East Candia Volunteer Fire Department Engine 1

Time to Move On

2010-05-12T20:53:00.002-04:00

Well the time has come to move on with this truck. After a lot of thought, and some sleepless nights, I have decided to sell Engine 1. Engine 1 unfortunately requires more time to tinker than I currently have available in my life. With needing new floor boards, body work, and never-ending engine issues that I can't seem to tack down, I really need to move on.

I fortunately have had an opportunity present itself in regards to owning a different truck. This truck is a 1975 International Fleetstar 2010 that used to actually serve the Town of Candia from 1975 until 2000, originally as Engine 1 and retiring at Engine 4. I found the truck on Craigslist two years ago in Maine for sale at a price of $5000. With all that was going on with the '62 having a bad engine, and the amount of work the new truck would require, I decided that it was not appropriate time to buy the truck.

Funny story is that I was in Maine with my girlfriend driving down Route 1 from Old Orchard Beach when we came to an intersection in Biddeford, ME. I happened to recognize the intersection from my first trip to Maine to look at E-4 two years ago (much to the surprise of my girlfriend, who thought I was crazy.) I took a gamble and took the left down the road where I last saw E-4, and to my surprise she was still there sitting in the driveway, almost like it never moved. She still looked about the same and it was a raw day so she was wet, but Paul, the current owner (until Saturday), remembered me and let me take a look at her. After a little questioning, he said the old girl was still for sale, and at a much lower price of $3000. Paul said he had a guy from a school in Vermont look at it last week because the school wanted a working fire truck for their student FD. Good idea, but I knew that if I wanted E-4 back to Candia, where it belonged, I had to act fast.

The last three days have been a grueling back and forth to the bank to secure the financing for the purchase. Happily I was approved this morning for an unsecured personal loan for $3000. Called Paul, the truck was still for sale, and now we wait until Saturday when I can pay, unless I can go up Friday evening and do it.

Now I had already decided to sell the '62 prior to finding E-4, so the decision to sell was not influenced by my find. But I have placed the '62 on Ebay with a reserve auction price of $3000. I really don't want to take less than that, I paid $2800 for her in 2006 and put at least $1000 in parts, labor and work into her over the last four years, but cash talks. Hopefully she will sell in the next few weeks so I can pay the bank off....(I think I might take the money and pay off my car though, the new truck loan payments are significantly less than my current car payment.)

Two years ago when I went up and looked at the truck my friend Jimmy from the FD (who has been there for 15 years and used to drive E-4 when it was in service) we took it for a spin around the neighborhood. He was pleased, and said that the truck drives like it did when it was in service. She hasn't been on the road for two years though as Paul said it was about $200/year to register her in Maine as an antique. He said he couldn't justify paying the money for the truck registration when he really didn't use it much. He did say that he goes and starts it once a week, lets it run, and moves it around his yard. I will make sure she starts, idles nicely, and moves before we sign the paperwork.

So after it's paid for it will have to remain in Maine for a few more days. I need to come back to NH, wait till Monday when I can go to the DMV, pay the $10 for a temp registration, pay for the insurance policy ($160 for 6 months, which isn't bad). Monday or Tuesday night, depending on how things go, I will be going back up to Maine with Dad, Katherin, and maybe Jeff an/or Mellisa, to drive her back to NH. Yes, I will be driving her back home.....I know, it may be a risk, but there is risk in everything you do. Heck, the car may die on the way up there, who knows. I am confident that E-4 will make it back to NH without a problem. She only has 13,000 miles on the odometer, and for an International, she isn't even broken in!

Now I have to learn how to drive a five speed with a two speed rear end! Seen a few videos on youtube and it doesn't look hard at all...just a little different.

Katherin was really the driving force behind buying E-4. She never really liked E-1 because of all the problems it's had, and because I owned it before she met me. Now she said E-4 is "our" truck. I look forward to working on it with her, instead of her watching me work on E-1. She is as excited as I am, and hopefully I can get her behind the wheel driving it someday..........

Hopefully my plan works out! If anyone is interested in purchasing E-1, please let me know.

Made it to Manchester.......

2009-11-30T21:45:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting! I'm now in paramedic school which has been eating up a large amount of my time over the last few months.

However, I did find time to get E-1 to Manchester in October for the Manchester Fire Prevention Parade (yes, the same parade I was trying to go to in 2007 when the engine blew!). Yes, we made it there, and through the parade. She was a little hard to start that morning, and she was skipping a lot, but I thought it was just some water in the gas giving me trouble. We got some dry gas on the way to the parade line-up, but that didn't seem to solve the problem at all. We got through the parade with a few backfires (which scared the crap out of me a everyone else) and parked in the parking lot at the end of the parade. But that's where it stayed, because we could not get the truck to stay running for the ride home. Ended up having the truck towed home to Raymond, and while trying to diagnose the issue and get the truck running to move it for storage, I fried the starter. So now I have to pull that out, then tow the truck with my ATV or Jeep to the storage spot on the other side of the house.

I've not got my issue narrowed down to a timing one. It was skipping, running rough, and hard to start. The truck would not even fire on ether. The gas was good (over half a tank of new gas that morning). So right now I'm going to be shopping for a new condenser, points set, and plug wires to get that set. If that's not the issue, then it's to the carburetor, but it was professionally rebuilt five years ago so I don't see how that could be the issue.

So we'll see....for the winter, it's parked, and hopefully in spring we will be up and running yet again.

