James Lythall

A lot of the pieces for the truck are sitting in some boxes right now. I have started to go through it and try to figure out what some of the things are. My dad was able to label some of the pieces a couple years ago, so that will help a bit. I do have the backing plate for the brakes, that has been restored. It would make sense to me that the brakes would just by hydraulic. Good to know that trying to get new drums could be a royal pain in the behind. Theoretically speaking, you could take the brakes off of some bigger trucks from today right? Like the bigger F-450's or something like that couldn't you? Theoretically of course. The cab is in really good shape for the most part. On the passenger door, there is a big deep rust patch that is almost half the size of the door. Other than that it is pretty good. Just go over it gently with some sandpaper, then she's ready to be painted. I think the hardest part for the interior will be the seats. The seats are worn and pretty beat up. shouldn't be too difficult to find someone who would be able to make new ones, out of the ones we have. And yes keeping the bench seats, it would be a crime if I didn't. Brocky, you mentioned the clutch and brake pedals. I have been trying to figure out which pedals those are. I did find a pedal in a box, which I am assuming is the gas pedal. You are right that the toughest part right now will be cleaning up the shop. My dad loved to accumulate things and then do nothing with them. I have been working on cleaning up the shop for almost a year now. And then I got my dads bad habit of accumulating things. Guess it is hereditary! Thankfully my dad took pictures of the engine all intact so I have something to go off of. My mum said that there are more pictures somewhere, just need to find them too.

Good to know that adding power steering doesn't really matter. That makes perfect sense. Don't worry, I will do my best to stay active on here as much as I am able to! It may take me a couple of weeks to really do much besides clean up our shed a bit more so I have workspace. You are all so fantastic. I wish I could give all of you a big hug! Brocky, sorry I have a tendency to leave out small details. So my dad took the chassis to a place to get it restored. I have a paper of everything that they did. Most of it is gibberish to me. The rims and brakes have not been restored yet. They are still the originals. The truck has sat in our shed for over 20 years so a lot of things will need to be gone through. I'm not sure if it has air brakes or not. Is there a pretty easy way I could tell? Would anyone happen to know if our truck would have had a wooden floorboard? I have been searching for a metal one but I haven't seen one. I have found some wood on the truck so I am wondering if it was wood or metal. Here are some more pictures. These ones are current, I took them today. Some of the other pics I posted are a couple months old (not much has changed since then but hopefully these will help). Sorry our shed is so messy, I am working on it I promise. The one funky picture is of the front drum brake

Yeah Brocky, we do have a pretty good size shop to work in thankfully. But my dad left it as a big mess for me to clean up haha. Guess he didn't want to clean it himself haha. I feel like I would admire the truck more myself if I am able to say "I did that!" When it comes to the bed, I am thinking of kind of going the "farm truck" route. Make a nice wood flat bed with some wood railings on the sides. I love woodworking so that would be an extra bonus if I am able to do that. My main goal currently is to get the engine running and start inspecting the body work on the cab. Start putting the puzzle back together then see what goes from there. Sometimes I worry that I have challenged myself a little too much by fixing up the truck, but it will just take time. One of the most rewarding things will be to finally drive it. I have never seen the truck leave our shed. Question, I have driven old trucks that don't have power steering before. Our truck doesn't have power steering. I would like to somehow include power steering if I am able to. Any tips on doing that (eventually)? Jay Leno did something not too long ago where he took an old truck and had a electric power steering module installed into a truck. But it looked like a royal pain in the behind to do that. I know there are possibilities but I have no idea where to begin the search. Also, the brake system. We have drum brakes all the way around, some of the drums are still in decent condition. Would it be best just to replace all the drums before I hook up the drivetrain?

Thank you all for the wonderful advice! I will start with working on the engine first! I will take some more pictures soon and post them here. Brocky, you asked if we have the fire apparatus bed, no we do not. The cab is currently sitting on a pallet on the frame. I just need to clean up our shed a bit more then I can get it onto the ground. Thankfully most of the rust is all surface rust, but there are a couple patches off deep rust that will need to be replaced on the cab. I have 0 body work skills so it will take a bit longer to get to that. Thankfully I have some family who has offered to help teach me. But I am hoping that most of the work will be done at home. Steve, you and I are almost on the same path. My current plan is to put the truck back together, fix things along the way, and clean it up. Get the truck drivable and on the road again! It will still take a long time. Eventually, I would love the truck to be fully restored, but with the cost of doing that, I am thinking about doing it in pieces. Get the truck all back together, then when I have the money, take off one thing and fully restore that, then put it back on. It would look pretty silly at times, but that is part of the fun. That is my current thought process. Thankfully, my dad got the chassis and a few other things fully restored, so I don't need to worry about those.

Y’all are absolutely fantastic! I’m so glad that I posted on here! If this was your truck, what would be one of the first things that you would start working on? I have a little rough idea of the road I want to go down but I’m not sure of what would be best. So the engine is somewhat pulled apart, would you recommend trying to put it back together the best I can to see if there is anything else I am missing? The motor hasn’t been turned over in years so I have no idea what the internal side of it looks like. What would be the best way of going about cleaning it up and putting the motor and transmission back together? Is that something that would be best with the cab back on?

Oh my goodness. I was not expecting so many replies so fast. I really appreciate all the help I can get. I am also new to this website so please bear with me. Years ago, before I was born, my dad reached out to the Mack Museum in Pennsylvania. We were able to get copies of a overhaul manual, and a bunch of other manuals. We have had the truck for about 22ish years. Had the truck longer than I have been alive haha. We did have it running before my dad started to restore it. I do want to keep the truck as original as I can, but if I need to change something out, I am willing to do that. So the story with the oil pump is something like this. My dad took out the engine so we could get the chassis restored. While he was lowering the engine onto a wood pallet, the engine tipped over and crushed the pump. That is as the story goes. Here are some of the finer details: Our Mack has a Continental L head engine. Inline 6 (gasoline), It was a 330 C.I (whatever that means), Up draft carb, Type 45s, I was told by a friend that ours is probably a smaller model of fire truck. I will add some photos so hopefully that will help a little! If there is any info you would like, please let me know, then I will try to get the answer for you!

Hello! Brief introduction about myself (it will hopefully help explain a few things) I am a young 20 year old. Years ago my dad bought a 47 Mack firetruck out of California and brought it to Utah. My dad started restoring the truck but didn't get it finished. My dad passed away about a year ago. No one in my family cares about the Mack besides me. I am wanting to finish restoring it in honor of my dad. I have very basic knowledge of vehicles, something to keep in mind. I want to keep this truck as original as I can, but I am open to changing a few things. Anyway, I have a 1947 Mack, the chassis is restored but the rest of it is not. We almost have every original part to the truck. I believe that the oil pump was broken off and crushed. I would love some more opinions on what I should do with the motor. Do I keep it original or should I do a motor swap? If anyone has knowledge that would be beneficial at all, I would love it! I do have pictures of the truck, if people are willing to help with opinions, then I will share those pictures. I will try to provide as much info as I can! Thank you!!