CaptainCrutch

Turning radius is not a problem, we’ve had a triaxel up here to trailer the L and we’ve had lumber trucks as well when we were building it back deck. Besides we’re not just in it for hauling the fire engines, we also just want a sharp semi that’d be fun to take to shows and drive around. One more thing to add is that we’d prefer a truck with a Mack motor.

Well for the right price we wouldn’t hesitate... the ultimate goal is to have a decent truck to haul the firetrucks, since firetrucks are geared to go fast in the city, not so much on the highway, and we’d like to be able to trailer them places without having to call 50 people we know with trailers to see if they’re not busy. That and we have a firm belief that why would anyone have a back yard when you could have a Mack yard.

Me and my dad aren’t really in the market right now but that doesn’t mean we’re not looking, nor does it mean we wouldn’t snag one up given the right deal. We either want an LTL or a B-75 with the L cab, tractors, preferably with sleepers but that’s not a must. Not really picky about everything else, just as long as it doesn’t require a ton of work.

Well as it turns out the truck needs a tune up so it runs nice but it needs to get to the shop for such a tune up, but it needs the tune up to get to the shop. So I’m sure that paradox has baffled many as to how we’re gonna fix it, we’re hoping the local mechanic is willing to either come down and get it or we’re gonna try to call some friends with a flat bed and see if they’ll help get it there. Another reason why we want to get an old semi and a flatbed of our own one day, we just certainly don’t have the funds now... in the mean time thanks to Loadstar I found some old pictures of the truck. This also gives us a good view of the original fleur de le on the fenders.

Care to send me the link? That is the one I own and I like looking at all the old stuff like this of the old engines...

I found an old picture of the ‘54 LS85. Looks to be shortly after it was delivered.

A connection of mine at Mack just sent me these pictures of the Zach Brown Band’s brand new Mack Anthem... it’s a beauty!

The link doesn’t work, but a buddy of mine was looking at getting one of these...

We called them a while ago and they didn’t know anything, and gov deals would say anything to to us. Not that they probably know anything anyways, they probably just had to be at a certain place to meet a flatbed and hand over the paperwork.

The Jersey government sold it when they went to knock it down and I can’t find it on google maps around the facility before 2014. Doesn’t mean it’s not there, I just can’t find it. It was bought by someone on GovDeals and then seemingly disappeared, and from what I’ve heard is seems like it’s somewhere down south which is a huge area to search. The old ad is in the top post.

After doing more research it looks like it was sold by IHC to the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains, NJ where it stayed until July 31st 2014 when it was sold, and all sources lead to being sold to a scrap dealer but that’s not a definite. Just adding what I find as time goes on. All of this was pretty easy to figure out but hey, something is better than nothing.

A side note, at the CAFAA muster they take pictures of all the rigs as they come in and someone finally posted one of ours in that spot. Still looking for pictures of IHC’s old 1954 Mack LS-85 sedan cab pumper. Any pictures of any IHC engines are very much appreciated. Just trying to develop an album in case they come up in the future so I don’t make the same mistake as we did when the 54 came up for sale and we missed ignored it not realizing at first that it was in fact the truck that we were looking for. Still praying it’s out there but all the leads have run dry, and have lead to it being scrapped unfortunately. Quite a shame. Anyways enjoy a picture of the CF

We’re doing most of the work by ourselves, but in the winter we took her to have a top end engine rebuild. We found most of the parts and a lot of it was asking around, finding leads, and one of our biggest part providers was a donor engine we found close to us surprisingly. But we exhausted a lot of the parts people had and the heads themselves had to be machined by a guy the mechanic knew. We’re thinking about taking it back there so they can fix the carb which has an issue getting fuel to the engine in the higher RPMs which means that you can only drive it for maybe 15 minutes before it stalls, and we know it’s not another fuel leak. It’s mostly tuning at this point. Having it at Pump Primers is the goal but chances the truck makes it are slim. Another part we’ll need is the fitting for the aux nozzle because the bottom has rusted away, and the pump needs a good clean out, but it pumps, you just need to have water in the tank, so there’s a positive.

We’re gonna hold off on doing any paint for a while, one day we’ll make it as close to factory paint as possible but for now we like the story that the messy cracking paint gives. Right now though things are looking up for shows, still not giving any definites right now, because who know what else can and will go wrong.

I last heard it was a tribute rig. Maybe though, if it was that’d make it even more spectacular that they parked us next to it.

She’s all back together and running, and the pump isn’t seized so we’ll be looking at testing that soon. Had to do some fab work for a new copper fuel line, so now there’s only a coolant leak which looks like it can be fixed with some flex tape. The old fuel line we found all kinked up and leaky, not really surprising but unfortunate none the less. We’re hoping to have it out in the road Wednesday. All of this is iffy at best but things are looking up again, until the next problem.

To me it looks like a ‘29 American LaFrance. If you look at pictures they look incredibly similar. I tried looking at all the characteristics of what you’ve got there and it seems to line up with a LaFrance. Maybe like someone else said, it’s a Mack with LaFrance parts on it but I think it’s just a LaFrnace with newer wheels.

I wonder when they put the soft top on it. I also wonder how it became the color it is now. Very interesting rig to say the least.

It’s pretty sad that France respects our Veterans more than we do sometimes.