Firemack

I have worked in the construction business my whole life, and am also a firefighter so have lots experience with Mack's. We have plenty of R and new Grainte and Vision models in PA, NJ and NY. I recently was on a construction site and they had both R models hauling asphalt and Granites hauling asphalt. I spoke to one of the drivers of one of the R models asked him if he had driven the new Granites, which were working side by side with the R's. He said he liked the R model but loved the new Granite, it had much better visibility and much better ride for the long days of hauling loads from the plant to the site and were holding up just like the R models but were a lot more driver friendly. I personally like the look of the R better, but just like when the B was phased out I liked the look of the B model better than the R model, and like the look of the R model better than the Granite, however after speaking to the guys driving them you have to give Mack some credit for improving the daily driving for the guy in the cab. Let's hope the Granite and Vision sales keep going so Mack keeps growing. Firemack

Hi Andy Check with Barry on this one but I think Gerhardts (where the annual Fall Mack show in Lititz Pa is held) has an E model in the yard ( I think it is a dump). I am sure Barry knows the Gerhardt guy and can maybe find out more about it. That will make 2 dozen. Firemack

Hi David, Great Picture, that one really made me laugh! Firemack

Jakebrake, Could be the ignition switch, they have multiple contacts and might be the contacts to turn on the lights are OK , but the others are worn and not getting contact everytime. Other items: could be overheating from the battery cables and sometimes they have a thermal link which can shut down until it cools. Are all of the cables and terminals clean? My B model has the old style ignition switch and I noticed that my truck will start and run but the fuel and temp gauges and some of the lights don't always works unless I reset the ingnition switch. Being a firetruck it doesn't have a key, but you could be having a simlar problem. Firemack

73 R Model: If you have the pump Arthur Gould will rebuild it. He does excellent work. (631) 269-0093 arthurgouldrebuilders.com Firemack

Hi Mack Firetruck Fans, Thought I would post this picture of B75F1023 which now has a new owner Rick Sladen in Vancouver BC Canada. This truck was originally from Harrison Township in Pennsylvania- not too far from Barry at Watts Mack. Now it has wandered a long way from it's original home to the new owner, Rick is working on the truck but has not conquered the computer yet and after he sent this picture (with the help of a friend) I told him would post it here. Interesting truck it is light blue! We now know where 9 of the 54 B75's now reside. Rick also mentioned that 6 B75's were originally exported to Peru and Rick has a friend there that thinks 4 are still in service, I have asked him to send pics and the story on the trucks. Once we have details will send the info to Tom Gannaway to enter in the B model registry. Firemack

Andy, I think Mad Max in the thunderdome had a B model underground hooked up as a generator truck BackDraft- I think used a CF Aerialscope or Ladder truck FireMack

I think there were 8 Macks total- 4 classics and 4 CF's-at this muster, I don't see any close up shots of the CF's, but if you look at the aerial view you can see 2CF's- 1 yellow and 1 red, and there were 2 other red cf's in very nice condition, they looked like NYFD trucks with long cabs, 1 enclosed and 1 canopy. I think 1 was a refurb so hopefully will be in service for another 10 years or so. I also attended the Harrisburg PA muster. that had about 100 trucks, however- one of the most interesting was 2 CF open cabs together- and there were only a total 10 CF open cabs ever built. FireMack

Mack Firetruck Fans- Another great showing of classic Mack's in the New Berlinville PA Muster last month. 2 B Model Open Cabs and 2 L Models- 1 open cab, 1 coupe cab as well as several very nice CF's, most still in service. Here are few pictures just the L and B models together and a link to the site for pictures of other makes Ford, GMC, Ward Lafrance etc. that attended. http://www.libertyfire17.org/2006muster2.html It was great to have 4 classic Macks together for the picture before it rained! Firemack

For those of us who love Mack Fire Trucks- We had our 100th Anniversary Parade and 6 B Models attended: 2 Open Cab Pumpers 1 Closed Cab Pumper 1 Ladder 1 Sedan Cab 1 Aerial Tractor How many times do you see this many B model Fire trucks together? We attended the Wilmington Fire Muster last weekend and there were 4 Mack's- 1 L model open cab, 1 L model Sedan Cab, and the 2 B75 open cabs. It was nice to have 2 of the 4 trucks still in service together for a picture. The Wilmington Truck (on the right) was partially restored, the Radnor truck was restored. Both trucks won judges awards! There were only 54 B75 firetrucks ever made- 4 are still owned by Fire Companies B75F0001 In Malvern PA B75F0002 in Wilmington Delaware B75F0004 in Stony Hill NC B75F0011 in Radnor PA (Still in service as Parade Units) I will post more of the various Mack's we met this year on the parade and muster circuit for the rest of the BigMackTrucks Fire truck fans after I get copies. FireMack

Hi Brian, If the pictures posted of the truck with Station 14 on the side are your truck it is a Mack C Model. Your truck has the same running gear as a B model but was Cab forward- B Models are standard cab. FireMack

Guys, While we are on the topic- you mentioned running up to 2100 on the governor- can you run on the governor and hold it without any damage to the engine? My B75 Gas firetruck has a 464 engine and has top speed of 64, I think at 2800 (no tach on the dash) can you run a gas engine on the governor like a diesel, or is that too much RPM to keep it at max? Thanks, Firemack

Mark, Daivd is correct, The wood was Ash and was natural or coated in marine varnish, The interior color was red with red seats if an open or semi open cab, and left green with tan seats if a closed cab. The Mack Pumper designation was not B61- they used a combination for engine and pump size: B75 had a 464 or 510 with 750GPM pump B85 had a 707 with 750 GPM pump B95 had a 707 with a 1000 GPM pump B125 had a 707 or Hall Scott engine with a 1250 GPM pump There were a few other combinations which had special designations but these should cover most of the B model pumpers. Good luck with the model and post pictures when you have it completed.

