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Lunch on Saturday is a noble idea, but are you really sure you want to tie yourself down at that time. Starting around noon on Saturday is when you will see the most rigs as everyone has finally arrived by then and no one has left yet. If you miss the chance to walk around early Saturday afternoon you will probably not have the chance to see some rigs. Getting in on Thursday. I'll have the toter in the camping area, so feel free to drop by. The license plate is "FXFYMN".

The tracks approaching 66 in Prince William? They are a killer. What a great show, We ended up inside and it was really nice being in the a/c. If you couldn't find a truck you liked you just don't like trucks! Thanks for the compliment Randy.

Matching existing old paint is an entirely different game than just getting a factory number. The paint has faded, etc, over the years, so you will never match it with a direct factory correct color. I had mine scanned; make sure the piece is well waxed and try to do it in the sunshine; painted a fender and not even close. Went back to have it scanned again and ended up with a different number. Sanded off the new paint, re-shot it, and still no match. I then started mixing the two paints while keeping careful track of the ratios I mixed. After several tries I finally found the right mix. Bottom line is if you want a really close match you will need to experiment a little. Small patches held against the existing paint will help, but to get a true match you really have to shoot an area, let it dry, sand it out, and then look at it. I shot the fender at least five times before I was happy with it. The nice thing about paint is all you have to do is sand it off and try again. Your truck was probably shot with some type of acrylic enamel, so I would use that if it is available in your area. It is pretty easy to use and is not too outrageously expensive. I am paying about $50.00 per pint retail for red at my local supplier. Good luck.

Are you totally repainting the rig or trying to match existing paint to do some repairs?

Mike, Do you have any AB hood latches in your stash you can let go of? I'll be in York if you do.

I'm thinking it might be from Rockville, MD??

You mean your wife has never told you she never should have married you?

You can blame NFPA for that one as well. 1901 has such strict power load requirements for the electrical system that the builders are basically forced to go to LED's to keep the loads down. Same reason many motorized lights are no longer used.

I have Power Kings on the 52 and i am happy with them. But, I only drive it a couple of hundred miles a year.

I think they care, but they have diluted their marketing and customer care in that segment to the point where they have lost leadership. There was a time in the not so distant past where the majority of the vocational trucks were all toting a bull dog. In the past few years Western Star seems to have been the truck of choice. Now that Freightliner is doing WS you have to believe the market will be open for Mack to seize again. This falls in the "what hell do I know" category, but it seems to me the perfect synergy between Volvo and Mack would be for Volvo to concentrate on the OTR market and to let Mack concentrate on the vocational market. Would Mack sell as many units as they do now? Probably not, but they could still be very profitable.

I'll be there on Wednesday to scope it out. I'll try to find a spot where we can get together on Saturday.

Laughed like hell when the car salesman told me he would never have another sun roof after a buzzard dropped a well aged road kill through one and managed to make a direct hit on him. I assume the buzzard was looking for a lawyer when he settled for the second best target he could find.

I find it interesting that they are focusing exclusively on the vocational market. Do you think some marketing whiz realized that the company that used to lead this segment seems to be indifferent to it now?

I do not believe you will find radials with the outside ribbing you are looking for. If you want to update with radials I would go with whatever tire you can find that meets the weight and size requirements of the truck.

Congratulations and welcome to the club. It is an ENF510A engine that should make it go pretty well. Are the grab rails missing or were they never used? I'd love to see pictures of the cab.

I will admit the old Hahns with the three Mars 888's across the front were bitchin. Is Mars still around?

Stop trying to follow the lights and it won't make you as dizzy.

The Type 75 is a nice truck if it is powered by the ENF510A engine, a six cylinder overhead valve engine. It is the most powerful engine they used in those days. Prices of antique fire apparatus is really driven by rarity, completeness, and condition. The Type 75's were the second highest production run of the E models with 393 built, so they are not all that rare. However, if it is a crew cab it is much rarer and worth more. Condition is hard to tell from pictures, but I would put it at about 3 to 5 out of 10. It lacks gold leaf, a bell, and the paint looks rough. A bell will run you anywhere from $500 to $1K. Real gold leaf will go north of $5K; paint anywhere from $5K to 20K. It appears the ladders and hard sleeves are missing, as well as most of the small tools. All of these can be easily found and should run you less than $1K. If it runs correctly and it is a crew cab I would be comfortable paying $3K and if I really fell in love with it I would go the $5K. Just remember owning antique fire trucks are like owning a boat. No reasonable person ever bought a boat and planned on getting his money back, and you will not make money with this either. Buy it because you like it, want to have fun with it, and are willing to preserve it for the next generation, not as an investment. Lastly, any antique fire truck must be kept indoors. if you do not have indoor storage do us all a favor and walk away so it doesn't die a slow undignified death rusting away in a back yard.

Does it get a Roto-Ray? They are hand built by a friend and fellow fire truck collector here in VA. Quite a story about how he acquired the company.

I'm not interested, but thank you for thinking of all of the Mack owners out there who are looking for parts.

I always thought a truck wash would be a great fund raiser for the local VFD at the Macungie show. Most stations have plenty of room for a big rig and God knows they are familiar with washing trucks.

Just got the one for my ENF510A back from Automotive Manufacturers in Richmond, VA. Total rebuild for $118.00. Call them at 804-321-6861. They are not quick, (3 weeks for mine) but they do good work at reasonable prices.

Not only does NFPA 1901 make you put that god awful shit on the back, but you will be hard pressed to insure a new unit without it. It's an absolute conspiracy to make all new apparatus as ugly as it can be.

I'll be arriving sometime Wednesday afternoon with the 52 and the toter. Several of my fire truck budrows are coming as well. They are bringing some very nicely restored trucks including the Buffalo that was written up in the new Double Clutch.

No leaks yet? My bet was the vacuum pump itself was the leaker. Really nice work. I'm always skeptical of folks who want to use an old truck to move their other old stuff around. Most of them are too cold, too hot, too small, and ride like a stone. It takes someone like you to make it civilized enough to be comfortable for the long haul.