1958 F.W.D.

Change? Yes and no. -Many hand tools are basically the same, with some differences. For example the ubiquetious pick axe is still carried by many departments, but is considered by many (myself included) to be worthless and usually doesnt see the outside of the storage compartments. The ones today usually have a fiberglass or some sort of other synthetic handle. You want 2 or 3 pick axes with the curved wooden handles. Same goes for pike poles. You want at least a 6 and an 8 footer- wooden handled. Hose, nozzles and appliances- again basically the same, but many differences between then and now. Then they were usually machined or cast brass, bronze, etc. Nowadays they are usually pyrolite, aluminum, stainless, or synthetic of some kind. If you need equipment for your truck you need to attend the "Spring Melt" fire flea market held annually in Allentown, Pa. It's the largest fire-only flea market in the US and is usually the third Sunday in April- coming up soon. You can buy almost anything you want from books, helmets, hose, nozzles, parts, uniforms........etc etc etc.

Good luck kid. It's all in matching the input shaft and output shaft speeds. You'll do fine. By the way I was not allowed to drive an automatic transmission until I got the basics of a manual.

Hey just outta curiosity, are there any GPS devices with software especially for Motor Carriers that has low bridges, weight-restricted bridges and other hazards like that???

There is absolutely no room in the modern fire service for alcohol at any time, any way, any how. There is not a firehouse on the planet earth that should be allowing alcohol on the premises except maybe for banquet/rental halls. Firehouse bars and clubs are an anacronism from the past that need to turn into oil, just like the dinosaurs.

I'm pretty sure this may be a pathetic spam attempt.......

slpwlker's a bum, he hadda chance to meet the Great, All-Powerful and All-Knowing "God of all things FWD" but he missed exit 67 of I-78......LOL

No alcohol allowed on the property; best thing we ever did. We're in the suburbs of Philly, we do close to 2000 runs a year, we dont have time for drunks or a bar in the firehouse. Most of the Departments around here have gotten rid of the firehouse bars and the ones that still have them are pretty strict about members being in them, much less responding after consuming alcohol. If you have one SIP of beer, you turn your pager off for 8 hours, its as simple as that. No iffs, ands or buts about it- no negotiations and no "get out of jail free" cards.

Yes, we are a volunteer fire department with a limited budget, so we try to do as much in-house as we can with our space-limited shop. We will not do major stuff like brakes and things like that. We think we may have a siezed fan clutch, we may farm that one out to the Cat House, not sure yet. We're not hurting for money, but we dont have a money tree for maintenance, either. We do a lot of pump work in-house (rebuilding valves, etc.) We also do a lot of metal work/fabricating in house too.

There's a guy running around here somewhere that has one of those retro-style Dodge "panel-truck" van thingees (forget the model designation- more like a car than a van or truck) with stacks, air horns, marker lamps across the roof, Peterbilt badging and other trucker shit. Looks horribly stoopid.

The truck pictured was $430,000.

Yes the FWD made a guest appearance twice this year- on July 4th, the company requested that I bring her down for the annual parade and community day- all the old timers and older members of the community love to see the truck. At first I was like errrr ahhhh guys, thats a 40-mile ride one-way for me, at 3.5MPG......with gas at 3.50+ per gallon its an $100.00 day.....Then they said "keep all receipts and submit for 100% remibursement. DONE. Then in October, a member asked that I bring it for his wedding for photos with the wedding party. Paid me a VERY nice sum of cash. Stored the truck at the station overnight before and after the wedding. By the way, the truck pictured here is third generation. First the FWD, then a 1978 Hahn replaced the FWD, and this truck replaced the 1978 Hahn.

Thanks Fellas, but I wouldnt be the half of a mechanic that I am without my father (who was there today to bust my balls errr ahhhh I mean supervise me and also the 2-3 years I spent as an apprentice mechanic at Jevic Transportation's Willingboro NJ Fleet Maintenance Shop. My Dad has been the chief wrench turner for the fire company for 30+ years (he has over 50 years active except for 4 years in the Navy) but he's getting up there in age, so I do a lot of the heavy wrenching now while he sits in the chair and busts my balls errrrrr ahhhhhh supervises me.

2007 Spartan chassis with a Toyne stainless steel body. C13 Cat (430) Allison EVS4000 Trans. 1500GPM Waterous pump with CAFS. Changed crankcase oil/filter. Changed primary and secondary fuel filters. Changed transfer case oil. Changed CAFS system oil & filter and oil/air separation filter. Checked and added engine coolant. Hit all grease zerks on springs/steering and driveline. 4.5 hours. not too bad. Only thing I didnt do was the Trans ATF and Filter- analysis came back and said it was fine for another 6-12 months.

If you want to see what the neighborhood around Chernobyl and Kiev look like, go here: http://www.kiddofspeed.com/

Yeah them homeland security guys kinda frown on taking pix of the tea kettles.....

You were close enough to spit on me- I live 2 miles from Exit 67 (Hellertown/Bethlehem) of I-78. (But work about 20 miles south on 309 if it was during the day.) And the Mack billboard is at the Lehigh Street exit- The Mack museum/Customer Support Center is right there behind Queen City Airport.

Trying to figure out what year this is, any guesses???

This worked back in the 1980's and earlier, however nowadays with all the cutbacks the Military is facing, they nitpick the hell out of potential applicants, especially if you want a particular MOS. I have a buddy who wanted to be a firefighter in the USAF- but there is a waiting list for that MOS....due to his having a conviction for DUI, they turned him down. Wouldnt even look at him for something else. The Army took him as a ground pounder however.

Mack's recordkeeping was impeccable, however it's not guaranteed; there is a very good chance that with your VIN they can and will get you VIN-specific build sheets, driveline pick sheets (inlcuding SN's) and the purchasing customer and dealer it was sold through, among the wealth of other information they provided. See my previous post for the contact name and email, and yes there is a wait of approx 8 weeks but well worth it.

Rudy: You want to send an email to Don Schumaker at mack.museum@macktrucks.com Give the VIN of your truck, and your full street mailing address. They will take about 8 weeks or so to get back to you; but it's well worth the wait, trust me. And as the others have said, send them some coin, I suggest minimum of $40 or 50 bucks- when you get your package you will understand why. Good luck.

Yup thats the one!

Considering who you are among on this forum, if you leave the gutter you will be all alone.

Ken next time you are in town, for Macungie or whatever, get with me ahead of time and maybe I can arrange lunch or dinner. Due to medical issues Jim does not venture very far from his home, but he loves to entertain guests.

If anyone knows the name Jim Winsor (Chilton Publishing- Heavy Duty Trucking) myself and my father are good friends with him. He lives in the suburban Philadelphia area and we have lunch or dinner with him at least twice a year. I have a great story about when the first Maxidyne and Walter May having Jim test drive a tractor when it came out of the R & D shop (that we all now know as the Customer Center) in Allentown. I will have to write it up and post it here sometime.

A guy brings one to Macungie every year, there was a discussion of them a while back, I posted a pic of it.