1958 F.W.D.

BUMP- Isn't anyone going to the Hoppenville Show? (John Haines's show?????)

Was the gentleman Harvey Eckert??? If that's what he said you can take his word as if Moses had written it in stone. Pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor News and start looking at the ads.

Who's going?

Sorry for the short notice.....buuuuut.......... The Montgomery Township Fire Department (Montgomery County Pa.) will be holding their first (and hopefully annual) Car/Truck Show this coming Saturday, September 17 at the Montgomeryville Mall on Route 309 in Montgomeryville Pa (just outside of Philly.) The mall is just down the street from "Malfunction Junction"- where Rts 309/202/463 cross one another. Show is open to all makes/models of cars/trucks/hot rods. etc. Registration is $15 for cars/trucks, $10 for motorcycles. Vendor spaces available for $30. All proceeds to benefit the operations and equipment of the volunteer fire department. I am posting this for them because as of this afternoon, they only had 15 vehicles registered. So if you are free this saturday and want to take a ride, take a ride to the Montgomeryville Mall. See the attached flyer for more info. And bring the women, too- they can walk the mall while the men be men. http://www.fdmt.org/Site/images/2011%20Car%20Show%20Flyer%20letter%20size.pdf

Who says C & S wont insure big trucks?? I was with them for 8+ years with my '58 FWD Firetruck (24' long and 18000lbs) I know many firetruck guys with rigs bigger than mine who are with C & S..... By the way I went to JC Taylor due to them having a Towing/Breakdown/Flat Tire addendum for 12 bucks a year, also C & S never offered this.

Absolutely NOT. I just (as in last month) signed up with JC Taylor after having been with Condon & Skelly for 8 years. All JC Taylor wanted was a photo of my truck, which is in "original" condition.

So.....I got a new vehicle liability policy for the antique firetruck. The policy came today, and I was reading through it.....This is exactly why everyone should read their policies carefully, even if they ARE boring as hell.....My policy says under EXCLUSIONS: "We do not provide medical payments coverage for any insured for bodily injury: (#7) Caused by or as a consequence of discharge of a nuclear weapon (even if accidentally.) Even if accidental???? WTF KIND OF A BULLSHIT POLICY IS THIS??????

From what I remember of my fathers two F Models, I cannot recall a safety latch to lock it "down", just a bar to lock it from coming back down when it is "up." Also, check the pump for a 1/4 turn valve, if it wont go up, turn the valve. You will need a long bar 4-5 feet long to "get your muscles into it."

Also check NAPA for Bendix rebuild kits with stainless steel sleeves (comes with lifetime warranty.) I was able to get a new stock from Bendix for the Ford Master Cylinder, which is the clutch slave cylinder on my FWD.

The twin screw scope (I believe it was L18's piece) was indeed at Anderson Construction. I heard they eventually cut it up. You can thank the hundreds of buffs who called there at all hours of the day and tresspassed on their property for their poor attitude.

Looking for head gaskets, heads, full rebuild gasket sets or any parts for Waukesha 140GZ (F554G) engines....NOT the 145GZ (F817G) engine. PM me here or email yardo@rcn.com THANKS!

And with this new budget being passed, you can bet all of the monies available will be shot down in the next 2-3 years if it takes that long.

If this is a plain jane cookie-cutter CF (1000GPM/500GWT) with the standard body and a 237/5-speed, I was thinking that it couldn't weigh much more than 22,000. Add all of the equipment and maybe you'll approach that 26,001 threshold. Run it across a CAT scale. Get the gross and the axle weights, and keep the yellow ticket in the glove box.

Like I said.....the banker, the butcher, the carpenter, the schoolteacher and the barber (you know- all the volunteer firefighters who never drive any trucks unless if driving to a fire....These guys who are members of the VFD are guys who have never driven trucks in their lives until they joined the VFD. Then you also have the members who ARE truck drivers. These are the ones with the common sense. As for the grant money, I don't understand. Poor companies in rural Pennsylvania are having no problems getting grant monies. Have you guys solicited your politicians for help? They just love standing in front of a group of Volunteer FF's with one of those huge fake checks for photo opportunities with the newspaper.

In most situations, if it is a privately owned vehicle that is not within commerce and is tagged as a classic/antique/pleasure vehicle a CDL is not required, regardless of the weight. Believe it or not, you do not need a CDL to drive a super bus RV weighing 50K if it is privately owned and tagged as an RV.

