While some of the retired fire and brush trucks we feature can sometimes become old hats, this 1974 Chevy C/K pickup is not one of them. This is grade A, genuine beast, with a gorgeous, low-mileage body accompanied by the full assortment of fire-fighting equipment, a generous lift kit, trick fire suppression gear, and a low-mileage 454 powering it all. It even just completed a 180-mile drive cruising at 55 mph without a single hiccup. Find this former brush fighter here on eBay with a $29,900 Buy-It-Now and the option to submit a best offer.
While we’ve come to expect that the former fire department trucks are low-mileage specimens, most of them aren’t quite this clean. The Chevy benefits from what appears to be a lifted suspension, as well as a system of downspouts attached to the underside that was used to quell small flare-ups and hotspots as the truck advanced up a mountain or other rough terrain. All of this equipment is still hooked up and active, and I wouldn’t remove a thing.
The Chevy has just 33,000 original miles and is described as a rust-free survivor. It is equipped with a 454 big block paired to a 4-speed manual. It’s had headers installed at some point, and the seller says the truck drives and sounds great. I have to imagine for some departments, these trucks were a real source of pride and having spent summers working for a state highway department, I can tell you most of the foremen are well aware of how to equip a new truck with the best equipment possible. It’s clear no expense was spared when this one was ordered.
The windshield banner reads, “Protectors of the Rock.” Perhaps someone more worldly than I can decipher which region of the country this brush truck likely last did duty in. While there is a mess of wires in the engine bay – likely for all the auxiliary equipment – it is at least somewhat organized. There’s a lot to like here, and while there’s certainly plenty to maintain and keep in good order, I suspect anyone paying upwards of $30K for a fire truck knows that. Would you use it as-is or strip it back down to a stock K30 in mint condition?
Full-size Tonka truck. I love it. Don’t care about matching numbers or any of that. There’s a fire/public safety museum someplace that needs this thing.
What kind of doofus would take this apart? It’s still a working brush truck, and could easily be used as is. Not sure why you’d even have suspension on this, looks pretty rigid. And quite a mombo pump on the front, 6 inch input hose, made to transfer some water. That spaghetti bowl of wires would make me nervous, but you wonder why municipalities are so strapped for cash these days, why would a fire dept. replace this? It sits 90% of the time anyway. And 400 pictures? Little much, don’t you think? Looks like a handful to drive, I wouldn’t go over 30 mph with it.
BTW, there’s 13 cities named “Red Rock” in the US. Anybody know what the little gas tank under the hood was for?
Stickers inside of driver’s side door shows inspections from Balto and Baltimore County. Southwest of Baltimore is a Red Rock wilderness area. I imagine that’s the last place this truck was in service. Might have seen service prior to this elsewhere as the inspection stickers start in ’80.
I’d keep it as is and find service for it (if I got the right lottery numbers.
lovely! wish i could buy it just so my sons could see it everyday.
agree. belongs in a museum.
It’s cool and unique, but what do you do with it other than take it to shows or park it in a museum, because of that the asking price is a stretch.
Steve R
Having been a member of a Rural/local Volunteer Fire Dept. for many years, I had the experience of making up a couple of our Brush trucks over the years, long before you could simply just order one from a company like you can today. The “Biggest, Best, Baddest, Brush Truck” Esther Fire Department ever had in my opinion, started it life out as a 1965 US Army M 35 GMC General Deuce and a half, and trailer that the City got from a Army surplus depot. It was in fine running shape when it was picked up and we went to work on it. It had 2 – 750 gallon water tanks mounted in the bed each with necessary pumps and carried 2 – 50′ reel hose. It was also equipped with a 3″ gas trash pump with draft hoses for filling the tanks from ponds and lakes if necessary, this pump could also be used to fill tankers if needed. It carried a equipment box in the trailer that was outfitted with portable back pack tanks, and shovels and ranks, axes, etc.
When Esther became part of Park Hills, the new Park Hills Fire Dept. decided it wasn’t needed any more and it was given to the Doe Run Dept., and was used until the 2002 fire in the firehouse that destroyed the truck with all of their equipment. It was a tough old truck, that never gave us a bit of trouble.
That tank might be pump primer water?..
Red would seem to me, an aux. gas tank, but what for? And under a hot hood?
Primer oil
Almost 30K for a firetruck that is crazy money.
And with no nozzle hoses either. Just suction hoses.
Give credit to the seller for posting 400 high-rez pictures. At least he made an effort to try to get his $30k ask.
Meaningless. Many are duplicates or just a few inches off from the previous pic. The OP really thinks he’s going to retire off the sale of it.
You guys are just like little kids at a firehalls open house. Not questioning a thing when all the clues are right there. 30k? When the owner takes delivery, they gonna be mad. It’s lipstick on a pig. Looks like patched up body, except for the one spot by the filler neck, painted with a nice thick coat of tremclad that the no sag doors have chewed through on the rockers. California highway mirrors are rusty on sides no one sees. Order from LMC for repop headlight doors and grille chrome, seat cover out of the clearance page. Pinstripe is very nice. Headers to straight pipes. Hell why 2 new shocks outta 6? Guess too short for lift kit. Front tires are burning off. Gonna need front end work and tires at 300 each. Don’t get me wrong it’s purty. Like 5-7k purty. Be very suprised if this would cruise highway safely. Parade speeds sure. Lots of replacement pump chrome. Rattle can under hood. Static display? Yes. Parade buggy? Yep. Turn key return to service? Wellllll. Drive home? Surrrre.
Dude you are exactly right.
I smell the stench of a flipper.
At 6 mpg, you might want to convert the water tank to hold fuel…
It is from Glen Rock Pennsylvania
Where did you get that info from? I don’t see anything in the pictures that would imply that.
No air conditioning, that’s a deal breaker for me right there…
http://grfd.org/brush-59-2/
not sure why the decal clearly says “red rock,” but this is the truck.
purchased in 1989 for $14k
The truck is from Glen Rock PA. The stickers from Baltimore county Md are from yearly pump tests. It was used as a brush truck/ water supply.