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Sent you a PM

Yes, you can warp the metal, but the chances of warping something as heavy as an old truck is basically nil unless you point the nozzle at one place and leave it there. If you use soda make sure the cleaned metal is properly neutralized or the new paint will blister. I am not a fan of overall soda blasting since it would be so easy to miss a spot when it is neutralized. Standard blast media is messy as hell, but that can be a blessing when it comes to post blasting cleaning of the project since it is so obvious to see.

If you want one there is almost always a nice B model for sale somewhere. That is what keeps the prices down.

Check around for a mobile blaster who will come to your place to do it. I talked with one this past fall who will use soda or any other abrasive. He uses a water slurry for the other abrasives to keep the mess down.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Other-Makes-District-Pumper-Standard-/272097553923?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3f5a472e03:g:QtAAAOSwwbdWMAgj&item=272097553923 The listing states it has a separate motor for the pump. Most likely a WWII DoD pumper. Terrible listing that doesn't even state it is a Mack, much less what model. My assumption is it is a Type 45.

http://acton.wickedlocal.com/article/20151230/NEWS/151239564 We had a Mack rescue squad catch fire in one of our stations which resulted in the total loss of the station as well as a quint and a couple of ambulances. The crew was extremely fortunate to get out alive. The fire was caused by the main battery cable shorting out against the frame.

Now you know why all of the big cities had gas tankers that responded to any significant incident to fill up the rigs that were working. A couple of years ago I was talking to an Ahrens-Fox owner at the Harrisburg meet who had just run out of gas after pumping for four hours. He put 60 gallons in it that morning on the way to the meet. Dave Klein told me that he hooked up a five gallon tank to his Hall-Scott equipped L model to get it started. He drove around his building, parked it, and walked into his office. He heard the truck sputter, so he figured the fuel hose had kinked. When he checked the five gallons was gone. They all suck fuel like it was 10 cents a gallon.

If you need someone to check it out I am only about 90 minutes away. It does have the wrong bell, but I have the correct bell in my storage trailer.

Looks pretty nice in the pictures. It is not listed correctly on eBay, so it would be easy to miss. Asking $9K. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-Mack-B85-Fire-Truck-Open-Cab-with-equipment-/301839550260?hash=item46470a0734:g:QsEAAOSwJkJWiaSs&vxp=mtr

There are places that will do the speedo, but I would remove and clean/grease the cable first. I use a GPS to accurately track my speed in lieu of having the analog speedo rebuilt.

Plan on around $2500.00 per tire to have new tires pressed on. PM "steelman" on this site for further info as he has quite a knowledge base about solid tires.

Was the truck moved out into the cold while it ran? If so, my guess would be they froze and will open after they thaw out.

Look closely; the one closest to the delivery truck is a B model, I think the next two are H models and the last is an early C model fire truck. Probably 1959-1960 era. Great picture.

This is obviously something simple, and unless the shop royally screwed something up trying to fix it, I would bring it home and find a mechanic to come to your house to get it running. If they want to buy it as compensation than I would ask them to pay for the tow to your house, or the shop of your choice, in lieu of that. I sent you a PM with a couple of leads to possibly help you out.

That is why I tell anyone who asks about getting an antique fire truck to steer away from the ALF v-12's. The trucks are an icon in the American fire service, but the engines can be a nightmare.

cf685f on this site has rebuilt a couple of 700 series with V12's. Try PMing him. Are you a member of the RI SPAAMFAA chapter? Surely someone in the club will know of someone who has ALF V-12 experience. Have you checked to see if there is an ALF owner's group on facebook? If it is a carb issue fuel sprayed into the carb should make it fire. If not them I'd look for an ignition issue. Troubleshooting 101; all it takes to run is fuel, air and a properly timed spark. It may not have power or run smoothly, but it should run. One last thought; are you sure the batteries are hooked up correctly? Maybe positive ground? My bet it it will turn out to be something simple that a "modern" mechanic has never seen like a positive ground. And a not so subtle dig; Mack always claimed the the ALF and Seagrave v-12's were more gimmick than substance and that a Mack 6 cylinder would outperform either engine with a higher degree of reliability.

I mounted the screen to a small piece of plywood which I attached a couple of pieces of flat stock bent into a hook shape to hang over the windshield. I plug it into the control box, hang it on the windshield while I load the truck, and then disconnect it and stash it away when I'm done.

If you are concerned about safety during public events I would put a back up camera on the truck. The cameras are quite small so they will not take away from the truck's appearance and the screen can be set up so it is removable if you want to keep a factory look in the cab. I use one for the front of my 52 to help me load the truck on the trailer. Just remember to hook it up correctly; I ran a separate wire to the control unit directly from the battery and isolated the unit from the truck to keep it from shorting out. As for the back up alarm I'd go with a modern unit since that is what today's folks associate with a truck backing up. And the wheel bells are immensely annoying as they rattle and ding all the time.

Most likely none other than the guy on the back step operating a buzzer in the cab by pushing a button mounted near the grab rail. One stop; two go; three back up. It was their job to make sure no one was in the way.

Proof that you just can't take all of this so seriously. If some one is so determined to prove they are an ass than we have no choice but to let them. But you are right; no one should get so pissed off they let some one else drive them away. I'm pretty sure Ken will be back after he lets off some steam. At least that's what I'm hoping.

Welcome aboard.

Damn, how did you get a picture of my wife? (Yeah, like Santa has ever been that good to me!) Merry Christmas to all and may all your wishes come true.

I always use a clip on chuck to inflate any split rims I have mounted. I place the tire/rim on the ground with the valve stem facing down, attach the air chuck, and then turn the air hose on from at least 50 feet away. I have never had one fail, but sometimes the bead seating will cause a slight bowel loosening.

It is 66 degrees as I type this and it is supposed to top 75 degrees on Christmas day. We had close to 2 inches of rain since yesterday which should have been two feet of snow this time of year. I feel badly for all of you that count on snow plowing money to get you through the winter since it is looking like it could be a zero snow year for the east coast. Bah Humbug!

Merry Christmas to you and yours.