Now to the pictures from Manchester.

Milford Truck

MFD Engine 6

Old MFD Ahrens-Fox 1924

MFD E-10, a 1949 Mack, which Hose 4 used to run with at Weston Street

E-10 again. Such a pretty truck

and now for a parting image from parade season 2009

Two Old Friends Meet Again MFD Engine 10 and MFD Hose 4

I will mention, that after seeing E-10 all dressed up in the Manchester style, I have decided that when I do my restore on the truck, it will be restored to it's original Manchester looks from several of the older pictures I have. I would like it to look much like E-10 and E-6 look in the pictures above! Sometime in the future!

Late Updates from July

2009-09-22T21:19:00.002-04:00

Hi Folks-

Here are a few pictures from the Raymond, NH Fireman's Parade and the Amoskeag Reserve Engine Company muster in Bow, NH, both in July!

The first picture is the only good one from the Fireman's Parade...the rest are form the AREC Muster in Bow.....one of the few times Engine 1 has had water pumped through her pipes!

FYI-The second picture in this set is a rear-shot of Manchester Engine 10, the actual, physical truck that Engine 1 served as a hose tender for back in the Weston Street Station days. Pretty cool that two old friends got to meet.

Our next, and final as of now, parade this year will be the MFD Fire Prevention Parade on Sunday, October 4th. I'm trying to arrange to have Engine 1 ride behind the old Engine 10 that was pictured above, as long as it's in the parade.....it wasn't running at the muster but I hope it will be by then.

Hope to see some of you in Manchester, and don't be afraid to say hello!

Josh

Additional Stuff We're Doing with Engine 1 This Summer:

2009-07-08T20:15:00.003-04:00

Here's a few more places we're going this summer:

--2009 Amoskeag Reserve Engine Company Muster, Bow, NH 10am-2pm.

--Sandown, NH Parade, August 8th, 12pm

2009 Raymond 4th of July Parade

2009-07-05T18:33:00.007-04:00

Here are some pictures and video from the parade!

Video shot from just behind the cab, ala Naked Gun Title Sequence style:

Pictures of E-1 and some of the other trucks/vehicles in the parade! (Clicky to Photobucket!)

Next Parade:

July 10th, Raymond Town Fair @ 7pm, Town Common!

Today's Activites

2009-07-03T21:20:00.001-04:00

Today was the nicest day we've had in a VERY long time. So that means we got some stuff done for once! The truck actually looks better than it has in a looooong time. Here's what we did today:

Wash and wax job this morning.
Vacuumed cab
Fixed electronic siren
Fueled up
Repainted ALL the running boards and both bumpers with aluminum paint. Nice and shiny now, like new!
Took the grille off and repainted it, so it's now silver, not rusty.
Repainted the driver's side "INTERNATIONAL" and "BC160" badges.

So we should be all ready to go for tomorrow! Hope to see some of you at the parade, too!

Revving up for Saturday!

2009-06-30T22:33:00.002-04:00

We've been having the WORST June weather-wise that I can remember!! All it's done is rain, rain, rain every day off I've had for the last two weeks, making it all but impossible to work on the truck! I still have a few items I need to take care of before Friday night:

-Install the new bolts on the front cowling!
-Still need to change BOTH fuel filters!
-Still needs a tank of gas!
-Still needs a full wash, wax, and vacuum!
-Still needs to have the front-mount pump and the generator reinstalled!
-Electronic Federal Siren needs to be remounted in the cab!
-Driver's side red flasher needs to be tightened a little bit, it turns while you drive!

I've still got a lot of crap to do and so little time. Thankfully it's supposed to be nice on Thursday and Friday this week so I should be able to bang out most of this stuff in a few hours. We're going for the wash and wax on Friday, and then we'll put the portable stuff back on.

On a good note, I've had the time to redo the history binder that goes to the parades with the truck for people who are interested to know about Engine 1. So at least that's done. I still have to charge up the video camera and figure out how I'm going to mount that thing on the back deck for the parade.... shouldn't be to hard if I can do it correctly.

On Saturday morning, we should be at Dunkin' Donuts in Freetown road around 8am, then at the parade for 8:30 or so for flag mounting, a quick once over with some towels and cleaner, and judging (not that I expect Engine 1 in it's current state to win anything. Keith Rollins from Deerfield and his 1940's[?] Ford Firetruck usually takes the awards!)

Hope to see everyone at the Raymond 4th of July Parade!

Parade Season is Officially a Go!

2009-06-24T18:51:00.002-04:00

So Engine One passed it's NH state inspection with flying colors! The 2009 Parade Season is now officially a go! Phew...I was worried that something would come up during the inspection that would fail it and put the truck out of service for yet another year :(!

Now for what you can expect from this blog since the engine replacement is done:

Pictures and Video from each parade or event we attend!
Video from the top of the truck (video camera will be mounted behind the cab and will record the whole parade route)
Pictures of people, places, and other trucks
Preparations for the full restoration that I will be doing in the future
Parts collection
Tool collection
Restoration plans

It’s going to be a fun year with Engine One up and running! Hopefully we’ll be able to get a few drives around the state thrown in as well….we’ll see though!

