engine3

About 5 years ago we converted our 57' B-125 fire engine to a Pertronics Electronic Ignition (San Dimas CA). The conversion kit works great. But make sure your distributors are in good shape before buying anything. I marked the location of the distributor rotors, and removed one at a time. Next remove the points and turn the distributor shaft by hand. If you feel any sticky spots consider rebushing or replacing the unit. it turns out that our 707 thermodyne distributors were the same as the ones in a chevy stove bolt six. If the distributors are in good shape, find the manufacturer tag. Write down the manufacturer and serial number. Pertronix has a great reference index that goes way back. You'll need one kit per distributor. As I remember, they cost about $75 each. Our original distributors were in good condition with only 42,000 miles on them. The kit was installed in about 30 minutes with basic hand tools. I had already converted the engine to a negative ground. However I think the kit was compatible with positive ground systems. Making the plug wires took alot more time than converting the distributors. However with a couple hours of patience you'll be pleased with the results. I used suppression core wire, no alternator whine in the stereo system, from Speed o Motive (Covina Ca). The alternator conversion is another story. The wire came in a roll. I don't remember what the wire and brass terminals cost I think it was under $125. I cut it to length and intaled the brass terminals with a tool. The tool was about $20 from Speed O Motive. It was a piece of hard plastic that on one side you used, with a razor, to strip the outer shield. Then the tool was flipped over and placed in a bench vice to be used as acrimping die. If you make your own plug wires out of suppression core you really need the tool. Cut the outer shield too much and the terminal connection will fail. Last time I looked you can still get the plug wire terminals and tool from Jegs or Summit Racing. I don't know how much it costs to have a custom set of plug wires made by some one else. But it may be worth it to find out. I will definately contact Firemack's suggested vendor for replacement caps and rotors. The caps and rotors I got from Autozone didn't have brass terminals. Good Luck.

We purchased the conversion rims from Century Wheel and Tire in Montebello, CA. They are the only Accuride dealer I could find in the L.A. area. The Fire engine is a 1957 B-125.

I recently converted split rims to one piece tubeless rims, without using a bud or aluminium wheel. The one piece rims allow you to use tubeless tires and they fit right over your spoke hubs. Once installed, the untrained eye won't be able to tell the difference. Also, you won't have to worry about the hassle and danger of the split rims. The one piece rims are made by Accuride. They have a pretty good website, with a comprehensive product catalog. I will write back with more specific info in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I posted a few pictures of the installed one piece rims. engine3

Name: Mack B-125 Fire Engine (1957) Date Added: 09 November 2010 - 04:04 AM Owner: engine3 Short Description: Fire engine restoration and upgrade project. View Vehicle