Allison

Name: Mack B85-F (1957) Date Added: 21 June 2009 - 04:48 PM Owner: Allison Short Description: This B-model is an original Harrisburg ladder truck. After recently bringing the truck back home. I got the one and only Dale Snyder of Allentown to Gold Leaf the HFD 12 and the name Allison back on the hood. Dale worked for Mack from 1966 to 1984 gold leafing all fire trucks that came out of Allentown. View Vehicle

Guys I’m trying to drop the drive shaft on my B 95 Fire engine. I’m having some trouble because I’m used to u joints and this truck has circular flange joints instead of u bolt joints. I took the bolts out and the caps are one SOB to get off. Needless to say i got one off so far and the bearing cap is still inside. Question: how do I get the bearings out without totally messing them up, and secondly the cap that bolted on over the bearings seemed to snap a piece in the middle almost like that cap was attached to the bearing cap?? Not sure but when I removed the bolted cap it snapped off from the bearing cap. Can anyone give me some direction?? Thanks Allison

It's a B-85. I'll plan for 14000 lbs! Thanks guys

Does anyone have a good idea how much a late 50's standard B-model fire engine would weight? Trying to figure out how big of a tow truck I'm going to need! Thanks for the help!!

JDC, I just redid all of my hydraulic brakes on my 57 B model and i used White Post Restorations (540-837-1140)in VA. They do an excellent job on wheel cylinders and i ordered all new steel brake lines, and flexible brake hoses from Brake Materials & Parts Inc.(260-426-3331) in Fort Wayne In. They work with White Post and i had all my new parts super quick.. As far as brake parts those guys will get you what you need.

WoW …….im totally jealous !!!! I don’t even want to talk about the things I had to go through to get my Mack!!! WoW… C95 is an awesome truck… Since we are talking about 707’s I do have a question to add... I have a 707 B engine and I was looking over the differences between the B and C engines. Since modern grades of gasoline are much higher than what they used to, is there any concern for timing and cam angles and point gaps. 707B calls for Ignition timing # 1 cylinder BTDC: 78 – 80 octane, 11 degree, 3 2/3 teeth 83 – 85 octane, 13 degree, 4 1/3 teeth on the fly wheel gear. Distributor: Cam angle degrees……..35 Point gap .018 to .024 707C calls for Ignition timing # 1 cylinder 86-96 Octane, 8 degrees, 2 2/3 teeth on the fly wheel (use only premium fuel) Distributor: Cam angle, degrees…………38 to 45 Point gap .016

Maddog make it $ 200.00 and its a deal!!!

Lmack, Another good idea i didnt even think of..... ill check for water and follow both of your's advice. Thanks for all the help guys!!!

Kenny, Thanks for the reply.. I have heard of steering columns that run inside of another column which got my gears spinning since this is something i thought i had.. The whole reason i started looking up was because the oil wells up and out of the top plug like there is a good amount of oil somehow above that point. I mean is comes up and out like its got something pushing it. I thought about what you advised but i just wanted to see if i was missing something.. Is there any way to lubricate the steering shaft?? The outer chrome column piece doesn’t move at all so there must be a inner shaft that the wheel actually turns?? Allison

Ok guys im trying to oil my steering box for the trailer of my 57 tiller truck. Under the tillers seat is a gear box that the steering collumn runs down to. This box has a fill plug in the top and the bottom.. I took out the top plug and oil welled up out!!?? hhhhmm ok ... i figured i would open the top plug and simply add some gear oil.. obviously there is oil above this plug to make it well up and out so im trying to figure out where to add oil. I went up to the steering wheel and took off the center cap and found a large nut holding the wheel on. In the middle of this nut is about a 1" opening that seems to run the length of the steering shaft down to that gear box.. IS this where you add oil.... down this hole in the center of the steering wheel??? It does seem to be a shaft inside of a shaft. The outer Chrome shaft is stationary. ?? Thanks in advance!! Allison

Here is a photo of my 1957 B-85.

