R608F Pumper

[convoyduel]

Group,

I have come across a Mack R608F pumper, SN 1006. It was an old St. Louis City pumper and is still here locally. It's been outside for at least the past 10 years, maybe longer. After the FD, it wound up with the City Parks Department as a flush truck. The interior is in very good condition, but the exterior needs a full restoration. No structural corrosion on the cab, some cracks in the hood and some rot taking hold in the body cabinets. All of the other goodies are there. Chrome items are starting to rust pretty good, although the bed top rails are still in great shape. Tires are rotten. Everything looks pretty decent under the hood. Wiring is okay, even still has the little light on the firewall by the steering shaft.

Does anyone have any info on these? My Mack Fire Trucks book shows only 61 of the 608's made. Judging from the SN and the relative quantity of them in St. Louis, I assume St. Louis was the first department order. I'm going by FD HQ tomorrow to meet a guy who knows a bit about these specific units and where they were stationed. I remember these as reserve units here when I was growing up. I never realized they were 608's with the 707, I always assumed they were diesels.

I'm looking for just about anything on these, even any issues with the 707. The owner wants 3 for it, I was thinking it is a bit high, given its condition. Now if it was an FDNY R model sedan cab, that's a different story.

[Firemack]

The truck actually doesn't look that bad, a new coat of paint and tires would help it keep on going. The 707 C was a strong engine for the fire service. Most are still working as collector trucks today, and as long as the oil is changed and the engine is still governed- it should work fine. Most troubles I know are from guys wanting to go a little faster on the way to parades and musters and then blow the engine because they weren't watching the tach.

Keep us posted on prgoress if you buy the truck,

Firemack

[bullhusk]

I agree with Firemack I drove an old LJ Mack tandem dump truck when I was 17 and I was told it was a 707 it was very good strong motor and it did have a gov. on it,when I asked the boss if I could open er up A little he said ok but he would have to smash my toes on my right foot,I left it alone.If the truck has not run or turned over for a while I would pull the plugs and the valve covers off And throw some Marvales Mistory oil(spelling might be wrong)into the cylinders and pour over the top of the motor, let it soak for couple of days and try to turn it by hand to make sure none of the valves are stuck and GOOD LUCK I hope you get her and keep us posted it looks like a nice truck Ernie

[MADDOG93]

Go for it , my 1957 B95 707 runs like a Mack Should !

Edited April 14, 2010 by MADDOG93

[bigrigclassics]

Hey there, just traded an R-608F pumper with a freind of mine. I had it 4 years. The 707c ran very well. I still have the original owners manual to the truck. If you get the truck I would be happy to provide you with a copy. My truck came from Scottsburg, Indiana orginally. If you need any help feel free to call me at 804-640-8425. Good Luck, Keith.

[convoyduel]

Hey there, just traded an R-608F pumper with a freind of mine. I had it 4 years. The 707c ran very well. I still have the original owners manual to the truck. If you get the truck I would be happy to provide you with a copy. My truck came from Scottsburg, Indiana orginally. If you need any help feel free to call me at 804-640-8425. Good Luck, Keith.

What year was your R608F? If it is the one they have pictured on their website, it must be among the last of the 61 produced.

[1958 F.W.D.]

Now if it was an FDNY R model sedan cab, that's a different story.

Unfortunately you will never find one, only 6 of these were ever built. Only one remained in existence up to about 4 or 5 years ago, sitting in a vacant warehouse where it was vandalized over the years to the point of no return. It was found one night by an FDNY company who responded to the warehouse for some kind of incident. There were pictures posted on the internet somewhere. Since then it has been scrapped.

[convoyduel]

Unfortunately you will never find one, only 6 of these were ever built. Only one remained in existence up to about 4 or 5 years ago, sitting in a vacant warehouse where it was vandalized over the years to the point of no return. It was found one night by an FDNY company who responded to the warehouse for some kind of incident. There were pictures posted on the internet somewhere. Since then it has been scrapped.

I thought my books showed only 5 of the sedans, but either way, the only thing more rare was Port Vue's open cab R611F. I remember seeing those pics as well. I was thinking they found it under an overpass or something, but I do remember it was little more than a shell.

I wound up buying the R608F this week. We're picking it up Wednesday or Thursday and hauling it to the Museum of Transportation for the time being. There's a truck show and fire muster there this Sunday, so it should provide for some good conversation. Since my first post, I found the disposition of all 12 of the St. Louis R608F's. Most of them wound up going through Harry Harless in Birmingham and ending up in small departments around Dothan.

[convoyduel]

We picked up the R608F today. I was shocked at how well it ran.

Having never dealt with a 707, what is the reason behind Left, Right and Dual Ignition. Truck runs and idles beautifully on dual. I'm not sure I understand why you would want to only run on one side's plugs or another.

[Mack458]

We picked up the R608F today. I was shocked at how well it ran.

Having never dealt with a 707, what is the reason behind Left, Right and Dual Ignition. Truck runs and idles beautifully on dual. I'm not sure I understand why you would want to only run on one side's plugs or another.

