1947 ex-firetruck restoration

[James Lythall]

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!!

[steve s.]

Welcome, James. I'll bet you father would be proud to know that you plan to finish the job he started. Pictures would be nice, but more important might be the model of your truck and its engine. Parts are out there, but sometimes you have to search to find them. This board is a great place to start. So tell us, did the truck run since your family has owned it? What engine does it have? I generally prefer to see classic trucks like yours kept original. But it's your decision, and a lot depends on what you plan to do with the truck when it is finished. 

[mrsmackpaul]

Welcome aboard James

Don't be shy to share questions and photos etc

We (the forum) can help solve things and are only to willing to help

 

Paul

[tjc transport]

Welcome to BMT!!

and as the others have already said,

 

[cruiseliner64]

Welcome to BMT James.love to see pics of your truck.Your dad would be delighted you have taken on were he left off.You do know that restoring Mack trucks is a disease which there is no cure for...anyway the guys on here are fantastic.the stuff they know is priceless and always willing to help.good luck with your Mack.

Paul

[mowerman]

Welcome aboard bud … good choice continuing to work on the truck… I would not sell it… and absolutely lotsa parts out there… what happened to the oil pump and was it running.. bob

[1958 F.W.D.]

Greetings from the East Coast and Mack Country. 

Assuming it is a gas engine, you probably have a 707. While parts are starting to become scarce, you can still find them here and there if you know where to look (with the exception of exhaust manifolds- they are really rare due to so many failures.)

Have you contacted the Mack Trucks Historical Museum to get a copy of your build file and manuals? If not, they are free (but we do appreciate at donation.) All queries are answered in the order received and normally take 4-6 weeks to answer. Go to this link, fill it out including the SN/VIN and in the comments, ask for copies of anything in the file as well as chassis and engine manuals. 

https://www.macktruckshistoricalmuseum.org/contact-us/

 

Good Luck!!

 

 

[Brocky]

First try to find all the data plates you can.. Including both the chassis and whoever made the pump and body.. As FWD said with the serial number the Mack can provide a lot of info.. They are GREAT!!!! With the apparatus manufacturer and their data plates there are many sources for info and parts.

[609albert]

posting  photos will spark more interest and we can see what you have

[Vladislav]

All I can say is I add my opinion to what said above.
And I too like Mack trucks of 40's years (and own two).

My preference is originality of a rig but your toy means your rules.

Vlad

[James Lythall]

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!

[cruiseliner64]

That looks a very interesting project.There were very few Macks with gas engines over here in Ireland so I know very little about them.The lads on this site will I'm sure know more...good luck with it and do keep us up to date on how the project is going.I for one would be very interested.

Paul

[steve s.]

Thanks for the pictures James. Finding an oil pump for the 330 Continental engine should not be a problem. That engine was not only used in a lot of trucks, but it had dozens of industrial and agricultural applications. They are very good engines, too. There is a place that might even have a new old stock oil pump, Home Page - Montes Equipment   Here in the northeast there are still  a fair amount of old Brockways with that engine  to be found as well. 

[Truckcrazy]

That is the smaller E model chassis. The serial number tells you it was the 301st made of that model.  Steve is right about finding an oil pump. They should be out there. 

[Brocky]

Steve, Is that the outfit up by Chicago??? Wasn't there also a place in Utica NY which overhauled Continentals???

[mowerman]

Well, you got something there that caught a lot of our attention. Most of us are interested in that old fire equipment and that’s exactly what I thought you were going to say about the oil pump. I bet you had fell off an engine crane I don’t know anything about those engines, but that’s what I hear. Everybody speak very highly of them. Looks like you got enough there to keep your hands full.

[steve s.]

Yes, Brocky, they are the guys in Illinois. I don't know about anyone doing Continental work in Utica. 

[Brocky]

Steve, either Tom Millard or Stan Augustine had mentioned them on the old Brockway site several years ago.

James, either of the two mentioned above can help you with Continental engines. If you need their email addresses please email / PM me thru here.

Edited November 15 by Brocky

[James Lythall]

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? 

[mowerman]

I would work with the engine first and before you do anything take out all the spark plugs and just shoot a bunch of mystery oil into  all the cylinders and let it sit while you’re hunting parts there might be nothing wrong with the engine 

[Brocky]

Yes I would start with the engine. Pull the plugs, Put a bar on the front and see if it is free. Do you already have  the pan off?? If you do not have a cylinder scope to go thru the plug holes, make sure you can get a rebuild gasket set, and pull the head and pan to see if it is rebuildable??? If not you may have to consider a repower???  At he same time set the cab on a pallet and inspect it close.. That will tell you what is involved in the body work necessary. Do you have the fire apparatus body??? If so do a good inspection of it. Then take a good appraisal of your body work skills. A lot of your decisions will be how much of the work you can do yourself versus your checkbook!!!

[Brocky]

If you need a complete engine Tom Millard may have the 401(??) he took out of his 1955 Brockway 154 when he repowered it with a 5.9 Cummins.

[steve s.]

I would recommend that you first decide what you want to do with the truck and how involved you want to get. Then formulate a plan. Do you just want to assemble the truck and make it drivable ? Or do you want to clean, sand blast, refurbish, and paint every part before reassembly? There is several years and many thousands of dollars difference in the two methods, not to mention the outcome. Since you are a young man and new to the old truck world, my suggestion is that you don't go the full restoration route, but rather just clean up the parts and put the truck back together, making whatever repairs are needed to make it drivable and safe. Your life is going to get very busy in the next few years, and you will get much more enjoyment out of an old truck you can drive compared to an in depth restoration you can't find time to work on. The truck can always be restored later, perhaps when you have more time and money, and by then you will have learned much more about your truck, too. 

[James Lythall]

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. 

[Brocky]

James, I like your plan!!! I thought I saw some new black paint on the frame rails.. So you have a head start there.. It looks like you have a fair sized shop to work in. With no serious rust thru problems, and some help from a body man you can learn to do the majority of the work yourself, and be able to tell the people who are admiring the truck "I did that myself"!! With no fire body, when you get that point, you can then go with a flatbed, with stake sides, grain body, or even a roll back???