66 ford/howe fire truck -- need info/help

[homelessgoat]

good day

so l have been intrusted with the project of getting
a 66 fire truck running/pumping

it is currently tweeker-hot-wired
such that it can be moved,
and l am told that all the engine really needs is some carb love
(l havent done any diagnostics)

and the pump worked 2 years ago -- that is it sprayed water
they seem to think there is a missing electrtical pannel (sabatoge)
and that the problems are mostly electrical
(which seemes strange to me, since the pump and valves are all mechanical as far as l can tell)

any way
l am looking for information and it's sorces

first of all a good forum for trucks of this age
or for fire trucks of this sort

secondly manuals wiring diagrams and such
especialy for the fire truck/pump and what not

any one who has ever worked on a similar beast
with advice or caution

specs/info:

66 ford with a 391 v8
5 speed spicer 5652 tranny
single speed cap eaton 1790-A rear axel

750 gallon capacity
pump:
front mount waterous model CGRF single stage 750gpm

Howe fire apparatus company 3 man open-cab body

thanks
goat

[shelbyandadiesel]

Never having owned one, but have been around them for over 20 years, so....

Anything that old is going to have very little electrical regarding the pump panel. At the most, an electric "road to pump" switch in the cab. Most of the older stuff I ran on back in the day was a manual shift. Clutch in, pull a LEVER, and place the manual transmission in a certain gear. If the electrics have been messed with, it is going to be simple, IF you know what you are doing. The deal is, the fire engine can be driving down the road, but the pump will not work at this time. Then you arrive at the fire or drill ground and you throw a switch to "Pump" or pull a lever to same, and then put the transmission in gear. That way the transmission will operate the pump, instead of the drive shaft. Simple, sort of.

Keep the pump from freezing, lack of use is an enemy, so move it around. Good luck on parts, as I drive and work off them 56 or more hours a week, but do not fiddle with them as a hobby.

I will ask around at work a bit and see if I can come up with something.

Craig

[pigdog]

Look at this as two different objects; a 1966 Ford chassis and then a firetruck attached to it.

The truck itself shouldn't be that hard to work on. Wiring on firetrucks vary from truck to truck, even when brand new. You'll probably do best just to take your time and run all the wiring yourself, fixing as you go. On a truck that age, all the wiring should be related to lights of some sort.

As to the pump, you should probably still be able to get parts through Waterous.

[homelessgoat]

thanks for the helpful comments

l finally got a chance to take a look at it
and talk to some one who has actually operated it recently...

it sounds like a carb rebuild, (sprays gas)
ignition rewire (it was bypassed/hotwired some time ago -- poorly)
other minor electrical trouble shooting

the pump is said to work..
lots of leaks and cracks in the plumbing
so lots of pipefitting trouble shooting fun...

the missing panel seems to have controlled the siren, lights
and some sort of auxiliary engine cooling system (an electric pump mounted under the waterous, etc)

thanks again
goat

[pigdog]

Except on very new trucks, every aux. cooling system I've seen on a firetruck consisted of a valve that would run cold water from the pump to circulate through a special line in the truck radiator to help with engine cooling, but not contaminate the anti-freeze.

That electric motor/pump under the main pump will probably be a primer for the main pump. It could be an electric motor to shift the transmission from pump to road.

[Firewalker918]

Do you have a picture of this Fire Truck?

I may have one just like it.

email me @
eelsberry@berry.edu

thanks

Walker