1914 American La France Hose Tender #6

Work Completed Date: May, 2020

Place apparatus on jack stands, as tire go flat. remove hood. Trace electrical wiring circuits. remove and replace battery cables. Make new with 6 volt cable in red and black colors, custom length. Remove rotted battery box, replace with used battery box from GOTC surplus parts inventory. install temporary battery for testing only.  Remove electrical components not required for current use, and are not historically accurate. Make new wiring using cloth over vinyl colored wire for authentic appearance. Includes; headlamp, forward facing red lamps, forward facing spot lamp, siren, klaxon horn, tail lamp, ignition primary circuit.  Replace missing spark plug wire. Connect wiring to special plug adapters for red, spot, and head lamps. replace bulbs. test lamps.

Remove fuel tank and send out for cleaning, resolder of leaking rivets. Touch up paint where soldering burned paint. Reinstall fuel tank with new hardware. Clean sediment bowl on carburetor. Check fuel delivery from tank to carb. Install drain plug in radiator base. Adjust fan belt. Fill radiator with water. cooling system liquid leaking from cracks in water jackets surrounding cylinders 1&2, 3&4. Crank motor over and start, let run for a few moments to determine viability of motor condition.

Front and rear fenders have multiple areas of peeling paint, along with frame skirting. Remove front and rear fenders for paint repair. Sand to bare metal exterior of fenders. Repair torn area where stabilizer rod pierced the inner fender. Apply several coats of sealer primer. Apply deep red paint to match rest of vehicle. Sand underside of all fenders and apply color matched undercoating. Polish exterior of fenders. Remove headlamp housings, remove peeling paint from radiator shell, polish brass radiator shell. Straighten dented klaxon horn trumpet (as best as possible) polish horn trumpet. Klaxon horn not working, remove from firewall and inspect internal components. Requires specialty shop repairs. Send out. Pressure wash undercarriage, drive chains, and engine compartment areas of oil and grease.

Remove 4 wheels/tires and send out for tire replacement, mounting, & balancing. After dismounting the old tires, send out wheels and lock rings for media blasting and powder coating. Install wheels with new tires on truck. Dismount 4 tires from wheels, conventional methods failed as tires had been on wheels for over 50 years and severe rust on hardware. Mount 4 new tires on powder coated wheels.

Reassemble fire truck, includes: install wheels/tires. Install rear fenders, lube rear drive chain. Install cylinders 1-2 & 3-4, fabricate new gaskets for each base. Install intake and exhaust manifolds, vacuum tubes, adjust valves, install water jacket covers and coolant manifold to radiator weld broken flange on exhaust head pipe and install used muffler and tailpipe. Remove distributor and replace ignition point set and primary wiring. Adjust advance rod, remove radiator an send out to specialty shop for leak repair. Change motor oil, when removing radiator, discovered water pump outlet disintegrated from electrolysis. Modified to accept curved radiator hose. Radiator repaired but fragile. Reinstalled. Removed carburetor and dissembled. Clean and reassemble. Replace water pump packing. Sand and paint battery box, install front fenders and toolbox. Install hood. Road test. Bring engine up to operating temperature and change oil for second time. Install new 6 volts but starts on 12 volts. Install circuit breaker and eliminate vintage style fuse block as fuses are no longer available. Fill radiator with 2 gallons of antifreeze. Run new wiring to rear of truck for tail lamp. Replace tail lamp housing and add license plate bracket. Add brake lamp switch to floor plate to operate a brake light that vehicle did not have originally but is required if operated on highway. Free up shift linkage.

165 hours

ALSO SEE:

Museum Collection Hose Tender Company No. 6 Apparatus Page

Museum Collection Hose Tender Co. No. 6 Restoration - Repair Photo Album