1963 C85 Pumper

[Loadstar]

On August 4, 2016 at 9:35 PM, ff6cav said:

10-4 on that, any suggestions on where to look? Nothing on ebay at the moment, and can't think of where to look locally other than Cal Little

I will make a few calls this weekend. Scouring the Internet Sounds like a good plan......you may also want to try a search engine  that can check all of craigslist at once. I called dozens of people before I found mine. I'm sure you'll find one, it just may take some time.

[Loadstar]

1 hour ago, HarryS said:

If you can't find a manifold try these folks for welding:

http://www.castmetalwelding.com/Services.html

I've had him do several cast iron pieces for me including 1930s Cadillac  exhaust manifolds. Buck (I think that is his name) did a great job that is still holding up after about 10 years. The turn around time wasn't too bad, a couple of weeks, price was reasonable considering I couldn't find replacements. Good Luck.

Sounds like a good option if you can't find one....

[fxfymn]

Cal Little has someone he uses that is very good at cast iron work. He rebuilt a manifold for a friends AB that was in pieces and looked new when he got it back. His failed due to a water jacket corroding and/or freezing.

I guess you know that there are different manifolds for the different 707 versions. Make sure you have the correct model when you go looking.

One other option would be to explore having the manifold re-cast. Cattail Foundry in PA would be a good option to explore if you want to try that route. Their prices are fair and they do excellent work.

One thing that strikes me about this issue is that this seems to be a fairly common problem. This leads me to wonder if the design is, to be kind, less than robust. I can't help but think that a possible design flaw is why the repaired manifolds do not hold up. It just makes sense that if a one piece manifold cracks in normal use than any repair will be placed under a similar stress and is likely to fail since it is already inherently weaker.

Maybe a custom made header style manifold would work better?

[ff6cav]

4 hours ago, fxfymn said:

Maybe a custom made header style manifold would work better?

That thought had crossed my mind, too

[Loadstar]

This truck has been on eBay for awhile.....ad says it comes with a bunch of spare engine parts.... Might be worth a call. http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/131561480468 

[Loadstar]

On August 6, 2016 at 8:49 AM, fxfymn said:

 

Maybe a custom made header style manifold would work better?

I would have went that route if my truck had  a 707c. 

[fxfymn]

Check this topic out; http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/36443-en707-water-pumps/

One reply states he has a 707 to part out.

 

[ff6cav]

Thanks for the research and advice; I'm planning on going tomorrow to a custom exhaust place here in Gettysburg to see what they say as far as a quote and go from there.  

[ff6cav]

So the place I checked with about the header says they don't work with anything that big, so I'm checking one other place before having my current one fixed.  I pulled one of the spark plugs, and it's a Champion J8C- any idea if this is "correct"? It seems wrong to me, but then again I could be wrong

[ff6cav]

Quick update on the manifold issue; I'm waiting on a few people to get back to me who may have contacts to build a custom header. I also made a call to Cal Little today, he said he will check to see if he has any manifolds and get back to me tomorrow.

[Loadstar]

Call Matt Pfahl..... I checked with him yesterday and he said he probably has what you need.......

[ff6cav]

Just wanted to give a quick update- I have a manifold from Pfahl's, it's off a diesel but it is identical.  I am currently visiting family in Boston, so it worked out perfectly to grab it on the way up!  Plus, Matt was gracious enough to show me around his shop and trucks he's working on.

[Loadstar]

7 minutes ago, ff6cav said:

Just wanted to give a quick update- I have a manifold from Pfahl's, it's off a diesel but it is identical.  I am currently visiting family in Boston, so it worked out perfectly to grab it on the way up!  Plus, Matt was gracious enough to show me around his shop and trucks he's working on.

Glad it worked out.....

[Mack458]

I replaced the plugs in my 707C with the J8C. This plug was the replacement for the original I believe.

Mark

 

[ff6cav]

On 8/31/2016 at 7:02 PM, Loadstar said:

Glad it worked out.....

Thank you for your help!

