Hey hambers I was checking out this urban explorers site about detroit and this guy has a picture of a thirties or forties firetruck that is abandoned in a building in eastern market, i know that everybody on here isn't all about firetrucks but i though maybe somebody would be interested in saving it I just feel bad about leaving it there to get vandalized. Beyond that I saw a picture of a super nice mid forties plymouth sedan abondoned at the packard plant, So I began riding my pink scooter which i have previously told the board about and some dude tried to steal it when my friend was riding, it was pretty scary. Once at the plant we couldn't find the car but found some sixties boats which I pulled some gauges from. Well if the picture dosn't work of the fire truck heres the address http://forgottenmichigan.com/gallery/d/14885-1/IMG_6642.JPG
Ultimate tow rig for a HA/GR, or small-ish front engine dragster? Or fabricate a set of rear doors or even close it off and convert it to some sort of super Suburban or RV. damn that'd be cool. -Brad
ya its where the packards where made it is an amazing place its huge it must be over a million square feet of buildings, its where tons of stolen cars get dumped i'm pretty sure that there was a chop shop going set up in one part of the building, just search for the packard plant detroit and you will find lots about it, it is truely amazing.
yes they are all abandoned it is very sad but a good half of the downtown detroit area is probably abandoned some is getting restored but a lot gets burned down or wrecked
Ford actually owns the packard proving grounds and a group of Packard owners are working with ford to restore a part of it with the main buildings on it. I checked out that site, pretty sad what has happened here in the ol motor city...checking out those buildings, man, this place used to be it, My grandma used to tell me stories of going downtown as a little girl to go to Hudsons, what was it, 20 stories all department store! So sad what has happened and where it's going...cool pictures though, and in one was a nice looking blue t-bird, I'd sure like to know where that is!
they were trashed and abandoned there were other ones there that had gauges but somebody broke them out already in another situation i would agree it was I take them or they get busted
No kidding! And walking around, there's such potential. Detroit could be every bit as cool as Chicago. I'd like to light the person on fire who trashed the penthouse in the David Broderick Tower - did you see those pics? Argh. -Dave Historic Preservationist, Downtown Enthusiast, Hot Rodder
Wow great site. So much great architecture and history just disolving under the cities nose. Not to start any debates, but makes ya proud of the american machine over the last 50-70 years, eh? The firetruck is a Seagraves. Very cool. Thanks for posting it. Olson
i don't know if I made it clear that the truck would most likely be free to a good home if you contacted the owner
And whats this car in the Continental buildings http://forgottenmichigan.com/gallery/d/14525-1/IMG_0079.JPG
Detroit is an unusual place. Detroit has the largest collection of pre-depression skys****ers of anywhere in the world - period. The majority of them are abandoned. There was a point in my life when I worked with DTE on the district steam loop - as a result, I got into a lot of places that most folks don't go - including places urban explorers can't get into. Many of those old buildings are full of stuff - literally - which now is at least 50 years old (or older). Many of the old skys****ers are completely beyond saving - their interiors have been gutted, and the ba*****ts (and sub ba*****ts) have been filled with water for 30+ years. The guts of those old buildings are down in the bowels - you can imagine what 30+ years of sewage has done to the bones of the building! Anyway - cars... I've looked at a number of old cars down in the city, most recently a '39 Studebaker President with 79K on the clock last driven in '62. There are people who own these things - they're not just abandoned. I hunted down the Stude owner and offered him $2000, simply because the car was rock solid and a fairly easy job to get back on the street. He wanted $5000. Damned thing was in the garage of an abandoned house he owned - windows busted out and only a short period of time B4 the garage fell in on the car. the other car I found was a '49 ford with a 327/4 speed in it - was set up as a g***er. The car had a frest 327/360 HP (is that right?) sitting next to the car - the car had been in the garage so long the floor had sunk 6" relative to the slab outside. We were going to have to cut the garage doors to get it out. I chased down the owner of the property and got them to agree to $650 for the car and parts (body was really ratty, FWIW) only to have them change their mind the day B4 pickup. that F-truck has been picked over pretty hard. If you look at it closely, you'll notice all the nickel-plated br*** fittings are gone. It's just the shell of a truck.
I got lost in Detroit in 1985. Fortunately it was January and about 10 below zero so the foot traffic was minimal. I was both terrified and fascinated. Beautiful old mansions abandoned, blocks and blocks of formerly glorious neighborhoods decaying before your very eyes, a huge urban ghost-town. So very sad...
Cant believe the tail lights are still in it and on it? Cool ****. If I had room id go get it and make a hauler out of it. Detroit is a cool place and ive never had a problem there. My dad grew up there. Ive been kinda lost or misplaced there too and its no biggie just keep driving. Ive been misplaced on my motorcycle in chicago too. Oh well... Dave
That is an amazing site...what a cool yet depressing place. I would love to check out some of those places... I helped map alot of the steam tunnels under my college campus, very fun. Even found an old Civil Defense bunker with supplies in it...mainly dried up drums of water and sanitary napkins! bryan
I want it! Some GMB go get it for me and deliver it down here for free of course That's pretty rare as far as fire trucks go. I think the canopy was a experimental thing they tried to keep the hose from freezing in the beds. FDNY had some Macks that had a canvas canopy like a covered wagon. Detroit also tried a real long nosed engine back in the late 30's or 40's, it had a 12 cylinder in it I think, they phased them out because the drivers couldn't see around corners at intersections and had to nose out into traffic basically blind - a scary maneuver even back then! Old fire trucks are cool.
My grandparents told me the same stories... also a rather disturbing story about a priest in a catholic church that was downtown... seems he would had a stash of Irish whiskey, and if you showed up at 2 or 3 in the AM, you catch him awake and he would invite you in to drink with him.
Here's my favorite Detroit Wasteland site: http://detroityes.com/home.htm Unreal. I've been checking this out for years.
This is my favorite pic from that first posted site. Would make a pretty cool avatar for someone if anyone wants to use it. These guys are pretty good photographers.
This is the continental motors plant. does this thing have a two carb manifold? Could be a shoebox clip too?
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