A lot of collectors and other vintage vehicle enthusiasts love ex-public service vehicles. The variety is endless, such as vintage law enforcement vehicles and other emergency vehicles, such as this 1964 Dodge 880 station wagon, a former Nevada Fire Department vehicle. The seller has this very cool red wagon posted here on craigslist in Parrottsville, Tennessee, and they’re asking $14,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for sending in this tip!
This car is located in one of my favorite areas of the U.S., right between Knoxville, Tennesee and Asheville, North Carolina. It’s a beautiful drive. Speaking of beautiful, this ’64 880 wagon is beautiful in its own way. It’s not in perfect condition but it has such a nice – are you ready? – “patina” that I’d leave it exactly as it looks now, just making sure to get every feature working as it should and I’d drive it.
Dodge offered the 880 and Custom 880 for model years 1962 to 1965. The Custom 880 got some extra brightwork and other features, but a fire department would most likely have purchased a base 880 model. Or, it would have bought a used wagon as the seller says is the case with this car. This was formerly an Air Force Ambulance before a Nevada Fire Department bought it and converted it for duty. I’m not an ambulance or a hearse guy, but I really like ex-Air Force vehicles so I would maybe restore this one back to its former blue glory, how about you?
Air Force blue on the exterior would go much better with a blue interior as this one has. Not that a fire department needs a color-matching interior. The seats have clearly been reupholstered and the seller mentions that in their listing, which includes a nice variety of photos. The driver’s door panel has seen decades of wear as has the interior, in general. We don’t see the rear cargo area or the underside, unfortunately, and they say that there are additional flip-down rear-facing seats back there so it would have been nice to see that area. They do show a few other interior photos, including the push-button transmission portion of the dash that controls the three-speed TorqueFlite transmission.
The engine appears clean and the seller tells us this car has what would have been an optional 383-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have had a healthy 305 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque. With power steering and power brakes, this would be a nice ride. They say that it runs and drives great and everything works, including the rotating light on top and the siren under the hood. Are any of you collectors of emergency service vehicles such as ambulances or fire department cars? I’d have a giant pole building full of them if I had invested wisely 30 years ago.
The Dodge has a lot going for it. It is in nice condition, very rare and priced fairly.
I like professional and service vehicles because they are typically made from tougher stuff. I’m not interested in driving a vehicle still outfitted with all the dressing. Nuts and bolts are the attraction for me.
I’m with you, having owned three ex-USAF ambulances, six ex-USAF crew cab pickups (“six-packs”), both 4×2 and 4×4, and now an old Dodge regular cab pickup with the USAF markings still visible. Not a surprise- I spent 10 years in the USAF and 30 years around emergency vehicles. Any vehicle looks better when painted “Strato blue” to me. Sadly, I’m getting too old for any more toys, but this is one of the coolest postings yet on BF- I would love to have it.
With a Gear Vendors overdrive it would be a fantastic long distance cruiser, and the fire brigade regalia so cool
Wow, that’s a rare one, even without the fire department parapheralia.
The municipality’s name was originally Lovelock, but the wagon’s owner changed it to Deadlock.
Wonder how easy it is to remove the siren. This wagon is very handsome, but I would feel weird driving to the grocery store with a siren up top.
The way people drive nowadays with their faces buried in their cellphones, you may want to keep the siren operational!
Cool find. Our local fire department had a 63 Dodge wagon. It was a 3 seater with a stretcher in back. The department also had a late 60’s Cadillac ambulance, Dodge power wagon based fire truck and a couple Mack pumpers.
Thanks Scotty. I think it is fun to read about old service vehicles like this. To me they look just fine in their well-used state. Check out the funky pushbutton shifter. Wait!! Some new vehicles now have pushbutton shifters. What goes around, comes around, I guess.
“Okay, where’s the fire, Chief?” I read, for some reason, in the late 50s-early 60s, Chrysler supplied many depts. with station wagons. The Plymouth was the “P30 Utility wagon”, not sure what the Dodge was, but generally, these were the fire chiefs car, and the 1st responders to a fire to assess the situation. Aside from donut runs, they generally got very little use. I had a friend with a Plymouth like this, and got attention everywhere he went.
Lose the fire dept. schtick. The wagon itself is unusual enough, it doesn’t need any fire dept. promos to make it cooler, and perhaps the seller is banking on that. Maybe someone collects these the way it is, but vintage wagons are hot today, and you’d get a lot more response if it was just a red Dodge wagon in this condition.
As retired Fire Service and one who drove staff cars for over half my career, I think this one sits just right. I’d love to look at it in my garage.
The last year for the cobbled together Chrysler Newport with Dodge front end trick. The 880 did go for one more year in Polara / Monaco form.
The seller has lowered their asking price to $13,000.
Did the 383 2V carb, actually produce 305 HP? I thought 290 HP was the actual output for the 383 2V version? curious I suppose.
Early (59/60) 383 2bbl engines did produce 305HP, but with a premium gas compression ratio. I think, this would be a 330 HP 4bbl engine if it is a 383 in this car. It might be wise to check engine numbers of this car, as a 361 was standard and cannot be differentiated from a 383 by sight.
Down to 12K