Mack58B42

Ha! If I weren't about to possibly be unemployed in a couple months (corporate owners are closing my company), I'd be all over it! I did notice, however, that the auction ended, and it didn't even get close to what I assume the reserve would be..... If my employment situation stays steady, I may see if they still have it in April, or keep my eyes open for it turn up again somewhere....

Excellent! I looked them up on-line, but couldn't tell if they were actually still in business. If they do have some experience with these, I'll consider sending it up there. He can call me at 401-419-1677 or e-mail me at jeeprider01@yahoo.com and we can discuss it further if he's interested.....

Did you guys see this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cars-Trucks-Test-Category-Mack-Fire-Truck-/301840367907?forcerrptr=true&hash=item4647168123:g:i3oAAOSwwPhWixJF&item=301840367907 Spotted it on e-bay this morning (there's a post in the antique and classical section too), and my eyes about popped out of my head. I'm going to see if it hits the reserve or someone does the 'buy it now', but I'm really tempted to sell my B42 and try to make an offer on it if it doesn't sell..... I noticed that it's a gas motor, but the hood has a Thermodyne badge. Is that normal, or should I assume that the hood was replaced? The Thermodyne is just a diesel series, right?

:-) I was running both the stock mechanical and an added electric fuel pump in tandem. And I checked with a guy who had worked on these, and was told that the electric pump that I put in had more than enough oomph to supply what would be required for that motor. It was getting more than enough fuel, lol..... At idle, it would burn through about 4-5 gallons in 20 minutes. So I suspect that the stories of 1-4 mpg in these are probably true!

I'm sorely tempted to sell my B42 dump to scoop this thing!

Thanks. Actually all the responses have inspired me to keep it and make a real good push to get it going again! A couple guys have PMd me some good info, and I'm on the hunt for the right solution to get the job done! And, honestly, even if it never does make it back on the road, it's a piece of art and history that I just don't want to let go of.....

Yup, that's mine. Not too much before I sent it out for "repair". Once we initially got it running when I bought it (so much for the e-bay ad that said "runs well", lol) after re-wiring all the plugs/coils, it always idled great, but anytime you asked it for any power to gain motion, the poor thing would just die. That's what led me to want to have the carbs rebuilt and synchronized. And the fact that it ran this well has always made me think that the "not running" issue when I brought it in was likely an ignition/electrical thing that's probably fairly simple to figure out if diagnosed by the right person. But it really should have been done before the carbs were taken off and rebuilt.... Hence the spot I'm in now.

:-)

Yup - in CT. Did you perhaps see it in North Branford?

BTW - if you're interested in seeing a video of the motor running - this should be the YouTube link:

Again, I want to thank you all for your responses. I've PMd a couple of you, and will try some of the contacts you've recommended. I'm going to make one last push to see if I can keep this thing and get it running. As all of you are probably aware, sinking money into old trucks is generally a losing battle. And while I'm not happy about the way this has all played out over the past couple years, and while I'm aware of some of the restoration places you've mentioned, this isn't something that I want to spend a boatload of money on, since I can likely replace it (with a running diesel rig!!) for less than what a tow and the work of a resto shop would add up to when all is said and done. It does have some sentimental value, and the value of the work I've already put into cleaning it up, fixing a few things, and painting most of it, but I also understand that at some point, you just have to cut your losses, and look for a "new" vehicle to waste money and time on :-) I'm hoping that some of the assistance from you will get things moving again, and I'll keep you updated! Thanks!

Yeah - I've considered that as well. But he works on my local FD trucks, and works closely with a couple of my good friends on that. He's been pretty trustworthy with them. I think he thought this would be a nice fill-in project, then it turns out that it wasn't, and then his business had a big growth spurt (doubled his number of bays), and now it's just something that he doesn't have time for. But if he was someone I had just found out of the blue - I'd agree with you 100%!

That's all correct information... Nothing about these motors is easy....

Thanks! I did some more research, and I think I may have had an older e-mail address for Katrina. I re-sent my message last night to what I think might be a newer one. But I'll give you a PM - would definitely like to get a hold of her before I let this go....

I remember seeing this at Kemps many years ago, and loving the proportions of it....

Hmmm..... I thought he only did Macks. Does he work on other makes as well?

Ha! My B-85 had the 6 cyl, and always ran great and had plenty of power! I miss it!

Before I bought it there, I had tried to get it running after being stored for the winter. It would not start, and seemed to not be getting any spark. Since my garage is a bit damp, I assumed that the points probably needed to be cleaned replaced (and a couple of mechanic friends agreed), or that a coil had failed. When talking to the shop, they have never really told me what they looked at, or tried, but just keep insisting that nothing that they have tried has worked.....

