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Bleg: So, I have a firetruck

Through some bizarre series of circumstances, I have a 1977 Ford 750 firetruck that doesn’t have lights or a hose. It’s modified so that it can saturate the ground for farming or grade work. I don’t really need it and would like to sell it. Options include craigslist, ebay or junkyard for scrap metal. What exactly do I have and what should I do with it?

31 Responses to “Bleg: So, I have a firetruck”

  1. Barron Barnett Says:

    Talk to Joe… A fire truck for Boomershoot could be a handy thing as long as it would be possible to get hose for it.

  2. Fiftycal Says:

    Have a parade. Kids love parades. And you can get a bunch of sexy cheerleaders or hOOters girls to ride on it.

  3. SayUncle Says:

    Joe can have it for what I have in it but he has to come get it.

  4. mikee Says:

    Get lots of pictures of your child on it, pronto.

  5. mita Says:

    Raffle it off for Tam!

  6. HL Says:

    I would hang on to that until after Dec 21st. After that, it would be safe to let it go. Something like that could come in handy for the Mayan Apocolypse.

  7. ZerCool Says:

    Oddly enough, this is one of those areas I have some knowledge in. I’m curious what kind of “modifications” have been made to it, but here’s the long and short:

    It ain’t worth much.

    I’ve been peripherally involved or aware of several used-truck sales in the last few years. The first was a functional/current test 1973 Ward-LaFrance, with most of its equipment. It went to a (poor) neighboring department for about $3500.

    Another truck (roughly the same vintage as yours) got sold for $1 to a department that arranged shipment to the Dominican Republic, to replace a truck that had been destroyed in one of the hurricanes. It was an upgrade for them…

    The remainder have been sold to local golf courses, who use them to run the irrigation system and transfer water between ponds.

    In other words: Craigslist it for a couple weeks, expect lots of tire-kickers, and then scrap it.

  8. Ry Jones Says:

    Hell, if it could tow my Toyota back, I’d drive out and pick it up.

    Not sure if the fire truck is gtg for a 3000 mile pull, though. Probably geared nice and low. Fuck I did that drag from San Jose to Seattle in a charger 440 RT with three gears stacked to get you to 45, 4th took you up to 60ish. Fucking locker was a bitch on the ice-covered Sisksious, too.

  9. SayUncle Says:

    Zer, $3,500? Sold 🙂

    Ry, Yeah, it would suck to drive long haul but it runs very well, actually.

  10. Jay G. Says:

    Heh. “Firetruck” is the replacement for the F-bomb amongst the elementary school set ’round here…

  11. MSgt B Says:

    What you have there is an awesome hobby vehicle that will do nothing but cost you money if you decide to fix it up.

    That being said, there are a lot of collectors out there that fix them up just to do parades and such.

    Craigslist it and get some cash.

  12. Ruth Says:

    Slightly older/similer models in supposedly good condition are selling on ebay for anywhere from $1200 to $6000. Considering the modifications to yours I’d be surprised if you could get more than a grand and likely less. Unless you find a collector who WANTS ONE…..

  13. Les Jones Says:

    This thread is worthless without pics.

  14. Stretch Says:

    Know the original FD that ran it?
    Would they like to restore it?
    If so donate it to them and take the tax write off.

  15. Sid Says:

    Is called a water distributor. There are probably a few entities that would buy it. Grade work certainly. Open pit mining operations need them to keep dust abated. Road construction companies need them.

    If it is a quick sale you are looking for, scrap it. If you have a long sales windonw, autotrader-like websites would be a better choice.

  16. USCitizen Says:

    Did you buy it from Randy M.?

  17. Jerry Says:

    You said it runs, and is drive able, right?

  18. SayUncle Says:

    Oh it’s driveable. Definitely.

  19. BGMiller Says:

    No hose.
    No light(s).

    Siren?
    Like say…..
    A Federal Q series electro-mechanical?

    If so how much for just the noise maker?

    BGM

  20. Denver John Says:

    A strange quirk of Colorado law is that emergency vehicles are not taxed – even if they are owned privately. Firetrucks, ambulances, can be driven on public roads without paying an ownership tax or registration – even for private purposes – daily commute, whatever.

    There are some collectors who love to fix things up and drive them down main street in parades.

    Given the gas mileage, it isn’t likely that they would be driven much unless there were a real emergency, so not taxing them is a pretty cheap way to have a bunch of extra equipment around for civil defense.

    You might want to look in to your state to see if they have a similar policy.

  21. Phelps Says:

    Now, if only you could come up with a gross of promotional T-shirts and a stage. Preferably at a spring break hotspot.

  22. comatus Says:

    Denver, I did not know that [/Johnny]. I thought all those Mountain Rescue Jeeps I saw above the Springs were just a civic-dutier-than-thou thing, like Ohio volunteer firemen. Those guys are sure fun to hang out with.

  23. Lissa Says:

    http://www.fentonfire.com/
    Fenton Fire Equipment sells used fire equipment, used fire trucks as well as used jaws of life, to fire departments across North America and beyond.

  24. Mike Says:

    Paint it black, install a forward rail, and you’ll have a Tactical Fire Truck.

  25. Rivrdog Says:

    Former USAF Base Special Equipment Mechanic here. No matter how you get rid of the water distributor nee fire wagon, prospective owners will need to know if:

    The tank will hold it’s water, how much water, how leaky is it with the PTO pump engaged?

    Does all the remotely-operated valving work?

    Will the pump prime itself and draft to at least a 3-foot head so as to be able to suck up a tank of water from a pond/river?

    What manifold pressure will the pump deliver? Not much is needed to lay dust at a site, but firefighting work needs a minimum of 95#, preferably 120#.

    Rebuilding the pump, PTO and valving could run into $everal Large, and if you need a new manifold set, double that (a cracked manifold usually scraps an old firewagon if it cant be heliarc welded). I had a buddy who acquired a big Kenworth water distributor, and he rented it out each summer for wildland firefighting. Normal annual maintenance on it ran $3K-$5K, scheduled items like pump overhaul, main drive clutch, tires, etc were usually $2K per item. His rental fees were steep, his rig was in demand, but it was a rare season when he turned a profit with it.

    Not cheap to keep. No sir.

  26. Kristophr Says:

    Might be able to sell it to a placer mine operator as well.

    Maybe an add in one of the prospector magazines?

  27. Michael Hawkins Says:

    Turn it into a zombie apocalypse movie prop. Window grills, brush bar, …

    Alternatively, make a roadtrip, take pictures, upload to imgur, call it “Robert the red firetrucks vacation, link on reddit, reap huge amounts of karma, sell it for twice what it’s worth as a fire truck/karma machine combo.

    Both option can be combined …

  28. MrSatyre Says:

    Fill it full of gas, cover it with dynamite, then shoot it.

  29. Bryan S. Says:

    How much tannerite can it hold?

  30. Madman Says:

    Now all you need is a couple of hookers.

    I guess you really can say you are a fire truck (or at least have one) at the next reunion!

  31. Justin Buist Says:

    If it can be used to pump water from a tank and pump it into another one I might have a use for it, depending on the capacity. I’d be looking for 10,00 gallons I think.

    If it’s anywhere near that email me with an asking price. Seriously, we might want something like that.

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