I was surfin' around lookin' for some cool C-Cab ideas and found this old truck site... http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/hankindex.htm Looking at these old fire trucks, they look more like customs. Then again, they always were "custom"... For a truck that's meant to just do a job, they sure took the time to make 'em pretty. Just thought these were cool... JOE
I went over to the local firehouse to get my '57 Schwinn Corvette license renewed and they had a new pumper and I said "Cool, now watch out for idiots making left turns in front of you with this one!" SO the guy proceeded to let me sit in it and showed me in every locker on it at all the cool one-off brackets and hangers the guys in the house had milled welded and fabbed up and added to the truck to hang their gear on. I let him ride the old bike around the house a couple laps too...
Yeah there are alot of cool parts on those old fire trucks, I pulled a finned coil off one a while back along with a few other trinkets.
Went to a SPAAMFA meet (society for the preservation and appreciation of Motor Fire Apparatus) http://www.spaamfaa.org/ Some cool stuff. The swap meet area was interesting. Engines had lots of redundant systems, like dual ignition systems including second set of spark plugs, can't have them engines running pumps stalling out during a fire. Most were custom made of customized from several prototypes. This beauty was made in Buffalo NY.
i believe thats where the electroline headlites $$$were found first on these trucks???? paperdog ps i have a 47 seagrave with just a V12 dual dist.twin carb engine and rolling frame no body at all.. rumor has it VON DUTCH FLAMED ONE ....
I heard the Von Dutch story also , years back from an old car mag article about his life . I think the writer left everyone hanging in suspense over the ending and never did confirm or deny the tale !---Evidently , Dutch had taken a job with a large Az. municipality as a maintenance auto/truck/equipment painter which included the city fire departments engines . The story had a picture of Dutch prepping a late model pumper for paint , the author asked Dutch if he had a secret desire to flame it and ended the story with " a strange ,dreamy look came over Mr. Howards's face! " -- I figure one was to draw their own conclusion but one thing for sure , Dutch wasn't known for being at that city job for long !!
My father was an Omaha firefighter,he was a driver for many years.I learned the streets when I was young buy tagging along with Dad on his day off as he memmorized the addresses of all the fire hydrants in South Omaha.I have fond memories of him telling how the new exhaust on engine 18 would rack off.He loved driving the "rigs"I miss him very much.
The Jalopy Journal
