CaptainCrutch

Saw this little model locomotive in the museum and the truck it’s based on is sitting right outside!

Still that protest right outside the gate was better than most, they made themselves sen and cleared outta the way, I’ve seen far to many where a poor guy has to push through them because they’re blocking the road he uses to get to work. I just hope they get they’re contracts sorted soon, they can’t exactly work without one, and besides I’d like to see more Macks piggy backing Macks when I’m going down the highway... Also I didn’t see anyone use the test track this year! I didn’t get there til 10 and left at around 1, but in my experience people are running trucks around off and on pretty much all day... it was nice and all but from the sounds of it there were gonna be more people there, unfortunately like ours the trucks wouldn’t go this morning. Well there’s always next year, and hopefully next year there’s two old green and white firetrucks sitting there and racing’s round the track... hopefully...

Well dad saw this LTL today and just adored it, he also commented that a Superdog also caught his eye... so clearly he’s still very much looking at getting one of these! Like I said it’d be something nice to be able to haul the firetrucks to shows like this even when they’re not capable of reaching the destination under their own power, seriously I’m beginning to think we’re cursed or something, it’s one thing after another with these trucks! I also know that I was a personal fan of this B model that was there... aswell as the Superliner in the other pic, these are just ideas of what we’re looking for.

It’s pretty small this year, the strike probably scared some people off...

If it's an older Mack Transmission I know some had syncros so if it was put together wrong it'd probably be out of sync which would cause it to grind and not shift. If everything is put together right all I can tell you is practice...

Will do when I get back to it, still gonna replace the old fuel filters though, we’ve been meaning to do it anyways, if it still doesn’t start we’ll try your idea!

It’s a diesel, and to be fair we were just trying to squirt a little up through the small air inlet on the side which began leaking out back out after a bit... i think it hit the air cleaner and refused to go any further... it ran perfectly fine on Saturday and then Wednesday it wouldn’t even start.

One last thing I just remembered, the carb on the L needs to be rebuilt, so if anyone knows of a good place we can send that out to let me know! It’s an old 707 and after inspection and some research we realized that if we rebuild that carb we’re gonna be in good shape. I’ll also be in Strasburg, PA for the show over the weekend but evidence by the back firing and the need to rebuild the carb, unfortunate my truck won’t be there... I’ll be sure to take plenty of pictures to share though!

Shut off isn’t stuck and the pump was pumping, and no leaks can be found, we spent an hour looking for the simple things we could think of, that’s what leads us to believe the filters are clogged, we haven’t had the time to check yet, we also added more fuel to the tank to try to pressurize it some, nothing came of it but the fuel gauge rising... it’s been kinda stressful this week and we haven’t had the time to check it yet, plan is to do some more investigating next week. Just wanted to know if there was something small we over looked, we’re not mechanics after all, just enthusiast fire engines with basic maintenance knowledge.

It’s fine we checked that, it’s a manual component, and was actually one of the first things I thought of... really the only electrical components on that engine from what I read are the starter and alternator...

That old L tiller tractor is pretty cool, if I had it I'd just clear coat it that way and use it to haul the R they've got in front of it now. Best AC system out there is just having no roof! That Green L is also pretty slick. I'm also quite fond of that little green B model with the gooseneck trailer. Great pictures overall!

Well now that the L is in almost perfect mechanical condition the CF has quit on us. Seems like it's not getting any fuel because it turns over and keeps turning but doesn't do anything else. I'm at work right now and had some time to write this up to go ahead and see if anyone has any idea what the issue could be. I can't remember what motor it is right now just that it's a 6 cylinder Mack engine. I should add that it smelt like an electric motor burnt out to me but the fuel pump is mechanical and seems to still be working but we're not sure. We even tried kicking it over with starting fluid but not even a spark. Current thought is that the 19 year old fuel filters are clogged but who knows, it hasn't been run that much in that time. Plans for the future with it include having the hose bed rebuilt and the whole thing repainted, it also had the pump panel and fenders rebuilt by 4-guys so replacements of those are a hope for the future, as well as replacing a few valves so she'll pull a draft again. Only other thing I can think of that needs to be done is fixing the front suction valve that apparently never worked and they just kept a butterfly valve on the front, so either fix the valve or find a new butterfly. Over all it's never given us any problems until just yesterday so I hope it's nothing too serious.

Well bringing it to the firehall for the funeral made us realize she needs to be tuned again, we were going up South Mountain at 15 MPH back firing like crazy the whole way, so on the way back home we dropped her back off at the shop she's been spending a whole lot of time at lately, and then the day of the funeral the CF, which has never had any problems starting, refused to fire up after an hour and a half of trying. She tuned over just fine but it seemed like she wasn't getting fuel... If anyone has any clues on what that could be let me know. It's a shame that right after my grandpa passed both his dogs are now sick...

Latest news is I had my SO contact someone from the old fire company at Greystone and they said they don't know who owns it but they're certain it went to a collector so I pray it's still out there. I really hope I can bring her back to Frederick so she can join her sister once again. At this point I care less about owning it myself and more about just knowing it's in good hands. That being said I met a few guys at my grandpa's funeral yesterday that would love to either have her themselves or at least help bring her back to her former glory.

Pulled all the old hose out of the hose bed and it’s nice, got them both ready for the funeral on Wednesday, he’ll get to ride in them one last time like he wanted to.

Yeah I saw that too, just labelled it they way they did for a minute... the builder's plate says it's an RD not a DM...

That or the owner had second thoughts about selling it... pretty understandable, it was a pretty sweet rig!

Looks like a good truck for running daily, no sleeper though... not mine. https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=9951&acctid=6250

Nicer old pumper that can't pump anymore. Not mine... https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=1&acctid=16353

Looks like a good rig to be turned into a tractor, only problems I see are minor things other than the dump bed being toast, also its labelled as a DM... Not mine, obviously... https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=51&acctid=6308

From what I know the cabs do tilt forward on H models.

If only I had $7000... it’d be sitting in my barn by Sunday if that were the case!

We actually got it going the day he passed. He always wanted to ride in it one last time so it will be the last vehicle he ever rides in. Maybe I’ll have pictures of his two trucks together for his memorial but we’ll see... after that I’m not entirely sure what will happen to them. At all costs they will end up in good hands though, they may just not be mine. I’m hoping I can convince the family to at least actively preserve them, and I’m confident they have the same wishes I do, but how that will work out I have no idea. I’ve fought for years just for everyone to pitch in to get them both this far, a few have said they’d still be in a barn collecting dust without me. They’re one of the last remnants of his legacy and I hope they live on that way.

It's an engine that was overbuilt specifically for the fire service.