1955 Willys Fire Truck: An Amazingly Original Find
With only 5,889 miles on the clock and a history of special care, you won’t find a nicer (or more original) Willys Fire Truck than this one.
Back in the ’50s and ’60s, fire departments utilized a variety of converted, commercial four-wheelers as fire trucks. With Willys cranking out more light 4×4 trucks than just about anyone, that obviously made them popular targets for these conversions. Buyers could simply order up a cab-and-chassis and ring up any number of companies to build a fire engine body.
This stellar 1955 Willys Fire Truck sports a body made by Valley Equipment of Bay City, Michigan. And as part of Omix-ADA‘s “Jeep Collection,” it’s also one of the nicest examples you’ll ever see.
The idea behind the Jeep Collection is to help preserve the brand’s heritage and have easy access to vehicles for product development. Over time, the collection has grown to include a number of significant Jeeps. Jeep Collection’s curator Dave Logan gives us some insight on this beautiful, “blaze-red” Jeep in the latest installment of JK Forum‘s “Behind the Metal,” which shares the fascinating stories behind Omix-ADA’s most impressive builds.
JK Forum: How did you come across such a nicely preserved Willys Fire Truck?
Dave Logan: We attend the Bantam Heritage Jeep Festival every year near Butler, Pennsylvania. At the show two or three years ago, we saw this vehicle in the history center with a for sale sign on it. It was not a strategic buy where we sat and we searched and searched. It was just pure dumb luck that it was there.
What were you able to find out about the history of the truck?
It belonged to the Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) glass research center in Harmarville, Pennsylvania. This truck served as a plant fire protection manned by their Fire Brigade. Every Friday, they would start it and drive it around the plant and then shut it off. Just to make sure that it was in running condition. It only has 5,889 miles on it.
These graphics decals you see are just that, graphic decals. They were personalized for the previous owner. I have since been able to get an employee at PPG to provide me with black and white images of this exact fire truck from 1958, with all the correct graphics on it. At some point, we’ll peel off the decals and have everything hand painted back to the original lettering. When it was sold, the original lettering was painted over for ownership liability reasons.
With so few miles on it, how does it run and drive?
It runs and drives beautifully. In fact, the seller drove it from Pittsburgh up to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour drive. But it took longer, because this isn’t particularly fast.
Is everything original, save for the graphics changes?
The exterior has been repainted, because it sat outside for 35 to 40 years. But everything else is original. Tires, interior, drivetrain, everything.
To see more of the incredible Jeep Collection, head over here!
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