, thank you for that reply. Sounds like they are a good vendor to go with. But like RC51 said- sounds like $250 bucks may be low......I need to send them an email and interrogate them about what I get for that price. Randy Yardumian

Al: The clutch is indeed an "ML" series, the model number is 150-1-466, and the SN is A926162. Would your supplier happen to have two of these rebuild kits in stock, and what would it cost to ship them to Hellertown, Pa (ZIP 18055?) Or if you could give me a name and a phone number I could call myself. Would be nice to have one for the current rebuild, and one to have in stock. Do the kits come with the shims? I sincerely hope so, or I am screwed, because the original shims are long gone. Also I am going to send an email to Ft Wayne Clutches, and interrogate them about this $250 fee- Now I am a little skeptical and am wondering exactly what will I get for that????? Again, thanks for the help! And if anyone reading this has had experience with Ft Wayne Clutch, good or bad, please let me know! -RANDY

RC51 you are %100 Correct! I forgot to insert into my posting that it is indeed an "ML" Lipe-Rollway clutch. I have the exact model number written down but of course I cant find it right now. I can get it to you however. What would it cost me to get a hold of one of these kits, and what does the kit include? Does it have replacement wedges (I hope!!!???) Thanks for the fast reply!

Hello everyone, new member here. First I apologize, I attempted a search on this topic but could not come up with any results. From lurking around for a while, you folks really seem to have your stuff together, and in my opinion, this forum appears to be the absolute best one out there for antique trucks. Though I dont own a Mack, I did grow up in the right hand seat of two F-Models that my father owned as an owner-operator, I have a deep appreciation of all things Bulldog, especially firetrucks! I own a 1958 F.W.D. model F-725, 750GPM firetruck, with a 140GZ Waukesha (THUNDER PUMPKIN!) gasoline engine, mated to a 5 speed Clark transmission through a 15" Lipe-Brown Clutch. The clutch has grown quite tired, and is in need of rebuilding. All of the wedges have been removed. If you are on even the slightest incline, and start out in second, she slips big time. Or upon reaching a steep grade without a good running start (read: momentum!) she slips (Taking her to Macungie in 2005, E/B on I-78, at the junction for Rt.309 where the steep grade is, I had to drop her to second and was doing 20mph on the shoulder! Not Good!) The time has come to rebuild the clutch. Myself and my Father will remove/install. Problem is, that I can not find a vendor in/around the Lehigh Valley or Philadelphia Metropolitan area that wont rebuild it for less than $500 bucks (I have been quoted anywhere from $500 to as high as $800) Now understand that I am not a tightwad, but I do have two anklebiters and a mortgage payment (blah blah blah) I dont have a money tree outback. In doing research, I found Fort Wayne Clutches, Inc. (www.fortwayneclutch.com) in Hemmings Motor News. On a whim, I called them, and the guy I talked to really seemed to know his stuff, and gave me a price of $250, not including shipping. Has anyone out there ever dealt with this company and can you tell me about your experience with them??? Good? Bad?? Second Question is, Are there any vendors in the Lehigh Valley, Metro Philly or even New York City area that could rebuild this clutch for a reasonable amount? What would you consider a reasonable amount to do this work???? Any advice anyone is willing to lend is greatly appreciated! Thank You in advance! -Randy

Hello everyone, My name is Randy, I live in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, a short distance from Allentown, Pa. I have a true fondness and love for all things Mack, as I grew up in the right-hand seat of two F-Models that my father owned when he was an owner-operator. His first F-Model was a single-screw 1974 I believe, with a 300 and a 5-speed, all he did was haul new Trailmobile Trailers out of the factory in Lansdale, Pa. leased on to Charles Danbury, Inc. Later on he graduated to a twin-screw 1980, with a 350/10-speed when he leased on with Southwest Freightlines, Inc. with another gentleman who then went on to form what is now an extremely large 48-state LTL carrier. My primary love, however is firetrucks, especially Mack "B", "C", "L" "R" and "CF" Firetrucks. Dad and I are both volunteers in Montgomery County, Pa. I currently own and operate a 1958 F.W.D. Model F-725, 750GPM pumper, which is the first firetruck I ever rode on. It originally belonged to our volunteer department, and Dad took me to a parade in Bridgeport, Pa. in 1976, when I was three and a half. The truck was sold to a company in Gloucester County, NJ in 1978. I purchased it from them in 2002. It is powered by a 140GZ Waukesha (THUNDER PUMPKIN!) mated to a Clark 5-speed trans, with a Lipe-Brown 15" clutch. F.W.D.'s are pretty rare these days, and firetrucks especially so. Not only do I own a rare truck, but a sentimentally valuable one as well- my two sons went to their first parades on board this truck as well! (With Grandpa in attendance!) I had the truck at Macungie 2005 and 2006, but due to the clutch getting weak, I had to forgo this year. Someday I hope to own a Mack pumper, ladder truck, or even a tractor of some sort to park next to the F.W.D.!