41 fire truck

[iverson]

My dad bought this thing surplus from the army in 46 or 47 he loaned it to victory air museum in 73 it was on display till about 90 when property was sold the a-holes broke every thing they could now I got it back!

[alanwoodieman]

don't you just love a-holes tearing up something just for the fun of it, still could be resurrected, lots of good parts

[53F100Jeffie]

Good luck with your truck. The latest Early Ford V8 club magazine has a story on the restoration of a 42 Ford fire truck. Looks much like yours. It is from Canadaigua, N.Y. originally. Great story.

[skidmarks]

Whats the tank for on the upper radiator pipes?

[expavr]

Originally Posted by skidmarks

Whats the tank for on the upper radiator pipes?

A block heater with an electrical core and water circulating pump?

[GB SISSON]

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That would make it 'rarin' to go on a cold winter night. Freeport Illinois is where my big 'ol 1912 Stover stationary engine was built. Nice truck even with the damage....

[skidmarks]

I see some copper tubing but i dont see a power cord.

[expavr]

Originally Posted by skidmarks

I see some copper tubing but i dont see a power cord.

This from Wikipedia:
"Block heaters that run directly on the vehicle's own gasoline or diesel fuel supply are also available; these do not require an external power source. The coolant is heated and circulated, usually by thermosiphon, through the engine and the vehicle's heater core."
That copper line may be a fuel line coming from a manifold on the inner fender that goes to a combustion chamber on the backside of the box that is heated by glow plug ignited combustion. If this is a gas fired block water heater, there is no obvious way for fuel circulation from the tank nor exhaust from the combustion process to be handled like a Southwind hot air heater. A few more photos of that installation and the parts around it would be interesting to see.

[40 Deluxe]

Moral of the story: Never, ever, loan any vehicle to any museum!

[skidmarks]

Originally Posted by expavr

This from Wikipedia:
"Block heaters that run directly on the vehicle's own gasoline or diesel fuel supply are also available; these do not require an external power source. The coolant is heated and circulated, usually by thermosiphon, through the engine and the vehicle's heater core."
That copper line may be a fuel line coming from a manifold on the inner fender that goes to a combustion chamber on the backside of the box that is heated by glow plug ignited combustion. If this is a gas fired block water heater, there is no obvious way for fuel circulation from the tank nor exhaust from the combustion process to be handled like a Southwind hot air heater. A few more photos of that installation and the parts around it would be interesting to see.

Thats pretty neat. Never heard of or seen one before that operated that way. Seen plenty of the southwind heaters

[iverson]

I am not sure what that cast iron thing is for but I think has something to do with the fire pump I will take a closer look

[alanwoodieman]

where does the return (lower) on the oil filter go to? pan? fuel pump?

[expavr]

Originally Posted by iverson

I am not sure what that cast iron thing is for but I think has something to do with the fire pump I will take a closer look

I think you may be right. This photo clarifies that the two fixtures on the top are plumbing fixtures. I had thought one of them looked like a spark plug in the first photo. What we may be looking at is a device for sending engine heated water to some part on the fire apparatus to insure that it operates in freezing conditions. Does the line in the photo to the right of the line into the tank go into the block? Perhaps to a "T" where the temp gauge is threaded into the block. Very interesting. I've seen several early Ford fire trucks but have never seen a device like this.

[flyboy89]

It may be the exact opposite, expavr. Could be used to keep the engine from over heating when the fire engine is stationary for long periods pumping at a fire. This is common on modern fire equipment too. You can pump cool water from the fire pump through the heat exchanger to cool the power plant, then the circulating water flows overboard onto the ground. Used this kind of device many times during my career as a firefighter.

[expavr]

Originally Posted by flyboy89

It may be the exact opposite, expavr. Could be used to keep the engine from over heating when the fire engine is stationary for long periods pumping at a fire. This is common on modern fire equipment too. You can pump cool water from the fire pump through the heat exchanger to cool the power plant, then the circulating water flows overboard onto the ground. Used this kind of device many times during my career as a firefighter.

A heat exchanger to cool the engine - that makes sense. Thanks.