1953 Chevrolet Fire Truck

That's a classic rig. Very nice.
Someone should buy it, refit it to be tourist wagon and sell it to some resort hotel in Havana ; )

If I could be HolyCowesque here, your post about KS auctions reminds of a friend that I played ball with in high school in NJ in the 60s. He got a full ride to a decent college where he broke the strike out record in NCAA Div2. Tall and lanky lefty with fast ball in the upper 90s and a decent curve. After graduation, He was drafted by the Pirates but was eventually traded to the Cubs and assigned to the Cubs AAA team, Wichita Aeros in the 70s.
Willie married his HS sweetheart. Her name was T and she was a good friend of mine too. While Willie was playing ball and traveling around the country, T would attend auctions and estate sales all around Ks countryside. She would buy lots of antique pieces. Lots of furniture but anything else that caught her eye. She would put it all in storage in Wichita. At the end of the season, they would rent some u hauls, load all the antique furniture and drive it back to Jersey for resale. He once told me that she was making more money than him with his Cub contract. They did this for 3 years or so. There's a lot of KS antiques in NJ.
He did finally have the proverbial
"Cup of coffee" in the Majors. He started a few games and relieved in a few but got rocked badly He never could perfect a change up. Then he hung it up after 7 years.

Thirty years ago I was in Houston quite a bit. There was a great restaurant named The Black-Eyed Pea. As I recall, the menu revolved around massive servings of good old fashioned home cooking. Every table in the place had once been the main dining table in someone's home for decades. It was a trip back in time. I couldn't help but wonder how much the price went up between the original purchase from wherever each table had once been until it reached the owner of the restaurant.

When I win the lottery and survey just to keep me out of trouble around the house o.O this is what I'd be looking for in a survey rig

someone's already outbid me...:-(

paden cash, post: 375776, member: 20 wrote: someone's already outbid me...:-(

You should reconsider. I think the old dog comes with the rig.

Robert Hill, post: 375780, member: 378 wrote: You should reconsider. I think the old dog comes with the rig.

I maxed out the MasterCard...;-)

There's a ringer that wants it bad.

paden cash, post: 375785, member: 20 wrote: I maxed out the MasterCard...;-)

There's a ringer that wants it bad.

Always is
New Orleans city auctions for vehicles were like that.
Some nice cars/trucks would be selectively vandalized or screwed by insiders to discouage outside bidders,
Then a 3rd party bidder in cahoots with the insiders would pick it up cheap.

I'm thinking Cows fire truck would sell at least in the $2-3k range here.
Somebody who really had to have it would pay more.

Robert Hill, post: 375792, member: 378 wrote: Always is
New Orleans city auctions for vehicles were like that.
Some nice cars/trucks would be selectively vandalized or screwed by insiders to discouage outside bidders,
Then a 3rd party bidder in cahoots with the insiders would pick it up cheap.

I'm thinking Cows fire truck would sell at least in the $2-3k range here.
Somebody who really had to have it would pay more.

Yeah, there's a local up there that has a sentimental attachment..probably one of the fire fighters. If I bought it, I wouldn't change a thing...I love the color and the writing on the door. I bet I'd drive it in the 4th. of July parade down here!

paden cash, post: 375798, member: 20 wrote: Yeah, there's a local up there that has a sentimental attachment..probably one of the fire fighters. If I bought it, I wouldn't change a thing...I love the color and the writing on the door. I bet I'd drive it in the 4th. of July parade down here!

Like I said it is a very nice rig.
I can see historical and sentimental value to the locals but it could also have a nice second life with a custom retrofit somewhere.

Is it really an automatic transmission? That would be pretty rare for 1953 in a big bolt truck.

vern, post: 375806, member: 3436 wrote: Is it really an automatic transmission? That would be pretty rare for 1953 in a big bolt truck.

Chevy did make a 235 c.I. straight six for trucks back in the day. They had a horribly inferior oiling system (there was a dipper on the bottom of the rod cap that "threw" oil up on the crank journal....the rods required constant shimming and they always "knocked". I can almost bet money the 235 in this truck is NOT an old Babbitt bearing engine..it probably would have eaten itself by now.