The Radnor Fire Company Parade was well attended, See the Update and pictures of many of the trucks under the Events section.

Final Update and Pictures The Radnor Fire Company 100th Parade was well attended, with 150 pieces of Fire Apparatus and 25 antique units, including 6 B model Mack Fire trucks. Harvey Eckart judged the antiques and was happy to see many Macks and the 6 B model Macks all together at the end of the Parade. See attached pictures.

Parade Update We now have 126 trucks registered, out of that about 25 are antiques- and we should have about 10 B model firetrucks- Including a B85 Fire Tractor, B95 Ladder, B85 Sedan Cab from Minnesota, B85 Closed Cab, B75 semi-cab, and several others- I expect around 10 B models. Harvey Eckart is judging the trucks and we plan to take an aerial shot of all of the B models together, which I will post on the site. If you know any B model firetrucks in PA, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey let them know we are looking for a good turn out! Thanks FireMack

Parade Update: As of April 19th we have 91 trucks registered. I don't have a count on the B Models or other Macks yet but wanted to update the Group and hope that everyone with a Mack Firetruck that can make it will attend. We have awards for Best Appearing Mack, Best Apperaing B Model mack, Best Antique privately owned and best Antique Company owned. We have a few CF's and B's registered but don't have the total yet. We expect about 150-200 trucks so stop by! If you have a Firetruck (or Mack Truck) and would like to attend please contact me and will get you registered! Thanks, will keep you posted and post pics after the parade. Firemack

I know some of us that like the old Bulldogs also like bikes so check out the Orange County Chopper we are raffling off at our 100th Anniversary Parade on May 6th. You do not need to be present to win! Radnor Fire Company is having our 100th Anniversary this year and Orange County Chopper built a custom Chopper for the fire company. For details on the parade see the BMT event section or contact radnorfire@comcast.net. We are looking for Mack Fire Trucks to attend the parade, and welcome all makes of firetrucks and of course if you don't have a firetruck bring any type of MACK! For more info go to our website: www.radnorfire.com/chopper/about.html Tickets are $40 each and only 3000 tickets will be sold, You can purchase tickets online at the site Any questions send email to radnorfire@comcast.net or contact Firemack Hope to see you at the parade!

Lots of old iron there, wish I had more room and more time, I'd buy a few more! Any other B Models other than the one you are looking at? Firemack

I think the truck looks in decent shape, I have a friend who bought an old Mack L Model, he had it repainted by Maaco for $2500 and looks good. The engine is usually a 707 and there a quite a few available if you look around. Most of the pump parts are still available. If you know how to work on the engine and brakes and want to have a fun truck this one could be fixed up for a decent paint job, bumper and grill, I would guess you could have it looking nice for around $5000. Now if you want first class you could spent $50000-$100000, but then you wouldn't want to drive it. Have Fun and keep us posted! Firemack

Tom, B61 Fred is correct it is a rare truck according to Harvey Eckarts B model Fire Truck book, less than 50 B475's were made for the US military, They used a Chrysler 354 marine Hemi engine, had a 500 or 750 GPM pump. Only a few were sold to civilian departments. I would agree that the price could range anywhere from 1000-10000 depending on condition. We have restored our B75 pumper and spent way more than 10000 so if you can get it for a good price go for it. Most likely problems will be rust in the compartments which is time and money to repair if you don't have the metal work skills and can get expensive. The engine is pretty simple and should be able to get parts for it, the pump is standard Hale pump and used pumps and parts are available through your local Fire Truck service rep. Brakes could be air or hydraulic, and can be rebuilt by several shops. The rest should be standard B model parts on the cab. Let us know if you get it. Good Luck, Firemack

Yes the B75F has a gas ENF464 which is a 464 with special dual distributors and extra water cooling manifold on the right side. Standard 464 was 175HP the ENF464 firetruck engine (1 of 54made) ran only on premium and has 200hp. Hopefully we will have a good showing of all the L model-CF Models in the tri-state area. We will post them after the parade.

We had to restore it, it was sold to another fire company in Vermont in 1973 and they painted it yellow, so we repurchased it in 2002 tore it down and rebuilt and restored it, repainted it back to original colors and gold leaf from pictures we had with help from the Mack Museum, Barry and others. There are 2 other original B75F models close by that we used for research to make sure we put this B75F together just as original. One about 10 miles away in Malvern, we used the Malvern truck to get everything installed just like original condition as our truck was torn apart in 1973 when they painted it yellow and they were not worried about correctly installing all of the items like the original. Here is a picture of both trucks at the body shop during the assembly. Firemack