O/T-Ford firetruck parts, 534 engine

OliverGuy · Jan 28, 2012

Have an old firetruck. Runs, both pumps work, lights work, two electric hose reels, air brakes, etc. Just not a big market for these. It's a 1968 American-Lafrance Ford Cabover pumper with the big 534 gasser and stick. I'm going to try and sell it first intact. Funny thing is 2 guys have already offered me $200/ton (scrappers) as it sets. Ought to be interesting to see if it will sell to someone over scrap value. Is the motor or hose reels worth parting it out? Wonder how much the whole thing weighs? I'm going to run it over the scales next week just to see. It's got to be heavy. I wouldn't have wanted my house to be on fire if this thing was coming to put it out. Big motor, but it is not very fast.

RBnSC · Jan 28, 2012

Our first tandem dump truck had a 534. It got about 3 1/2 miles per gal. on a good day.
Ron

Blackhole49 · Jan 28, 2012

When the Gov. handed out its latest round of grants for fire trucks a couple of years ago, one of the stipulations was the old one could not be recommissioned. Even before that, they never brought much more than scrap fore some reason. There sure have been an awful lot of great drive trains sent to the wrecker.

rustyplow · Jan 28, 2012

But it would out pull a 3208 cat in it's sleep. I run one also, many years ago. Speaking of mpg, v 12 droit in a 74 freightliner got about 2.

larry@stinescorner · Jan 28, 2012

ask beatles 65 . he might be interested

RodinNS · Jan 28, 2012

Scrap is what it's worth... Should weigh about 6-6.5 ton with the tank empty.
We ran an old Ford Thibault C700 for a while. Had a 5 speed and either a 477 or 534. Can't remember which. It was no powerhouse. It went about 60 flat to the boards... which was fast enough... and it needed to tow a gas trailer behind it.
Fire trucks today are governed to 62 mph anyway. Some think it helps to keep them on their wheels...

Rod

KCTractors · Jan 28, 2012

Boy, that brings back memories, back in the Seventies, drove a Ford Tri-axle F-Series log truck with the 534 gas and a five and four transmission It would get 1 1/2 miles to the gallon of gas with loader time. With that transmission and engine, you were chasing one of the levers around all the time. I think we would wear out a carburetor out once a year because so much gas would go through it.

RayP(MI) · Jan 28, 2012

Most insurance companies are very particular about what they will let local FDs use. Age, etc, are very importent to them, never mind many rural VFDs have equipment with very few hours, and like new except for the calendar factor. Probably mininal interest in old equipment. If you want to sell it intact, there are some groups that are sponsoring sending good used equipment to communities in central and south America where an old engine is far better than nothing.

GVSII · Jan 28, 2012

(quoted from post at 05:08:57 01/28/12) Have an old firetruck. Runs, both pumps work, lights work, two electric hose reels, air brakes, etc. Just not a big market for these. It's a 1968 American-Lafrance Ford Cabover pumper with the big 534 gasser and stick. I'm going to try and sell it first intact. Funny thing is 2 guys have already offered me $200/ton (scrappers) as it sets. Ought to be interesting to see if it will sell to someone over scrap value. Is the motor or hose reels worth parting it out? Wonder how much the whole thing weighs? I'm going to run it over the scales next week just to see. It's got to be heavy. I wouldn't have wanted my house to be on fire if this thing was coming to put it out. Big motor, but it is not very fast.

Go over to ford truck enthusiast.There are folks that are very interested in that combination.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 28, 2012

Find a motocross track or dirt track looking for a water truck. Put an ad in motorcycle shops or find out where the the tracks are. Fire pumps put out higher pressure so they throw the water further. Having 2 pumps allows at least 2 people to water and even more if you add Y connectors to the hoses or there are multiple connections on the truck. I bet a lot tracks would love to have an old fire truck. Just to buy small high pressure fire pumps is pretty expensive.

old · Jan 28, 2012

I have an old Ford truck with the engine in it but the block is cracked. It was a Super duty tandem axle truck. I have yet to find any body wanting engine parts but then who knows maybe some day I'll find some one

Kansas Cockshutt · Jan 28, 2012

The reason the scrappers want it is the pumps and valves are filled with brass and bronze etc. Lots of copper lines too. Not to mention the heavy steel boxes and the tank.

