The (perhaps) I wish it was mine 409 fire truck thread
 

G'day folks,


I thought I'd give this a try and see how much interest there is: A few years back big old Mercedes buses and campers were all the rage - we'll see if tastes have changed or not.

From the outset I want to make it clear that this is not my truck. It just happens to be in the same building where I have my workshop. I asked the owner if he wouldn't mind me posting up a few pictures of this project and his response was positive, so here goes...

...I get the impression (that perhaps) he'd like to show off his project a bit but that he doesn't really have the time to be arsing about with the internet as well as scraping off the rust and the paint.


Anyway here it is =>

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1542468787

Quite a few of these old fire trucks have survived. They're more populous than say the tipper trucks or the buses. They're quite popular in Holland - they often get reconfigured into "food trucks" or campers. The owner of this one wants to convert it to a camper.

The reason why so many of the fire trucks have survived is this =>

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1542468787

That's 47273 km == 29374 miles - so it hasn't really been used: Spent most of its life waiting.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1542468787

This truck used to have roller shuttering on the sides and a big water tank in the back. The tank leaked a bit so there's a fair amount of work to be done to the body structure - the chassis seems remarkably sound

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1542468787

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1542468787

Well we'll see how this thread goes. If there's interest I'll post up more progress pictures otherwise I won't!

Old Fire Trucks
 

Yes, please do keep on posting with pictures, most here will enjoy looking at the hard works and niggly bits being sweated over .

As a retired government mechanic who grew up on rural farms that bought and used lots of cheap ex fire and military rigs I can tell you that the odometer may only have 29,000 miles but the rig proper may have 20X that much time spent idling away.....

Not to say it's going to be bad just be aware whenever you're bidding on used fleet equipments .

OK will do - it won't be as in-depth as my other threads cos it ain't mine but hopefully there'll be enough progress to keep you interested




That's interesting you say that - why do you think that? (Especially you because of your expertise)



The owner told me it has an OM314 fitted - now I'm going to go have to have a closer look to see if it was converted...

Was that all it was?


The 409 was part of the rhyme!


Add in the "D" and it is not satisfyingly...


[I'll ask the owner about the chassis number]