Wow - thanks for all the responses. I'll try to hit some of the highlights of the issue/project here: - Yes, it's an oringinal ALF V-12 Lycoming design motor. - I'm not a mechanic (that's why I sent it out), so I'm not sure what the shop has or hasn't done exactly, except for re-wiring all 24 spark plugs, which I told them that I had already done right before they got the truck, and to send the carbs out to get rebuilt. However - they are a shop that works mostly on modern diesel fire trucks, and I think he thought it would be a nice "nostalgia" project, and then found out that ALF V-12s are not "normal" motors. - Since the truck ran in the fall of '12, and then would not start in the spring of '13, when I sent it off, I suggested that I assumed it was ignition/points/coil, etc. Seems to me that those should have been tried first, as they are fairly easy to check, but, again, I'm not sure what they've done or not done, and after 2.5 years, I think it's fruitless to keep working with this shop. Hence, my request for another shop lead. I think he realizes that they are in over their head and out of the realm of what they normally work with. - I am familiar with Katrina and the V-12 shop. We used to communicate on the ALF user's group, as we both have ALF 700 pumpers, but that site seems to have disappeared in the past year. I have tried to contact Katrina, and all the other contacts listed on the V-12 Shop site, and got no response, so I can only assume at this point that they are either not still there, or simply aren't interested in this particular project. I also can't afford to ship the truck to TX and back. At that point, it would probably make sense to take the current guy's offer and sell it to him. - I agree that the carbs should have come back set up at least somewhat ready to run, but, since I can't get ahold of Katrina or anyone at the V-12 shop, I can't verify that. - I'm a "paper" member of the RI SPAAMFA group. Was given a membership last Christmas as a gift, but since my truck has been out of commission, I haven't really been involved with the group, but that will be my next direction to head for inquiries if I opt to continue. I think if the truck were still home, finding a local "guy" through them would be helpful, but since it's already at an out-of-state shop, and not really near RI, at this point, it probably makes sense to find another actual shop that work on it and have it towed there, as simply getting advice from someone doesn't do me much good. Bottom line is that I don't want to spend $400 to have it towed home, only to have a dead truck sitting in my yard with no other options, so I have to decide if I can find another shop to tow it to without having to make it a full time job, or just take his offer to buy it and look for another rig.... If I had any mechanical ability, I'd just bring it home and find someone to help walk me through the issues, but since it's in western CT, and is not garaged at this point, the more I think about it, I'm thinking that I'll probably just take this guy's offer to buy it.... I'll read through the responses again, and reply to a couple of the threads directly..... Thanks again!

I know this is a Mack forum, and I've owned a couple fire trucks, including a B-85 that I still kick myself for selling, but I know that fire truck people tend to like and know about ALL different types. Besides my B-42 dump, I also currently I own a 1949 ALF pumper (see pic) that I sent off to a repair shop a couple years (yes - years) ago. They have not been able to get it running (there's a much longer story, but I won't bore you with it), and seem to have actually dug a hole that they can't climb out of, and now it's sitting out behind their shop deteriorating. Is there anyone here that knows of anybody in the Northeast (RI/CT/MA) that is capable of getting an old ALF V-12 running, including synchronizing the carbs? The carbs have been rebuilt by the V-12 shop in TX, but the truck was not running when I dropped it off, and they did not solve the not-currently-running problem (it had run a few months before when it was garaged for the winter) first. So now they have the carbs back, but no baseline to start with to get it going again. Anyway, they've given up and have actually offered to buy the truck from me. But I have a lot of work into it, and hate to let it go. So if I can find someone that thinks they can get it going again, I'm very tempted to try one more time before taking up his offer and just finding another truck (maybe another B?)... Any leads would be appreciated....

I'd love to find one like that someday when I have some room to store it!

Is it just me, or is there something about the grills on the B73s that seem to make them look 15 or 20 years more modern than they really are?

While I think that a B81 dump with 2 or 3 axles is pretty much the most beautiful truck ever built, and I hope I can find myself a nice one someday, I, too, have to admit that if I had to drive one as worker bee, I think I'd have to go with the Granite! I don't think you'll see many of them working in 2065, but frankly, there aren't really that many B81s working today either. And I think the Granite IS a pretty nice looking rig, even if not quite as rugged.... And it's got to be a lot more comfortable and easier on the shifting arm than the B on an 8 or 10 hour shift :-)

I checked their web site. It's listed as an active apparatus, with no mention of it being for sale.....

Hmmmm..... In my neck of the woods, the B-81s were a common sight right up into the early 80s, and a few of the large construction companies ran them until they were just plain worn out. When I was about 10 or 11, sewers were being installed near my house by VJ Paolino Corp, and all summer long, I'd talk a couple of the dump truck drivers into letting me ride with them for a few hours at a time in both their B81s, and at about the same time, Cardi was constructing a bypass route near, me, and their fuel guy would let me ride around with him when he filled up all the equipment with diesel, and he had a fairly new R-Model. That's when Cardi was phasing out most of their B-models, and was running mostly a fleet of Rs on this particular project. I have some fond memories of riding around in those rigs....