We recently realized our special Truck of the Month series had not featured a fire truck! How did that happen?
Our reminder was seeing this very special 1948 GMC Fire Truck restored to look and even operate as it did 75 years ago.
The owner and person responsible for this creation is KEVIN BROWN, the fire chief of the Bovina Center, New York Fire Department. What an incentive to do your best in this excellent restoration!
Prior to the arrival of this NEW GMC fire truck in 1948 at least three fire companies had been organized in close adjacent communities in the Catskill Mountains near upstate Bovina Center, New York. At that time, some equipment still consisted of a hand drawn hose cart and another for a hand ladder cart, (before city water lines) all pulled by able body volunteers. (The department still shows these original pieces at community events.)
Why no carried water in the very early years before fire hydrants? Too heavy for the volunteers! As an open well existed by at least most homes, the fire fighter’s hose could be dropped in the well or a nearby pond and hand pumped to the nearby fire! (We have come a long way!) Of course, this area had fire hydrants before our feature truck. This future truck was in the plans.
The residents of these rural fire districts knew it was time to buy a full-fledged fire truck. With water mains and hydrants installed a few years before, a motorized truck was needed to also help residents to lower their high fire insurance costs! A fire truck could go to a nearby fire hydrant to get water! The truck also carried 175 gallons for fires away from a water source (could now be refilled by a fire hydrant).
And Now the Details of this Special Fire Truck begins!
This article is the story of Bovina Center’s first fire truck and now is one of the very few remaining in the USA in its original township and has survived there, to be exactly like it was 75 years ago.
It was ordered in Feb. 1948 as a new Cab and Chassis from the local GMC dealer for $1,659.88. No firefighting equipment was included but it was certainly ordered in red.
This GMC 300 is a 1½ ton with (161” wheel base). Its inline six cylinder engine has 248 cubic inches, with 89.5hp, the largest at that time. This was the first year for GMC to offer a 4 speed synchronized transmission. No more double clutching as you went through the gears.
It came with a very dependable 6 volt positive ground electrical system. Including two negative cables (one from the battery to the frame rail and the other from the ear of the starter to the frame rail). The positive cable from the battery to the starter must be very heavy group #1 gauge or larger. As General Motors knew, good current flow is a must for an acceptable 6 volt system. (This was for all their 6 volt vehicles not just a GMC firetruck.)
It was also special ordered with the optional vacuum shifted 2 speed differential that gave 6.17 and 8.10 gearing. This gives it about 50 mph top speed.
Next came the fire truck body. It was custom made by Fire Apparatus Engineering (FAE) Company located in Clayton, NY. This is what they did for so many communities in the northeast part of the U.S. All must be made just right for wheel base, horsepower, and weight limitations of their customers to be a fire truck. This was an additional $3,984.00 on top of the cost to the cab and chassis. A lot of money for a small community, especially in 1948.
The state of New York assigned this fire truck #531 and most local residents knew it by this number. It was the districts number one firefighting truck for 38 years! So many buildings, private houses, and some lives had been saved because of truck #531 and its volunteer crew. It actually became an icon to Bovina Center, NY and the surrounding area.
We suspect it never missed a local parade but was always ready, even then, in case a call came in.
Over its almost 40 years there had been so many improvements in firefighting equipment, especially in trucks. Bovina Center knew, by now their truck needed an upgrade. Small repairs parts were occasionally needed and the availability of new replacements for an older fire truck were getting more difficult to find when they were needed immediately. Therefore, a new updated truck was purchased and #531 was decommissioned in October 1986.
Almost all city and county vehicles that are to be sold, are put up for public bid. It is a fair method and allows the vehicles to bring a better price for the owners.
Retired fire trucks are low mileage, well maintained, and always have more value to a farm or local business owner. Once the fire truck body and related equipment are removed, it is ready for usually a wood flat bed with maybe side racks. They are ready for hauling. So much less expense than buying all new!
Kevin Brown, the current fire chief, had known this truck most of his life. About 2015, he began thinking, “I wonder what happened to the old #531.” Kevin’s curiosity grew. He only remembered it was sold to a local farmer with the high bid. This was almost 30 years after the city sold it. So Kevin put the word out locally. Rumors in small communities travel fast and soon the grandson of that farmer made the first call to Kevin. “I think I know where Grandpa stored the truck.”
Very quickly Chief Brown met with the grandson in 2015 to see if this was actually the “real” truck. It was found stored for 28 years in a farm equipment barn. Kevin removed some dust to see if it was really red!
It had been driven to the farm with the intention of installing a more farm-friendly bed. First driven to a back, out of sight, field where the fire truck bed was removed and left by a fence row for 28 years. Miraculously, it still resided in the same place! Note the photo below showing a small corner of the bed after some weeds were removed! There were the letters, Bovina Center, NY.
View of some of the body with 28 years of vegetation covering it.
This was so great to Kevin, as most all parts were still there. He could now bring it back to “as it once was” with lots of time (and money). Only the ladder racks, grab bars and a booster reel were missing. The suction hose rack, 4” hoses, bed boards, and hose bed dividers had all been put in storage with the chassis in 1987.
