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On 6/5/2016 at 11:32 AM, Mack58B42 said:

I know that they made the B85/95 fire models specific to fire service (red steering wheels and dash, etc.), but did they do the same with the R models, or during that era were they pushing the CF600s as the "specialized" firefighting model, and not spec'ing the Rs the same way they did the Bs for fire service?  Was there an R "fire service" version like there was the B85/95 for that series?

To further clarify the info from Bulldogboy, I have gathered more info from one of Harvey Eckart's books on Mack fire apparatus.  Mack built 381 R Model chassis specifically for the Fire Service, the last of which was in 1990.  This number includes those completed by Mack Trucks and those completed by other manufacturers.  Those completed by Mack will have a model number of R6??F- (the ?? indicates which Mack motor was used - 08, 11, 12, 85, 86, 88, or 90), followed by the 4-digit production number.  Those completed by another builder would have a model number of R6??FC-, followed by the 4-digit number.  If there is no "F" or "FC" in the model number, it is simply a Mack commercial chassis that was built into a fire apparatus by some other manufacturer.  In addition, there were 23 Model R487F or R487FC fire chassis (Scania Diesel) built, beginning in 1972.  When production of the R Model ended, over 210,000 had been built, with a mere 381 groomed for the Fire Service.

6 hours ago, GA_Dave said:

To further clarify the info from Bulldogboy, I have gathered more info from one of Harvey Eckart's books on Mack fire apparatus.  Mack built 381 R Model chassis specifically for the Fire Service, the last of which was in 1990.  This number includes those completed by Mack Trucks and those completed by other manufacturers.  Those completed by Mack will have a model number of R6??F- (the ?? indicates which Mack motor was used - 08, 11, 12, 85, 86, 88, or 90), followed by the 4-digit production number.  Those completed by another builder would have a model number of R6??FC-, followed by the 4-digit number.  If there is no "F" or "FC" in the model number, it is simply a Mack commercial chassis that was built into a fire apparatus by some other manufacturer.  In addition, there were 23 Model R487F or R487FC fire chassis (Scania Diesel) built, beginning in 1972.  When production of the R Model ended, over 210,000 had been built, with a mere 381 groomed for the Fire Service.

Thanks for the additional info!  I believe ALF used a similar suffix in their model number to indicate when an outside company built a piece of apparatus on an ALF chassis, so the FC designation makes sense.  it is a bit surprising to see that only 381 Rs were specific for fire, but the CF series was pretty popular and widely respected, so I would have figured there were more of those made (were there?).  I have to admit that in perusing this thread, I've been surprised at how many of the M series seemingly were used for fire apparatus.  Maybe there just weren't too many of them in Northeast, but I can't recall ever seeing one in service up in this area.....

14 hours ago, Mack58B42 said:

Thanks for the additional info!  I believe ALF used a similar suffix in their model number to indicate when an outside company built a piece of apparatus on an ALF chassis, so the FC designation makes sense.  it is a bit surprising to see that only 381 Rs were specific for fire, but the CF series was pretty popular and widely respected, so I would have figured there were more of those made (were there?).  I have to admit that in perusing this thread, I've been surprised at how many of the M series seemingly were used for fire apparatus.  Maybe there just weren't too many of them in Northeast, but I can't recall ever seeing one in service up in this area.....

According to Harvey's book, there were 3,849 CF chassis built, but he doesn't state how many were all Mack and how many were completed by another builder.  The same Model designation format was used for the CF as was for the R model.  There were two series for the CF, based on frame size, the 600 and the 700.  Most were CF-600's, with only 112 being CF-700's.

 

Mack's MB/MC/MR series tilt cabs were much less popular for the Fire Service, with only 1075 total units built.  The MB was introduced as a commercial chassis in 1963 and the Fire Service version did not arrive until 1972.  From 1972 through 1978, only 319 MB's were built.  The vast majority of MB's were completed by other builders, primarily Howe Fire Apparatus.  The MC/MR replaced the MB in 1978, with 756 MC custom fire chassis being built through 1990.  The MR was never built as a custom fire chassis, but was often used by other builders.  Again, the same format was used for model designations.

8 hours ago, GA_Dave said:

According to Harvey's book, there were 3,849 CF chassis built, but he doesn't state how many were all Mack and how many were completed by another builder.  The same Model designation format was used for the CF as was for the R model.  There were two series for the CF, based on frame size, the 600 and the 700.  Most were CF-600's, with only 112 being CF-700's.

 

Mack's MB/MC/MR series tilt cabs were much less popular for the Fire Service, with only 1075 total units built.  The MB was introduced as a commercial chassis in 1963 and the Fire Service version did not arrive until 1972.  From 1972 through 1978, only 319 MB's were built.  The vast majority of MB's were completed by other builders, primarily Howe Fire Apparatus.  The MC/MR replaced the MB in 1978, with 756 MC custom fire chassis being built through 1990.  The MR was never built as a custom fire chassis, but was often used by other builders.  Again, the same format was used for model designations.

Thanks - that's great info to see!

5 hours ago, Mack58B42 said:

Oooohhh....... I like that color scheme!

Lampeter still uses the same yellow, but the black is done with reflective striping on their newer rigs.  I have one more Mack from there that I will be posting soon.

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