HAMBers seem to be the best at digging up and finding lost relics so I'm asking for help. I'm looking for a 1924 American LaFrance fire engine, serial #4786, that my dad rode on as a fireman in the '40s. It was Los Angeles County Fire Department Engine 6 stationed in Lomita, CA. It remained in California until 2015 when it was sold by a gentleman in Placerville, CA. to Hal Fillinger who owns Vintage Vehicle Restorations in Harleysville, PA. I have contacted Mr. Fillinger and he is unable to provide any info on who he sold it to. Said the new owner had him sign a nondisclosure agreement to not give out their info. I'm hoping someone knows someone who may have it sitting in a barn or maybe someone has seen it at a restoration shop. I'm praying that it isn't being turned into a speedster. I believe when it left California it was too complete and in too good of condition to have been parted out. My brother and I are both retired fireman and would very much like to find it and restore it in memory of our dad. The pictures I'm posting show it when it was in service and the condition it was in when it left California. PM me if you can help. Thanks. Gordy
There is a group or even several groups dealing with old fire engines on face book, might try contacting them. I asked that forum about your engine. Bones
Never heard of using a non disclosure agreement when selling a vehicle. He doesn't know the guys name? Wouldn't it be on the NDA? Cool old truck! I hope you find it.
That is correct. Although, I don't understand why someone would want to keep it a secret that they bought an old fire engine.
I really feel if you think hard on it, you could come up with dozens of reasons. Some legit, some sneaky, some for just privacy, etc. Let your mind wander gr***hopper
Well, there is definately something sneaky going on. Hal Fillinger buys, sells and restores old fire engines. We at the Los Angeles County Fire Museum have bought parts from him for our restorations. We told him years ago that if he ever ran across any American LaFrances that were part our department, we would buy them. He bought this one from the gentleman in Placerville without letting us know. We would gladly have paid him a finders fee and gone and picked it up ourselves. When we tracked it to the gentleman in Placerville he told us he had sold it to Hal. We contacted Hal about it and he at first denied that he had it. When we told him we had a copy of the purchase agreement with the vehicle serial number on it he became irate and gave us the NDA excuse.
My guess is it was parted out and will show up on The Great Race as another botched up "Speedster". Sorry for your loss. You may want to post your original request on the AACA Forum. Bob
Give Sanjose fire a call. they have a huge collection of old fire engines and could possibly lead you in the right direction. the have a big fire museum here in Sanjose .
My dept had a 1931 Seagraves, that I worked on , kept it running. Our group of firemen tried to restore it , botched the job, won’t go into detail. It set for a couple of years at station 4. Our city gets a new manager and our Seagraves got sold, over my protest! It went to Alabama, purchased by a lady for her husband’s birthday. She was going to have it professionally restored! This was twenty or so years ago. It was a running, working fire truck, when I joined the dept in 1979, although on reserve status. It was cool to drive around! Always wonder what its status is now! Here is a pic of it, back when it was nearly new! Bones
That's an interesting story about the truck, and its convoluted history. The owners of older retired fire trucks, have some amazing networks of communication, about all things related to such rigs. This is a long shot but worth a try. Here is the information to get in touch with a cool organization here in Seattle, known as "The Last Resort Fire Department" It's owned and run by Galen Thomaier. Regular mailing address 1433 Northwest 51st Street Seattle Washington 98107 Phone 206 783 4474 Email lastresortfd@hotmail.com Through my experience with old fire trucks and old ambulances, I have found that fire truck owners and organizations such as the LRFD, those guys all pretty much, keep in touch with each other, in regards to sales of trucks and stashes of parts, etc. Me, with my 1946, IHC, KB-5, modified fire truck. Good luck on the hunt, for the truck that your dad was connected with! Thanks from Dennis.
Thanks for all the tips. I have already talked with San Jose Fire and posted wanted ads on the SPAAMFA website and Facebook page. It seems the only people who know where it’s at are Hal Fillinger and whoever he sold it to, and they ain’t talkin’.
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