| In
the summer of 2005, I did some horse trading
and ended up with a 1966 Mack C model pumper,
a rig that spent its life at the
Weyerhauser paper plant in Longview,
Washington. While owning a C model Mack had
always been one of my dreams, this
particular truck proved to be a bit more of
a project than what I had expected, as this
truck was rotten from all the salt used at
the paper mill. From several feet away, this
truck was a very nice looking vehicle, but
when you got up close, looked in the
compartments or in the wheel wells, you saw
all the body rot; it became obvious this
truck was too far gone for a restoration.
After
consulting with several people regarding
what to do with the surface rust, and
knowing if I was to remove it by hand I
would have my head in the compartments for
months on end, the decision was made to find
a sandblaster to do the work. I contacted
Kasper Sandblasting, an outfit on the
Vancouver waterfront that does industrial
blasting, and started discussing having them
do the work. One evening I had a brainstorm,
knowing the owner was interested in creative
ways to market his business, so I proposed
that he take the Mack in on trade for the
sandblasting work; Mr. Kasper liked the idea
and we signed an agreement to trade my Mack
for his sandblasting services.
These
pictures show the sunny winter day we
transported Fire 32 down to the Kasper
facility as well as some pictures taken
inside the shop after it was blasted and
primer was applied.
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