I believe the dual ignition was used in emergency equipment to provide a back up in case of an ignition failure. We had one on the 1955 V12 Seagrave I rode on as a volunteer, and I have one on my 1965 B95 with a 707C engine. I have seen one distributor cap fail and the operator switch over from dual to the good single ignition. I run mine on both all of the time. Great find and the best of luck. Enjoy!

Mack458

[609albert]

good luck with your new toy . I had a 47 LS mack it ran better using both ignitions also , sold it last year and we now have a 54 LS mack (open cab),same deal with dual ignition .most fire equip. had dual systems

[1958 F.W.D.]

I believe the dual ignition was used in emergency equipment to provide a back up in case of an ignition failure. We had one on the 1955 V12 Seagrave I rode on as a volunteer, and I have one on my 1965 B95 with a 707C engine. I have seen one distributor cap fail and the operator switch over from dual to the good single ignition. I run mine on both all of the time. Great find and the best of luck. Enjoy!

Mack458

Correct. Many later-model fire apparatus that were still equipped with gasoline engines had dual distribution, as well as dual-position battery switches. You could run on all of the batteries or one or the other.

Addtionally, some even had switches where you could move from electrical system-generated spark to magneto spark. The closer you got to the move to diesel power, the rarer this option became.

[GavinBrigade]

Hey there, just traded an R-608F pumper with a freind of mine. I had it 4 years. The 707c ran very well. I still have the original owners manual to the truck. If you get the truck I would be happy to provide you with a copy. My truck came from Scottsburg, Indiana orginally. If you need any help feel free to call me at 804-640-8425. Good Luck, Keith.

Keith,

I have two R-608F pumpers in upstate New York and am interested in a copy of your owner's manual if it is still available. I'll gladly pay any cost associted with...

Thanks,

Patrick

202-494-9108 cell

[FDNYTRUCKScom]

I just came across this board.

this is what I have on the St. Louis Mack R's.

1968 R608F10-1004 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E25 1000/500 Mack R 4-3-68

1968 R608F10-1005 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E28 1000/500 Mack R 5-27-68

1968 R608F10-1006 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E27, E32 1000/500 Mack R 5-8-68 Xfer to St.Louis City Parks Dept. Sold:PO

1968 R608F10-1007 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E5, E2 1000/500 Mack R 5-18-68

1968 R608F10-1008 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E23, E13 1000/500 Mack R 5-5-68

1968 R608F10-1009 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E30 1000/500 Mack R 6-7-68

1968 R608F10-1010 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E19, E10 1000/500 Mack R 5-22-68 Sold:Brooklyn Park, Illinois

1968 R608F10-1011 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E7 1000/500 Mack R 5-21-68

1968 R608F10-1012 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E29 1000/500 Mack R 5-31-68

1968 R608F10-1013 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E21 1000/500 Mack R 6-12-68

1968 R608F10-1014 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E18 1000/500 Mack R 5-24-68

1968 R608F10-1015 Saint Louis, Missouri MO E15 1000/500 Mack R 5-16-68 Sold:Indian Ford FD, Bessemer, AL on ebay 6/07

[FireMechanic]

For those that are curious a Crew cab R model

[umodelnut]

Wow, im glad you got the Mack. Kind of a rare find. What are you going to do with it? I like how you have a picture of it when it was new so you can compare how much its been through. I also like the looks of the crew cab R model fire trucks.

[bulldogboy]

I saw R608F10-1015 sitting in a junkyard in Gill, MA. in September, 2011. It was still lettered for Indian Ford Fire Department.

bulldogboy

[mackdump600@yahoo.com]

Hi all , I have a 1970 r608- sn 1045 27000 miles, I put a dump bed on it and haul sand and gravel . south west pa, I melted the pistons in it because the carb was plugged up and it run too lean, rebuilt the carb and put a pryometer on it , keep it below 1100 degrees, and it runs fine

[Olivetroad]

We picked up the R608F today. I was shocked at how well it ran.

Having never dealt with a 707, what is the reason behind Left, Right and Dual Ignition. Truck runs and idles beautifully on dual. I'm not sure I understand why you would want to only run on one side's plugs or another.

Was that truck sitting at the Fire department old surplus auction yard off Goodfellow several years ago? I seem to remember it once I saw the full side shot.

[msm618]

I saw R608F10-1015 sitting in a junkyard in Gill, MA. in September, 2011. It was still lettered for Indian Ford Fire Department.

bulldogboy

That rig is about 10 miles west of me. The guy runs a HD truck repair business, and usually has a few old Macks on the lot. I stopped and chatted with him awhile back, and he seemed friendly but businesslike, He had a late-production Mack C-50 transit bus/RV there for awhile. First conversion of a C-bus I've (40+ year Mack guy) ever seen.

[FDNYTRUCKScom]

where did yours come from originally? I dont have a listing for it in my files. thanks. Mike

Hi all , I have a 1970 r608- sn 1045 27000 miles, I put a dump bed on it and haul sand and gravel . south west pa, I melted the pistons in it because the carb was plugged up and it run too lean, rebuilt the carb and put a pryometer on it , keep it below 1100 degrees, and it runs fine