Albert, Thanks for the input.. i was just looking to get everything off to completely restore. I will simply work around the backplate. Thanks for the help. Allison

Hey guys... im finally trying to get my wheel cylinders off to get rebuilt and i ran into what i think is rivets. These are off of my trailer. I got down to the back plate and i cant figure out how to get the back plate off of the swing arms.There are these 4 "rivets" on each side of the spindel that seem to hold the back plate on??? 1st. Are these Rivets?? 2nd Can i cut them, drill them, to get the back plate and brake assembly off of the truck and replace with bolts after repaired??

Nick, Not sure if its an option but you could rebuild the carb. The carb. shop has entire rebuild kits for pretty much all mack and i know for a fact that they have all the Zenith kits you would need. Probably the best place to go for carb parts and rebuilds.! I believe a total rebuild kit for a Zenith is around $ 125 to 150. http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Orderinfo.htm Allison

Pavrguy3 I recently just ordered caps, rotors, wires, and plugs for my mack and Cook Brothers trucking got them for me right away with no problems. These guys are awesome!!! They have gotten several "where the hell do i get these" parts for my B85 707... I use the Mechanicsburg location and Mike and jeff are the two head guys.. Cant say enough about this place. http://www.cookbrothersco.com/parts_01.asp

Im looking for a wiring diagram of the distributer caps and spark plugs for my 1957 b-model with a en707 engine. I got new rotors, caps, wires, and plugs and just want to check wire placement. Allison

I posted this under the mack gas engine thread but ill ask you guys as well. Just ordered rotors, caps, wires and plugs. I gave the specs for the plugs right from the manual and the plugs were two different part numbers.. My trucking company that gets all of my stuff was kinda curious why.. I do remember the manual stating i believe the RS being #18 and the LS being #16.. Not sure what the two numbers reference but they came in under two different part numbers and the supplier actually listed specific placement instructions for the respective plugs???

I have a EN 707 gas engine in my 1957 B-model. Straight six .... monster.... reading this post makes me ask a question. Mine is dual ignition. Were all the 707's dual... Im also in the process of ordering new distributor caps, rotors, wires and plugs. As i ordered the plugs i used the specs right out of the manual and they actually turned out to be two different parts numbers... wonder why??? Actually in the manual if i remember corectly they referenced a # 18 for the right side and # 16 for the left side. And from what i have heard they are damn good motors....!!?? Allison

NJCF, Another place to look is the boom spindle on the side of the bed section. It is a reel that coils the line to the platform with a top hat looking extension that sticks out of the middle. In the top hat looking piece is copper brushes that make contact while spinning out and in to maintain the hydraulic functions that the joystick is relaying to the hydraulic system. Over time the brushes become worn and or the drum become pitted leaving dead spots. This is a common cause when you have spots in joystick motions where there is no truck movement when using the joystick to control operations. After so long this can get so bad that total movement in one direction can totally be disabled. Your levers from the turn table are directly connected to the hydraulic valves. Everything from the platform is carried over these electrical contacts back to the turn table which is almost always the cause of your type of problem. Allison

T-niss, Charlie hit it on the head.. I get mine through a local trucking company. Cook Brothers. They are great.. when ever i need some part for my B -model they some how find it.. But i recently stopped in our local autozone and i saw lucas products on the shelf..

I recently started using Lucas oil's fuel additative in my b-model.. Its safe to run in gas and diesel and is supposed to be a top shelf product.. about $24 dollars a gallon.. 3 oz treats 10 gallons of fuel. For you older macks its safe to use with lead additive also.... wasnt sure so we called lucas and spoke with a technician..good stuff!!

It looks like a foot plate that would be mounted on the running board or side step of a early mack fire truck. Can't tell from the photo if its curved but i have very similar step plats over the fenders of my trailer of my 57 B model..