1969 GMC 8500 fire truck

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

I decided to start a thread about my '69 GMC fire truck, I've had it for a few years now. The truck was built by National Foam Systems out of West Chester, PA. They are still in business and have been building trucks for refineries and chemical plants for years. It was originally owned by the DuPont chemical company and was stationed at the La Porte, TX plant. It stayed in the garage at the plant and wasn't licensed for highway use back then. It was originally set up as a foam pumper, it hauled 1200 gallons of foam concentrate and 200 gallons of foam catalyst. This truck had to pump from a fire hydrant as it had no water tank. In addition to the fire pump mounted behind the transmission, it has one PTO driven pump for each foam tank. The truck chassis and drive train is all original. The model number is HM8700A, and the partial VIN is HM80AD. It has the original 478 Magnum V6 gas engine that runs like new, burns just a little oil due to the old valve seals. The transmission is a non-overdrive Spicer 5752C and has a 18.121 Eaton 7.17 ratio rear axle. GVW is 31,000lbs. It has a 9K front axle, with a 22K rear capacity. The original shipping ticket from Watkins GMC out of Chester, PA shows the truck weighed 6,568lbs as a cab and chassis. Once the plant got rid of the truck(sometime in the late 1980's I think, a report that came with the truck showed the last inspection was in 1987 and a foam pump was shown to have issues), it was donated to the state and ended up at the nearby fire department. I did a bunch of welding and mechanic work for them, and took this truck in trade. A binder full of original documents and manuals from the plant came with it. At the time I acquired the truck, it had been stripped to a cab and chassis with the intention of installing a flatbed and a 2,000 gallon water tank and doing away with all the foam equipment. The plumbing for the foam system is gone, but the pumps are still on the truck. The idea was scrapped as the truck was old and wasn't geared for highway use, top speed is about 55MPH and that V6 is running about 3,200 RPMs. Luckily the 1200 gallon 304 stainless steel tank was still in the back of the station, that came with the truck as well as some other original equipment. The smaller foam tank and many panels from the body and rear fenders were scrapped years ago when the body was removed. Once I got it home and found time to work on it, I re-installed the tank and plumbed it directly to the fire pump so it now works like a normal pumper truck. I don't have much time and definitely not the money to invest in it right now, but at least it's not going to the scrapper! I start it at least every two weeks, drive it around and run the water pump to keep everything operable. The Stromberg WWC carburetor was replaced with a governed two barrel Holley at some point, not sure why as the truck hasn't seen much use and has roughly 14k miles and 800 hours on the engine. A grease seal recently went out on the fire pump gearbox(in between the truck transmission and rear axle), so that'll be the first thing I fix when I get time. Here's a recent picture of it, and a picture of an identical truck(and what it used to look like when it was new).

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Interesting history.

Does it also have Air Brakes?

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

Sure does, has standard Stopmaster wedge brakes. Not sure why they didn't get the optional fail-safe type. They work pretty good since the truck doesn't have many miles on it, and the linings have plenty of meat on them as does the parking brake. When I got the truck the parking brake pivot on the transmission was rusted tight. After some PB Blaster, removing the parts and cleaning them I got it working. I looked in the binder again and found some more cool documents. National Foam sent them a list showing the options of a basic 8500 and DuPont had several things upgraded:

Power steering $231
Air brakes $440
Heater and defroster $66
85 amp hr. battery $15
62 amp alternator $66
Front tow eyes $28
Mud and snow tires, rear $154
Two underhood work lights (installed by National Foam) $18
Spare tire and wheel(long gone, no telling where it went) $154
Cab mounted spot lights (installed by National Foam) $106
Rear tow loops (installed by National Foam) $50

The truck cab and chassis cost $8,198.17 delivered to National Foam, I couldn't find the total price for the truck when it was finished.

[67chevy_hotrod]

That's a j series then or something right?

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

It's actually an H series truck. E and H series have a single rear axle, and J's have a tandem rear axle.