[ff6cav]

The last couple weeks have been full of activity on the rig, culminating in staying up until 0230 on Friday night getting things back together to go to the Cumberland County Volunteer Fireman's Association parade on Saturday.  A few of the old exhaust studs were stubborn, with one in particular holding up the whole project, which ended up needing drilled out.  I ended up replacing about half of the studs with new, and all of the nuts are new, with anti-sieze applied before the final install.  In a rush, I tried to paint the body around the dog box last Thursday, when it was 92 degrees and humid out, and the paint ended up with a severe orange peel effect; I'll fix that this week with the much nicer weather.  I also replaced the spark plugs and plug wires on the right side, and the exhaust manifold went on with no other problems.  I am amazed at how much quieter the engine  is- you can actually hold a conversation while driving down the road now!  As far as the Convention went, there were only a handful of antique rigs there, including a few hand pumpers, and I was the only Mack- the rest were ALF's.  I'm also not sure I like the red paint that I chose, after spraying it on it appears too bright compared to what was inside the compartments and in the hard to reach places.  In the last pic, there appears to be a  difference between the colors on the dog box and the wheel; I used the exact same paint, but on the wheel I simply painted over the existing red paint, and on the dog box I used a gray primer.  You can also see the orange peel effect around the dog box in that pic.

 

[ff6cav]

A little bit of progress over the last few days.  Removed the driver's side storage box/jump seat step, cleaned it up and have it in primer.  I'm trying out the red primer to see if that helps darken up the red at all when I paint it; I may end up having to mix some black with my paint to get the desired color.  I also plan on coating the inside and bottom of the box with bedliner to help with durability and appearance.  

[Loadstar]

Looks good!

[fxfymn]

I am not a painter by any stretch of the definition, but I do my own work, so I have been forced to learn some things about paint matching along the way.

When it comes to matching old paint, especially reds, you will have a chore to get it right. Take a panel that you have polished to a good automotive paint supplier and have them scan it to try to come up with a match. It will probably not match completely, but it will be a good starting point. From there you will have to keep adding tints to get what you need. The best way to do that is to use an accurate scale (a kitchen scale that precisely measures ounces or grams works best) and carefully track how much of which tint you added by weight until you get the match you are looking for.  A very small amount of tint can make a very big difference in the color, so don't add a lot to begin with. (1 oz. of black in a pint of red will give you purple, not dark red as you would expect)

In my case the first scan was way off and a second scan was closer, but not quite right. Since one was too dark and the other too light I mixed them by weight until I found what worked. All total I ended up spraying and sanding off about 6 or 7 times until I was happy with the match.

The paint shop will also have chips that have a hole punched out so you can hold them against the panel to see what matches best. You really need to do this in full sun light to get the best match. I was fortunate to find a paint supplier who really worked with me and let me take the chip selection outside to get this done. This helped confirm the scan results.

I start out with a 10 oz. base and add tint 1/2 oz. at a time.  If 1/2 oz. is too much you may need to start with more base.

You will then need to paint a panel to see if it matches. You can try a small swatch, but in my experience this will not give you an accurate match. If the paint  doesn't match sand it off and try again. It is time consuming and can be frustrating, but in the long run it will give you a good finish.

[ff6cav]

A couple pics from the last few days of work:

Painted the wheels gray

 

Removed the side steps and battery box:

 

Got the pump and dog box areas in primer for new/corrected paint

[j hancock]

That is a shiny pump panel.

[ff6cav]

A quick technical question- would I be ok running only (2) 12v batteries (1 on A, 1 on B), as opposed to 4 total?  It originally ran 2 6v batteries on each in a 12v series, so unless there's something I'm missing, it should work, right?

[j hancock]

A couple Group 31 12 volt batteries should do nicely.  About 900 CCA.

[ff6cav]

I have some progress updates, but first an electrical question.  Occasionally, when I start it up to move around at home, the voltmeter reads extremely high, and when I go near the battery box after moving the rig, it smells like the battery is cooking; however, the battery is not hot to the touch.  Other times, I can start it and run and not have any problems at all.  It seems to be happening intermittently, but if it's going to be a problem I want to fix it before I destroy my less than 1 year old batteries!  Is there a voltage regulator that I should be looking at replacing?  

[fxfymn]

Find the voltage regulator and ensure it is grounded properly.