1979 F600 4 x 4... Im the bastrad stepchild that doesnt fit anywhere

[Notmeofficer]

Hello everyone.. first time poster...

I have a 1979 F 600 4 x 4 FMC firetruck in excellent condition with 21k miles on it.. 360 CI , 5 speed. It hasnt been messed with one bit.. well other than the 4 x 4 conversion which FORD did a ship thru on.. but it is as factory as it can be.

There is very little information out there on the f500-800 series trucks and even less on 4 x 4 ones..

Anyone know of any resources to find out more about the truck.. perhaps even a ford factory resource where I could find a build sheet on it by VIN?

Thank You

 

[blacksnapon]

send me your vin

 

[mrfixit]

Oh and welcome to the site!!!

 

[6L PWR]

Welcome & WOW, that's a KEWEL truck!!

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Fantastic piece of machinery there.

Welcome! I think you'll like it here.

Ryan

 

[Andyman8282]

Nice truck

 

[Blue Goose]

Welcome to the site. I've sent messages to a couple of people that might be of some help.

 

[Skandocious]

I requested a build sheet from Ford a few months back which shows the stats on the truck as it rolls OFF the assembly line. Here's what mine looks like:

As you can see, the build sheet shows that my truck is a single cab short bed but... As you can see in my signature picture I've got a crew cab short bed Mine was modified after it left Ford, just like your truck. If you'd like to see the factory stats on your truck you can email [email protected], requesting a build sheet and providing them with the following information.

Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Cellular Phone Number:
Daytime Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Odometer Reading:
Servicing Dealership:
VIN#:
Year of truck:
Model:

No promises on whether or not it will have info on a truck that old but give it a try

 

[Skandocious]

Oh and theres one condition on me giving you the above information... You have to show us the build sheet after you get it, because now all of us want to see it too

Welcome to the forum brother. That's an awesome rig you've got there

 

[polarbear]

Welcome, and truck!

 

[Notmeofficer]

Wow.. great help on being able to write ford on this thing.. I have sent them an email and Ill post up the results

The vin is F66MVEG1569

Some other enthusiasts keep telling me it will have a 361 or 370.. but the fire chief I spoke with claims its a 360.. the motor appears to be smog pumped.. but it is a 49 state vehicle.. as I understand it they came two ways... one with a pump and one with just an egr.. since this thing has never seen any smog station (exempt) Im not sure if I can perhaps changeover to an egr only( which clean up the top of the motor nicely and get rid of that god awful smog pump which hangs out in front with a million hoses.. before I even let a smog station look at it..

Im going to call California BAR this week and find out if they know by vin what it is supposed to have .. and what they will allow... perhaps an egr only manifold...


I receive it Tuesday via flatbed... I bought it from a small fire protection district in the Midwest. It cost 4500.00... which by any measure is a steal. The chief there was kind enough to leave it fully equipped.. so its coming with everything right down to hoses hand tools radios ladders and on board winco generator that runs the sodium lights... new this truck would cost upwards of 250k...
It has a hale 650gpm pump.. it ran a pump test in 2007 and was in service as of two weeks ago... they had to survey it out because of age... it would no longer meet federal regs.. where they get their money.. and because they got a new grant. They couldnt sell it locally because of local surplus restrictions..I happened to be there at the right time.

I have procured a factory service manual (spendy but nice) and NOS owners manual.. and its coming with the build manual from FMC. I purchased it because I was looking for a unique older cab and chassis to build a custom aluminum body on... to show off some of my aluminum skills...
I have alot of fire buddies who are begging me not to touch it because its so clean.. so Im not sure what Im going to do at this point. Theres also a 7.3 and a detroit sitting in storage at my shop.. both would be nice conversion motors
I appreciate all the comments.. theres a bunch of older internationals around that are all wheel drive but the fords (which I think are way cooler looking) are few and far between.. and rust free low mileage ones that havent been messed with or abused are near impossible to find.. so I feel lucky to have scored this truck..
Nice talking with all of you..

Cam

 

[Skandocious]

Wow that's really awesome Cam. I can't tell you how jealous I am.

As far as opinions about what to do with it... Man I'm torn between the two options. Would be real awesome to rig up and awesome trail rescue rig with custom fabbed boxes and storage in the back, but the danged this is so BEAUTIFUL in it's current form that I'd hate to touch it!! I think with the kind of condition it's in, I'd leave it alone and maybe restore it to show quality. Either way, AWESOME RIG!! Welcome to the forum brother, we look forward to see your progress on this little project.

And by the way, you mentioned California... Do you live in CA? That would make 3 of us on this site if you do

One last thing, that VIN is much to short. The VIN number should be 17 digits. I tried to run it up on the Ford fleet website but it wouldn't have it. Got a better one?