Should be fairly easy to re-purpose into a flatbed if you were after that. We converted one to an end dump.

VicS · Jan 28, 2012

My boss let me order a new Fuel truck in 1979. I ordered a L800 with a 534 engine. Our local (brain) mechanic said what was wrong with them was everybody ordered them with the same axle ratio as a 429. Gov at 4200. We ordered this one with the same gears as a 3208 Cat. gov at 3200, the same as the 534. Can't remember exact ratio. but about 5.80 . Later got a 466 250 hp IHC. wouldn't climb the hill South of town any faster. Drove that truck for 20 years. Before that got new one ever 4 to 5 years. But they was Chevy's Vic

OliverGuy · Jan 28, 2012

The big inline pump has lots of brass and bronze? Wonder how hard that is to separate? That pump is huge. Plus there's the second pto pump. Hmmmm

RodinNS · Jan 28, 2012

Unless that truck is different......... I think you'll find that most of the pump and plumbing parts are ductile cast iron. Actually a very worthless substance. There'd be some bronze parts in the pump and mabey a bit in the valves... but the biggest part of most valves today is poly.
There will be no copper on a fire truck. All plumbing parts should be steel.

Rod

Kansas Cockshutt · Jan 29, 2012

As I remember, we sold the pump seperate, and got a lot more then scrap for it. I ended up with 3, 5 gallon pails of brass from stripping the valves apart and pulling the seats and other misc. I also saved the big tank and some of the tool boxes. Lots of flat- but rusty steel in that tank.

I don"t know what age the truck you were looking at RodinNS, but I had a drum of copper line off this one. All different sizes for priming the pump and gauges and what not. Also got a few nice vernier cables and electrical relays and switches. Still use parts of the old truck in projects now and then. Granted, it was hard work scrapping it, but taking my time we were able to re-purpose the truck. My favorite thing was the cut glass indicator lights on the pump control panel. They had a little bezel that held the jeweled glass crystal over a bulb.

RodinNS · Jan 29, 2012

Copper? From what? Gauge lines? We scrapped one here a few years ago that was a 77 I think... and every other one I've seen used Synflex for all indicator lines. Discharge were all steel.
Granted, there is a WIDE range of stuff out there in fire trucks... but I'd expect a major line truck to be done fairly cheaply... with synflex and steel lines.
The one we scrapped was either a Pierreville or a Thibault... can't remember for sure which. Others I'm quite familiar with include MetalFab, Almonte, King/Seagrave, EOne, and Superior fire bodies from late 70's vintage onwards.

Rod

Kansas Cockshutt · Jan 30, 2012

Just what are you getting at RodinNS?
Are you calling me a liar?
I can take a picture of the coffee can full of brass flare fittings they used on the copper lines if you want? I saved them but have not had a use for them up to now...

buickanddeere · Jan 30, 2012

Would the pump and valves be worth anything to anybody that irrigates crops or does custom spraying ?

RodinNS · Jan 30, 2012

No. I'm just saying that the truck you dealt with is uncommon by any standards I've seen. Nothing more, nothing less.
I think I'd be rather disappointed if I thought I was going to cash in on a drum of copper and a pile of brass and ended up with a mess of synflex and cast iron....
You lucked out.
The highest grade stuff I've seen on a truck is a modest amount of stainless on the last EOne Tradition we bought a year ago.

Rod

RodinNS · Jan 30, 2012

I'd tend to think it would be worth something for irrigation if someone thought far enough ahead to make use of it. One thing to remember with fire pumps tho... even if they're not old they can still be used up or burnt out... won't prime properly or won't hold prime. The difference between a new pump and a pile of scrap is 10 minutes, a stuck cooling valve and one dipstick... and then you've got a pump that boiled and burned it's seals.
Big thing one has to remember is that you get a 1050(1250) gpm pump... that takes some power to turn when it's at rated flow/pressure....
The other side of the coin... there is likely to be a considerable number of these things come out of service in the next while because they age out at 20-25 years. We replaced one a year ago and have another due in the next couple years...
Around this are there will be a lot of trucks due soon.

Rod

O/T-Ford firetruck parts, 534 engine

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Similar threads