The making of Jack the Firetruck

Back in late January, we picked up an old 1978 Ford F100 truck. Not in the best condition, but the engine ran. The idea is that we somehow fit a 1000L IBC and petrol water pump to him and make it into a farm firetruck.

A couple of weeks after Jack arrived on the farm, he got to meet Betty, our reliable Massey. We named them both after my wife's grandparents as a memory of them.

Straight away, we had issues starting up Jack as his starter motor wouldn't spin. We decided to give him a tow to see if we could kick it over that way. After a few runs up and down the driveway, he still wouldn't kick, so I put him away for the day.

A few weeks later, and with fresh thinking, I checked the fuel level in the tank and found it was pretty close to dry :P I filled him up, and again with a tow, he came to life. Hooray!!

I took him for a quick spin, and apart from all the noise from the loose windows; he drove very nicely. I pulled up at the shed and let him idle for a bit. A few mins later, the radiator hose blew off, spraying water everywhere. I had forgotten that the two fans that are attached to the radiator weren't wired up

As we had other jobs to do, I closed him up to get back to another day.

I've since got a new starter motor and hoses ready to fit in a couple of weeks.

My next task, I think, is to find a tray to fit onto the back of him so we can put the water tank and pump onto it.

We'll keep you posted.