What to make of a Rolls-Royce fire truck like this 1949 Silver Wraith example? I suppose you could ask the fireman when he shows up to do a job if he has any Grey Poupon. This is an unusual one, that’s for sure and I couldn’t find another or a similar example. So, a one-off, a custom, a built-at-home edition? Let’s look more closely and see if we can determine this most unusual vehicle’s origins. It is ready on the job in Burnsville, Minnesota and is available, here on Facebook Marketplace for $25,000.
The seller tells us that this Rolls is a Wraith model and started out as a pickup truck that was then converted into a firetruck. Being a 1949 model puts it in Silver Wraith (1946-1958) territory, a replacement for the Wraith. As to its pickup truck origins, I could not find evidence of Rolls producing such a vehicle, but as is evidenced by the above image, custom coachbuilders have taken on such challenges. And of course, if any readers can unravel the mystery around a Rolls-Royce pickup, please have at it.
The seller advises, “Licensed as a Pickup. Made into a fire truck. When purchased thirty-five years ago, it didn’t run, had no brakes, etc. Presently restored enough to drive to local events“. Well, it certainly looks well executed though the images don’t provide a tremendous amount of detail. It’s not just the effort taken to build such a vehicle that has piqued my interest, it’s the motivation to have done so that I find equally intriguing. As far as firefighting capability and equipment go, there are no details provided – perhaps it’s more of a cosmetic representation?
There are no engine images included but research tells us that hot footin’ it to the nearest blaze is accomplished by a 126 HP, 4.3-liter in-line six-cylinder engine connected to a four-speed manual transmission. The seller states that it runs well enough to go to local events but that’s about it and it’s in need of a fuel tank and a muffler. Interestingly, the brakes are a mix of hydraulic up front and mechanical in the rear.
Also on the needs list is the interior and I suppose the biggest issue is the upholstery. It’s a small right-hand drive environment and the images aren’t very revealing. There is a generous application of wooden components noted (door frames, A-pillar trim, and dash) but there is also a modern sliding rear cab window such as found on a current pickup truck.
OK, so it’s now what to do with it time. Other than a car show oddity, and a conversation piece, I’m not sure how I would use this unusual hybrid. I suppose it could serve as a fire department prop but $25K is probably too much to spend on a promotional prop – I’d still like to know the motivation behind this mash-up. Anyway, I’m out of ideas, what’s your suggestion?
When you need to get to the fire, but you don’t want to forget your Grey Poupon.
Would certainly get some lookers at the local Cars and Coffee
The ladder rack on top makes it a good neighborhood pickup for a part time retired handyman.
I would hire any any handyman who drove around in this rig. He’d be a hero! Anyone who would own or drive this around is automatically cool!
Not to mention that if he can maintain it, he certainly can perform handyman tasks!
Probably converted to a pickup sometime in the 50s or 60s in California. Still a mystery who this ‘famous Mr. Cassady’ is. See below:
https://mobile.twitter.com/rrecltd/status/1065621070538031105
This would be a big hit here in The Village as about 92% of our population is retired. I love the concept, no matter how it came to be.
Belonged to Travis McGee, in the John D. MacDonald detective Novels.
Jay Leno! here’s your next vehicle…..
This car was originally a hearse used in Scotland. I used to own its twin, still intact as a hearse.
Chinga, my friend,
Ya beat me to it, Yes, it’s very likely a former hearse body. The central rear section sticks out past where a limo body would have stopped. I don’t have my R-R books handy, but one of the “Elegance” books on the Silver Wraith has the complete list of all the chassis numbers, so all one has to do is look up WFC-48 and see what the body style and coachbuilder was when new. Probably a limousine when new, then changed to a hearse.
By around 1960, there was almost no demand for private ownership of Silver Wraith limousines in England, so quite a few were re-bodied for the funeral trade. Hearses in the UK were typically very tall so the casket was easy to see from tall side windows. The height of the front doors and windshield, as well as the “less than Rolls-Royce quality” workmanship shown in the photo of the car’s interior, suggest a rebodied hearse.
By the mid 1970s these older hearses could often be bought for less than 100 Pounds Sterling, and enterprising small British coachbuilders sometimes converted the hearses to open cars, either 2 or 4 door examples. This vehicle was probably bought on the cheap by someone who imported it to America and did a final conversion to the fire truck.
Whoever owns it should join the Rolls-Royce Owner’s Club and order a copy of the original “chassis cards” thru the club, as they are the holder of all the info. The cards will describe in detail all the pertinent detail of this actual vehicle.
I would LOVE to add this to our collection, but I probably couldn’t afford to maintain a RR. Sure could be fun though.
You have obviously never owned a Rolls or Bentley from this time period – very simple, very cheap and easy to maintain. Ignition points are just six cylinder Chevy parts, the brake master cylinder rebuild kit also fits a ’55 Chrysler, the Stromberg carburetor on this car was used on many American cars of the period. The clutch is just an ordinary 11″ Borg & Beck, common to a Ford F100 of the time
Very cool, listed two years ago!!
I would love to make regular runs to Ace Hardware and Home Depot in this. Besides, it’s probably much cheaper than a “decked-out” F-150 or Silverado.!
I used my Rolls-Royce Wraith Hearse to go to the dump, buy my Christmas trees and attend the vintage races at Portland International Raceway.
To butcher a Wraith seems just wrong. Of course, the name implies something wrong, so maybe it is justified. Either way, ugly and not where I want to spend 25K. I thought people in Burnsville Minnesota were nice and reasonable, I guess it has changed.
Having owned one of the original 12 Silver Wraith hearse about 25 years ago, I saw that quite a few had been turned into trucks even way back then. I’m sure this was de-hearsed long before it got to Minnesota!
Not sure what the prevalence of commercial bodies on RR chassis is, But what came to my mind when seeing the homemade pickup body was the “Balloon Cars” of the Silver Ghost era.
Steve, good guess, and while possible, I doubt it was ever a balloon car.
The poor quality of the cab fittings and the rear entrance opening suggest this was a rebodied vehicle, made into a hearse before the fire truck. By the post-war period, balloon cars in the UK had been mostly replaced by lorries [trucks] or the basket/balloon packed onto a trailer. They were purpose-built so the large wicker basket had a flat area to hold it in place, with the deflated balloon packed into the basket. None of the baskets I’ve seen or worked around would fit onto this body, it’s too narrow.
Mine was WFC92 and I know that the hearse body was it’s first and only -twelve were built for an outfit named “Scottish Burial Society” if my memory of the old records is correct. I strongly suspect that this WFC series Silver Wraith was also bodied originally as a hearse, then converted into the pickup and then someone decided to get “cute” with the fire apparatus stuff.