Welcome to the site Cam. We're a big family here and I'm sure you'll fit right in with a truck like that

 

[Notmeofficer]

Im up in Redding...
I can use a fire engine... I have lots of acreage on my ranch.. Im not sure how it will all turn out.. sometimes the best plans change mid stream
I could concours it out... its going to continue to be stored inside..
it needs a couple of minor wear items replaced.. the rubber one piece floor mat is original and showing some age.. as is the seat from having overly large firemen sit in it.. but other than that the interior is really nice..even the dashpad is like new..obviously there is a bunch of added equipment and some holes are drilled in the dash to hold brackets.. but they are all there and havent been touched..

17 digit vins were standardized in 1981 per NHTSA.. so the vin is good..

Ive now confirmed its a 361 industrial motor....which is what I thought but the fire chief kept swearing otherwise... Im looking at what I can do to get rid of the smog pump and hoses an go egr only.. if. and thats a big if.. the motor came that way in 49 state configuration

The historical plates for it came to a whooping 25 bucks.. that will be the only thing California will be reasonable about.. As I said before I wont let the smog station even look at it until I figure out what I can do to make it better ...

Sometimes.. I hate California

 

[surewhynot]

That is a gorgeous truck. Welcome aboard.

 

[Skandocious]

Well being that it's a 79 you are not smog exempt, unless you are under some other rule. But as far as I know, only older than 75 are smog exempt. If that's the case, you'll need to keep the smog pump. If not, depending on your setup, you can delete the smog pump and either run a shorter belt (use a piece of twine around the pulleys to measure needed belt length) or run an idler pulley. This is what I've seen guys do in the past.

 

[Brian_B]

Interesting vehicle for sure. I think I would leave it stock. You can use it as is around the acerage and it would be very popular with kids at schools and parades.

 

[Skandocious]

Cam I forgot to mention. It's great to have another California dude! As I said before, you bring the running total up to 3 The other guy is named Aaron and posts under the username CaFordDude, he's from Southern California.

A good number of the regulars (and founders) on this site are from Missouri. They were friends from another Ford site and all members of a Missouri section which went cuhpoot. So they founded this site and they've been growing ever since. Anyways, they have meets in Missouri and I've always been jealous; so if we can build enough guys out here we can get some meets going too! I'm probably getting way ahead of myself.

Anyways, let us know how that build sheet turns out!

 

[Notmeofficer]

Ok.. truck is in my shop.. it is as advertised,, in excellent condition,, what a beast
I found out a couple of things going over it...

I went through all the paperwork tonight..everything is there.. including the original ford build printout. It cost 45,632.00 in 1979,, then again houses were 79k...

Per the build list the engine is a 370 4v.. not a 361 as I thought and they told me

The build sheet says (verbatim)
F661 176.4 " chassis
Silver metallic
Engine 6.1L/370/4v
Custom cab
Tachometer
Trans clark 285v 5 speed
Axle 17500 Rockewell H172
Power steering
Dual stainless steel mirrors
HD rear brakes
Vacuum reserve tank
Tow hooks
70 amp alternator
Extra cooling radiator
6 9.00 x 20 tube tires traction tread
Special order 46 2240
6 Group 5 TRD


Many things were added post factory.. theres dual batteries..a 250Amp leece Neville alternator.. and a bunch of solenoids relays switches fuse blocks.. a/c wiring etc...
The generator started right up and powered all the lights and plugs...

To make it totally sano I will do some wiring work...on the fire stuff... looks like the carb is leaking so a rebuild kit will handle that.. and a new exhaust... the modified one doesnt meet my expectations

The truck doesn't seem to have a lot of power..but it does lug pretty well and accepts full throttle without complaint.. it is cold blooded and likes the choke to start

It needs a floor mat and a seat... the floor mat as I understand it can be from any f series.. the cabs were all the same.. is this correct?,,, and a dome light lense.. the original looks melted in the center... lots of ON time I imagine... all the knobs and handles and plastic are excellent

I think it will take me a week just to grease it and get all the fluids changed... there are probably close to 50 zerks

Its a score.. and a nice piece of FORD history

Thanks for any help/comments any of you provide

I forgot to add..
the front axle is a ROCKWELL FDS 75 HDX 92.... the tranny has a driveshaft to the tranfer case..the transfer case has a driveshaft out the back to the pump/pto and out of the pump comes a short driveshaft to the rear end... they dont appear to be in straight lines.. obviously this thing wasnt intended to be a freeway flier.. but its pretty quiet nevertheless.. considering all the stuff moving around

Im looking up locking hubs as we speak,, I think Boyce Equipment and or USA 6 x 6 specializes in them for the Rockwells.. that will help some of the rolling road noise from all the big stuff whirring around

 

[Skandocious]

Sounds awesome!! You're getting me excited for this little project. I want more pics asap

 

[Fellro]

Heck of a tuck, sounds like you did well. The cabs on the Fords are like the GM's, the same no matter the chassis, it is the sheetmetal out front that is different. I'm sure the fire truck company added a lot of the extras when they added the box. Some may have been added after that, but the majority likely was done at that time.