Here's a mystery for you stovebolters to chew on.
"ROSIE", my first true (stovebolt) love, is an alledged 1944 Chevy 1 1/2 ton, front mount pump fire truck, ex. Rose City, MI. She's also the reason I'm a stovebolter, versus whatever you call F#@D people.
Bought her sittin' beside the road with a "For Sale" sign in the window, and the rest is history. But speaking of history, it's slim pickings on Rosie. Serial Tag is gone, as is the original engine. She has a 216 now, with a cracked water jacket. AND, I'm finally starting to restore/rejeuvenate/rebuild her, at least, from the firewall forward.
I tend to be a stickler for originality, so it troubles me that I don't know which engine she ORIGINALLY had. The low-pressure 235 LoadMaster was an option, by my reading, for 1 1/2 tons and up. I would THINK a fire truck would be ordered with the larger engine. I would certainly LIKE to have a 235, but whatever goes back in, is being rebuilt first.
And before anyone suggests it, NO, the '54 and up, high-pressure oiling 235 is NOT an option. Not original enough.
The only clues I have are a bunch of parts the department gave me, which were APPARENTLY from the original engine, which froze and cracked, and was therefor replaced decades ago. These parts include:
-Carburator (think it's a Rochester, which wouldn't be original), with a governor.
-intake/exhaust manifold
-Radiator
-flywheel
-pressure plate (I think)
-clutch throw-out fork (I think)
-horn
SO . . . do any of these parts tell me whether they're from a 216 vs. 235? Inquiring minds want to know . . . :confused:
-Michael
