Featured Rig
September-October 2003
1960 Crown Firecoach
Pumper
owned by CFE member Robert
Guildig, Seattle, WA
Article by Mike
Britt
This pumper was the
third Crown Firecoach out of a total of 51 units which were built by
Crown for fire agencies in the state of Washington between 1959 and
1982. For 40 years it served a total of three departments in two
different counties before being retired from public service in 2000. The
third owner, Kachess Ridge FD surplused the Crown after the clutch and
transfer case were damaged. Current owner Bob Guildig spent over $2000
to have the transfer case and clutch repaired to put the rig back in
working order, extending the rig's life and making it the showpiece it
is today.
This rig is a good
example of why all owners of Crown pumpers should inspect the gear oil
in the transfer case on a regular basis (for example with the preventive
maintenance that should be done annually) and visually inspect the
bottom of the transfer case after each time the pump is run for any sign
of overflowing gear oil.
As many owners of
older Crowns are aware, there is a weakness in the design of the cooling
system used in the transfer cases of older pumpers. To keep the transfer
case (sometimes known as the pump transmission) from overheating, the
system takes water from the pressure side of the pump and runs it
through a copper tube into the transfer case, then out the other end and
back into the pump. The flaw in this design is that when you put steel
and copper together in a liquid it will eventually cause a chemical
reaction that eats a hole in the copper. When this happens, water leaks
from the copper tube into the transfer case (the lowest point in the
system), and water being heavier than oil settles to the bottom and
pushes the oil to the top. This not only leaves the gears without
lubrication, but will cause them to rust. Enough water will actually
push the gear oil out through the top vent hole of the case. If the
problem goes undetected, the gears will seize and you'll have a lot of
broken teeth.
In the case of F1173,
the FD was aware the transfer case needed to be repaired, and the rig
was parked outside of the fire station "out of service." The cold
Washington winter compounded the problem because the water that had
leaked into the transfer case froze and cracked the housing. When the
fire personnel tried to move the rig, they made things even worse and
damaged the clutch (trying to move the seized gears).
CFE members Mike
Britt, Ron Dierkens, Bob Guildig and Mike McDonald have all dealt with
the transfer case problem on their old Crowns. Talk to any of us and
we'll tell you about our experiences and what it took to fix! The worst
case scenario is the removal of the a transfer case and installation of
a longer, single driveline - meaning your rig can no longer pump.
Luckily, F1173 was spared this fate.
(Click on photos to
see bigger images)
Above, Crown F1173, in the 1970s in service as Engine 11 with
theYakima County
Fire Protection District No.1, Cowiche Fire
Department. Note the Federal Rotoray
"gumball" light
and the hand painted apples on the front and sides of the cab.
Current
owner Bob Guildig says the leaves on the apples are in multiple
shades of green.
Manufacturer: Crown
Coach, Los Angeles, CA
Model:
Firecoach pumper (CP-100-81)
Year:
1960
Serial
No.: F1173
Powerplant: 817 c.i. Waukesha
gasoline
Transmission: Spicer 5-speed manual
Pump:
Waterous centrifugal, rated at 1000 gpm
Tank
Capacity: 750 gallons
Original Owner: Cowiche FD, Yakima County FPD#1
(WA)
Second
Owner: Easton Vol. FD, Kittitas County FPD#3 (WA)
Third
Owner: Kachess Ridge FD, Kittitas County FPD # 9 (WA)
Fourth
Owner (First Private Owner): Joe D. Grennan, Seattle, WA
(Purchased
November, 2000)
Fifth
and Present Owner: Robert Guildig, Seattle, WA.
(Purchased June,
2002)
Above left, Crown
F1173, as it appears today, including Federal Twinsonic lightbar.
Above
right, F1173 in the Edmonds, WA, 4th of July Parade in 2003. The signs are for CFE
member
Ted Hikel's father who was running for re-election to the
Lynnwood, WA, City Council.
Above, rear view of F1173. On the tailboard at left is
a Sierra large diameter Hose Clamp, and
at right is Humat hydrant
valve. The hose compliment is as follows:
Far left section: 100 feet of
preconnected 2-1/2" hose with a straight bore nozzle.
Left center hose bed: 650
feet of 2-1/2" hose, reverse lay, with a fog nozzle.
Right center hose bed: 500
feet of 3-1/2" hose, connected to the Humat valve.
Far right section:
150 feet of preconnected 1-3/4"hose with a fog
nozzle.
Above left, F1173
at the United Fire Equipment, Emergency One dealer. Bob says 'They were
able to get me
two brand new door handles." Above left: F1173 at
Bob's favorite watering hole "Su Casa's Mexican Grill"
in Issaquah,
WA. Bob sores the rig in Issaquah, about 15 miles from his home in
Seattle.
Above left, in
Issaquah, WA where F1173 is stored, shown next to a 1948 Lincoln
Continental owned by a
friend of Bob Guildig. Above right, Bob
writes: "August 3, 2003, I took the Crown to church for pot-luck
at
Arbor Heights Community Church in West Seattle. 'We' get
around!"
F1173 with
"friends:"Above left, with F1027, ex-Vernon, CA E33, now owned by Bob
Carson of Bothell, WA.
Above right, with1971 Kenworth-Heiser,1500
gpm/400 gal tank, 6V71 Detroit Diesel, ex-Seattle FD E26,
now owned
by CFE member Ted Hikel III, of Lynnwood,
WA.
