The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Recently purchased '70 Chevy C-60 427

Just joined the big bolt community...I bought a 1970 C60 Chevy fire truck with a 427, 5spd with a 2spd. rear. This truck was owed by a local fire company, garage kept its whole life, with 19,900 original miles. I hope to get some pictures up soon, and to get some time to do some minor things to get it ready to show in the spring. Thanks for the great forums!

Sounds like a nice truck.

Welcome to the site.

Bill

Are you leaving it a fire truck?

What town did the fire engine serve? Have any pictures?

I had a 1970 Chevy Tilt Cab / Hahn Fire Engine with the 427 and the 5 + 2. The gearing was very low and top speed was about 50 mph.

Mike B

Sounds like a cool firetruck. As mentioned, we'd love to see some pictures. Also notice that there is a firetruck forum here also.

Mike, it came from Shartlesville, Pa. about 5 miles west of Hamburg, Pa. where it was assembled at Hahn. The water tank was removed(rusted out), but the rest of the back isn't too bad, including a Chrysler 318 industrial engine. I think I want to make it a cab and chassis, with possibly a flat bed on it. My father had a '69 and a '72 exactly like this that were single axle tractors.

I like that cab design...would love to see pictures.

What was the 318 used for or was it just thrown in with the deal?

Mike B

The 318 motor is mounted in the back to run the pump. The 427 only had to be used to get the truck to the fire. The members told me they don't think there's a lot of hours on the 318 either after all these years. I have pictures on my iPad and iPhone...I need to take the time to figure out how to upload them for all to see.

[url=http://s1355.beta.photobucket.com/user/ChevyC60/library/][/url]

nice looking truck

Neat Engine!

Why did they need a second engine (318) to run the pump? Was this truck used strictly as a pump? Can you post pictures of the pump?

We have our own Fire Bolt section at the top of the Big Bolt section for fire truck chat.

Oh, and welcome to the Stovebolt

Mike B

I guess this was another option than having a pto off of the 427. I talked with a guy who has an almost identical truck except he doesn't have the 318. Same manufacture, the two fire departments are only about 10-15 miles apart. Maybe someone from the Fire Bolt section could tell us the advantages.

The only advantage I can think of it the ability to roll and pump at the same time, like a brush truck. However, you'd need a BIG water tank to support that V8 pumping on the go!

Contact the fire company and tell them you have the truck and see what info they can provide. They might have some of the original build documents filed away, you never know unless you ask.

I have all of the info on my 57...original contract, delivery receipt from John Bean and the service manual for the body/pump.

Mike B

I was able to buy it directly from the fire co, and they gave me some of the records from the last 10 years. The assistant chief was going to see if he could find any of the original paperwork for it. I also know there is someone who has all of the old build sheets from Hahn after they went out of business. Also, the chassis came from the local Chevy dealer Degler Chevrolet of Hamburg, Pa., which also is no longer.

So, why the 318? Would love to see pictures of the 318 and pump...

Mike B

Its a nice looking vehicle. I cleaned up the link a little so it is easier to open.

http://s1355.beta.photobucket.com/user/ChevyC60/library

I'll get some pictures of the 318. It sits crosswise behind the cab with the radiator on the right side. Thanks for cleaning up my link...still trying to work on my computer skills.

I added some more pictures to my link...thanks again crenwelge!

Nice looking truck. Like the Wide Fenders that you get with the Heavy Front Axel.

Bill

Body was removed on 2/15...additional pictures on my link..

I have a 72 C-60 427 that I use to pull a 48 foot enclosed car hauler. My truck is a hoss and pulls that
trailer like nothing is back there. I bought it out of Phoenix and it was used to haul cotton. It was always a tractor.

Would love to see pictures of your truck Icfman. A single axle tractor is exactly what I was looking for.

I'll try to get some photo's in soon. Its not much to look at now but I have plans to change that this year.

I've got a '71 GMC 6500 with the 427-5 speed, 2 speed rear combo that is set for hauling a GN trailer. It's just about ready to start earning it's keep around here. I'm really curious how it's going to do on gas mileage.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=306565&page=10 post #245 is mine.

