Jack Mack

Well ,,we have been getting to shows this month, met a lot of people, still getting lots done on truck, Brother Tom is dealing with a little backfire issue possibly related to ignition. Lots of little things getting done , still working on getting 11 x22.5 radials and taking off the 11x20” tires, we have been a back and forth on wheels , polished aluminum wheels almost seem easier then five hole steel, we have a set of two hole steel stud pilots that will probably go on truck at least for awhile, people offering us aluminum wheels but thickness would require new studs in hub and not sure if it is the look we want. We have seen a nice B model single axle tractor with aluminum rims and stainless full fenders , so I bought a bunch of fenders from work fairly cheap, two sets of full fenders, two sets of half fenders and two sets of quarter fenders. I was allowed to borrow one to check fit on truck and original looks be dambed they look great on truck and easy install, and they won’t get painted red! I’ll throw what we don’t need up for sale here in a little bit. Did get her in my wife’s part of garage through a 8’x9’ door and am looking into a small pole building now next to the garage, and it will not be big enough for another truck! Although my company has a pretty well used U model tandem very short wheelbase going into auction lot , shorter then our truck, seems heavy build as it was a small Lowbed tractor. It would have to go to brother Tom’s house , he can build his own pole building!🤪……Jack

I’m not sure but you seem to make so much more progress on your big Mack then your the plastic model ! A true testimonial to a real trucker!….Jack !

Bob, you could have made progress on the model when taking your break on demounting those tires, just saying…Jack

Not his artwork it is on a wall mural at Monster Golf, near the Mack plant .

At a local to Mack plant golf place, yes that is Eli Zulli the Greatgreatgrandson of Jack Mack, yes he is a soccer player and dresses that way everyday but he does have the Mack blood running through him, very detail and mechanically oriented. I love the fuel tank support!…….Jack

We have looked at a lot of pictures of our Boston Ladder 11 truck in history and don’t really see any evidence of a roof every being there , although there is a bracket that could be used to tension canvas top. My brother tom wants to make a roof for our truck, I wanted a period correct heater it works out as the older better looking brother wins once in a while. Instead of a roof I bought two firehelmets, we live ten minutes from Macungie , what’s a little rain ? ……..Jack

That’s factory what you have I would try to find something to work with it, not sure but I think the screen is the filter , the two parts on build sheet might be the filter can and the bracket that mounts it. Fabricating a screen to hold a filter material inside what you have should be the easiest solution. My brother Tom spent a lot of time getting the Edelbrock filter on which looks cool but a purist would frown on it , we are not purists!…..Jack

We have a B-85 , but think hood might have been changed sometime as we have B-61 hood emblems. Looking for good original B-85 ones ….Jack

Saw you truck leaving yesterday while we were walking in , we showed up too late for much in flea market or to meet others, we will have our truck there next year…..Jack

Thanks my brother and I are considering it instead of copper ,as we are not restoring to original , hell the ladder of our hook and ladder had been scrapped so we just have a 1957, red convertible with a five speed! What’s not to love about that! Tomorrow will be the first time in my life that I will be at Macungie truck show looking for vintage parts for our truck!…..Jack😎

Was right about the retired guy getting the tank in, it was 90 degrees in Pa., I come home beat from work to see legs sticking out under truck. Tom got the tank in, looks great , I felt bad so got him some ice water and poured in 15 gallons of Ethanol free gas , no leaks! Still not making it to Macungie show which is so far away , uh about 20 minutes! ….Jack

I think we will have to play with the one or two distributors once we can get out on highway and see. Geoff your point seems valid to me, our engine is rated to 2700 RPM but Boston requested on build sheet to set it to 2100 RPM, perhaps getting to that max horsepower needs both….Jack

Ours we were told is a redundant system as is the electric fuel pump and mechanical fuel pump that were on build sheet , mechanical Pump was not there but piping from tank was when we got the truck. Our ignition switch gives you the choice we have ran it on each separately and with both on and did not see a big difference but this was not on the highway trying to get to our 2600 rpm. ….Jack

Been awhile since Mack brothers posted, Tom is exploring Ireland with his wife and enjoying retirement, me I still have a bit to go yet and resent him everyday he forgets that others have jobs. Original fuel tank has been repaired and lined , all painted , frame and brackets painted , I assume the retired guy will get it in by end of this week. Me? I have been working on taking off hydraulic system and stabilizers added by Boston FD, everything including tank leaked, truck undersides covered in thick oil, but engine and transmission are very clean and mostly oil free other then PTO pump which will be coming off. Federal siren ,Tom went over works and ready to mount , have correct Mack truck spotlights on windshield frame, sourced correct Mack Unity windshield alternating red lights , engine is getting detailed bit by bit . Still looking to check out a sister truck with original fenders yet to start working on restoring rear end to original and looking for wheels and tires as we want to move away from 11x20 split rims and go radials. All in all Tom and I are having great time and enjoy working on the truck!….Jack

We just did both points and condensers on ours but are planning on doing one electronic and just select that ignition. I assume you have a fire truck, with (L-R-Both) ignition switch. Life will be simpler electronic …Jack