Firemack

Gary, Welcome to BMT, we have a good group of Mack Fire apparatus members on the site. Your truck was from my area in PA and looks like it is still in good shape. You should also join SPAAMFAA which has the connections for all of the old fire apparatus, shows, musters and flea markets. I always look for Mack parts so I can save them from the scappers! Firemack

Albert, There is one switch that operates both the left and right ignition,and also has a third position to operate on both. The indicator lights are red and show when either or both distributors are on. If you post a picture of the switches and indicator lights we should be able to confirm exactly what you are looking at on your truck. Firemack

That sure looks like an old E model Firetruck, that someone modified. The engine has dual ignition, so sure would appear to be an old firetruck. Firemack

NiceB, Lots of trucks have the headliner custom made by a local shop as Mike suggested, however if you want the original style headliner you can contact Lancaster Upholstery, the contact info is on this website http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/MusicVid/part...ierslisting.pdf Firemack

Mathhew, Waterous is still in business, they might be skimpy on the customer service lines, but you should be able to get through. Also you should check with your local fire department as they will know who supplies waterous parts and service in your area. I believe both Hale and Waterous do not sell parts direct anymore. Firemack

Hi Jim, When you take to pump body off, you will have a some good parts that the those of us in firetruck group can use. If you can save the pump, pump panel & gauges, chrome rails and other parts to resell they should be able to find a home, and give you some funds for the project. We have a parts for sale area here on this website that will work, or a much larger firetruck audience on the www.spaamfaa.org website. Good luck with the truck. Firemack

Mike, I have heard over the years that Shell Rotella T was best for older truck engines. I contacted Shell and they recommended Shell Rotella T single weight. I use Shell Rotella SAE 40W as our truck is stored inside in the heated engine bay with the other fire trucks. I can buy it at Napa but they special order the straight weight as they don't carry that in stock. By the way we also use Shell Rotella T in our Detroit, Cummins and Ford diesels and have had very few engine problems, most issues with Firetrucks are with the electrical systems, and alternators, but now that we are upgrading to LEDS and that should help reduce the load and therefore hopefully we will not have the electrical issues as we upgrade all of the lights to LED's, except on the Mack. Firemack

PavrGuy, The GVW should be around 33000, with water and equipment. The tare weight is around 15000. Please post pictures! Firemack

Gary, You can ask on this site for someone local in VA and see if you can find a shop that will work on older trucks. You can also check with the local SPAAMFAA chapter, ATCA and ATHS chapters (all have websites) and they may be able to help you find a reputable local shop to help you get the truck operational. Paint jobs can cost anywhere from $2000- $40000 depending on how much work and how much you want to spend. I had a friend with a 1948 Mack L85 that had it painted at Maaco for $2500, it looked good. For a personal truck like yours that is not a bad option, if you don't know how or have any friends that can paint. Firemack

Gary, The carb and battery are still available. The truck most likely has a Mack ENF 707 engine. there are several carburator rebuild shops that carry some new and some rebuilt carbs for the 707. You will need 2 standard exide 24F (ford) batteries, (available at most retailers like Kmart, Pep Boys, Auto zone etc. )that replace the 4 original 6 volt batteries. If you have pictures of the the truck and would like to post them we can also see what other work may be needed. If the truck has been stored inside it would most likely be worth restoring, if it has been put outside for long- they don't last long and may be beyond saving. Good Luck, Firemack

Rob, We have a 1954 B 75 Fire truck, B75F1011 it has the black steering wheel, this was the first year for B model fire trucks, by 1955 they were using red steering wheels on the open cab models (as the interior of the cabs were all repainted from green to exterior color) so I think Mack started the changeover in 1955 as our truck was built in September of 1954 and delivered in December 1954. I have seen pictures of the R model cabs coming into the factory- so since they were built in a different factory they must have a cab serial number or build number, on our truck the build number is stamped into all of the doors and misc parts on the pump body. I also know on Corvettes the bodies which were built at a different factory than the assembly shop and they have unique number and trim tag, so I think Mack would have needed something similar to track the cabs to the build or job number like they did on the pump body on our truck. I also noted our serial number is B75F1011 but the stamped build number on the parts is B75F0009 and matched the order number on the build sheet. I also have the factory job listings for each truck and some of orders were duplicated so some of the the trucks have the same build number but different serial numbers. Maybe 3P can impart some specific wisdom on how the factory tracks the cab to match to the order. P.S. If you ever get that V8 in the long nose R model and your wife decides you have too many trucks, you can donate it to the fire company so we can use it to pull our B model! I see it is already red so will fit right in to our fleet! Firemack

Carl, I checked on my Harvey Eckart book for early B series is in the Mack Fire Trucks 1911-2005 book. In the section on Early B Fire series, it lists some information regarding this truck. Chasis: 6BGIS1470 Model: BG The serial number is broken down into 6 for six cylinder BG for chassis type the next letter should be a 6 for fire truck S for shaft drive 1470 was the 469th truck built (starts at 1001) The engine number BG7-82 looks like original The engine is a Mack 6 cylinder, L head design with dual iginition You should have a type 50 with a Chassis BG was an 80Horsepower 500GPM Hale pump, From the pictures the truck looks like it is in excellent condition. Matt Pfahl is an excellent source of older parts. Another good source for old firetruck parts is Cal Little in Pennsylvania at 717-566-8973. Also here is a similar truck for sale in Texas to possibly contact them to see and make a template of the the missing part(s) FOR SALE: For Sale: 1932 Mack Fire Truck ( Model BG Type 50 Ladder). All original ladders and fire hooks are on the truck. The fire truck is located in Houston, Texas. Contact: descant@sbcglobal.net or 713-248-1202. (05/05/08---08-18) Hope that helps, Firemack

