Ever hear of building a boat in the basement and cannot get out. In 1939 they built a Fire Truck in a Fire Station and could not get it out. What type of chassis did they use it looks like a Reo Fire Truck beside it ?

[Mark Gregory]

1929 PACKARD 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2020 by Mark Gregory (see edit history)

[alsancle]

1929 Packard

[TAKerry]

Thats kinda funny!  Many years ago they built a new library headquarters in my county. It had a large garage area to park the bookmobile (remember those) in. When the building was complete they found that the current bookmobile that they had would not fit through the overhead door that was installed.

[1937hd45]

How large was the Packard sedan when they put it in there??????????????????

Edited December 13, 2020 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[padgett]

Nothing a sledge and a wrecking bar can't fix.

[Mark Gregory]

They had a similar trouble with the local Fire Department and a new Ariel truck they purchased would not go through the existing doors so they modified the brand new Fire truck.

 

In our main city of Toronto they bought new subway cars and they were too high for the existing platforms. More money to fix the cars.

[padgett]

Had to trim the frame to clear the mirrors.

[Bryan G]

In kindergarten we all walked down the street to the volunteer fire department for a tour. The chief bragged on their new brush truck which he said the firemen had built themselves. It took me many years to realize he meant they took that new '77 K-20 and mounted a bunch of lights & equipment themselves. I thought they'd built the whole thing, and marveled at how much it looked like my grandfather's new Chevy pickup! 

[JFranklin]

Henry Ford had this same problem when he built his first car, the quadracycle.

[58L-Y8]

Has anyone checked to see if it still sets in the same place because the town council wouldn't approve modifying the fire hall?

[rocketraider]

Measure twice, cut once. Any skilled tradesman will tell you that.

 

Hope we don't have that garaging problem with the AACA Bookmobile! I remember the article about getting it out of the building it was found in.

[Mark Gregory]

I asked a Reo Member and he thinks it is a Reo Fire Truck beside the converted Packard ?

 

t could be.  The pressing on the fender is consistent with a ’27, and possibly the radiator emblem also.  I wanted to look at it closer, but when I enlarged it all I got was pixels.  Couldn’t see anything really.  So can’t say one way or the other.  The emblem below is from a ’27.

 

[Guest]

 At 17 years old, I assembled my 32 Ford roadster in my basement.

 I told my father that I would cut a hole in the foundation in order to get it out.

 It never bothered him, BUT!!! my mother absolutely did not like it when I carried the frame through the kitchen! I still have it! 

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

I just wonder how they got it in to the fire hall. If it was backed in, it should have been able to drive back out. So they must have been in pieces. Is there a follow up store on how the problem was solved?

[padgett]

Stand it up on end on a forklift ?

[Steve_Mack_CT]

7 hours ago, Roger Walling said:

 At 17 years old, I assembled my 32 Ford roadster in my basement.

 I told my father that I would cut a hole in the foundation in order to get it out.

 It never bothered him, BUT!!! my mother absolutely did not like it when I carried the frame through the kitchen! I still have it! 

Roger, your mom definately would not like my single friend Rick's kitchen.  Being a single homeowner, once in a while one can pick up clues to a lack of a woman's touch.  The mopar 318 v8 block that spent months in his kitchen for example.. 😁

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Town of West Hartford, CT where I grew up had opposite issue, they bought a big ladder truck...and reallized the firehouse was too small after the fact!! 👍😁

 

Side story, a block from firehouse (and new firehouse that had to be built..) a local guy had two rough Cord 810 or 812 sedans in his driveway for years.  $2,500 or so would have bought them 30 or so years back.

[CarFreak]

The Transport Driver had to let air out of the tires so the top wouldn't hit the ceiling. 

 

Fortunately the local town who sold the truck was storing it at an active military facility.  They were able to use a variety of heavy equipment to load it into the trailer.

 

We didn't know the driver was using an enclosed trailer otherwise we would have discussed height.  As it was, he called 10 pm the night before delivery to confirm we had an outdoor loading dock.  NOPE. 

 

Then we remembered our son worked at a local garden center during high school which had an outdoor dock. A quick trip there and the manager was cooperative but for some reason, he later told me he thought it was going to be a piano?!?!?! 

Edited December 14, 2020 by CarFreak (see edit history)

[Guest]

Wouldn't logic dictate that partial disassembly of the truck would easier and more cost conscious than modifying the fire hall?

[8E45E]

On 12/12/2020 at 8:24 PM, Bryan G said:

In kindergarten we all walked down the street to the volunteer fire department for a tour. The chief bragged on their new brush truck which he said the firemen had built themselves. It took me many years to realize he meant they took that new '77 K-20 and mounted a bunch of lights & equipment themselves. I thought they'd built the whole thing, and marveled at how much it looked like my grandfather's new Chevy pickup! 

In kindergarten we read about Mary-Anne-The-Steam-Shovel, and how she was trapped in the basement of the brand new courthouse.  I marveled how they could turn a Bucyrus into a Burnham boiler in a single afternoon!!

 

Craig

[TAKerry]

Theres a great episode on the 'Andy Griffith show' in which Cousin Goober assembles a car inside the courthouse, off of memory it may be something like a 51 Ford.

[dibarlaw]

I believe it was a 1950s Nash.

[Bryan G]

Goober took it apart/put it together several times during that episode