rigfire

My 1948 Mack pumper is without hubcaps. It needs all 4.

Any and all help appreciated.

Donny

Steve, good info. Thanks for the post.

Donny

Please send pics, info and price to

donnymac@mcclureoil.com

Thanks.

Donny

David,

Thanks for the offer.

Address is P O Box 14

Midland, TX 79702

I will gladly pick up any costs.

Donny

Most all of the 12 volt systems I have seen made before '55 or so use internal resistor coils. A 12V coil that uses a external resistor will fry the points and sooner or later kill it's self also. You can either replace with internal resistor coils or use regular ones with external resistors.

Thanks for the help. Sorry for the late reply. Have been swamped at work. For the time being we have wired a ballast resistor in from of one of the coils. I am trying to find out how Mack stock wiring was configured.

Donny

My recently aquired S75 fire truck has dual points and coils that are fried and cooked. Way to much heat. What is the cause? Wrong coil?

For a temporary fix, we wired a ballast resisitor in front of the one coil we replaced. Was a friends idea that seems to work.

Did stock wiring have a ballast resistor?

Donny

My recently aquired S75 fire truck has dual points and coils that are fried and cooked. Way to much heat. What is the cause? Wrong coil?

For a temporary fix, we wired a ballast resisitor in front of the one coil we replaced. Was a friends idea that seems to work.

Did stock wiring have a ballast resistor?

Donny

JJ and David,

Thanks for the help. I have been away not near a computer. My line is metal not rubber. Surely it must be plugged. What is its purpose? Your pic is correct.

Do your motors have twin coils/distributors?

Donny

More likely a bad coil or condensor. Pull cap and turn engine to open points ,jump across points with a screw driver with coil wire pulled out of the cap and held 1/4 inch from ground. With the switch on of course. As you make and break the circut with the screw drive you should get a spark. also might be as simple as a bit of moisture in the cap or on the coil tower.

That is one cool looking truck you have!!!!! Good looking dogs too.

Thanks for the advice. I will try your suggestions when I get home Monday.

What motor do you have?

Donny

My truck has several rust sites. Worst is around the top of the cab door top and the front door post.Rust through on both sides of the cab above the drip rails above the doors and the drip rail in the sleeper. You can figure out where rain goes in and then where it runs down. Rust at the tops of the windshield posts lets water in which rots the door posts and then runs down the panel between the door and the front fender edge.Water runs down the sleeper wall and rots out the edge of the door frame towards the rear.

I would check for rot at the top and bottom of the window corners and the cowl below the window posts. I would check where the cab roof curves and meets the sides of the sleeper and the top of the door frames. The only bright spot is that the drip rails are installed by screws and can be removed so we can put new metal where the roof meets the door frame. Also the body metal is thick enough to mig weld without much trouble. Hope this info helps . Mark

Mark,

Thanks for the info. I posted pics in my album to hopelully show the rust areas.

As compared to other B Models, why is the sleeper so prone to rust?

For replacement sheet metal, could another B Model be used as donor sheet metal especially at windshield tops? I know where 3 empty cabs are junked and abandoned.

Donny

Check to see if the small line your looking at is a "Radiator Refill" line, I have seen alot of older fire trucks with this option. It was used to refill the cooling system without shutting down the truck during a pumping operation when a engine over heat occured. there should be a valve on your pump panel marked for this purpose if it's got one. Good Luck, E.S.D.

Thanks for the info. The ID of the line is only 1/16 to 1/32 and is direct connect between thermostat housing and water pump with no inline valve or control.

David (Dwaits) has the same line but it is removed and bull plugged at both ends.

Thanks.

Donny

Donny,

Try NAPA and see if they can match up the cap and thermostat, I do not know if there are one or two but my guess is there is only one.

