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Just Rescued A Fire Truck


mackattack2

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hi,

I just recently acquired a Mack 125LS firetruck. It's been sitting rusting away in a field for the past 16 years. I had a more detailed post about it a few days ago before the web site was hacked.

Where can I obtain shop service manuals and parts manuals on this or any L series of truck? I've tried "Walter Miller" but they said they don't have any for the L series of truck.

Your help in getting me started in the restoration of this truck is appreciated. Does mack carry parts for older trucks like this or must all parts come from third-party rebuilders and or cannibalizing other trucks?

I'll post a picture of the truck as soon as the new web site allows it.

Thank you.

Steve

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Edited by mackattack
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  • 1 month later...

Steve,have you tried to get in touch with Harvey Eckart ? He has NOS and used :mack1: fire truck parts.His business card even has a truck on it that looks like your rescue.His address is : 220 E 11th St., Berwick,PA.18603.Phone no. is 570-759-2343.

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Steve,have you tried to get in touch with Harvey Eckart ? He has NOS and used :mack1: fire truck parts.His business card even has a truck on it that looks like your rescue.His address is : 220 E 11th St., Berwick,PA.18603.Phone no. is 570-759-2343.

hi Greg,

Thank you for the info. I'll contact Harvey Eckart this week. Your help is greatly appreciated. I'm new to Mack trucks and can use all the help and contacts I can get.

I plan to eventually restore the truck to its original condition. To help in it's restoration, I recently acquired copies of photographs of my truck when it was delivered new to the Long Beach, California fire department in 1954. They are now in my gallery for anyone interested.

Thank you Greg.

Steve

Edited by mackattack
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Steve, have you sent your serial number to the Mack museum?If not,do so NOW! Then wait,patiently,it will take a few months for a response but they will send you copies of all the build info on your truck.It will provide a ton of info and fun reading.I have a 3" notebook with plastic sleeve pages that i keep my paperwork in.This protects them but I can easily pull something out to look at.My truck was a fire truck, but the previous owner took the apparatus bed off and put a 12' flatbed on.Have fun as you have a very unique piece of history and it should be respected,not molested.

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  • 5 months later...
Steve, I recently found a 1950 L model sedan cab in about the same condition. I'm not sure what to offer even though it has been sitting in a field for years. Could you or anyone else give me a ballpark figure?

Thanks,

JGG

Hi,

I'm no expert but I think it comes down to how badly you want the truck and how badly they want to sell it. To me it seems as though most non-running firetrucks of that style seem to go for about $600 to $2500 depending on their condition. Twice I have seen a straight but non-running model L sedan pumper go for about $2200 on eBay. For reference I paid $1000 for mine. (No one on eBay offered him anything so it did not sell on eBay, but I bought it from him after his eBay auction closed). I kind of figure it would be worth that much in parts and scrap if I ever decided to scrap it out.

You also have to figure in the towing as part of the initial payment too. Towing such a heavy vehicle with bad tires can be extremely expensive. Get a couple ball-park figures from towing companies ready before you make an offer. I spent about $700 for a six hour tow on top of the purchase price. If I recall correctly, my truck weighed about 24,000 pounds and as it was winched onto the trailer, it lifted the back of the first tow companies truck into the air. The second tow company used a full-size semi with a lowboy trailer. Is the truck you're looking at gas or diesel? And can you please post some pictures of it here.

As a long-time shade-tree mechanic restoring older light and medium trucks, this is the first time I have ever attempted to restore an old Mack truck. I must admit, I am very impressed with the quality the truck once had and do not regret my decision to purchase this truck for restoration. Be aware there are no parts books, factory service manuals, blue prints, or other shop manuals for this truck, so the restoration research can be less than straight forward. However, the Mack museum can be very helpful with specific information regarding the purchase and options the truck had. They can also supply a generic version of a shop manual that somewhat applies to the truck. (If anyone does have any parts books or shop manuals for model L Macks, I would appreciate the ability to purchase a photocopy of it). Surprisingly much of the add-on fire equipment is still available new (spot lights, sirens, etc) and I can tell you where you can purchase such items if needed.

I hope this was of some help.

Good luck.

Steve

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Thanks, Steve, you have been a big help. Our fire company owns a 51 L Midel sedan cab and we are nearly finished with the refurbishment. The 50 we found has a lot of the little parts we still need including some that people told me we would never find. It is not far from us and our local towing operator will get it for us. Here is a picture of our current project. My e-mail is HWFD70JGG@aol.com if you would want to send me your e-mail, I will send pictures to you. JGG

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Edited by HWFD
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We hope to get it to some parades this summer. Actually, it spent almost two years in prison - Albion prison, that is. They had a program where they restored vehicles. I believe it may have been the last fire apparatus that was dismantled, sandblasted, painted, given new aluminum diamond plate, etc. before they closed the program. Could not beat the price. We need a few more things to complete it and want to go over the electric system. Other than that, it runs great! We're looking for a set of wooden ladders, stop. brake, and turn signals, and need to get some railing re-chromed and it should be about ready. The nicest touch was the hand gold leaf lettering and striping done by Danz. That really brought out the color.

JGG

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Our plans for the blue truck is to take what we need off of it and then try to sell it. The last thing we would want to do is scrap it as there is always some good parts that someone needs. We can't however, hang on to it for too long or our township will begin questioning things and we do not want that at all.

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We haven't been able to meet with the owner. We do know that it ran when it went there several years ago, in fact, it had very little rust at all then. We need the front fender lights, rear lights, some of the railings, some of the exterior pump parts, and possibly the coils if it is a 707. If there is anything else, it would be small items. Our Mack runs well but the coils are going bad. The rest we would ike to sell to someone who could either use it for parts or maybe wants to restore it.

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  • 2 months later...
We haven't been able to meet with the owner. We do know that it ran when it went there several years ago, in fact, it had very little rust at all then. We need the front fender lights, rear lights, some of the railings, some of the exterior pump parts, and possibly the coils if it is a 707. If there is anything else, it would be small items. Our Mack runs well but the coils are going bad. The rest we would ike to sell to someone who could either use it for parts or maybe wants to restore it.

hey hwfd

just out of curiosity how much would u sell it for if it hasnt gone through yet

thanks bigrig

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