Where You Can See Engine 1 This Summer

2009-06-22T17:50:00.003-04:00

Here is our planned event list for this year (of course depending on weather, time, and such):

July 4th, 2009: Raymond, NH 4th of July Parade, 9AM, Raymond Town Common

July 10th, 2009: Raymond, NH Town Fair Fireman's Parade, 7PM, Raymond Town Common

August 15th, 2009: Deerfield, NH Old Home Day Parade, Deerfield Center

August 29th, 2009: Candia, NH Old Home Day Parade, Moore Park

September: Manchester, NH Fire Prevention Parade
Litchfield, NH Fire Prevention Parade

December: Hampstead, NH Christmas Parade

Crossing items off my list!

2009-06-15T23:44:00.002-04:00

Things to Still Do Before Parade!

Oil pan will be dropped this weekend for cleaning, and an oil change will be done (hopefully all the crap in the block has fallen down into the pan!) --DONE

AC generator is still down, but will be remounted for parade (requires a new carburetor.)

Flasher units for front, rear, and side lights need to be replaced as they don't flash right. They are both turn signal flasher units, so the should be easy and cheap to replace. --DONE

Throttle linkage needs slight adjustment. --Checked and found to be ok DONE

A few bolts are needed to secure bottom of grill cowling as it vibrates like crazy!

New fuel filters (2) need to be installed. (One pre-pump and one pre-carburetor.)

Another wash and wax, along with an interior vacuuming.

Pacific Pump needs to be remounted on the bumper.

On another note, I took apart the remainder of the old engine that's been sitting on my dad's trailer since April. I harvested spare parts out of it (heads, valve train/lifters, timing gears, pulleys, etc.) and took out the crank and camshafts. I'm going to be scrapping the block in a few days as there is no hope for repair, and at least I'll get a little money out of it, unless someone wants it for some reason. If anyone does, let me know it's all yours!

Pictures!

2009-06-11T21:13:00.003-04:00

Some night shots all lit up! (Clickable Thumbnails to Photobucket!)

Parade Preparations

2009-06-11T20:26:00.003-04:00

Almost a month has passed since the last update, and honestly, not much has changed. The truck is now registered and insured, but not inspected as of yet. I haven't had the time or energy to take the truck in for inspection since I've been wicked busy at work again (summertime, so the overtime opportunities have increased!) Some things have happened though:

Completed Items!

New License Plates! We're now registered as an antique with the plate "62IHC"!
Truck is now located in Raymond, NH where I live, but will still be called the East Candia Volunteer Fire Department.
We've entered our first parade: The Raymond 4th of July Parade. Come down and see us during the parade! We will then be in the Raymond Town Fair Parade the following Friday!
Fuel gauge was repaired (faulty ground.) Fuel tank was also resealed.
Pump was run from the tank....still flows water, but not well. I think it needs to be greased.
All hose was removed, the hose bed was cleaned out, and the hose was repacked (all 1500' or so!)
Booster reels were rewound.
Pacific Pump (bumper mount portable) was finally repaired and now runs. Tested and it pulls a good draft, flows water very nicely!

Things to Still Do Before Parade!

Oil pan will be dropped this weekend for cleaning, and an oil change will be done (hopefully all the crap in the block has fallen down into the pan!)
AC generator is still down, but will be remounted for parade (requires a new carburetor.)
Flasher units for front, rear, and side lights need to be replaced as they don't flash right. They are both turn signal flasher units, so the should be easy and cheap to replace.
Throttle linkage needs slight adjustment.
A few bolts are needed to secure bottom of grill cowling as it vibrates like crazy!
New fuel filters (2) need to be installed. (One pre-pump and one pre-carburetor.)
Another wash and wax, along with an interior vacuuming.
Pacific Pump needs to be remounted on the bumper.

There is quite a laundry list of things, but it will get done over the next few weeks no problem. I've also been climbing around the truck to see how it's constructed for my future restoration I want to do in a few years. I'm planning (or at least when I get my house and garage that I want) to strip the truck to the frame and completely restore it myself (yes, just me, no professional help!) I think if I take a welding class, get a welding unit, and study my project I should be able to do it no problem. What I would like to do is take the truck body off of it, replace all the diamond plate and bad metal, remove the cab and replace the cab floor, sandblast the frame and paint it black, rework the pump and all the plumbing, then put it back together and get a new paint/lettering job. It will be a long project when I'm working on it, and I figured it will take me at least three to five years to complete. But with a full restoration like that, the truck will last a very long time with some TLC. Someday.

Getting things rolling even faster.........

2009-05-04T00:33:00.002-04:00

Well a lot has happened since the last post about Engine 1. No, it didn't die in the driveway, and no, the new engine hasn't blown up. In fact, things have only gotten better!

With the truck all back together, hood and all, we've been doing idle tests on the engine in the driveway. After being concerned that the truck was overheating, I installed a combo temperature, oil pressure, and voltmeter gauge into the cab. We found that at idle speed, the truck heats to about 210, and when at 1000 RPM she drops to about 170. So we at least know the water pump is working. I'm not too crazy about 210 at idle....I think she's getting way to hot, but my father seems to think it's ok. I'm debating if I should change the water pump pulley to the smaller ones I have laying around. It would cause the pump to turn faster at an idle speed (right now the pump pulley is the same as the crank....the newer one is about 2/3 the size of the current) and hopefully lower her idle water temp. Seeing as that the truck is going to be doing a significant amount of idling at parades, it might not hurt to do it.

