bulldogboy

A Florida Rock Tank Lines Mack making a gasoline delivery in Bonita Springs, FL, 3/2018. bulldogboy

The Houston, TX Fire Department had two 1940 Mack EB "Type 80" city service ladder trucks. They were coupe cabs with suicide doors. I thought that they might be commercial chassis with bodies built by another company. Perhaps the Montecito engine was also built by another company. In any case, it is a truck worth saving. bulldogboy

Waiting for spring, part 3. bulldogboy

U.S Army's Class 125 crash truck. According to the website, "Fire Trucks at War", Class 125 fire trucks were built on Mack, Ford, Chevrolet, IHC, and Dodge chassis. Bodies were built by Mack, Seagrave, John Bean, among others. They were equipped with high pressure Hardie pumps, 50 GPM @ 600 PSI, 300 gallon water tanks, and 20 gallon foam tanks. It was not unusual to see Mack bodies on Chevrolet chassis, Hardie bodies on Mack chassis, etc. During wartime everyone worked together to meet the military needs. Class 125s could be found at many U.S. Army Air Force bases. bulldogboy

A GMC 640 advertising a landscape business. bulldogboy

What is Ford's new commercial vehicle? bulldogboy

I've received recall notices for the airbags on my 2007 Ranger but they state that the parts are not available and that I will be notified when the parts are in. In July, 2017, I received a flaming orange postcard from Ford telling me that I have been notified about the airbag recall and why haven't I had it fixed yet (basically yelling at me for waiting for a notice that never came). I called my local Ford dealer, where I had purchased the truck in 2007, and the service rep told me that he parts are not in and to ignore the postcard. Just sitting here waiting for another postcard yelling at me for not having the truck repaired with non-existent parts. bulldogboy

Darn, I was planning on using my new $100,000 F-450 pickup to take the two trash bags to the dump. Now I'm going to be upstaged by a Diesel F-150 Platinum? The heck with it, I'm keeping my 2007 Ranger. bulldogboy

Andy Griffith was from Mt. Airy, NC. We visited there a few years ago and took a guided tour of Mt. Airy in a replica Mayberry 1962 Ford police car. The guide dressed and spoke like Barney Fife. You can rent a room at Andy's boyhood home; it's owned by a local hotel. We also drove to the top of Pilot Mountain; it's a state park located in Pilot Mountain, NC. On the show, the town next to Mayberry was Mt. Pilot, a shout out to Pilot Mountain. Andy Griffith later lived and died in Manteo, NC on the Outer Banks. bulldogboy

I operated a 1959 Mack "C-85F" ladder truck with the legendary "Armstrong" steering and a five speed transmission. A classic fire truck. bulldogboy

In the 1960s, '70s, '80s, and early '90s, the Ford "C" model was probably the most used chassis for fire apparatus. Just about every manufacturer (except Mack and it did use the "N" model) used the "C" model. Late in the 1980s, Pierce, in order to compete with the "C-8000" model and eventually replace it, introduced the Dash "D-8000" chassis. The "D-8000" used the same Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine and Allison transmission that the "C-8000" used. Like the Mack "MB" model in the '70s, the Dash "D-8000" was a way for small departments to move up to an affordable custom chassis with components that they were familiar with. bulldogboy

Two years ago at JetBlue Park, AKA "Fenway South", in Lee County, FL, I saw a UPS Ford Transit Connect van. The ultimate small package delivery vehicle. I was unable to get a photo of it. bulldogboy

That is different!! Pierce is the leader in custom fire apparatus and if it has confidence in the Ford diesel it says a lot. It will be interesting to see how well customers take to the Ford diesel. bulldogboy

Former Westbrook, CT. Engine 2, 1250/1000. bulldogboy

Too bad that they have to sell it; looks like it's in good shape and is a great parade/P.R. piece. bulldogboy

Back on October 28, 2016, I posted this picture of a new UPS Ford "F-650" under "Trucking News - Ford Medium Duty Trucks". The photo was taken in Nashua, NH. I haven't seen it around lately so I don't know if it came from another facility or if it was sent somewhere else. bulldogboy

I just posted it under "New Hampshire Macks". I saw the "MB" first and had to take a picture of a Mack fire engine. I saw the "RW" afterwards and took a picture of it. Two old workhorses rusting away. bulldogboy

Former Alton, NH Fire Department Engine 5, a 1975 Mack "MB", 1250/1000, sitting by the side of the road (and behind some weeds) in New Hampshire. bulldogboy

Another Superliner tractor with sleeper sitting by the side of the road in New Hampshire. bulldogboy

I saw a USPS Ford "Transit" van in Gloucester, MA last week. So, I guess, it's buying some Ford vans. bulldogboy

Interesting article. Charlie Sorensen was Henry Ford's right hand man in the early days and worked for Ford Motor Company for more than three decades starting as a pattern maker and production man. "Cast Iron" Charlie worked on the Model "T" and was instrumental in developing the moving assembly line, in fact, Sorensen and others took some credit for the assembly line but history gives the credit to Henry Ford. Later when Edsel Ford took over the management of Ford, Sorensen sided with Edsel against Henry Ford and Harry Bennett the pugnacious leader of the secretive and violent "Service Department". When Edsel Ford wanted to aid the WWII war effort by building B-24 "Liberator" four engine bombers on an automobile style assembly line it was Sorensen who designed the layout for the new Willow Run bomber factory. It was also Sorensen who had the audacity to tell US government officials that the new plant would produce one bomber an hour. By the end of the war Willow Run was building a bomber per hour; promise kept. Before he retired Sorensen helped Henry Ford II when he took over the management of Ford and finally ended Bennett's reign of terror in the Ford plants. No doubt that "Cast Iron" Charlie Sorensen was a major player in the development of the American automobile industry. In his book, "The Arsenal of Democracy", author A.J. Baine tells of the secret room on Piquette Avenue and the development of the Model "T". bulldogboy

Former Penobscot, ME Fire Department, Engine 4, 750/2000. It was replaced by a smaller 2016 Freightliner/E-One pumper/tanker. According to the Penobscot department the Mack, while "iconic", its "double clutch and temperamental nature" made it difficult to use in emergency situations. Also, being 44 years old it was probably hard to find parts for it. bulldogboy

A DIVCO sitting in Westford, MA. bulldogboy

What about the "Budd" cab used by Ford, Mack, and to a lesser extent, FWD? There were a lot of those around. bulldogboy

Excellent program. 1911 was also the year that Mack built its first pumper, on a "Senior" chassis, for the Union Fire Association of Lower Merion, Cynwyd, PA. bulldogboy