Carl, Thanks for helping keep that Old Mack running at the Fire Company! You have what is known as the Early B Model Mack. The second B Model Fire Truck was built from 1954-1966. There are several books on the Mack Fire Trucks and Mack Trucks which could help you, they are by Harvey Eckart The Mack Fire Truck expert. look them up on ebay etc. Also you should contact the Mack Museum 610-266-6767 and give them the serial number, they will be able to provide the original information, original owner and possibly the service manuals for the truck. Make sure to send them a donation ($100-$200) to cover the research and copying. The engine is most likely a Continental, and you should be able to find the parts once you know the information on the engine and can post it on this website in the parts wanted section. Good Luck, FireMack

Bob, Try Barry at Watts Mack for your brake pedal pads, glove box, and headlight switch, etc. The Fram C147 can be replaced with a NAPA 1503, slighty smaller but fits and works fine. The water pump can be rebuiilt at Arthur Gould Pumps Kingsport NY? , If you do a search on this website I have listed his contact info here before, cost is about $100 and does a nice job. FireMack

Bob, Great to hear about another Old Mack Firetruck being rescued, especially a rare piece like the one you have. Good Luck! The Brillman Company www.brillman.com 888- 274-5562 can make up new wiring harnesses for the dual ignition system. I think you have a 707 so they have distributors on the right side of the engine and spark plugs on the left side so requires a long harness to reach. Brillman can remake the harnesses in the original Packard 440 wire. Let us know what else you need , we hopefully can steer you in the right direction, Firemack

Bernie, Try Cal Little he deals with Old mack Fire Trucks and many used the 707 gas engine. His number is 717-566-8973. He is located in Hummlestown PA, near Harrisburg. Firemack

Phryphighter, The Throwout bearing goes over the input shaft of the transmission, and if I remember correctly it had 2 clips that hold it , so no pressing of bearings on the project. The most important issue is to make sure you have a dummy input shaft to line up the clutch disk and pressure plate so when you go to reinstall the transmission to the back of the engine the input shaft can line up. If you can't find or borrow a dummy input shaft then use about a 1" dowel or broomstick handle to align them.. Firemack

Barry, That is a good price on the clutch, pressure plate and throwout bearing, I paid about $550 to have mine sent out and remanufactured. I also had my flywheel turned and cost $60 to turn the fly wheel. The pilot bushing is ball bearing so may just need to be cleaned and lightly repacked. Good luck, FireMack

FRD1419, Check with the Mack museum, they should be able to tell you what carb was on the truck and if it had a governor. The governor works from a centrifugal weight on the flywheel that pushes the governor mechanism up and shuts off the airflow to the carb. If it is a firetruck it most likely had a governor. You might try to get the parts that Greg took off his truck adn install them on your truck. Firemack

Barry, WhitePost Restoration in Virginia has about 15 machinists that work on rebuilding master cylinders,wheel cylinders hydrovacs etc. so they have the experience and the materials to rebuild and sleeve hydraulic cylinders. If you check on their website and give them a call they should be able to help you, I have used them several times and they provide great service. A second resource is Cal Little he restores old Mack fire trucks and most likely has restored these, and may have a source for the parts. Cal's number is 717- 566-8973. He just finished a 1942 L85. Let us know how it turns out. Firemack

Sometimes you just have the figure these things out for yourself! I made the changes to 1960 Mack B95 Fire truck and converted the rear chambers to type 30/30 with rear parking brake chambers. I rebuilt the front chambers with new diaphrams and added all new brake hoses. To add the parking brake, I added a line from the air brake tank to the parking brake control, and then back to a T mounted on the frame above the rear, and added the 2 parking brake lines to the parking brake chambers. I adjusted the slack adjusters to about 1/2" play and the truck stops great, and the parking brake works great also. Better safe with all new lines and safety of the dual rear chambers than sorry! If anyone else wants to know about how to make the conversion I can draw up the air line diagram to add more details if needed. Firemack

Rob, I drove a new 1979 IH TransStar II with a Cummins 350 and 13 speed Fuller Road Ranger, we bought the truck new in 1979 and the shifter you have pictured was the one that was installed on the truck from the factory in 1979. I always liked that shifter better than the splitter on the stick, it shifted quickly and even though it had AC (the first truck I had w/ AC !) it was easier to shift with sweaty hands and was easier to use! Firemack

Guys, I know that most of the posts on this site are about airbrakes and Mack/Watts doesn't have much for hydraulic brakes and parts- since some of the older trucks use hydraulics- having them rebuilt is key. The best guy I have found is Whitepost in Virginia. Cost is about $80-$100 per wheel cylinder and is a 1 day turnaround. They also do master cylinders, hydro vacs and relining. I used a Transaxle for my relining. Also Whitepost offers a lifetime warranty on the parts so once their done- you don't need to worry about them again as they sleeve the cylinders with brass so no more rust in the cylinders. They also have all of the hyraulic parts and rubber , so they come back looking and operating like new. Good Luck on keep that Midliner on the road. Firemack

Rob, That cab looks like it is in really good shape, looking at it reminded me of riding in them as a boy, my dad had an oil delivery business and bought two Internationals, a 1958 R185 and 1959 R 185 and I used to help him pull the oil fill lines to house, it must have been a plan to keep me out of the house and out of mom's way, while she took care of the other 4 kids! Must be when I got bit by the truck bug. My dad always said he wanted a Mack, but they were always just out of reach for a small company- so he had to settle for the International's, but they lasted about 15 years,not bad for a PA where we have a lot of roadsalt, snow and ice. One time one of his drivers rolled one over in snow, My dad he called his local tow guy and they rolled it back over, and the only damage was the RH door, mirrors and turn signals needed to be replaced and was back on the road the next day. Have fun with the new project! Firemack