I do not know what the line from the water pump is for, my first guess is that it may be for the aux. cooling that helps keep the engine cool on extended pumping but, that is supposed to be a closed sysytem and does not mix with the cooling water. The water pump on my truck did not have one but had a plug in place, when I replaced the pump the seconed one had the line but it was crimped and I replaced the fitting with a new plug. The replacment pump did not come from an fire engine, it came off and L series road tractor so whatever it is for is not fire engine related, I will look at my manuals and books tonight and see what I can find out for you.

David

I plan to spend all day tomarrow on the truck. I appreciate your help.

Donny

Last week the Thermodyne was running rich but fine otherwise. Today it won't fire.

Motor turns over fine. New 12V battery and fire at the coil. No fire to plugs but all wires look fine.

Are the points sticking? Simple trick to unstick the points?

Donny

Here are my rookie questions:

I am about to backflush the radiator and block on my 1948 firie truck. It appears to have been long ago when last serviced.

Are there 1 or 2 thermostats located in the housing between radiator and block?

Is there a retail source for compatible thermostats?

Is there a retail source for compatible radiator caps?

And finally, what is the 1/8" metal line conencting the thermosatat housing to what I am guessing is the water pump?

All help appreciated. I have a million more rookie questions.

Donny

To all tracking this thread: after talking to RLStroope, I met with the truck owner. Truck has a swapped out rear end and turbo added to the orriginal but now sleeved motor. Owner did all the work himself. After the work, it made one Texas/Colorado trip and was parked in 94/95 where it now sits.

I tried to put representative photos in my album. I think the album works. The worst of the visible rust is shown inside and outside at the windshield top.

All of you saw RLStroope posts prior to me so I am last in line. Owner wants $2000 as is. If none of you want the truck, I do and it will be my first at restoration. Please let me know by this Friday.

Discovering this Forum is financially deadly but very rewarding. I spent many an oilfield day in a Mack. Now I want to play with what I once had to work and sleep in.

Let me know if you want the truck.

Donny

I assume you are talking about grab handles on "L" Mack fire truck. I have only seen 11 1/2" or 13 1/2"

Truck is an S-75. Just bought it and know very little about it. On both sides at the cab are handle locations. One side is missing the handle. The studs are 12" OC I think. I will remeasure tonight.

Good evening all. I am searching for a pair 12" on center. Any suggestions?

I looked at a 56 sleeper yesterday. Was in decent shape and last driven in 1994. The worst noticible rust was above the windshield on the inside and outside was top left and right cornes of the windshield/cab.

The owner has 4 B models all parked and none running. Only one was a sleeper. His old farm tractors were amazing. I saw equipment I never knew existed.

Where and how bad is the rust you are repairing? Does the rust I describe indicate much larger problems else where?

Donny

David,

I saw you were Georgia located. My oldest son is at Fort Stewart - 3ID. He deploys in November so maybe we can tag up after I see him off. I live in west Texas. Lots of worn out oilfield Macks in my neck of the woods.

As an experiment, today I ordered hoses thru the local Mack dealer. They are not believing a 1948 pumper is in the area. I may let them go thru the brakes,

I'll run the coil trap like you suggested. Will be late this week. I am swamped at work.

Orriginal gauge clusters are in the dash but all wires cut and inop. A previous owner added ugly generic temp, psi and volt gauges attached to the dash bottom.

Interesting the chasis numbers were only 3 apart. Wonder if they built them in numeric order?

I have contacted Mack Museum for help. Am anxious to get thier reply.

Donny

if it's a thermo-dog it's prob. a 611 OHV or a 711

if

i

t's a thermo-dog it's prob. a 611 OHV or a 711

meant to say.....707

Thanks for the help. 611 or 707 refers to whta? Cant be HP or CI. To work on, is it a nightmare or easy?

Donny

If you are passing on the truck, drop me an email. I live in Midland and can look anytime.

donnymac@mcclureoil.com

Donny

Donny,

I have not found any parts available from any of the Mack dealers I have visited, I have had better luck at NAPA but only with the older parts guys, the youngs ones will just give you a blank stare when you tell them what you are looking for. If you can find a NAPA dealer with an old timer at the counter make him your new best friend, some of them enjoy the challange of matching and finding the parts you need.

