ff6cav

On 3/26/2023 at 4:41 PM, 61 Mack said:

Did you get the exhaust manifold repaired or did you find a replacement?

I got a replacement.  It's actually off a diesel, but works just fine

On 8/27/2022 at 3:49 PM, 73cf600 said:

You've done a marvelous job so far restoring your truck. I've been following along as I have recently purchased a 73 CF600. I see you are getting new batteries. Is your truck positive ground? Have you had any trouble wiring lights and radios? I just blew up a Motorola Mocom 70 radio that I was installing in my 73 before I figured out it was positive ground. Best wishes on your new home & shop purchase.

 

Ed

Thank you!  Yes, it is positive ground, I haven't had any issues as I'm using the existing lights and just replacing bulbs as needed.  I have considered putting in a converter to be able mount a hidden power plug and maybe a radio, but haven't fully decided on that yet.

Quick update, I know it's been a long time 🙄 Our fixer-upper of a house has been taking all of my time and money since we moved in a little over a year ago, but I have managed to find time to tinker with the rig a little bit.  I tested the ignition switch with a known good battery, and all tested out ok, so I'm thinking the batteries in the rig are bad.  I also removed the carb and gave it a good cleaning, and may have narrowed down the no start issue to just bad gas; the gas in the carb was almost black in color, and thinking back to it, the gas had probably been sitting in the tank for about a year at the time I was working on it🤦‍♂️ The last time I was able to try starting it, I had spark and fuel getting to the carb, so theoretically good gas should do the trick.  I don't know why I didn't try putting fresh gas in the carb at the time, but that will be my next step after getting new batteries.

My C85 is listed on the title at 30k

Quick update- I've been continuing to get odds and ends done, slowly.  My "spare" time has been consumed by preparing our house to sell, and looking for our next house.  Assuming all inspections come back ok, we are currently under contract on a place with a 40x40 garage, which was really a huge selling point for me!  As far as the truck goes, I looked at the ignition switch again- I worked the switch back and forth a few times, then turned on the battery and checked the voltage again.  This time, the voltage read 6v both on the battery side and the outlet side of the switch.  I'm leaning towards bad batteries, as I'm getting between 10-11 volts at the batteries when I check them, and charging them hasn't changed that, so I'll pick up new ones and report back.

My grandfather drove a few back in the day:

mack h.bmp

mack r.bmp

Untitled-Scanned-10.bmp

Untitled-Scanned-09.bmp

On 6/21/2022 at 8:00 PM, v8steel said:

I have a ‘63 C85 and hope to get it road worthy soon.  It will run rough if I drizzle gas in the carb.  I need to drop and clean / replace the gas tank as there seems to be lots of trash in it.  There’s no telling what the former owner (private) did with the truck.  He was not able to talk with me.  

My carburetor is very corroded and needs rebuilding or replacing.  Any ideas where to go for replacement or rebuild kit?  I also would like to upgrade the distributors to pertronix or similar.  Are the distributors the same units that would have been used in something else?  What should I be asking for?  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks !

For the carb, rebuild kits are pretty ready available online, you'll just need the one for your specific model. A good place to check for the pertronix would be the Brillman Co, they also have plug wire sets for the 707.

Progress continues.... slowly.  Life seems to be getting in the way of making any meaningful progress lately, but I have been getting little odds and ends done as time permits.  I was troubleshooting some things today, and would appreciate some insight/opinions.  A few weeks ago, I installed some of the warning lights and tested them with the ignition on, and all was working well.  A few days ago, with no changes to the system, when I turned on the ignition there was barely any power- not even enough to run the electric fuel pumps.  I tested the electrical from the batteries up to the ignition switch, and have consistent voltage throughout the system, until I get to the output side of the ignition switch, where it drops to 0.2v.  Am I correct in thinking that the ignition switch went bad?

Well unfortunately, despite my best efforts and intentions, I couldn't get the rig on the road in time for trick-or-treat tonight.  The wiring harness is in and working great, but I ran into a fuel delivery problem that took most of a day to troubleshoot and figure out.  I set out this morning ready to fire it up, but had the same result of cranking, but no fire.  Pulled the spark plugs on the right side and found them all to be fouled.  The right side plugs and wires are new within the last 5 years, so I had assumed that spark shouldn't be the reason for the non-starting. Put in 6 new plugs, still no dice, and decided to pull a plug to check for spark (with help from my lovely wife.... on her birthday, no less).  No spark on either side.  The rotors in the distributors spin, so my next point to consider is the coils, but I had to head to work before I could go any further.  At this point, I'm considering swapping in pertronix units over the fall/winter and having the rig home for a christmas decoration since it didn't work out for halloween.  

Been making strides recently, now have the floorboards done(with a little help), cab and pump house painted, and am working on getting the new wiring installed.  For the floorboards I ended up painting them with a roller, and they turned out pretty good.  In some "spare time" I was able to make a pounce pattern for the door lettering based on measurements I took from the "shadow" of the original lettering in the paint.  Over the winter, I plan to try my hand at gold leafing the lettering; it seems pretty doable from some tutorials I've been watching.

Been making progress, one piece at a time.  I'll drop a link for my youtube playlist, now that I have a few updates posted.  My kids have informed me that they want to use the rig in our halloween display this year, so the push is on to get it somewhat together before then!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQW6cIJA9WhVGKXNaOiknlRZcjkuUQ5tn

Making bits of progress recently, moving towards painting the cab within the next month (hopefully).  I've also started making video updates and posting them on my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/user/ffco6

13 minutes ago, Red Horse said:

I  wonder if any N series Macks ended up in fire service?

There were a few, this thread has some info:

Recent work has included cutting out and replacing rotted out sections of the floor plate, and continuing to strip and paint other loose pieces.  The welds won't win any awards for their looks but they're definitely sturdy!

On 1/11/2021 at 10:28 AM, General Ike said:

ff6cav.... I am sorry for your losses.  Lost my old man at 59 when I was at college in Gettysburg.

Were did you get hired?

Thank you, and that had to be tough for you being away from your family when it happened.  I'm now working for the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire, and before that was at Chambersburg for about 2 years; they both use the same academy at HACC, but of course with Covid going on that made things more interesting the second time through!

Now that it's been a few years, how is the Napa paint holding up?

Not a whole lot to update on this project, a few weeks ago I managed to get the headlight panel off, opting to cut the front intake adapter off after many non-destructive attempts.  What I've found to be interesting is that as I removed a lot of the trim pieces, I found only primer underneath, seeming to indicate that the trim was placed before the rig was painted.  My plans of getting the paint done before cold weather set in never came to pass, but I'm hoping to hit the ground running again in the spring.

My wife is from Hillsboro, NH and while we were dating I got to see the collection shortly before they were auctioned off.  It's now an empty lot, the last time we visited there was 1 REO wrecker still sitting there and the building still has the Kemp's sign on the door.

23 hours ago, 609albert said:

try Matt Pfahl in CT, 203-266-6455   

also try to contact Don Holden also in CT. he owns a fleet of C models  (his phone is listed in the spaamfa member list ,good luck

I will give them a shot, thanks!

7 minutes ago, Phase 1 said:

I would think that one of the restoration parts companies would have them or something that would work.

This is from Restoration Specialties:

http://stores.restorationspecialties.com/trim-fasteners/

I had looked there first, nothing on there looked like it was compatible

Quick little update; I have most of the items off the cab, and am shooting for a late September timeframe for painting.  I've been looking online for mounting strips for the chrome trim pieces, as some of them are rotted beyond repair, but haven't had any luck so far.