This occurrence made the restoration possible! The farmer had not gone further after he removed the fire truck bed. For some reason, not even a replacement flatbed was added. Basically, most all had just been stored.
Kevin was excited and ready to haul it all back to town and bring it all back to life. Oops, not so fast! For some reason, the elderly owner was not ready to sell.
“Is he serious?” Kevin would not give up. He kept in contact for five years until 2020. Then, a phone call said, “Grandpa is ready to sell the truck.” Kevin was at the farm the next morning with payment. A week later, a roll back arrived at the farm. With the assistance of the farm’s machines, the body was reunited with the cab and chassis after 33 years.
We can only imagine how covered the fire truck body was with these years of weeds and tree saplings (which later became trees). It appears, only grandpa knew where it was! This was the day Kevin had waited for almost 5 years!
When the FAE approves their work, this symbol is attached.
Testing the old veteran after 28 years.
One very important fact that made this restoration so successful. This cab and chassis were kept inside away from New York winter weather. Of course, one thing now was really important first: The cab and chassis needed a serious bath. Twenty eight years of dust went down the drain! Next: the oil pan was removed and all evidence of its contents were replaced.
So surprising: Fresh oil, gasoline, new ignition parts, plus a battery and she roared back to life. Soon, all new wheel cylinders and the master cylinder were replaced. It was then put on the road for the first time in 38 years!
One of the most important things to Kevin occurred a few weeks later. He drove the cab and chassis back to the farm where it had been stored and gave 86 year old Ernest Hanselman (Grandpa) a ride. Ernest could barely contain his excitement!
Later that day Kevin stopped the truck by a local river to test the pump. To Kevin’s surprise, the pump was still full of green antifreeze! A month later several pumper trucks, now in Bovina Center’s fleet, were tested for water flow. Kevin’s 71 year old truck joined them and pumped 450 gallons/minute. Later, upon removing the 4” suction hose it was found the intake screen to be ¾ full of rotten cattail reeds (maybe from that first private test a month prior).
A later test of Bovina Center pumper trucks, this 1948 (still only cab and chassis) water flow without the cattail reeds reached 559 gpm. Really great numbers! About as good in 1948.
Yes, the GMC truck’s six cylinder engine also pumps the water from the river. This pump supplies water to the two upper hoses for better firefighting.
Bringing the Total Fire Truck Back to Life
With most of the mechanical needs taken care of, it was time to start the restoration on more visible parts that make it a fire truck. As most new reproduction parts do not exist, some items were hand built. For example, the “checker step plates” for the rear and side were discontinued many years ago. It was determined that standard diamond plate would be a good replacement.
Yes, the corrosion and damage to the aluminum body setting outside for so many years was also repaired by Kevin in his garage. No doubt he learned many new skills in this big project. This was truly referred to as a “self-devoted” project.
The 175 gallon water tank did not survive the many years in the back pasture. It had several rust holes the size of your fist. In Kevin’s hunt, he found a 150 gallon poly tank (it will outlast the truck). Good fit and he made it fully operational. The original pieces for the steel cover and the tank fill towers were saved to maintain the tank’s exterior look.
Great that so many of the original pieces in this restoration were located and reunited with the truck. The 4” suction hoses along with their mounting rack were found in the farm equipment building with the cab and chassis.
Even some original fire extinguishers and the wood ladders were in Bovina Center Fire Station.
And Now Comes a “Special Talent.” It must be Perfect!
It’s now the fall of 2021, and truck #531 is almost complete. It just needs the appearance details that makes a fire truck “stand out” in any crowd, from actual firefighting to local parades!
One of these restoration steps was to take #531 to Middletown, NY. Kevin met with Ed May; a professional Artist, for the required very detailed gold leaf and pin striping that most fire trucks have. Ed spent an afternoon documenting the gold leaf and pin striping that was originally done in 1949 by George Luttinger of Syracuse, NY. George Luttinger provided gold leaf and pin stripe services for the Fire Apparatus Engineering C. (FAE) from 1934 until the early 1960’s when his eyesight diminished and could no longer work. George Luttinger had a very unique pin stripe style that usually included three serifs in white along with the gold leaf designs.
In mid-October of 2021the truck’s body once more was separated from the chassis for a full paint job. With the assistance of fire fighter Bill Sprague from Delhi, NY the truck received a coat of “Victory Red” paint. The rest of the winter was spent reassembling the truck. In March of 2022 it was towed to New Jersey where the gold leaf and pin striping was recreated by Ed May. Ed spent about 1 ½ weeks working to create the original artwork based off on the tracings made the previous fall. See photos of Ed doing his talents.
After restoration, the summer of 2022 was filled with many parades and shows including the town of Bovina’s Bicentennial celebration in early August where #531 provided entertainment as the biggest lawn sprinkler imaginable! This truck will now live on for many more years telling the history of the great volunteer fire services in the area!
Kevin Brown is also the President of the newly formed “Catskills Leatherheads” SPAAMFAA chapter located in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in NY. This chapter was officially approved at the June 2022 summer SPAAMFAA national convention. This truck was a part of their National Convention on June 3rd 2023 in Hancock, NY.
Best of the Best!
You can contact the special person that is responsible for making #531 live again:
Kevin Brown at: kevin.n2zpy@gmail.com
