My new find today and possibly another project for me. 59 Ford (oh yes I said Ford the bad word). It would have been bought today if it were a Chevy. Out running errands today by myself and saw it in a field and stopped to ask about it. The guy is willing to sell for $1200. It runs, needs brakes and has about 15,000 original miles on it! It had 3 owners, originally came from Carswell Base and was built in San Antonio. The current owner retired several years back as a fire chief in Hurst for 30 + years. He said I don't have time and just lost interest. Anyway I love unique vehicles and this sure fits that criteria. Seriously thinking about it.
I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I very nearly bought a '66 Chevy firetruck at the charlotte Auto Fair about 12 years ago (they wanted like $3500). 396, 4 speed, great original paint (just a little thin in places from buffing)...and similar mileage. I figured it would cause a divorce at the time. I should have done it...wound up divorced anyway, without a big block fire truck.
Chevygirltexas, you say FORD here all you want, remember, when driving a FORD---- you never need a "good wrench" BDM.
that's cool you should get it, make it into an RV or something.. and hey if your die hard Chevy... stick a Chevy motor or something in it...
friends never let friends drive Fords. Chevygirl Ford isn't like the F bomb, its just considered to be lower class english in some circles. But my question is are you into parades? I mean unless you are a volenteer fireman (I've been one BTW, more than once) what are you really going to use a fire truck for? I'm just askin'.
too bad it's not a TRUCK COMPANY! i guess you could lose the pump and make it one.... i always have to fight the urge to buy an old firetuck. the best two worlds combined......firefightin' and truckin'! gopher it!
We had a 62 Chevy firetruck. We took the water tank out of it & were planning to use it as a super sized pickup. I always wanted to go buy firewood at $50 per pickup load with it. . Kael
I work for a fire dept. here in Oregon. In the last few years, we have "thinned out the fleet." Most of our equipment is extremely low mileage and has spent their entire lives in heated storage. Most engines will have an hour meter as well as an odometer. This equipment will see few miles with alot of run time. The problem is that nobody wants it. We have sold '69 Ford 4wd brush engines with slip-in pumps (less than 40K miles) for $2500. There are websites that are dedicated to old fire equipment. Most of which you can get for a real bargain. As previously stated, if you want big and crazy, look for ladder trucks. The older versions can be seriously cool. Just my .02 -Mitch
Love those old firetrucks.....I too would buy it. Many folks do not understand though that the low miles is only on the running gear. Most of those old gals pumped in 4th or 5th (top) gear, so there are many many more miles (hours) on engine and trans. Also they were started up cold and run hard....(I know, as I drove them as a fireman for many years !!) Let us know what you do......nothing wrong with Fords!! Cheers, Bob
And what does any of this have to do with hotrods or customs??????? Delete this post. Unless you are building a vintage wheelstander out of the this thing or chopping it up into something cool than I say shove off. Just because its an old vehicle with wheels doesn't make it appropriate to post. Come on. Some ouf you people think this is a general everybody likes old cars board. Narrow your focus a little McFly. Firetrucks? Come on. Next thing you know you will be showing pictures of dumptrucks, roadgraders and Greyhound buses. Please. Some of you are just too tolerant. Now----------- Back to are previously programmed hotrod board.Thank you for your patience.
If i am not mistaken, the heavy duty rigs had a pretty stout super duty 292. Including the ram's horn exhaust manifolds.
Curbspeed, Sorry to disappoint you but firetrucks can be very useful resources for hotrods or customs. Besides, just because a thread is started doesn't mean you are required to read it. . As was said previously, many heavy duty trucks still come with stout, RUNNING engines. If you feel like stripping parts off of one, the cabs are the same as a 1/2 ton pickup all the way to the mid 70s. Most firetrucks spent a lot of time in heated storage leaving them less rusty than most 1/2 tons. Some departments & the railroads used 6 passenger cabs that were coachbuilt. Sure would save a lot of work if you're planning a crewcab build. Others were topless or would it still be appropriate to call it a roadster truck cab? Some of them were equipped with dual spotlights, but I suppose you wouldn't want those on a 49-51 Merc since they came off of a firetruck, right? Some of the clearance lights vaguely similar to 39 Ford taillights with just a little more depth. A lot of the headlights are sought after T-3s. Did you know that the factory hood scoop on Pontiac Super Duty race cars in the 60s originally came from Ford heavy duty trucks? I've seen a few water trucks that used Stewart Warner guages on the pump control panels. Without much modifaction, these trucks make excellent car haulers (with plenty of built in storage areas). Since many of them are equipped with a pto, you can put a super strong winch on them instead of the water pumps. . Kael .
As a firefighter who works on and maintains this stuff, I think your nuts. We have sold several that were in excellent shape but taken out of service in favor of newer equipment or donated equipment for $1500 or less. If you want a fire truck, look around. The last one we sold was a 1975 pumper in excellent working order with a recent spit shine and $1500 worth of pump repair for $1000.
Fucking sharp. Firetrucks are like ambulances....cool as shit to look at, but unless you're a parade geek or something, what are you going to do with it? I'd love to have one, but realistically, building and showing tractors was a drain enough.
If you prefer a Chevrolet, then give it a little time and a little looking and find an old Viking truck. Just make sure you french the headlights, chop it, and put 97s on it to make it a hot rod/custom
Here's ya' one, if you would prefer a Chevy engine................... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=462418
I have just bought a 56 F750 fire truck that was sitting next to the crusher.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> The cab is worth the money that I paid for it! Absolutely no rust! The only thing that doesn’t work are the tail lights, not much of a project there.<o></o> <o></o> I am thinking on making a very large pick up out of it. I think that my 55 F100 would fit into it nicely with a few handy aluminum ramps
Here's a couple of pics from a sweet lady friend of mine that she took at a museum.... Sorry for the fuzzy images..
Cool truck, but after I retired with 31+ years of service in the fire dept. I don't think I want one. Still cool tho....go for it.