When it comes to getting rid of unwanted parts or vehicles, “free” is generally a powerful motivator for getting people to show up and haul stuff away you don’t want. However, there are usually some strings attached for vehicles or items that are cheap as chips to acquire. For instance, the item may be so bulky and heavy that shipping it will incur massive costs, thus negating the free price tag. Or, in the case of an old fire truck, it may be so firmly wedged between trees, buildings, and other obstacles that you and your buddies will spend the better part of a day digging it out – and that’s exactly the case of this free 1963 International pumper truck located here on Facebook Marketplace in Sante Fe, Texas.
Now, despite what you might think at first glance, I actually don’t believe this particular vehicle is locked in place by old trees or a crumbling farm building – it’s certainly close, but I don’t see the bodywork making contact with either of those barriers. What seems more likely is that every wheel is locked up, the brakes are seized, and the huge, heavy rig has sunk deep into the ground, requiring not only several friends of high endurance to dig it out, but a sizable wrecker to drag it from the place it’s been sitting for decades upon decades. The truck may be free, but you’ll pay its weight in beer and cash to appease your friends and hire a professional tow truck.
These old fire trucks have loyal followings, but they fall into that category of being worth next to nothing when they’re basketcases like this – hence the free price tag. The seller knows this, that even if this pumper truck was the last of its kind, the cost to restore it will far outpace its value and then there’s the fairly limited market of potential buyers once you’re ready to cut it loose. There was a time when you could feel somewhat confident a fire truck museum or the town where it was stationed would snatch it up, but these days, I doubt either of those entities has the kind of scratch necessary to buy, store, and maintain an antique pumper truck like this.
The old girl once did duty for the town of Webster, Texas, according to the seller, so perhaps there’s a historian there with acres of property and some extra zeroes in his bank account who will want to drag this rig out and hold onto it for posterity. It certainly doesn’t appear to have been pillaged from over the years, with all of its major firefighting equipment still attached. Being in Texas, one could hope the rust wouldn’t be too significant. Obviously, a new door hinge will be needed on the driver’s side. Overall, it could be a fun way to spend a day with your closest friends if you have a place you can dump it once you’re finished – but I’d make sure those friendships are ironclad before I begged my buddies to help me get it out. Would you rescue this trapped pumper truck?
Santa Fe and Webster are between Houston and Galveston, close to the coast; it’s humid the year round, things rust badly. I don’t see much hope here beyond a trip to the scrapyard.
Your article wondering about gathering your buddies for an adventuresome day dislodging it was fun reading. But I wonder if a bulldozer is the most likely tool of choice? Then some sort of winch-equipped truck with large trailer to haul it away? $$$$ just to get it off the property?
It’s always so sad to see stuff like this, when at one time, it was so proud, shined like a new penny, it did. Yeah, well, that was then, this is now. This is, I believe, a “V 196” series, and I believe, the “V” indicated a V8, I read, a 549. It was made until 1968 when the Fleetstar replaced it. While the demand for old fire trucks is slim, there is a big demand for older trucks, and stripped of it’s fire stuff, underneath, I bet, is still a low mileage truck, and could be easily repurposed. Free,,, man, even I can’t complain about that,, :)
I’m with you Howard, this beauty was probably in good shape when parked. Hopefully someone could use it. Good luck and stay safe.
Cheers
GPC
That truck could be a V190 or V220 series. IH had two fire truck gas engines at the time, a FV478 and a FV549.
I’d take it, but the driver side door needs adjusting.
I would think the body has rusted away where the top hinge was.
I would be wary of ANYTHING offered on FB. Buyer (or free-taker) beware!
Use the cab and fenders only of all the sheet metal. Slammed trucks are popular theses days.
No problem, that will buff right out…(sorry)
Yes, Webster is an environment that literally eats metal. I recall seeing a ton of cool old rides rusting away in backyards and driveways back in the day. Except for the various fire fighting (collectible) pieces, this poor thing is toast.
Not even worthy of a fire sale? 🙄
A fraternity at U of M had an old pumper they would all ride to the football games with.
I’ve sent this to a collector friend who has the same space issues I do (we’re
both looking for more room) to see what interest he has in it. It’s a big project for sure, and I wonder if its worth it; but sorry to see it just fall apart.
lots of brass & stainless there…a scrapper with heavy equipment would do OK with it
wanna give something away? how bout sell? prep it a lill 1st.
