It takes a certain vision to create a master piece but, sometimes it's natural. Take a 1944 Mac Fire Truck for example. What ingredients do you need to make this vintage fire truck and make it look cool? All you need is the owner, Roger Brown, and custom designer, Tom Stark from Precision Designs. Roger and Tom have been friends for quite a sometime. They worked together on a Safety Safari team for NHRA. Somewhere down the line Roger got a hold of old fire truck and wanted to do something special with it. He contacted his buddy Tom and said, "Hi Tom, What do you think about building a Hot Rod fire truck?" Naturally, after viewing pictures the vehicle, Tom agreed to tackle the massive project.
The "Black Dragon", as it is called, has under gone major suspension work, custom panel building, and hours of paint work. To support the heavy frame and body, the suspension was upgraded with some beefy support bars and heavy duty air bags. Once that was accomplished, an SRT10 motor and brakes were added. Next, came the daunting task of setting up the steering column and foot controls. Tom mentioned that the goal was to eliminate the, "sitting on top like a bus," feeling and get the driver down in the vehicle. The controls were fit specifically for the driver. Once everything was mocked up Tom says, "The 1944 Mack was sent off to Nice Rides Restorations for the 'Dripping Black' single stage" paint. It took some serious skill to lay down this flawless single stage paint; not to mention, the gold leaf and chrome work.
This custom Mack fire truck was featured and SEMA 2011 and will be displayed in plenty of parades and car shows alike around the nation. Tom mentioned, "The fire truck will be the featured vehicle at the upcoming Super Nationals in Albuquerque, NM February 3rd through February 5th. Then the fire truck is heading to Kansas City for the World of Wheels February 10, 11 & 12th." So keep your eye out for this awesome ride.
SEMA 2011 displayed this SRT10 Viper motor on a 1944 Mac Fire Truck
Tom believes, "Listening to the wants and needs of our customers and building the projects to their expectations," is what makes his company special.
Other major people that deserve recognition for this build are Dare Wolleson and Matt Wagner.
One of the unique components we would like to point out is the universal K&N high flow air filter. Tom claimed, "We have used K&N filters for our daily drivers and race cars for years, so choosing K&N seemed the natural choice." K&N makes over 1200 universal air filters for automotive and powersports applications. These air filters come in handy when space is limited.