After our drive up the street we decided it would be best to check the timing with a timing light. We discovered that my hand timing when we put the dizzy in was about dead on....off by a degree or so. After a quick adjustment to be at zero degrees TDC, we were playing with the carburetor and noticed that we couldn't get it to adjust right. After a little diagnosis with starting fluid around the gaskets, we found that they were leaking pretty bad. We took the carb off, and found that I had also put a gasket on backwards, covering the intake holes about half way. DOH! After a bit of permatex gasket sealant, and putting the gaskets back on the right way, we were able to adjust the mixture screws properly and set the idle. A new throttle return spring was added as the old one had "lost it's spring" and was not returning the engine to idle after a stab of the accelerator. She now idles at a purring 500 RPM without a hiccup.

Last Thursday was spent changing the front tires. The original tires cracked pretty bad while sitting out in the sun for the last year or so, and were no longer road worthy (although they were saved as "emergency spares"). After a search, I found a pair of new Power King 750-20 bias ply tires for $148 each with tubes and flaps. I ordered them Tuesday, picked them up Wednesday, and the were mounted Thursday. After borrowing the 3/4" drive socket set from the Candia VFD, I was able to jack up the front with a 20 Ton bottle jack and take the lug nuts off with the 18" ratchet and 4' PVC cheater bar :). Worked like a charm, but my back was screaming after lifting 120 lbs tire/rim assemblies into my Jeep. Brought them to Stratham Tire in Brentwood, NH, where they did both tires in about 30 minutes! Back to the house, put the new tire/rims on (PITA when you have no help around), and we were done! Now we're cruising on new rubber!

Today we went out for another drive around the block. Wow, what a difference timing and a full-flowing, adjusted carb can make. After pulling out of the driveway, the truck was in second gear 1/4 of the way up the hill, and in third about 3/4 of the way up, without so much as a cough! Much much better than last time, when we cruised in first all the way, lacking power, and couldn't get above 20 MPH in third on the flats! After hitting the top of the hill, I was able to pop her into fourth, and we cruised down the street at 40 in a 35 :). Around the block, and back, no problems to report!

Tomorrow (or today, rather, now that I looked at my clock) it's off the the town clerk for registration, and then to the inspection place down the street for a sticker. After that, to the gas station, and hopefully off to the car wash for a bath (because she's gross- you would be too after a year and a half under a tarp!).

Almost there!

Getting things rolling..........

2009-04-29T10:12:00.003-04:00

Things are going well with Engine 1. Now that the engine is in and the front is all back together we've been working on little issues here and there.

We were having problems with the stock oil pressure and temperature gauges not reading, so we took the dash apart and found that the cluster voltage regulator was bad. Replacement from NAPA, with no guarantee of compatibility, was $40 plus shipping. So we skipped on that for now. I was able to take the old one apart and clean up the contacts...the gauges are working, but I don't trust their accuracy. I went to Advance Auto Parts and picked up a set of gauges (three in one unit) which read temperature, oil pressure, and voltage. All good things to know while the truck is running! After getting them installed, we found that the cooling system works fine....she heats up to about 190 while idling, and when revved she drops to 160-170 and stays there. Perfectly fine for me. Oil pressure runs a tad high at cold idle (about 40 PSI), but drops to 20 PSI when hot idling. Really good numbers for an old IH SV engine!! That confirms that the main and cam bearings are all good. Voltage hovers around 13 volts, which is good.

The truck got a new fuse panel as well by using a Seacraft panel purchased from Ace Hardware for $16. We think the old panel was shorting out because we would loose lights, turn signals, and panel lights intermittently. Every time we would try and diagnose the issue the we would find that when we wiggled the fuse panel things would come back up. Rather than dealing with a possible electrical fire from the panel, and having to constantly chase the issue down, we just opted to replace the thing.

Tires have been another issue we had to solve. The current front tires cracked while sitting out in the sun for a year and a half, and the rears seemed to survive ok (there is minor cracking, but not as bad as the front). Being an old truck, it has Budd lock ring rims and 750-20 bias ply tube type tires. What a PITA to find. After a week long search, I found a pair of Power King 10 plys at a local tire shop for $148 each with tubes and flaps. Pretty good price, if you ask me, considering that I found some different ones that were $216 each, without the tubes/flaps, plus I would have to pay for shipping from California ($$$!!!). I'm excited, and tomorrow will be spent getting the tires changed at Stratham Tire in Brentwood, NH.

The truck actually did make it out onto the road Monday night (albeit illegally) for a quick road test. The truck did pretty well, making it down the driveway and a quick brake test was performed.....the brakes held very nicely on my hill of a driveway. Out the driveway and to the right we went, up the Langford Road hill. We stayed in first gear (we could have gone into second gear, but didn't want to push it) and she pulled all the way up the hill, staying in a normal temperature range and good oil pressure. It was a slow ride, but it was nice to know she can pull herself up without issue. Once at the top, second gear was a breeze, and when we got into third we had a little bit of coughing and backfiring. Noted the issue, went to the turnaround spot, and went back home with no problems at all. A good first trip for an engine that hasn't run in a while, and for the truck that hasn't moved in over a year.

After the tires get changed, we're going to double check the timing with a light and make sure that the initial timing is correct, that the vacuum advance is working, and that the mechanical advance is also good. Once the timing is set, if we are still having issues we're going to rebuild the carburetor (I have a kit ready to go). It's won't hurt for it to get cleaned up completely!

Pictures will be coming!

Video of the First Engine Start in 15 Years.

2009-04-21T22:33:00.009-04:00

So here is the video from Monday when the truck started up for the first time. The truck it's self hasn't run in over a year. The engine, on the other hand, was removed from an old International Scout about 15 years ago and sat on an engine crane in someone's garage since. I picked up the engine in early 2008 to replace the bad motor.