As for the tranny...there could be an original. Chevy introduced it's powerglide in 1950, and it had a cast-iron housing. God bless the man that tried to wrestle one of those (I have). There are trucks that came out with powerglides in 1950, but the only ones I have seen were the 3100 (1/2 ton) series. GMC also had a 4 speed "Hydra-matic" auto tranny that made its way into a few light trucks. One original I have seen was an old milk delivery truck...

One of the interior pics shows the old gear pattern on the dash.
Nice truck
The light bar,cans, and other light accessories are worth something.

I wonder what the hose with the steel spools are worth too. The Wisconsin engine which was probably a top dollar item back when

It does have the broken window that tells all that there is an insider deal happening. Lol

I thought the 235's were all full pressure oiling, but the smaller 216 was a "splasher" until its last year of 1954...?

SellmanA, post: 375820, member: 8564 wrote: I thought the 235's were all full pressure oiling, but the smaller 216 was a "splasher" until its last year of 1954...?

Read this:

Chevy "Early" 235 six cylinders

The early 235 was a punched out version of the 216 with all its glory..... You are correct about the "pressurized" oiling system starting in 1954. And as far as I know, the early model 235 and later models only share cubic inch displacement...none of the parts interchange.

I have only seen a few surviving specimens of the old truck 235. Even resto-purists prefer the later model. I know the 216 that was in my '51 Chevy didn't last very long...hard acceleration would throw the oil in the pan to the rear and starve the #1 and #2 cylinders at the front. How long do you think that lasted with kids driving? 😀

paden cash, post: 375814, member: 20 wrote: Chevy did make a 235 c.I. straight six for trucks back in the day. They had a horribly inferior oiling system (there was a dipper on the bottom of the rod cap that "threw" oil up on the crank journal....the rods required constant shimming and they always "knocked". I can almost bet money the 235 in this truck is NOT an old Babbitt bearing engine..it probably would have eaten itself by now.

As for the tranny...there could be an original. Chevy introduced it's powerglide in 1950, and it had a cast-iron housing. God bless the man that tried to wrestle one of those (I have). There are trucks that came out with powerglides in 1950, but the only ones I have seen were the 3100 (1/2 ton) series. GMC also had a 4 speed "Hydra-matic" auto tranny that made its way into a few light trucks. One original I have seen was an old milk delivery truck...

I'm sure that's a late 60's 250 engine. The interior pictures show what appears to be the original granny gear manual transmission. I nursed an old 228 GMC with a cracked water jacket for several years by carrying extra water and re-doing the JB WELD every spring.

Around 1978 was the proud owner of a 1953 Chevy Stepside PU with a 4speed granny, super strong and that truck would literally go anywhere thru ice, snow and mud and had a wood bed and 7 windows.
Top speed 65mph.
New oil ran out of it, recycled oil made purr and run smooth.
Oil bath air breather.
Leaded Gas, the higher octane the better
Full time positrac gears
Had a pop up air scoop for cab ventilation
Made a great hayride vehicle to ease around in while pulling a long tandem trailer.

For those who don't know, I have a bit of a reputation as a fire bug. The local fire crews know me well. Mrs. Cow threatened to buy it, put a big water tank on it and keep it parked at the entrance to our place. That would really get the local tongues wagging. I'm safe, though, because I know she won't spend more than $10.

There is a Shriner's group based about 25 miles away that use a very similar rig to haul them around in a few dozen parades each year. They are the Hardly Able Fire Department. Their average age is above 75 so the label fits them fairly well.

I'm expecting the final number to be closer to $1500-$2000, but I could be very, very wrong. It appears someone has already placed a max bid that will keep automatically raising things until it has been hit. The sad part is that they will probably get it for less than that max bid unless others get serious in the next week or two. Someone needs to jump it into the $1000 range to make things interesting.

Holy Cow, post: 375854, member: 50 wrote: ...I'm expecting the final number to be closer to $1500-$2000, but I could be very, very wrong. It appears someone has already placed a max bid that will keep automatically raising things until it has been hit. The sad part is that they will probably get it for less than that max bid unless others get serious in the next week or two. Someone needs to jump it into the $1000 range to make things interesting.

Sounds like you might be getting some commission on this deal...hmmmmkay? 😉

ps - with the color of that truck, I'd paint your "water tank" to look like a watermelon...THAT would get them talking!