Been a career/volunteer firefighter for 22+ years. I hold IFSAC/Pro-Board Certifications to drive everything with a red light/siren and wheels, including ARFF vehicles. Have worked on several military installations (including a large-frame airfield) as a federal firefighter. I like to think I have the experience to back those pieces of paper up. The USAF Fuel Tankers are only baffled for "X" amount of fuel (Not sure what the USAF uses but in this case lets say Jet-A which is 6.75lbs per gallon on a ISA (International Standard Atmosphere) day; and only for on a nice, flat and leve airport surface at 35-38 miles per hour, which most of them rarely see. Again, not sure what the tank capacity is, in this case lets say 5000 gallons. 5K of Jet-A weighs 33750. 5K of water (at 8.3lbs per gallon) weighs 41500. Quite a bit of difference. The first question is, have they checked with their liability insurance carrier to see if they would be able to get insurance on the converted vehicle? Many Fire Department Insurance Carriers will not insure a converted fuel tanker. That being said...... -Is this tanker's GVW capable of handling 5K of water versus 5K of Jet-A??? -Is the driveline capable of handling the difference??? -Have they installed proper baffles inside the tank for highway/road useage??? -Will they be properly training the banker, the butcher, the carpenter, the schoolteacher and the barber (you know- all the volunteer firefighters who never drive any trucks unless if driving to a fire......when many of them get tunnelvision or "Siren-Cide") how to handle this beast which is now handling more weight than it was ever intended to haul???? There is so much free money out there these days (homeland security, FEMA, emergency management....state and federal.......All you have to do is ask for it and the Feds are practically throwing money at Volunteer Fire Departments that need equipment. So many guys have been hurt and even killed in converted tankers. Just dont want to see any more.

With all the availability of different funding and state and federal grants nowadays, why would you guys even consider converting a fuel tanker to a water tanker? I dont mean to sound like....well....an asshole, but that is just so 1960's....... so so many converted tankers that I know of have ended up on their sides at street intersections or in ditches on country roads.

One of the big reasons me and the old lady bought this house was for the garage......Originally had a three-section fiberglass roll-up. Hacked that off, raised up the header to 8'3" and had the commercial roll-up style door installed. Wanted the box to be on the inside, but didnt work out. I'm not complaining. The marker lights clear the ceiling by about 1/2" Enough room to get around the front of the truck to the other side (shelves/storage) and also enough room to park the old lady's van inside when it snows.

Welcome from Hellertown, just up above Quakertown and right below Bethlehem. I grew up in the right-hand seat of two F-Model Mack cabovers. Best years of my life.

I have a 15" single plate wedge-type Lipe-Brown (I think thats what you meant to say??) clutch in my 1958 FWD Firetruck (mated to a 140GZ/F554G Waukesha gas.) Have you considered pulling one set of the wedges?

This past Saturday I was a bachelor, didn't have anything going on so I took the 1958 FWD Firetruck to a local Mustang Club's car show, which was a charity event. It was open to all makes/brands so I figured what the hell, it's for charity. So I tooled on over. It was mostly Mustangs of course (including a gorgeous, rare 1969 429 Boss, thats when I got out my blue oval prayer rug and prayed in the direction of Detroit....) Another rare one was a 1968 EXP500 Shelby......Lots of other great Mustangs and other makes/models too. Parked next to a lovely 1960 Buick Invicta Convertible. Good people, good day for a good cause. Weather was a bit hot but no liquid fell from the sky. Many trophies for different classes of Mustangs and some others as well. I wasnt out for a trophy, but imagine my surprise when at the end of the trophies, they announced the "big one"- the Club's trophy, which usually goes to a Mustang of some sort.........Well you could have smacked me with a ball-peen hammer and called me silly when they announced my truck!!! (ok brag time over.) lol......

I have been with Condon and Skelly (Maple Shade, NJ) since I bought my truck in 2002. They have provided me exceptional coverage through Met Life at a really decent rate of $67.00 a year. Yesterday I received my renewal notice in the mail, showing that my rates have jumped to $95.00 per year without an explanation. I know it's only $28 bucks, and it was probably a cost-of-business increase (I can't ever remember an increase since 2002) but the principle of the change with no explanation made me call them to find out what happened. Seems that Condon and Skelly has switched providers to Ironshore Idemnity, Inc. They do not give a street address, just a PO Box in NY, NY. I have never heard of these guys, and don't know how comfy I am switching to a company that does not have a street address. I know that Condon and Skelly have been around for a while, and probably would have not switched to some fly-by-night outfit, but for some reason this is just triggering "that feeling" in my gut. QUESTIONS: -Has anyone heard of these guys, or are you currently insured by them, or have you ever filed a claim? (how were they to deal with if you did???) -I know a lot of folks on here use JC Taylor. How are they to deal with, and who do they use as their carrier? -Does anyone have full towing coverage? Any information is greatly appreciated.

Dammit, I completely and totally forgot about the photo op at high noon......And I even said to myself around 10:00am "dont forget to go over to Watt's tent at 12!!!!" DOH!!!! But plenty of you found me at my rig and introduced yourselves. Was nice to meet everyone!

The rig in photo #43 looks vaguely familiar to me.....