Only time and money return time and money (even getting something off of ur property free). Energy in / energy out. Seems a reality of physics…
Put no $ in & you’ll need to call/pay a ‘haul-away-guy’, no?
Numbers matching? I know how important that seems to be to the folks here. Not to mention original miles.
I’m going to be an optimist, and say this isn’t as bad as it looks. First the ground is flat, (or looks so) so the parking brake probably wasn’t set when it was parked there. If it was set, the brake would be behind the transmission, or the transfer case for the pump, so it could be easily be deactivated, or the driveshaft pulled to move it. If the engine is froze, pull the spark plugs, and fill the cylinders with Kroil. It’s not cheap, and it does work, and I used it to free the engine on a Ford farm truck that had been froze for close to 40 years. Let it set for a few weeks and put a breaker bar on the crankshaft pulley bolt, and it will probably break loose with no problem. Make sure to give attention to the valves also, so they are free. Other than the door hinge, which could just be a hinge pin, the sheet metal looks decent, and all the good parts are there, so it’s just going to be a labor of love. A coat of paint, and it will be ready for kids to ride on in the parades!
A V190 or V220 IH truck could very well have air brakes. If this is the case the S-cam MaxiBrakes are applied and will require at least 60 psi to release them. Or just crawl under the rear axle with a 1/2″ drive 9/16″ deep socket and back them off. The front axle would have wedge brakes, so nothing to do there
Everyone is overlooking the fact that the majority of firetrucks of this vintage are usually stripped of all the firefighting equipment, the hoses, couplers, gauges, valves, etc.
People who restore and repair old fire apparatus are always looking for these pieces of equipment. There is a club for fire engines, SPAAMFAA. Their link is here: https://spaamfaa.org/
The owner should go online and contact the club. The magic word [free] will surely get the club interested.
I sent the info on this truck to the SPAAMFAA club, hopefully they will have a member who responds.
I agree with BR this truck very likely has ari brakes meaning as the air pressure drops the brakes are applied. I love old trucks and own a warehouse full of them, always wanted a very interesting fire truck but the cost and time to even get this one on the the road are going to be very big! You are going to find many surprises from it sitting for so long and they are not going to cheap discoveries! This truck is way to far gone in my book!
If I were to have the means to get this, which I don’t, I would would copy halfass customs and put the body on a more modern chassis.
I like what he’s doing to his.
Why not put an air compressor on the wrecker expected to be needed to pull this out and use it to release the brakes? On another aspect of the effort necessary to remove this vehicle (Which I wish I could afford), notice the size of the tree stump by the front bumper!
Any wrecker sized for this trucks removal will have the remote air lines and expertise to extract it. A class 8 wrecker will cost up to $300 per hour (port-to-port), plus $7 to $8 per mile for towing. Some towing companies charge by the weight they lift, and this truck will be lifted from the front and dragged over the stump. No big deal if there is good access. I’ll speculate that this extraction will run about $1,200 if done by a pro. Cowboys and farmers much less, but more humorous to watch.
BR,
Your prices are quite accurate for large tow rigs, but I have learned that you can arrange & negotiate far lower prices if you are not pressed for time. For example, I recently needed two 40′ semi trailers, loaded full of vintage antiques, car parts & vintage toys, moved 15 miles, tires aired up first, then towed on back roads. Couldn’t use a 5th wheel truck, as they needed to be picked up with slings, because they were not licensed & didn’t have working brakes [I use them for storage].
I let the towing company owner know I was available on short notice, giving him the flexibility to schedule my work when the weather was excellent and on a Sunday morning [less big-rig accidents on the interstates that could tie his equipment up]. So he sent 2 very large sling trucks out to pick up my 2 trailers, and did the job in 3 hours, port to port. Cost me a very cheap $400 cash, no receipt.
Other companies quoted prices as high as $2,000. Those trucks sat unused that day, but as one operator said, he had to keep his trucks available for the big paying jobs!
Personally I appreciate the work and dedication put into getting her out. Hopefully not to scrap it. Appears to have good shell, don’t notice a bunch of “rust thru areas”. Time, persistence, ingenuity, fabrication finesse and patience go a long way. I hope person/s involved have a vision and see past the obstacles. It may not be a perfect restoration but some of us are ok with a drivable “ I did that “ full of pride restoration. Best of luck to you.