General Ike

Yup... same thing in Millwood, NY in the '80s. Engine had swing up doors open when the alarm was struck and someone forgot to close them and the chauffeur didn't check his mirrors. Center column taken out. Station went from having split bay doors to one big one.

For any race fans who haven't watched Australian V8 Supercar's on TV you don't know what you're missing. Its the most entertaining racing in the world. The Holden Commodore above is the car the Chevy SS is built from although much like a NASCAR Cup car, there is little resemblance to the production vehicle other than body panels. See the video below of the end of a race a few years ago at Mt. Panorama in Bathurst. Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander duking it out. This track is on my bucket list to drive on. The elevation change is unreal and the pucker factor of the downhill and the kink in the back straight that is taken flat out in 6th gear with 650hp would be enough for a spare set of under-drawers. Fast forward to 2:30 then watch the last lap to the checkered flag

I'm confused. This looks like a 10 speed. Is there a dash mounted switch for lo range?

I didn't watch the video, but only three of these were made. They made such an impression on Ford that the motorsports division bought one to test and this car was essentially the springboard for the GT-40 that went on to win 4 consecutive 24 Hours of LeMans in the late '60's with legendary drivers Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt behind the wheel.

As the crow flies, Joes Mack is 20 miles or so from BSG. I'd PM him and see if he has any ideas/contacts.

This was parked on the side of the road in North Central Tennessee. On Celina Highway (52) between Celina and Livingston.

My friend I appreciate your help. I'm pretty sharp at working on a SBC in a Suburban or 3/4 pickup or the flat six in a Porsche race car but I'm not a diesel mechanic. This being said I'm sure I can figure out what to look for with a little guidance. For sure don't want to call the local Detroit diesel joint. Can you work me through what and where to look. This is the secondary fuel filter. Pic further back in this thread. Mounted on fire wall. Screw on filter. Using Baldwin filters. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So when I removed the old fuel filter you could see that The O-ring had been blown out of its groove and that is how it failed. Got a new filter lubed up the O-ring filled it with diesel installed it Truck fired up right away but as soon as I throttle it up it blows the O-ring out through the side of the filter and the filter housing resulting in the same pissing of diesel fuel problem I started with last weekend. Took the fuel filter off re-seated the ring reinstalled it and it happened again. Thoughts? Have to believe it's an excess fuel pressure issue. Is there a return line that could be clogged. Truck idles and accelerates perfectly so the motor is getting the right amount of fuel. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wouldn't doubt that they are some form of nuclear related vehicle considering the fact that the only ones I've ever seen are within 150 miles of the Oak Ridge nuclear facility in Tennessee. However they all have deep tinted windows and look somewhat more clandestine then what I would think a vehicle used simply for the detection of radiation would look like. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have seen dozens of these on I81 and I40 from Knoxville to Nashville. I saw about 10 of them at one time near Oak Ridge on I40 in October. They're usually light grey, white or blue. Same box on all of them. Tough to see from the pics, but there is a door that leads into the box in the center rear. Its clearly intended for a person to enter through not just to retrieve cargo. Thats the spare tire on the rear drivers side. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In that pic you can see Engine Zero still written from its Yardley days on the brow above the windshield. That rig was awesome. Only thing I didn't like was it wasn't Jake braked. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Makes sense. The Baldwin Filter part number is listed as a secondary filter. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So we got the general Ike fired up today with absolutely no issues whatsoever until I pulled out onto the road. Started smelling diesel fuel pulled over and found that what appears to be the fuel filter attached to the firewall just behind the turbo charger on the 6V 53, was Leaking excessive amounts of fuel from where the filter meets the filter housing. I'm assuming that this is because the gasket is shot from sitting. Is this a simple unscrew the old filter and put a new filter on? Will the system lose prime when I go to do this? I assume that I should fill the new fuel filter with diesel fuel prior to installing Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As requested Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The L was sold to Gere Lady and was lost in a fire when his barn burned. It was at GFD the entire time I was there in service as E1-4 but it never saw fire while I was there from '96-'00. It was a 1947 I believe. Ran its last job pumping a fire at Sentz cleaners right off the Square in Gettysburg in the mid '90's. The CF was the old Engine Zero from Yardley. It became E1-3. I caught a ton of fire on that rig. It was acquired to act as a stand in for E1-2 (1977 Seagrave) when it was refurbished and had a Pierce body mounted. They decided to keep it when E1-2 came back and it was slimed. Gere Lady coincidentally owns E1-2 now as well. And while we are at it he owns the old hose wagon, Wagon 1. Or at least he did when I did my Pre delivery inspection of the General in 2011. Last I knew, the CF, E1-3, was at the Harrisburg Area Community College fire school. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First video above was when Jere Lady picked it up from GFD's storage shed behind the station. Second video is from the county convention but the rig isn't 100% complete as the hose reels aren't installed. It would be almost two more years before the rig was finished and he shipped it to me in Florida. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Its turbocharged so it's not that loud. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And you'd be spending silly money. That would be like wasting cash to swap a good 7.3 from a Ford with a trusty 5.9 Cummins or vice versa Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not the case at all. 6v53 is a bulletproof mill. Turbocharged ones are as well. This was a great swap considering the fact that it was done with existing resources during the economic crawl of the late 70s and early 80s in a place like Gettysburg where there is more tax exempt property than taxable (not that there is a fire tax anyway) due to the battlefields, college and Lutheran Seminary. You own a dripper now too that you rode to many a fire. If you can't beat them.... own one!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If I can get a hall pass I will be under the hood by 0800 tomorrow. If I recall correctly the Borough of Gettysburg had a wrecked loader or dump with the Detroit in it when they decided to refurb this rig 30years ago. So they sourced an Allison automatic and pitched the 707 in favor of the Detroit added a 1100gallon tank and air brakes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No real way to be sure without taking the valve covers off right? Because the rack can be "semi free" but an single injector hung up, no?

Its got air brakes. Thanks.

So the General Ike has been sitting for some time. Probably about two years. The batteries are shot and have resisted my attempts to rehabilitate them. I was going to put fresh batteries in on Saturday and then go blow the carbon out in prep for my middle son's 5th birthday a week from Sunday. Last time it sat this long I didn't have any problems.... But I'm looking to you guys to see if you'd do anything other than check the oil and go. Its got a 6v53T in it. I'm assuming if its wet underneath that I'm good to go.

I'm just not sure how its smoke and mirrors. The facts you state are the facts. But the investment in the plant in Michigan brings 700 jobs with it and $700million in cap-ex spending which in and of itself will create jobs for those working on the $700million they're putting into the plant. I just don't see why we're not looking at this as a positive. The narrative that is being put forth is that its smoke and mirrors and that there is no good going on here. Is the following not a better way to look at this.... "Ford has announced the cancellation its investment of $1.6billion into a new plant in Mexico and instead will invest $700million in a plant in Michigan where jobs are the economy desperately need it. This change of direction will bring 700 jobs to the plant as well as stimulate other jobs as the facility is modified. Ford will however shift the production of certain vehicles to Mexico in a bid to produce its lower end vehicles more efficiently. While this is disappointing, Ford's reversal of its plan to produce a larger plant in Mexico that would almost assuredly result in a greater shift of production to Mexico in the future, is a step in the right direction for the American Worker, the State of Michigan and the American Economy."