Isn’t it sort of amazing how many former fire fighting rigs are still coming out of the woodwork with all of their gear still intact? This is one of vehicle segments that seems like it should be depleted by now, yet here we are with yet another relatively low-mileage truck up for grabs. This time it is a 1984 Chevrolet K30 Crew Cab listed here on eBay in Woburn, Massachusetts, which isn’t far from where it spent most of its life with Melrose, Mass. fire department.
Bidding is currently at $8,200 with the reserve unmet and the option to Buy-It-Now for $15,000. Now, the actual truck itself is interesting, yes – it’s a crew cab with the utility body. But it’s all the other hardware that gets upgraded as part of its duty as a fire response vehicle. This includes a 7.4L 454 V8 with a 3-speed manual along with Dana 60s up front and a Dana 70 rear axle. There’s also a winch and the dually rear axle, not to mention it still has its light bar on the roof and fire department decals on the door.
The blue interior is a bit of a surprise, as the trucks ordered for municipal use are usually as basic as it gets – and seeing the blue bench seat, the door panels, and matching carpet strikes as me as being an odd choice for a fire department. The good news is that the interior remains in decent shape despite undoubtedly being put through some level of abuse in its life, as the dirty carpets and split in the seam of the driver’s side of the bench seat go to show. The manual gearbox is a surprise, especially for a truck built for first responders – but it has to be a treat to row your own gears with a 454 under the hood.
The seller claims it runs and drives great but may still need some basic deferred maintenance performed now that the truck has been sitting; whatever it needs likely won’t be significant. The beauty of buying a rig like this that has been outfitted for public service is that these trucks are typically loaded up with all the heavy-duty hardware you could want (as noted above) and mileage is typically on the low-ish side. 80,000 miles isn’t exactly nothing, but it’s hardly a death sentence for a truck as overbuilt as this one is.
Why only a 3 spd. ? I guess it wasn’t going very far from the firehouse. Probably never seen an interstate.
SPID says 4 speed.
The SM465 trans is a three speed with an additional granny gear low. You don’t normally use that low gear on the street unless you are starting out with a heavy load or trailer. It’s a great creeper gear for off-road.
How much $.
Mid-spec Scottsdale trim level with blue interior (and doorjambs!) makes me wonder if the dealership submitted their bid based on a truck they already had in stock, perhaps a canceled special order.
Love a rat of any year & 4×4 crew cab wow what a rig! The only down side is the price of a barrel of oil lol will need a refinery to keeper happy !
Love this truck I’d repaint and put some chrome simulators on and a noisy exhaust and enjoy
Welp, already sold at the BIN price. That’s a deal.
Sold for $15,000. Impressive.
Nice rig. Finish or restoe it your way. Best part is that when you drive it’ll feel like a truck should.
Judging from the blue color on the door jams, I believe this was originally a Air Force truck. The seller probably tripled their money this one. Want to feel sorry for the person who paid $15,000 for this, but I can’t.
For anyone interested, truck 4 speeds often have a “compound low” or “granny gear” first. This first gear is primarily used only to start when towing heavy loads, just to get rolling or sometimes to maintain a steady low speed roll (loading hay on a trailer pulled in the field). For normal driving this gear is not needed and may not be used. Although these are 4 speed transmissions, frequently only 3 speeds are used. Final drive is still 1:1 therefore engine rpm and highway speeds would be determined by tire diameter and differential axle ratio.
Hope this is helpful information.
Congratulations to seller and buyer.
Well and correctly said. Spoken by a fellow farm kid, or some similar background, I suspect.
It is still a 4-speed transmission.
I always hate when they call it anything but.
I have a 1990, F- 350 , Ford,4×4, dual rear wheels, dump bed,460 motor and a 5- speed manual transmission.
I use the granny gear all the time because I am in and out of people’s yards with loads of top soil and mulch. Or to pick up scrap metal and whatever needs hauled away. Also saw mills where the roads are usually muddy,steep and rough.I also use the low range on the transfer case to make it barely creep.The reverse gear is unusually high and I often use the transfer case placed in low without the hubs in to back up loaded or empty on any steep incline asphalt or dirt.Loaded or empty.It preserves the clutch and keeps it from jerking.
I know what you mean. I would love to be the seller. I imagine they made a pretty penny on this truck. I’m sure he picked it up for a song. The truck isn’t pristine as most fire company apparatus usually is because of being constantly garaged and doted over by the personnel in their down time. These truck seems to have been out of the service of any fire company for a while.
Interior is trashed, looks to me like the rocker panels are rotted and this truck isn’t a diesel which usually command a higher price. I can’t feel bad for the person that bought this. All people like that do is further inflate the prices to where it is insane. Now if it were pristine and lower miles it would be a different story . I owned this year of one ton chevy with the 4- SPEED standard transmission, 4×4, 4 wheel.drive and a 350 engine and regular cab with a dump bed.
Fire Co’s usually take such good care of their vehicles and this looks so clean. I’d still check it with a magnet for bondo but if as clean as it looks, could be a good price. It sold right quick…