Great truck its spec is same as mine. I too wonder about fuel mileage and highway speeds that is why I want to change to the tallest tire I can run.

A 427 will run 75 all day long. But the faster you go, the more gas you will burn. And it depends on the wind. With a wind like we had in Texas yesterday, a wind hitting you in the side would cut your fuel mileage in half. Guys used to put drag axles on them and haul 80,000 lbs gross and get about 2 miles to the gallon. I wouldn't count on more than 5 or 6 pulling a gooseneck.

I hope to find an old off-road wildland fire truck.
I've thought of taking a heavy truck and modifying for the purpose.
We have a very long response time for local fire agency.
An older rig might be an affordable way into something for our ranch.

Old, just out of service parade ready fire engines can be bought for under $5000 all day long...you can't build one for that kind of money.

Mike B

Mine has 10.00-20s on it. They are pretty tall and fill up the wheel-wells nicely. I also like the stopping power and ease of service of the air brakes.

I would be ok with 6 mpg, 7 would be better, and 8 is probably just wishful thinking. My new Dodge dually gets around 10 mpg pulling my GN trailer at 20-25K lbs. but I'd rather use the old GMC. Around here the .40 to .50 cent per gallon price difference between diesel and gasoline is shrinking quickly and gas is running about $3.70 or so a gallon so 5 mpg might get expensive on the longer trips.

A supertuned engine and efficient driving always got me the best mileage. I would have slower starts and do a lot of shifting when necessary (don't over-rev it or lug it) especially on hills, keeping the RPM's at a healthy pace. Also would watch out for the best gas prices in my travels and take advantage of the best ones. Also don't forget the tire pressures.

Bill

I finally put my '71 GMC on the road this past weekend. Put about 110 miles on it and did pretty good. The notchy Clark 5 speed + 2 speed rear takes some getting used to though. I don't know if I'm not shifting the 2 spd rear right or not but it seems to grind and take several seconds to shift from high to low range. However, it shifts from low to high just fine???

I stopped at the scales on the way home and I was grossing 29K. I haven't tried to calculate mpg yet. But just guessing from the gauge it looks like 5 to 6 mpg running 65 mph. I need to get the tach working so I can tell exactly how many rpm I'm turning though. Just one more item on the list.

C-60, any updates on your rig?

LB,

When shifting the rear from high to low you need to have the truck under load (like when pulling a hill and loosing speed). While under load put the switch in low rear, then let off of the gas, then wait until you hear the rear transfer to low and then mash back down on the gas. You can't easily shift from high to low while rolling along on a flat road, if you need to down shift under these conditions use the transmission.

Mike B

Thanks Mike,
I'll try that and see if that helps. What about when your coming to a complete stop? What's the best way to get back to the low range when your just lightly braking but preparing to get back on the low side to get going again once the light changes back to green? Do you have to downshift the transmission, then under load shift the rear axle back to low? Is it OK to shift back into low range while just sitting at a light?

LB,

I don't drive my trucks fully loaded so my habbits may be different than your's. I drive my 2-speed rear trucks as follows.

From a dead stop I start in 2nd gear with the rear in low range. I work my way up to 4th or 5th gear (direct). If I need more speed I pull the rear selector switch into Hi range, let off of the gas, let the rear shift and back on the gas.

As I approch a red light I start down shifting the trans leaving the rear in Hi range to help slow the truck down. If the light goes green before I come to a complete stop I get back on the gas. If I start to lug the engine I either shift to the next lower gear on the trans or if I'm already in 2nd gear I push the rear switch back to low range, let off the gas, wait for the rear to shift and get back on it working my way back to direct gear/low range and do it all over again. My engine is strong enough to overcome the split between the trans gears that I never need to "split-shift" using the rear, so I drive it like I have OD...2L, 3L, 4L, 5L and then 5H.

Hope this helped...

Mike B

That is actually the best way to get it back into Low Range.

At a stop, you can shift it back up or down at anytime. With the Electric shifts anyway. I never owned or drove a Vacuum.

Bill

Vacuum and Electric shift the exact same way, I have both types.

Mike B

Thanks guys, I'll play with it some more the next time I take it out.