(Ok, so this isn't the first time it's fired. We did fire it with starting fluid on Sunday just to be sure we would even fire. This is the first time she really started and ran for any length of time.)

That's my girlfriend Katherin holding the camera and making comments about things. She was the motivator for me to finally get the truck back on the road. Thanks, hunny! (But I think it's because she 1.) wants to ride in it and play with the lights/sirens and 2.) she wants to drive it.)

We were having some problems keeping her running (stale gas), and a few problems with the battery jumper while trying to get her running. The smoke you see cleared up soon after we stopped recording, and I'm thinking it was just oil in the cylinders and the exhaust buring off.

After a carb adjustment later in the day, she was running like a champ and actually moved under her own power down the driveway, into a 3-point turn (always fun without power steering), and back up to a different spot so we could clean up the spare parts and tools.

Pop some popcorn and enjoy the show!

I've also decided that when we go to parades we're going to set the camera up on a tripod on top of the truck behind the cab. I think that would be a pretty cool video!

DONE!

2009-04-20T20:40:00.002-04:00

It's Done. East Candia Engine 1 is offically back in service after more than a year of downtime. For the first time today, the Engine rolled out from the spot she was sitting in and took a trip onto the open road. Granted it was a short trip down the driveway, three point turn to point back the way we came, and back up the driveway, but it was a start.

Parade season is comming fast, and I fully expect to complete the entire parade circuit this year with minimal issues.

Even though the project on the engine work is complete, Engine 1 needs a lot more TLC. We need new floorboards. We need new tires (eventually). We need a bit of electrcal work in the cab done.

Keep checking back, because I'll continue to post things about my little projects, and post pictures of all the parades we make it to this year!

95% Complete

2009-04-19T20:16:00.004-04:00

The last four days have been filled with all sorts of engine work fun. After deciding that putting the new engine in would be easier with the heads off as the engine to transmission mounting bolts would be easier to access. I also figured that since I had a set of head gaskets laying around it wouldn't hurt to do the job. So I removed the heads and cleaned out the gunk from cylinders #2 and #8, the ones that got a little wet while the engine was sitting outside. The cylinder walls looked good though!

Thursday, 4/16/2009

My friend Jimmy came over with his wrecker to remove the engine with me. We hooked onto the old block with the tow cable and out the junker came. Then we removed the clutch plates and the flywheel for the new engine. After getting the new engine on the tow cable, we put the flywheel and clutch on, but not without a little bit of a scare with the fit. Apparently the new engine was mated to an automatic transmission (or the manual tranny was different) because there was a 4" spacer on the back of the crankshaft. Fortunately it was held in with just a roll pin and we were able to tap it off with a hammer and some elbow grease. Tragedy averted, the engine was hoisted into the frame and mated with the tranny after a little wiggling. We did have a slight issues as one of the alignment pins stayed in the bell house ear when the old engine came out, so we had to cut the new pin with a hacksaw as we didn't notice until after the tow truck was unhooked. It was easier to just cut it than it was to remove the engine. After that was done, it mated without incident.

Saturday 4/18/2009

We cleaned both the engine block and cylinder head surfaces with a soft die grinder to removed the old rust (thanks to the folks on oldihc.org for the tip) and also did the same to the intake manifold surfaces before putting the manifold back on. The heads went on without a problem, and the intake manifold was a breeze to put on. The exhaust manifolds were a little more difficult, but after some choice words and a few cuts on the hand, they were snug to the engine.

We bolted on the fuel pump next, and then timed the engine to cylinder number eight, without the use of a timing light. All we did was align the timing mark with zero degrees on the compression stroke, picked a post on the distributor cap, and started counting from there. My IHC V-304 rebuild manual that I bought was an excellent resource for this project!

The oil was changed, and a new oil filter was screwed on.

Sunday 4/19/2009

Today was spent putting on the thermostat housing (with a new 160 degree thermostat) which we picked up from Sanel Auto Parts. They didn't have a new gasket available for the housing, so Katherin (my girlfriend) cut a new gasket out of cork using the old one as a guide. The alternator bracket was hooked on and alternator was added. After some head scratching about the alternator and coil wiring, I referred to a diagram I drew that I used to build a new voltage regulator for the truck. (Back in 2007 I had to have the alternator rebuilt, and we discovered the old voltage regulator was bad. The guys at Auto Electric in Brentwood, NH, who also rebuilt the alternator, were able to help me build a replacement from few different pieces.) After everything was hooked up properly, we put the pulleys on the water pump and the crankshaft. The twin V-belts were run, and the carburetor was put onto the manifold. A good battery charge was done as well!

We sprayed a little bit of starting fluid into the carb and closed the choke. After a bit of a crank, the engine sputtered! I sprayed a little more ether, but left the choke open.....and she backfired right out of the carb! There was quite a flame, but I didn't lose my eyebrows. After that lesson, we did it once more. After the engine caught, I forgot that I had the fuel lines connected, and fuel started coming up into the lower filter....I noticed it but figured it wouldn't make it to the second filter before the carb.....boy was I wrong! About 10 seconds after it hit the first filter before the fuel pump, the second filter was full! I told Katherin to shut the engine down as I wasn't ready to have her run on her own...it was simply a test to make sure the truck would even fire!

