1963 C85 Pumper

[41chevy]

50 minutes ago, fxfymn said:

Find the voltage regulator and ensure it is grounded properly.

I would also take a long look at the ignition switch, could be some gunk that causes an occasional high draw when it goes from start to run.

[dek1581]

is that mackinaw gray on those wheels?

[BillyT]

As always start with simple first. Check and clean every connection you can get at easily! Then see if the voltmeter reads differently.Are the batteries full of electrolyte? It being intermittent, tends to make one think of a loose or dirty connection,or a faulty regulator.That smell at the battery makes me think it is over charging but if you have a loose or dirty connection it can " fool" the regulator into thinking the batteries need more juice! Also you said it occurs when you move the truck,that may indicate a loose connection.If all the connections aren't clean you'll never get a proper reading. I've never worked on a fire truck, but electrical problems and solutions tend to be universal.That said if the simple stuff doesn't fix your problem,sometimes each model of vehicle can have its own glitches so one of the members who owns or has worked on that specific model truck may have a suggestion,good luck!

[ff6cav]

On 10/19/2016 at 9:50 PM, dek1581 said:

is that mackinaw gray on those wheels?

I used Rustoleum Light Smoke Gray

[ff6cav]

My latest updates, from September 24 to a week or 2 ago.  Work on the rig has slowed due to the weather finally getting cooler and trying to finish enclosing the back of the building it's kept in.

Had a little visitor:

 

Did some painting:

Put things back together before the York muster:

The big body panel suffered a little mishap after painting, and is a little scuffed and scratched, which I plan on fixing when I do the body.

After the York Muster, removed the hosebed floor, grab handles, taillights, hard sleeve trays, ladder racks, rear spot lights and emergency lights.  Planning to rewire the lights on the rear, after I get the turn signals off and paint the body.  Any suggestions other than a lot of little turns with a wrench and small fingers?

Removed the rear body panel.  I couldn't figure out any way to remove it other than cutting the welds and removing the bumper, so I decided to cut the body panel where it met the bumper instead I plan on removing the rear compartment before cleaning everything up and starting to prime and paint.

[609albert]

how many gal.water tank and is it a 'T' type  tank ,any leaks?

[ff6cav]

On 11/1/2016 at 10:12 PM, 609albert said:

how many gal.water tank and is it a 'T' type  tank ,any leaks?

It's a 500 gal tank, T type.  No leaks that I've noticed, but I haven't filled it up completely, either.

[ff6cav]

So I haven't gotten to do much work on the actual truck, but I did acquire some more equipment to carry on it this weekend.  Friday night I got some more hose (1-1/2" and 2"), and am planning on building "blitz boxes" to keep them in as crosslays.  On Saturday, I loaded up and headed to Hamburg to pick up some hand tools, and from there proceeded to Boyertown to pick up a ladder from @yarnall.  I then received the grand tour of the Yarnall truck collection, which made me green with envy and gave me something to work towards- if only I had the money, space, and a willing wife!

 

 

[Mack58B42]

Nice!  I've got to get on the ball and start finding some tools for my truck.  Fortunately, I have a shallow hose bed, and I had snagged some retired 3" and 1.5" from my department, but I don't have any tools, nozzles, or appliances at all.  Hopefully in the spring I can start looking for some swap meets to start finding that sort of stuff.

Did that ladder come with a couple of people to help you lift it?!?!

[609albert]

 try the Spring Melt in Allentown  and then Pump primers in Harrisburg  both in Pa.

[Mack58B42]

22 hours ago, 609albert said:

 try the Spring Melt in Allentown  and then Pump primers in Harrisburg  both in Pa.

[ff6cav]

On 12/5/2016 at 7:38 PM, Mack58B42 said:

Nice!  I've got to get on the ball and start finding some tools for my truck.  Fortunately, I have a shallow hose bed, and I had snagged some retired 3" and 1.5" from my department, but I don't have any tools, nozzles, or appliances at all.  Hopefully in the spring I can start looking for some swap meets to start finding that sort of stuff.

Did that ladder come with a couple of people to help you lift it?!?!

