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For cab parts you might try Cal Little. He is listed on the Mack Museum antique resource page. If you haven't done so yet write the museum with the chassis number to get the build history of your truck.

I have always thought that the B 80 series were among the best looking Macks ever built. Growing up in New England they were quite common and I didn't really appreciate them until I moved south where heavy duty trucks are much rarer. I don't know if you have had the chance to attend Macungie yet, but if you do you will see several great examples of B 80s to emulate.

I am in VA and I have registered two old trucks as antiques. As long as it is over 25 years old and you swear you own another vehicle to use as a daily driver they will give you historical tags for it. You are free to drive it pretty much as you desire as long as you do not use it as your daily driver. One other consideration is that you will NOT pay personal property tax on the vehicle nor will you be required to get an annual safety inspection if you use antique tags. Antique insurance does put further restrictions on the operation of the vehicle, but I'm sure you can get regular insurance with antique tags. As the previous replies stated you will be asked by DMV what weight class you want to be in. Stay under 26K and you are Non-CDL.

I believe the Corbitts belong to a Mr. Smith(?) from Durham. I had the chance to go through his yard this past summer. Quite the collection of rust including many Macks, IH Scouts, and Brockways as well as the Corbitts. I could not even reach the handle to get into the Tall Boy. It must have been quite the ride back in the day.

I understand that, but what about the rig that's parked out back with trees growing through it and the owner still refuses to sell? I know of several pretty unique rigs that are parked and will never see the light of day until the owner passes on. In each case someone has made a fair offer for the rig and the owner has made it clear he will not sell no matter what. I know that will never change, but since we are talking about those of us who are active collectors and restorers I think there should there be some obligation on our part to make sure everyone gets to enjoy a rig if we are clearly not going to get it repaired or out on the show circuit. Let it go and let someone else enjoy it!

You can always cut away the outer edge of the backing plate to get to the shoes. I assume you have backed the adjusters out as far as you can. If they are frozen soak them in blaster overnight and try again.

Those are Mass. tags on it, so you may try contacting one of the MA chapters of ATCA or ATHS. I assume you already blew up the image to try to read the registration card on the windshield. And I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out it is from St. J or Holmes given their large presence in New England.

One interesting point that the original poster makes is what to do with a rig you own, but will never get around to doing anything with. It is a constant source of frustration for me that an owner has no intention of ever doing anything with a rig, yet he/she will not part with it so someone can bring it back to life and show it off for the rest of us to enjoy. Is it ethical to just let something rust out back or sit in a garage covered with 20 years of grime when someone makes a reasonable offer for the rig with the intention of fixing it up?

Whether you are a truck driver or the head coach at Penn State the lessons all the same; Tell the truth and face the consequences. Nuff said!

There are as many "fire engine" reds as there are fire engines. Every manufacturer had their own color as well as the many different colors that each purchaser specified. As Rob said most fire apparatus is actually a deeper red, with many an almost maroon color. The vendors will have listings for American LaFrance red for example which is a very dark, maroon like red. The brightest red I ever saw on apparatus was what the LA City FD used. I don't know the color number, but it is much brighter than most. Mine was done with a Ford red (according to the color match the computer came up with) and it is not a real bright red either. Now if you want it really bright you could paint it aircraft orange like we did on a couple of our apparatus. God ugliest fire truck that ever drove down a highway!

Just make sure you remove any loose items that could "launch" when the cab is raised. I saw someone put an SCBA through the windshield of a C cab Ford when he raised the cab without removing the SCBA from the officers seat.

I had PM'd him asking about more information as the listing was so sketchy. His reply wasn't a lot more helpful which made me wonder what was up. It sure didn't seem like he was very interested in selling the rigs.

Denny, I'd love to come, but you know how far it is from VA to your place. Next time you're in town look me up. Carl

My condolences. God Bless.

I thought about posting this in the fire apparatus forum, but since thre are so many neat trucks in here I'm sure everyone will be interested. They were compiled by the Old Dominion Historical Fire Society, the VA chapter of SPAAMFAA. After you open the link you will need to open the "Mack Fire Apparatus" listing under the heading "this photo also appears in" at the bottom right part of the page. From there you can scroll through the pictures. There are 1509 pictures, including apparatus from New Zealand, the Netherlands, and of course every part of the USA. http://www.flickr.co...hfs/2505995841/

When I first made Lt. I went to a really slow company who's primary response area was the Potomac River. Since it was so slow we used to go to the local boat ramp and watch folks trying to back their boats into the water. It was a never ending source of amusement.

I had a guy come by last night to buy a fifth wheel hitch I had for sale on CL. He shows up in an older F-150, so I asked him if that was what he was planning on using to pull the fiver. After he said yes I asked him what kind of fifth wheel trailer he had. Turns out its an old 34' Nu-Wa, a very heavy trailer. I told him the 1/2 ton wouldn't pull it and if he tried he would be a danger to himself and everyone else on the road. He replied that he had called Ford and Nu-Wa and both told him the F-150 would handle it and besides he was only going "close to home" with the trailer. I kept at him, but he was adamant that it would work. I really thought about not selling the hitch to him to help prevent him from killing himself or someone else, but I figured he was going to do this with or without that particular hitch. Besides, I'm pretty sure the truck tires will blow out as soon as he puts the trailer weight on them. As a retired firefighter one of my pet sayings is "Thank god for stupid people or we wouldn't have a nice house." I think this one falls in that category.

Don't feel too bad; A friend of mine's antique ran out of fuel in the middle of the Washington DC St. Patricks Day parade. Now that's embarrassing.

I spoke with this gentleman at Lititz. Seemed like a very nice guy who had a real passion for the trucks.

What engine are you looking for? Have you spoken with Matt Pfahl? He is from your area and is one of the best at restoring old Macks, so he may have a lead on what you are looking for.

I assume you mean the glasses.

At that price I'd find a REO and re-badge it as a Junior. Kind of like making your own GTO out of a LeMans. Sure it's a fake, but if the buyer was foolish enough to pay 165K, I doubt they would be smart enough to know the difference.

Mack used gas engines in their fire trucks exclusively until 1960 and delivered their last gas powered fire truck in 1973. In addition to the 707 they produced the L head ENF 331, ENF 377; and the overhead ENF 510 and ENF 611 Thermodyne engines. There were also several other Mack produced gas engines used in earlier rigs. All fire apparatus was delivered with dual ignitions since ignition failure the most likely reason for an engine to fail to start providing the battery was properly charged.

Model years are OK, but the chassis number is the real decider. I'd like to know who has the lowest chassis number out there for the different models.

As I type it is pouring AGAIN! I would love to be able to pack some of this up and send it south to where its needed. I don't think we have had more than two or three sunny days in a row in more than a month. I'm hoping to take the truck to a show this week end, and the weather folks swear its going to be sunny, but I'm not real hopeful.