Tomorrow will be spent putting the radiator in, adding engine coolant, and getting the throttle and choke cables hooked back up. We also have to splice some of the wires back together as I had to cut a few so the engine could get (they ran just above the radiator). After that's done we can spend he rest of the afternoon adjusting the carb for the truck and letting her spend some time running. Maybe she will even sneak a ride onto the road for a test.......

More to follow tomorrow!

FINALLY!!

2009-04-14T22:44:00.002-04:00

Well the day has finally come.....Thurday, April 16th, 2009. The day the new engine will be put into the truck and fired up for the first time!

It only took me 1 1/2 years to get it done.....but now that the weather is good, and I'm not injured, it should be all set.

I went out Monday and checked the new engine...it was a little stuck, but nothing some oil in the cylinders and a little elbow grease couldn't fix....so it's at least rotating now. Changed out the intake manifold to the old engine's to get rid of all the emissions bullshit. Now I just have to get the two exhaust manifolds off (which requires cutting a bolt or two as the heads are rounded), get the wrecker on the old engine, take it out (removing the clutch, flywheel, and mounting bracket), plop the parts onto the new engine, and mate her to the tranny. Hopefully it goes without a problem. Hopefully.

What a Fall and Winter!

2009-01-07T00:37:00.002-05:00

Hello Readers!

Sorry it's been a while since I've been posting, but there have been a few issues to keep me away lately. In October I was rushed to the hospital for acute appendicitis, and I was placed on work restriction for nine weeks following surgery.....so not only did I not make any money, I was unable to put any time into the truck....add that to a very soggy fall and a horrible winter so far, and I think things are self explanatory.

I don't know if any of you heard but NH (and New England in general) was hit with the worst ice storm in the history of the area on December 11th and 12th. There were lots of trees down, and unending power outages. (I had no power for five days, and I feel lucky since some went without for 12-15 days!) Fortunately, the truck was spared any damage from falling trees......not a single branch brushed her.....and I'm glad she's not parked at my new house because where she would have gone was full of a rather large tree limb when I woke up...not something I would want to find smashed into the body of the truck!

Well, hopefully this will be the year, finally. Now that the engine is 90% disassembled all we have to do is tear it out and toss in the new one.....hopefully as soon as the ground is dry from spring it'll get done and be back on the road once again!

Stay tuned folks, 2009 is gonna be a great year!

Photo Post

2008-08-26T20:01:00.002-04:00

Here are the pictures of the damage from the engine work I've done.

Clicky thumbnails to photobucket for larger pictures.

Bad News

2008-08-22T13:29:00.002-04:00

Well after enlisting the help of my father last night we decided that the best course of action was to pull the oil pan off and take a look into the lower end of the engine. After draining what oil was in the engine and fiddling with the oil pan bolts for 45 minutes (alot of them are in tight spots) we were able to get the pan down and take a look inside.

Remember when I was talking about the bits of metal in the bottom of the pan....well I found out what they were....and there were alot of them. They were piston parts....never a good sign in the bottom of an oil pan in a broken engine. Looking into the bottom of the engine, most of the cylinders looked like they were in good shape....all except one. The one that had the crooked piston...there was quite a bit of rust runs down the side and into the crankcase!

My dad and I decided that we should remove the piston and see if the cylinder was damaged. We took the cap bolts off the I popped the piston out (which I thought was WAY too easy), and as soon as I climbed out from underneath and got to the offening cylinder I knew I was done for....the piston had nothing left except for the head and connecting pin...the sides/skirt was ALL gone. And I found where the coolant came into the engine....when the piston had broke (or if it was previously broken it had been rubbing), it wore two giant cracks into the sides of the cylinders...guess the water pressure was finally enough to do it in when I was climbing that hill back in October!

So here it stands....the old engine is pretty much trash for now (well, at least the block)and unless I can find some way to have it fixed (maybe a new bore and a sleeve)it will never power another vehicle....it'll probably become a coffee table in my house someday :).

So now I'm gonna take the rest of the engine apart down to the block alone, and take the thing out. Gotta grab a bunch of parts for the spare engine off the old one, and hopefully slap it right in...we'll see how that goes and when I can get it done.

Take care!
Josh
70-C1

Wow been quite a while!

2008-08-21T12:47:00.003-04:00

Well it's been a while since I've been here....life has been way too busy to do much of anything other than work! I've been trying to make some extra money to pay for college (I'm off to nursing school this fall!) so I've been spending the majority of my time at work, and the truck has fallen out of the picture for the most part. I've still got that spare engine, and as of last week the only thing that's changed since it broke was that I took the majority of the front end apart. I've got the hood, grille, and radiator off, and they've been sitting there for the last month with nothing done.

Soooooooo....yesterday my partner at work somehow motivated me to do some work on the truck that evening. I don't know how she did, but she did and I went right home, grabbed the tools, and started getting greasy. I figured last night I'd would try and get the driver's side cylinder head off and check the gasket....I figured that was more than likely the location of the problem I had because I had alot of coolant in those cylinders. I got the carb off, took off the intake manifold, and the exhaust manifold without a problem.....thank god for the Manchester Fire Department as every bolt on that engine was slopping wet with anti-sieze....I didn't even snap an exhaust bolt which I was afraid of doing! Got all that cleared out, and took off the tappet cover to see if there may have been an issue in there.....and of course there wasn't...it was clean. Got the valve train off and pulled the lifter rods (set aside in a box in order and labeled, of course) without a problem. Then the head.....got all 10 bolts off no problem, and broke the seal on the head.....I pulled the head off and carried over to the tarp to do a quick inspection. I peeled the old gasket off and looked at it....and found nothing wrong with it. So I ruled out that problem...I still have to pull the passenger side, which is this evening's project, so maybe that one is blown..we'll see.