As for Mack specific parts Ebay and Hemmings Motor News is your best bet, also you may want to join the ATHS (aths.org) lots of older guys there who can help out in tracking down parts and info. They also put out a pretty good magazine called Wheels of Time, if you have a Tractor Supply store near you you can pick up a copy at it.

Are you looking for any parts now? if so I might be able to give you some leads on them, most of the old Mack stuff is located up the the North East, lots of junk yards up there filled with the stuff you may want or need.

If your truck is like mine it is based and the E series chassis, that is what you will be looking for when trying to find parts.

David

David,

Chassis number is 75 S 2365. Engine is a Thermodyne. Have no clue as to its rating or CI.

What is the E serries chassis?

One of its 2 coils is in bad shape and needs replacing for sure. Radiator has to questionable as to last tme flushed.

As to parts, I need to survey the truck better and determine what is most critical. Thanks for the help offer.

Does your pump work? All my dash gauges are inop and replaced with addons. Would like to get that back to orriginal if possible.

Have you located insurance sources? I am getting quotes from some of the collector car firms.

Nothing like a true vertical learnig curve.

Donny

If you have two smaller ones and one larger one then thats where the marker lights go, the two smaller holes were for mounting the marker and the larger one had a grommet for the wiring. You can still get the marker lights (I think Watts has them or on Ebay) but the red lenes are extremly hard to find.

Keep in mind that these trucks are almost 60 years old, in that time a lot of holes could have been added for department specific items and if your truck has been in private hands for a while who knows what could have been added.

How much do you know about your truck's history?

Two of the best things I did were to visit the history center of the town where my truck first served, I was able to find two newspaper articals about larger fires that my truck was at and both had pictures, also found a short story about the Fire Chief who was retiring in 79 who served on my truck when it was new. In the story he decribes how the truck looked when it was first bought by the city and how impressed eveyone was with such a modern truck.

The other thing that was worth the time and money was to write to the MAck museum, if you send them a donation and the serial number of your truck they will send you all the info they have on it. Mack was very good at keeping records of the trucks they built. You should be able to get a build sheet listing all the equipment that was placed on the truck and what the specs are for it and, the best part is they will send you a picture of your truck as it looked just before it was sent to the town or city who ordered it.

This site is the best place to get Mack specific info (Thanks to Barry and Watts Mack!) The next thing you need to do is to join SPAAMFAA (Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus) at spaamfaa.org that is where you will find all of your fire apparatus related info and suppliers.

What engine is in your pumper? Do you have any of the original equipment with it?

If you need anything or have any questions just ask, I will be happy to try and help you out.

David

David,

I have joined SPAAMFAA and contacted Mack Museum as you suggested.

As to history. I know the last 2 owners are traceable. That info is at the office and I will run that trap Monday.

The pumper is not entirely complete but reasonably maintained I think. There are no water hoses but it does have a ladder set. Condition of pump I do not know. As to engine......all I know it is a six with leaky top radiator hoses.

The holes I mention are a precise pattern. I will check them today but I bet they are for the lights you describe. Have you located Mack dealers that cary older parts?

I will try to get pics posted soon.

Donny

Welcome to BMT! Glad you found us! Sure would like to see some pics of your truck...and don't be afraid to ask questions! We'll be glad to help!

Barry,

Thanks for the welcome. I will get the pic thing figured out soon I hope.

Donny

Welcome Donny,

What model do you have?

Most of the parts are easy to find but you will come across a few items that may take awhile to track down.

Lots of info here on Macks and if you need any help with the fire truck related equipment let me know, I have a 48 S-75 pumper that I am restoring as well. Also, all of us here like to see pictures of the other members projects, post some if you have them.

David

David,

Mine also is an S-75. I will get you serial numbers to compare. Radiator hoses leak bad. That is my first fix.

Both front fenders have 3 holes in top of each fender. What was there?

Will figure out the pic thing. May take me a while to figure it out.

Donny