O/T Old firetruck found in scrapyard

what kind of motor is in the fire truck. A guy I work with is thinkin of turning one into a speedster and he said some of them have V12'S!

 

That would be a HUGE waste! Would be like getting a totally gennie '32 Roadster and tossing all the tin except the grille and hood (and pre WW1 fire trucks are WAYYYYY rarer than ANY '32 Ford.). It's an amazing feat that one of these firetrucks survived the many decades virtually unchanged from original. Most like my dad's were kept in service and modified MULTIPLE times to keep up with the times- this one has not. It looks to be identical to the way it rolled out of the factory between 1917 & 1919- it hasn't even be vandalized or picked over for the brass pieces on it. Crazy!

 

Early ones like this only came with T-Head 4 or 6-cylinder engines. This one is a type 75 pumper with a 6 cylinder- the most common model purchased by fire departments at the time. But EVERY rig was completely custom as ordered by the chief of the department. Everyone was different with the placement of the bell, hose reel, ladders, sirens, spotlights, axes and options like a 60 gallon chemical tank that was essentially a giant fire extinguisher- this is one of the rarest pieces to find as nearly all were scrapped after they became obsolete in the 1930's and donated to the WWII scrap drives that loved the 600-800 pound bronze tanks.

 

Reminds me of the firetruck at disneyland that hauls people from end to end of the downtown area.
A buddy of mine is building a speedster out of an old buick firetruck....I think they can be cool.

 

The jeep may be WWII- need to see the headlights.

They were made by both Ford and Willys- the Fords have better (read thicker) sheet metal. There is a large market for militay jeeps.

 

What is a Hearsts?

 

Hawaiian for "hearse".

 

I've got a 1916 ALF, very similar to the one pictured. Those engines are HUGE, 6 cylinder T-head, about 605 cubic inches. Mine has triple ignition (distributor and double magneto). They had 105 horsepower in 1916!

 

Sorry......about the horrible spelling!

 

Howza Bruthas-
One of the coolest things I see driving by the firestation from Lakewood, Colorado to here in St Helens, Oregon- is the respect these guys/gals give their machinery.

They love these things.

It amazes me that a thing of beauty as this ended up in a scrap yard leaves me speechless.

This piece of iron needs to be put back onto the road!

 

Thanks for all the responses... I found out the story behind it, but I'm kind of in a rush right now. I'll post and update the original post later.

 

Don't leave us hangin here....lol

 

The fire Truck is very cool... As is the Lil Jeep....

But my question is ....

You are here on the H.A.M.B. so you must be a car guy.....

And you work at a scrap yard.....

But you Dont go out to see whats in the yard ?

The FireTruck has been there 3 years and you have never seen it?

Just imagine the Shit that has gone thru you have MISSED !

 

cool find! where you at in NOLA?

 

My dad has a couple with double ignition- and the only one they made with FOUR ignitions- 24 plugs, 2 distributors and 2 mags on a 6 cylinder engine! That truck was special ordered by the owner of Wrigley gum to protect his new house on Catalina Island after losing a mansion the year before on the island. Same truck has a lot of other one-offs like a 60 gallon fuel tank and triple capacity cooling system- Mr. Wrigley wanted NO EXCUSES! They also have a stock 4-inch exhaust stright pipe with no muffler- they sound WICKED!
I thought they were big hot rods when I was a little kid- and still do.

 

It's like anything else, only worth what someone's willing to pay. If the scrap guy will give me $500 and everyone else offers $100, to scrap it goes.

At least it hasn't been scrapped yet, but I don't see anyone saying they have a cool $1000 or $2000 to wave at them for it.


Motor in the background looks like it might be a diesel for a railroad locomotive. The same engines are used to power crushers (as well as tugs, other boats and all sorts of industrial machinery).

 

That's because other than Larry the rest of us do it in a PM Still hoping to hear something. Thanks Jim

 

Did anyone notice the Jeep has wire wheels on it? You guys should have seen that

 

they look like 80's aluminum wheels to me.

 

Kinda like those Pontiac honeycombs

 

Yes. I did a little research on them a couple of years ago when I ran across a 51 Seagrave that was in a scrap yard. It had a V12 with dual distributors, dual carbs, dual plugs, everything. Seagrave bought the tooling from Pierce-Arrow who originally made these V12's when they went under in the late 1930's. They are a massive heavy motor from what I understand.

 

Looks like A General Electric,a smaller 6 cylinder version I think.It could also be a Paxman(UK) with that style of cylinder set up. What you find in Boats,small locomotives,generating plants etc .

 

I know this particular vehicle. I last saw this old fire truck in the 1980's while I was in school in New Orleans. I recall it as a mid teens 4 cylinder American LaFrance. I specifically recall the older gentleman at the scrap yard who was working on firearms in the main office. I think I still have photos of it from 20+ years ago. Also, the building it was in then was much smaller and had a corrugated roof.

 

Had loads of fun with mine for ten years...
They're worth saving.

 

I get to work on a 26 Lafrance on shift.....here's a couple of shots...



Please do NOT scrap that truck!

 

This sounds accurate. There is an old firearm/blacksmith shop next to where the truck is. The owners sold the company with the understanding that nothing would happen to the small building with the firearms OR the firetruck. So that is the status. The original owners of the yard still own the vehicle. So as far as I know it will sit until they decide what to do with it.

 

show them pics of what they look like restored and it might "light the fire under their ass"

 

buy it and rod it make it the fire truck from hell flaming exhaust and all that would be sweet

 

I heard about when it was too late, but 3 of them went to scrap this last summer when metal prices were so high. There were 2 scrap metal guys that hauled them off for the city, drug them across the scale, and then turned around and bought them back from the scrap yard. The city got the money for the standard steel price, and they took them home and stripped the brass pumps out and made 3500 off them. Ripped off the city and destroyed neat old iron. They may lurk here, so I won't mention cities, but it was around Ft. Worth, Texas.

Bob