But then while I was looking at the head I noticed the second cylinder in from the front......the head was different right there...it was black, oily, and the exhaust valve was black unlike the rest which were red and clean. "Huh" I said to myself. Looking at the piston in that cylinder, I noticed there was a clean spot on the very top....something that shouldn't be there in a cylinder like that. I grabbed my breaker bar and large socket and put it onto the crank....and turned....and when that piston was comming up it went off kilter and jammed...I swore up and down so much my mom would have beat my A$$ and washed my mouth with soap and pepper!!

I guess that explains alot though....the truck always smoked, and it always had a tap at idle. I thought it was just a valve issue, or that the cams were going...but I guess not....I was a piston! And all that crap in the bottom of the pan....I'm guessing that's parts of the piston...not parts of the cams like I first thought.

Tonight will be the determining factor in where things go from here....I'm gonna pull that other head and see what those cylinders look like....we'll see what I find. I'm hoping that once I get the other head off and I pull the oil pan I'll figure out what that stuff in the bottom is, and shine and light up into the engine with the bad piston and see what the damage is....hopefully the rod didn't go through the block and it really is just a bad head gasket on the passenger's side! I don't think the rod would have gone through because the piston still goes through it's full travel with no problem except that sometimes it goes crooked....and when the engine was turned over during the winter a few times I didn't hear any funky noises.....I guess only taking it apart will tell!!

Somehow all that coolant got into the engine......and I need to find out why!

(I'll try and put some pictures up tonight!)

Josh
70-C1

Been a little bit since the last post!

2008-02-19T23:30:00.001-05:00

Hi to all the readers out there! Sorry about the lack of updates lately, there has been alot going on in the real world that has caused me to not be around to update the blog. Hopefully I'll be able to pop a post in there before Friday morning (because I get alot of downtime at work!).

Take Care and keep checking back!
Josh
70-C1

Now serving as Hose 4

2008-02-07T21:40:00.000-05:00

Engine 6 on Rimmon Street (the good 'ol West Side) was originally known as "Fulton Engine Company 6" after Mr. Walton M. Fulton, the financier who paid for the station to be built in 1892 on the corners of Rimmon and Amory Streets (the bays face Rimmon Street).

Hose 4 was assigned here for only a few years with Engine 6 from 1971 to 1976. According to the MFD, Hose 4 would have run with a Mack Pumper and a 75ft Seagrave Ladder truck (Engine 6 and Ladder 6 respectively).

In 1976, Hose 4 was moved to Weston Street with Engine 10 and Truck 3. Weston Street was built in 1902 on the corners of Weston and Concord Streets which is located on top of the hill in the northeast corner of Manchester. Originally, Weston Street was the quarters of "Hose 4" back in the old horse drawn cart days from 1908 to 1932 when old Hose 4 was replaced with a motorized truck and renamed Engine 10. Pictured at the left is the original Hose 4 circa 1910. Below is a view of the Weston Street Station in 2004. Sadly, this station was torn down in 2007 and is now an empty lot.

Now this is when the history gets a little confusing. According to the history provided by the MFD website, Hose 4 was reincorporated on June 12, 1967 which would not match up with the history of the IHC BC-160. The history provided by one of the MFD officers I have spoken with states that Hose 4 came back into service in 1962 when the two trucks were purchased as Hose 4 and Hose 1. Curious discrepency I think! The MFD online history does state that Hose 4 was equipped with hose and a deck gun, which does match up with the actual truck (as my truck has hose and a deck gun). It would be interesting to see who is worng with the history, or if the original IHC 1962 Hose 4 is really what is being described in the online history which can be read here: http://www.manchesternh.gov/CityGov/MFD/History.html. I don't know, it really is slightly confusing actually! Hose 4 would stay at Weston Street until the station closed in 1982.

At this point the truck was in poor condition and was in need of some TLC. In May of 1982 the truck returned to Merrimack Street for a few weeks where it was rehabed and cleaned up. There was some body work performed and the truck recieved a much needed coat of paint.

Hose 4 returned to service later that month and was assigned to Engine 9 on Calef Road where it remained until 1987.

In 1987 Hose 4 was offically retired from service as the MFD purchased three new engines which had more capabilities in terms of the amount of equipment they could carry. There was no need to have a seperate truck just to carry hose as the new engines were large enough to carry all they needed to any scene they went to. Hose 4 was then sold for scrap and taken to a junkyard on Bodwell Road in Manchester where she would stay until it was rescued. . . .

Change of Plans

2008-02-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks there seems to be a little change of plans in the direction of this blog! Instead of running posts with the history of each station, I've decided to just focus on the truck itself and the locations it served in. Hope this doesn't bother anyone....maybe when I have more time I can get more in depth like that!

