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The white B model is B85F-1001. Very nice restoration.

Anybody else headed to the PPP muster this coming weekend? For those who have not been there the Pa. Pump Primers (PPP) muster in Harrisburg is probably the best fire muster in the land. They will usually have 30 or more rigs pumping out of the Susquehanna river in downtown Harrisburg on Saturday along with a static display of other apparatus and a pretty big flea market. Well worth the trip if you are within driving distance.

The R model rescue in the other auction looks pretty sweet as well. I cannot be at the auction, but I'm pretty sure one of the AB's has the wheels I need for mine. I'd appreciate it if someone who attends can get the contact info for whoever buys the ABs.

Happy (very late) Birthday!

Thanks Paul; The information that the members have here never ceases to amaze me. Albert; I weighed the purchase of the AK and decided that I still wanted to be married, or at least that is what my wife tells me, so I called Mike.

Welcome aboard!

Brent, Mine are 8" I.D. and 8 1/4" O.D. It will need to be plated and it has a small dent in it. Give me a call at 540-785-0555 Carl

Yep, they are the strangest lights I have ever seen on a fire truck. Mack used them in 1925 & 26, and maybe some other years as well. They almost look like a coach light. Not to hijack the thread, but I wonder if anyone recognizes them from another Mack application. (bus maybe?) I doubt I'll never find them, but I thought the same thing about the tail light and I found an original on eBay. Go figure.

Let me look; I might have one. If not try OTB in CA for a replica.

Damn Mike, sorry you missed it. If anyone knows of any hose bed lights like the ones on this rig please let me know. I really need a set for my 25AB.

We already had a great start to the 4th; took the 52 to a parade this morning. Best weather we have had on the 4th in10 years. Happy Independence Day to all!

Idle fire apparatus before going on a call? 32 plus years and all we ever did was start it, wait for the crew to board in 15 seconds or less (or they got left), and try to go from 0 to as fast as the driver could make it go. Was it hard on them? Absolutely; but I personally never blew one up or heard of us blowing one up once we went all diesel. That is one reason why fire apparatus gets replaced at very low miles compared to most commercial applications. 100 to 150K miles on a fire truck are much harder then the same miles on almost any other truck. In 100,000 miles a fire truck is probably started and stopped at least 6 or 7,000 times, with many of those going from dead cold to full acceleration in 30 seconds or less. Wait for air to come up? That is why we kept any rig that had a reputation for leaking down on an air line from the station's compressor. And remember the truck is stored in a heated building, so "cold" starts are not as cold as being outdoors in sub-freezing weather. Most drivers did let them idle down before shutting down to let the turbo cool and properly lube.

Just send them a letter, along with a suitable donation, asking for the history of the truck. The vin should be on the title or registration, assuming you have either document. You will receive a service manual, the build sheet, and any other history they have on file about your truck. Generally takes 6 - 8 weeks to get the info. I still think the "T" shaped device is a vacuum trailer control because you said it was hooked to the vacuum tank at one time. Mico-Locks, hydraulic brake locks, do not connect to the vacuum system and you would have a small handle on the dash to apply it if it were on the truck. There will also be a screen in the vacuum system prior to the hydrovac designed to keep dirt out of the hydrovac and the hydrovac will have some type of vent screen to prevent dirt from entering via the vent line.

Might even be Florida.

Any idea where the original picture was taken? Brush breaker type trucks were also used in the NJ Pine Barrens area. Could be from that area.

Rebuilt hydrovacs are commonly available; it's not worth trying to do it yourself. Obviously you need to replace the entire system including the steel brake lines. If you can't borrow one spend the money, about $200.00, on a good flaring tool from Eastwood or one of the other vendors, you will be glad you did. If you cannot find wheel cylinders the originals can be re-sleeved by a restoration shop such as White Post. I assume you have your truck's info from the Mack Museum. This should provide details about the braking system and how the components are installed. One hint when you start bleeding; do the hydrovac first. Then move on to the furthest wheel. Depending on how the wheel cylinders mount you may have to use positive pressure to force brake fluid in. (Some mount in such a way that the bleed opening is lower then the bore, trapping air in the bore) I use a garden sprayer I converted to force brake fluid into the system at the master cylinder and then I bleed the MC the conventional way. The "T" shaped device you described is probably for the trailer brakes. That is why it is blocked off.

Another possibility would be the State Division of Forestry. They maintained a pretty substantial fleet of brush equipment at one time. There is a video of the Sandwich fire that occurred in the late forties I'll look over to see if it turns up. It was one of the fires that burned very large areas on the upper Cape. It is on you tube under the title "Cape Cod Brush Fire - 1946"

It absolutely looks like a cape Cod/South Shore brush breaker. I don't recall seeing it when it was in service, but "bulldogboy" knows a lot more about the Macks in Ma. than I can recall. Lets see if he chimes in.

Thanks for the sympathy; Got the truck back today; covered under warranty. Ken; I did drive a Ford and would have bought it if they could figure out how to put a decent tilt steering wheel in $60K truck, not a Yugo imitation. Kind'a glad too; a good friend already had his 6.0 blow up at 49k miles and had to suffer the embarrassment of calling a GM product to come tow his trailer to the show we were attending. Yardo; I don't think they used the same ETCM in the 1/2 ton trucks, but if you have the ITBC it is worth looking on the net for the issues that have come up. Glad everyone had a good time at the TK. "Come for the wings; stay for the breasts" Enjoy the show and take lots of pics to share.

One of those rare diesels with spark plugs. Still a nice truck.

Bad news here; the 2011 Chevy 3500HD I use to tow my trucks crapped out on me this week so I had to cancel my plans to attend the show. I'll really miss seeing all of you. What happened?? When towing a dump trailer I kept getting "trailer disconnected" followed by "trailer connected" messages, which I assumed was a loose wire on the trailer. The next day as I was towing the 52 to Richmond last Saturday the Integrated Trailer Brake Controller (ITBC) started applying the trailer brakes randomly. it finally fully applied the brakes bringing me to stop from 70 mph on I-95. I was able to disable the trailer brakes and limped home. Since this is the third time the ITBC had failed me I replaced it with an after market controller that afternoon. As I was coming home that night the truck started flashing messages that included "check stabilitrack" "back-up alarm disabled" and "check traction control" along with going into limp mode. The dealership says it is the electronic transmission control module (ETCM) and it is on back order. What does this have to do with the ITBC? It seems they share a data line and in all probability the ETCM was applying the trailer brakes through the ITBC as well as supplying the false messages about the trailer disconnecting. If you own a GM product with the ITBC you need to be aware of this.

The real question is: Will Peterbilts and KW's come with bud vases?

My 52 has Power Kings on it and they have been fine. There is a big difference between a show truck and one used to make a living. I am perfectly comfortable with the Power Kings for the few miles I put on the truck; besides you have 63 year old tires on it now, what's worse?

I believe 1929 is too early to use chrome. Nickel plating is what would have been used on the truck when it was new.

Yep, same place as last year. As the Enterprise ads say "I'll pick you up." I agreed to volunteer for ATCA on Friday morning, so the bus might have to leave early.