I was pretty fortunate, a lot of hose, nozzles and other equipment came with this when I bought it, there were just a few odds and ends (like the ladder) that I needed to get

[Mack58B42]

I looked far and wide for a ladder for my ALF a couple years ago, but everything I found was a million miles away, and shipping a full-size ladder generally cost a lot more than the ladder itself.  It's good that you found one within driving distance.....

Fortunately, my current rig came with a nice wooden ladder, so at least that won't be an issue.

[fxfymn]

If you need to have the wooden ladder re-habbed the Delaware Department of Corrections does that kind of work at a very reasonable price using convicts who are training in wood working.

[609albert]

I needed a roof ladder to go with the wooden extension ladder, had a friend in the club make one of fir and with all the hardware. Still looking for a Mack extinguisher.

[fxfymn]

Quote

Still looking for a Mack extinguisher.

 Like this

I have one that is right for your truck I'd let go, but it is not in top condition. Send me a PM if you are interested and I'll send some pics.

[609albert]

my e-mail is hinoki22@comcast.net  on the mack extinguisher

[ff6cav]

It's been a while since there have been any updates, but at least I have a good reason (or reasons)   Things have been a little busy on the personal side of life for me recently, as our twin sons were born almost 2 weeks ago, and almost 2 months ago we bought a house for our growing family!  On top of doing a lot of overtime at work, this has left me with very little time for my "hobbies", which means very little progress on the engine.  The new house is about 30 minutes away from my parent's house where I am storing it, so I have been taking odds and ends that I was able to remove (compartment doors, light mounts, etc) and working on prepping them for paint as time allows.  In other news, my dad was also able to get his MB back up and running, after replacing almost the whole ignition system.

I couldn't resist getting them some things from the Mack store

 

[ff6cav]

A small bit of progress from the last few days, all of the compartment doors are off and in primer, and the rear compartment is out.

[70mackMB]

On 6/4/2017 at 0:37 AM, ff6cav said:

ff6cav, That's a fine looking truck your Dad has!  Congratulations on the two new members of BMT.   Hippy.....

[ff6cav]

Alrighty, back to posting updates for this old war wagon.  My time to work on it has been limited due to the kids and overtime at work, but I have the painting almost done on the rear body, and got barely used tires for the back wheels from my parent's church, who had bought new tires for their bus and then decided to scrap it.  I slapped things together quick to get me to the Pump Primer's muster and back.  I didn't attempt to draft this year, but had a neighboring rig flow water through the pump for about an hour.  The night before the muster, I was planning on going drafting, but found the primer to be inoperable again, took it apart, tested the motor and solenoid which were both fine, cleaned up the gears and body of the primer itself and put it all back together, all for it to still not work.  There is no power getting to the primer switch, but even bypassing that with power the primer will not turn.  An air primer is looking better and better every day!  I've also been finding that since I painted the body, the rear lights (tail/brake lights, turn signals) don't want to work anymore; I'm figuring because of the new paint, they aren't making contact for grounding.  

[j hancock]

Nice score on the rubber.

[ff6cav]

It's been a while since I've posted any updates, because I hadn't really had time to work on the rig due to my work schedule.  I did take it to the York muster in the end of September, this year featuring Mack apparatus.  I was fortunate in mid-September to start a new career as a paid firefighter, which means a better schedule and should mean more time to work on the rig.  I'm attempting to make the rear lights work again, and am pretty sure that when I painted the body, I covered the grounding points for the lights; I am getting power to the lights, just none of them actually light up.  Does anybody know whether the lights ground to the body through the housings, or through the mounting bolts?

[ff6cav]

With some nicer weather, in between rainy days, I've been able to dive back into this rig.  I've removed the 1" discharge valves from the pump (booster lines and pump to tank), and found that 1 is an akron, but I am not finding any manufacturer name or number for the other two, which look like this:

[ff6cav]

A little progress from the other day, didn't get too crazy because of our recent heat wave here in southcentral PA.  Removed the cab doors, front warning lights and turn signals, bumper, and the under dash panels to remove some extra wiring from over the years.  Also have the front fenders off, and most of the cab trim.

Edited June 30, 2019 by ff6cav