Josh

The Beginning of Engine 1's Service.....as Hose 1

2008-02-01T19:25:00.000-05:00

Sometime in 1962 the Manchester, NH Fire Department placed two new and identical trucks in service, one as "Hose 1" and one as "Hose 4" (I have no idea where Hose 2 and Hose 3 are, if the even existed). Hose 1 is the truck that I own and is obviously the subject of this blog. These trucks were in service as hose carrying trucks only...they were to see no "frontline" service as engines. Most of the time, the hose wagon would be driven to the fire scene, offloaded, and then parked until it was time to pick the hose back up. Not much of a dignified job if you ask me, but an important one none the less. Hose 1 was equipped with two booster reels carrying 1" solid rubber hose, a 300 GPM rotary gear pump, 1- 1 1/2" discharge on the passenger side, 1- 2 1/2" pump intake on the passenger side, 4- 2 1/2" and 2- 1 1/2" intakes for the deck gun, a full complement of hose and tools, and a single SCBA (air tank) for the firefighters. There were orignally no ladders on the truck as the MFD's ladders took care of that function.

Upon arrival in the City of Manchester, Hose 1 was assigned to MFD Engine 1 (which at the time was a 1943 Mack) in the Vine Street Central Station until the station was torn down in 1971 when the new Merrimack Street Central Station was opened in January. Hose 1 was not to be Hose 1 for much longer after that date. In February 1971 Hose 1 was replaced by a '71 IHC/Howe and renamed Hose 4 (whatever happened to Hose 4 remains a mystery. Was it in an accident and destroyed?).

After being reassigned as Hose 4, the truck left the Central Station and was moved into quarters with Engine 6. Engine 6 was located on the West Side of Manchester at the corners of Amory and Rimmon Street. Below is a map of all the stations the truck served in.

View Larger Map

More to Follow! Next post we'll cover the history of the Vine Street, Merrimack Street, and Amory Street stations.

Josh

Good News Today!

2008-02-01T19:18:00.000-05:00

Well I have good news for everyone! After the engine in the truck went I had it towed home where it has been parked ever since (going on 4 months now!). Of course, I drained the oil/antifreeze from the engine and put new oil in, plus cleared the cylinders of any fluid and oiled them all before storage. My intent was to go out once a week and just turn the engine over to keep it from rusting up or anything. Of course, life happens and I haven't been out to do that since it was parked! I was worried about the engine seizing up on me, but I went out today, uncovered it, and put the battery jumpers on. I think I gave it about 10 minutes, popped in the key, and could ya guess what happened? It turned over (the coil was disconnected so it couldn't fire) a few times until the battery ran out of juice! So the engine didn't seize up over the course of the last four months, which breathes new life into my hope that the truck will run again this year!

Josh

The BC-160 by IHC

2008-01-31T17:44:00.000-05:00

The BC-160 was introduced as an offshoot of the "B" line trucks in the late 50's to early 60's. Why you may ask? I have no idea at all. I could only venture to guess that it's got a more powerful engine and other upgrades than the standard "B" line truck. Only International knows why I suppose! Here is the actual spec sheet/sales flyer for the BC-160 series truck (linked to photobucket) front and back respectively:

I love old sales flyers about stuff! You can see how different times were back then. These days power heated seats, automatic door locks and windows, and the super powerful premium sound system are considered standard items. Hell, when this flyer was made they actually advertised that the truck came with a "right door lock", "left-side sun visor", and a "padded coil spring seat"! Real luxury with those items! If you read the back of the spec sheet, it lists things such as a front bumper and a horn as standard stuff!! The funny thing is that those were the "new" thing on cars back then too!

Sadly pictures of the BC-160 seem to be very hard to come by and information regarding them seem to be just as difficult to find. If anyone has more information please let me know I would love to learn more!

Stay tuned! More history comming as I scan in the picures and put things together!
Josh

Welcome!

2008-01-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

Welcome everybody! This blog is going to chronicle the rebuild that I am performing on my fire truck's engine from start to finish (exactly from the first bolt on the hood being taken out to it being put back in!). I'm planning on starting the actual project as soon as the majority of the snow melts and it warms up enough to do outside work (after all, the truck is outside, and I have to pull the engine to take it to the shop!!). For now, I'll be posting information about the history of Engine 1 and there will be plenty of pictures to go along with it. Sit back, enjoy the reading material, and when it comes time for the dirty work I hope everybody offers comments, opinions, and suggestions that will make this easier. I've never rebuilt an engine before (except for that time I took an old lawnmower engine apart to see how it worked!) so I have the complete teardown and build-up manual from International.

My plan is to do the majority of the work myself, as I can pull the engine, disassemble it, and put it back together with all the right gaskets by my lonesome (although my friend Jeff will be helping me, he already said he doesn't have any experience either!). Other work, such as replacing the main bearings, cam bearings, any piston work, and the pressure test of the heads will be sourced out to mechanics and machine shops.

I'm hoping the only damage I find is a blown head gasket, afterall that's why the engine blew....dumped all the antifreeze into the engine and out the tailpipe while on the road one day. But I know I have a bad cam bearing as there are chunks of them in the bottom of the oil pan....hopefully this was a preexisting condition and not related to the oiling and cooling systems becomming one that day.

Of course....I always plan for the worst in everything I do! So just in case, I do have a spare engine that is in running condition sitting on my trailer right now. It would need a good cleaning, maybe some new head gaskets and seals or whatever, but it's my insurance policy (which only cost me $200 to boot!! The guy had to get rid of it since it was sitting on an engine crane in the basement.....it was either sell it cheap or trash it! Good thing I got the engine when I did!!)

Alrighty! Like I said, sit back and enjoy the next few weeks as we talk about the history of Engine 1, it's service in Manchester, NH as a hose wagon, the restoration that it got in 2002, and a little history of the "joke fire department" aka the East Candia Volunteer Fire Department.

Josh