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Listed here on eBay is this 1951 Chevy Ladder Pickup which is parked in Lincoln, Nebraska with a BIN of $3,777. This truck was built for the City of Spencer, Iowa and then it was sold to a local electrician in 1970 who is said to have used it for a few years and then parked it.
Again we have another one that ran when parked. We don’t know when it was parked though and what might be wrong with it now.
The straight 6 is still in the truck and the owner says it does spin, so that’s a hopeful sign.
This is a custom truck with this ladder and some LED taillights added recently. It’s a rusty one-of-a-kind truck, but what do you do with it? So will you add this unusual truck to your collection?
Cheers,
Robert
? LED Taillights? I see what might be some period glass cat eye reflectors–does anyone else really spot some LED taillights on this thing?
Do they make 6 volt LED’s?
If you are referring to the fixtures mounted on the tailgate, I believe those are just old type reflectors. As you can see, there are no power wires attached to them. My opinion is they’re glass reflectors only. Same for the ones on the lower rear sides.
Is that an “air horn” that runs off manifold pressure?
That is actually a stock electric horn. That’s also the correct mounting point for it. GM used that design and mounting for some time during those years.
seller has a ” barn find ” model A for sale also. this might make a good work truck. find someone to buy the bed/ladder and put a pickup bed on it. interesting find.
Actually, these aren’t as rare as you might think. One showed up on the Hemmings “Find of the Day” just like this, only in much better condition. These were made by a company called Morysville Body Works in Boyertown, Pa. and catered to emergency crews and electricians, usually sign companies. I agree, those LED’s are old style reflectors. Without any outriggers, this could be a little “tippy”. Cool piece here.
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/09/20/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1953-chevrolet-3800/
Hi Howard, These types of ladders were called “Keystone Ladders”. The phone company in Md. bought quite a fleet of these in the 60’s with 28′ ladders. In this size they were stable on a 1 ton truck. There are springs in the telescoping gizmos that look like giant shock absorbers. These springs are the only assist the operator got, and could be adjusted for the operators weight. Not a good as working in a bucket truck, but much better than standing on a regular ladder.
From the looks of the wheels and front and rear hubs this appears to be a 3/4 ton . That and a 3 speed transmission and the 5 window cab doesn’t make it super rare ,but somewhat unusual for a city owned utility truck . I would expect a work truck to have a 4 speed transmission and the 3 window cab .
Built when America was America.