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Chase’s 1972 Ford Firetruck Find

1972 Ford F700 Firetruck

You might remember Chase V’s amazing Boss 302 find that he shared with us last year. Well he’s been busy hunting down other finds, but he recently had one fall into his lap. He received a text that if he wanted it, this Ford firetruck could be his. Without hesitating he jumped on the deal and brought it home. It’s running and driving, but it’s hit him that he doesn’t know what exactly to do with it. So he’s turning to you guys for some advice! Should he sell it or is there some kind of good use he can put it too? I’ll let him tell you more about it below!

1972 Ford Firetruck

From Chase V – Hey guys, I have another one for you… something a bit different than my normal find. About a month ago I received a text on a Friday night with a photo of a 1972 Ford F700 brush (fire) truck. The text simply said that if I was interested, it could be mine.

1972 Ford F700

Long story short, the truck was donated to a children’s camp about 8 years ago. The camp had intentions of using it around the grounds and in local parades. That never happened. It was parked outside & sat unused. 3 years after being parked, they started it and moved it to another location on site & that is where it has been the last 5 years.

1972 Ford F700 Engine

A week or so after getting the text, I drove the 35 miles to check it out.  I found a truck that was showing on 13k miles on the odometer, was all original & was exceptionally solid. The floor boards even look new. There was oil in the engine and it was not locked up, so there was potential. The “bones” were right, so we struck a deal.

1972 Ford Going Home

It took some time to locate a trailer that could handle the 12,500 lbs that this beast weighs, but I eventually found a goose neck that I could borrow.  Expecting a battle to get it up on this beast of a trailer, I was shocked when it fired up and ran… on 8-yr old gas!  Jumper cables and some ether is all it took to bring this beast back to life.  We were able to drive it on the trailer.

1972 Ford F700 Interior

So here is the question… What should I do with it?  A “car guy” buddy went along with me to pick it up & we both feel it could make a very cool period correct car hauler. I am open to suggestions & curious to know what others think.  I am also open to selling it, as I currently have other projects that will take priority over this.

1972 Ford F700 Brush Firetruck

Some photos and a video of the first start are included. Thanks guys, I look forward to reading the comments and suggestions.

So what do you think Chase should do with this old firetruck? It’s a brushfire truck, so I’m not sure what the market is like for these, but I do think his friend had a good idea for it! It would be a bit of a shame to lose all the history by removing the fire equipment, but it sure would be sweet with a flatbed and all the parts needed to use it as a barn find tow rig!

Comments

  1. Avatar Brad Huston

    Make it a show truck. What kid doesn’t like fire trucks could make it a show winner.

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Richard

    Split rim wheels are highly dangerous! Common during the time this truck was new, but can kill someone that does not know how to dismount.

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    • Avatar packradt

      I remember footage (perhaps on 60 minutes) when I was a kid, showing a man in a wheelchair rendered a vegetable when one of these rims exploded. When did they quit using them? This must’ve been the tail end of that era.

      Like 0
      • Avatar geomechs Member

        Maybe I’ve been living under a rock but I’ve never heard of split rims being outlawed; the safe procedures for handling them have been strictly enforced in tire shops/ service shops for years. It’s always been highly recommended that rims and rings be checked for cracks after so many miles/years. It’s absolutely foolhardy to inflate a split rim without having it properly secured. The only incidents I’ve ever witnessed/heard/read about where someone has been injured or killed occurred when someone was careless.

        Like 1
      • Avatar grant

        DOT outlawed them for commercial trucks in the early 90’s.

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      • Avatar Stumpystump

        In Virginia we still use the split rims for commercial use, although its rare to see. Also, they are still DOT approved. those are Dayton rims in the picture.

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    • Avatar Jason

      I believe these are Dayton wheels- not split rim widow makers.

      Like 1
  3. Avatar boxdin

    Last week I saw a firetruck converted into the coolest food truck ever seen. Never occured to me but it looked fantastic and the show reported it grossed almost a million last year. I just googled “fire truck into food truck” and there are many who had the same idea. Very Cool. I know a local guy w a popcorn truck grossed 100k last year.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Bobsmyuncle

    What do you do with an old fire truck? An age old question.

    One thing I know is that if anything you sell it, you don’t sale it.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Josh Staff

      Oops! Thanks for catching that! Man I really need to start sleeping more.

      Like 0
      • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

        :) just having fun! I see it so often for a while I actually thought it might be accepted use in the US.

        Like 0
  5. Avatar Seth J

    I believe I have seen that exact truck. The one I’ve seen is at camp Manatiu Lin, a YMCA camp in southwest Michigan.

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    • Avatar Chase V

      You are correct

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    • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

      Wow, that’s sort of incredible!

      Like 0
  6. Avatar grant

    Are split rims even legal for road use anymore? I know commercial drivers can’t use them. There are a lot of possibilities here. A car hauler would probably be the best use for Chase, it could also be converted to a service truck if he’s in a trade that needs one. Some of the smaller RFD’s might be able to put it back in service, as well.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Rando

    If it’s a brush truck,, it may have some kind of incredibly low gearing. Might not be suitable for much highway use.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Bruce

    After I retired from the car business I went into the maple syrup business. ( I’m in upstate N.Y. ) I don’t actually boil the sap, I sell it to a large producer that does ( 10 miles away ) . The trees are all connected by pipeline and flow to a common tank. If the tank on this truck could be cleaned, and the pump still works…This would make a great sap hauler. Probably a 1200 gallon tank, nice flashing lights for when you are road side pumping, not too big, not too small…I like it !!!!

    Like 0
    • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

      Priming oil, and rust are the problems.

      Like 0
  9. Avatar Jay E.

    Before you make any plans, better drive it. These trucks are excruciatingly under powered! 35 mph up a hill on the highway is not uncommon. The gears are low and the engines are weak.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar CJay

    This is a little large to be a “Brush truck” as a general rule those are 1 ton and smaller chassis trucks. This was most likely a engine/pumper for a smaller fire company or a first response for a fire company that larger units.
    The speed in which this can travel is all dependent on the weight and gear ratio. Properly geared this can cruise at highway speeds.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Jay Calk

    The question is do you want to sell it and how much? Split rims are used today and the can handle more abuse that your standard rim.

    Like 1
  12. Avatar Tazz

    Cut the top off the water tank and turn it into a mobile hot tub.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Woodie Man

    I live in an area of Cali that’s very fire prone. While we have excellent fire protection, I’ve often thought of getting small brush truck. I think we had one on here…. a white one… some time back. This one is too big for my purposes but if it was me I would get it working. Anyone notice the red firewall?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

      Interior as well. Likely the last owner was its second, the first used typical red apparatus.

      Like 0
  14. Avatar Jeffrey Mitchell

    Would it be of use on a farm for pumping water for irrigation or carrying chemicals for crop spraying.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Pete

    I’m pretty sure the water pumps have cavitated or corroded to unservicable by now. Rebuilding them to functional might not be cost effective. I’m more liking the idea of turning it into a car hauler if it is geared to the point you could do at least 70MPH unloaded.

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Rick

    I have what looks like the same version only mine is a Howe installed on a 69 F750 chassis. Was going to make a car hauler out of it, but don’t want to cut it up.

    Like 0

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