fxfymn

Here a re a few of the 1925 AB with the 9 bolt detachable head. Presently in the machine shop getting the Frankenstein treatment; it is being brought back to life.

Found this site which is very helpful; www.autobody101.com Great information for the amateur and pro body and paint person. Well worth going to their forums and reading the stickys under advice for newbies and how to prep. Wish I read this before I did a couple of my projects.

My Dad was a mechanic for Plymouth Rock for a short time in the late forties. They were all Brockway then.

Happy Birthday Vinster. I can't even remember when I was 14.

When you buy paint, like all things in life, you get what you pay for. There is a reason that hardware store paints are less expensive. They do not contain the amount of pigment, or the chemical hardness and durability, of an automobile finish. While paint can be outrageously expensive, the real cost of any paint job is the prep work. If you are going to spend weeks getting the body stripped and prepped why put a cheap finish on it? If you are adamant about saving money at least explore some of the other options out there like Magnet Paint Co. They offer a less expensive paint that is still way better then Rust-O--Leum for automotive applications. The question about primers came about because most primers have an open time on them which dictates when the finish coat must be applied. Unless you are willing to re-sand the primer before top coating you cannot apply a primer and let it sit for days or weeks with any product I know of. I'm sure there are some primers out there that would allow this, but I have never run across them.

Florida Rock; they even owned a Mack franchise.

bulldogboy; you are correct. Didn't think about the ladders.

Big relief. Even my machine shop guy was stumped by this one. I see you are near Keene. I (mis) spent part of my youth in the Gilsum area with a couple who absolutely defined what it meant to be from NH. Both well into their 70's they were an absolute hoot to be around, even for a teenager. They lived right on Rte. 10 in a house sided with old road signs, because as the husband said "there was no sense in making it permanent since we moved here because my doctor told me I was dying." Of course they moved there 25 years before I met them and the doctor in question was long since dead. I put my parent's trailer across the street from their house, right on the Ashuelot River and hunted there in the fall. Mostly woodcock, but also some deer. Great memories.

Why not just do selfies of the characters who post here? What could be more wicked than that?

The Fire Department of New York was 100% Mack pumpers and tower ladders for a time in the seventies. The only truck maker that ever achieved that status with FDNY. Thanks to Bulldogboy for pointing out they used Seagrave ladders, not Macks.

If you have a big rig to put in the camping area you really need to get there on Thursday or very early Friday at the latest. Space to park is adequate, but maneuvering a large trailer into one of the slots can be challenging as the lot fills up.

I have located a very close replacement valve spring for AB 9 bolt head engines. Since the quantity price was quite a bit less than just ordering 8 springs I have extras I'll sell for $5.50 each plus shipping. I also had extra valve retainers made. They are $11.00 each plus shipping. I am not making money on either item, just recovering my costs.

1925 AB Valve Springs Thanks for all of the help. I located a very close replacement at Diamond Wire Spring. Since the quantity price was quite a bit less than the price for 8 I have ordered extras if anyone needs them for a rebuild. They will run $5.50 each plus shipping. I also had to have retainers made, which should be replaced along with the springs if you want to make sure you don't have issues with the valves later in life. They are $11.00 each plus shipping. I'm not making money on these, just asking what Author fxfymn Category Antique Parts and Service Suppliers Submitted 02/18/2014 03:32 PM

Thanks for all of the help. I located a very close replacement at Diamond Wire Spring. Since the quantity price was quite a bit less than the price for 8 I have ordered extras if anyone needs them for a rebuild. They will run $5.50 each plus shipping. I also had to have retainers made, which should be replaced along with the springs if you want to make sure you don't have issues with the valves later in life. They are $11.00 each plus shipping. I'm not making money on these, just asking what I have in them. The machine shop also located valve guides that are a very close match to the originals. I'll get the PN and vendor from him in case anyone needs these as well. I had the valves made by H&J Machining in Carrington, ND. I highly recommend him. Fair prices and he does a great job. He also stocks a lot of old John Deere engine parts.

joemac; contact cf685f on this site. He has totally rebuilt a 700 series. I remember watching Continental Fire Apparatus in Hopkinton, MA put a roof on one of the very few CF open cabs for Newton, MA. They used a roof off of an F model tractor.

I was watching a show on Velocity last night (the one about Mopar stuff) when the owner mentioned a product he is using for paint that combines the one and two stage paints into one paint. I think it was a PPG product, but I missed part of the info as I was channel surfing. A friend is re-doing a 37 buffalo using a home made mix of one and two stage paints. The same mix was used by a restorer on a boat tail Auburn; a $1M car.

Wow! What a neat history. As you know the BB's are pretty rare and this one has to be one of the very few, if not the only one, made by another builder. Anything on the paint question?

Welcome aboard. If you haven't joined yet I'd urge you to find a local ATCA chapter to join. You will meet some great people and it will give you a chance to get involved with the old truck hobby without buying a truck.

If that is the case start looking for a rare older rig that will benefit from your skills. There are some pretty unique rigs out there that should be saved, but are so far gone most of us wouldn't touch them. Here is a picture of a friend's ALF that he found in such tough shape he actually had to weld the hood shut to lift it off. Another friend said he wouldn't buy it as a parts truck. He is currently doing a very unique 37 GMC cab over four door fire truck that came out of a junk yard.

There are plenty of closed cab rigs out there if you keep looking. Adding a roof to a semi-open cab is perfectly feasible, but why go to the expense and frustration? If the truck is so rare a closed cab version cannot be found it would be heresy to close it up IMO. Just be patient and you will find what you want. And BTW buy the rig in the very best condition you can afford, not a side of the road derelict. You will be way ahead money wise.

Very interesting, but it really makes a lot of questions come to mind. Was the truck originally built as a regular truck and then converted to a fire chassis? Is the chassis number for a fire series chassis? Did Mack sell it as a fire truck or was the truck bought by another builder and then converted? Since I'm starting down this road on my AB. What paint system are you using? I'm really concerned about having to prime the panels as I sand blast them and having them sit for a long period before I can get the finish paint on them. Did you find a paint that allows you to do this?

A long and interesting history accompanies the Roto-Ray light. Originally from Ohio, the light was quite popular in many places around the US for a long time. The City of Detroit was a big user for example along with many east coast departments. The older, original lights were called "Buckeye" Roto-Rays after the manufacturer's full name derived from Ohio's nick name. It was a small family owned business that eventually ceased operations as the family members passed on. A friend and former co-worker, Richard Slepetz of Herndon, VA bought the patents, name, etc. from the family and resurrected the company a few years ago. He is making the lights, literally out of his garage, and has turned it into quite a success. He is a fellow antique truck collector and has a very nice mid fifties GMC/American pumper that he has totally restored. The truck was one of the first he rode on as a career firefighter with Fairfax County. The Pa. Pump Primer's newsletter had a great article on Roto-Rays a few years ago. Maybe someone who is a PPP member can find it and put it on here. The the old Buckeye lights can command upwards of $1000.00 if they are in good condition and they can be hard to find. Here is a picture of my 1952 Type 75A with the factory equipped Roto-Ray light I found for it.

Snowed here last night. I plow the subdivision's private road, about 1 mile, and I screwed the pooch by not getting my ass out of bed soon enough to get it plowed before it got ahead of me. I hit it about 4:00 AM and we already had at least a foot of snow. I had a really hard time getting through to make my first pass and it took me about three hours to get it all cleaned up.

Not bad if the description is accurate. Still a truck that has sat for 20 years is a pig in a poke.