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RARE 1949 CADILLAC FIRE TRUCK JUST SHARING SOME PICTURES

Started by Paul Wier, May 15, 2023, 09:23:34 PM

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Paul Wier

WAS AT THE JUNKYARD A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. TOOK PICTURES OF THIS OLD FIRE TRUCK. WAS SHOCKED TO FIND OUT IT WAS A CADILLAC. WAS TOLD IT WAS TITLED AS A 1949 AND HAD THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION FROM A 1948 CADILLAC WITH A 331 ENGINE. I SNAPPED THIS PHOTOS TO SHARE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE OF THESE BEFORE.
RIP 1953 Caddy 331
RIP 1962 CADILLAC 390
RIP 1964 CADDY 429
RIP 1967 Caddy CONVERTIBLE
RIP 1969 CADILAC 472
RIP 1971 CADILLAC 472
RIP 1972 CADDY 472
RIP 1974 CADDY 500
RIP 1975 CADILAC DEVILLE 500
RIP 1975 CADILLAC ELDORADO 500
RIP 1976 CADDY 500
RIP 1976 CADDY
SUCCESSFUL TRANSACTIONS WITH: 35-709, Snibbor

TJ Hopland

Neat.  Could you tell if the equipment in the back had anything to do with its fire days?  Or another use?  Or just storing scrap metal?
StPaul/Mpls, MN USA

73 Eldo convert w/FiTech EFI
80 Eldo Diesel
90 CDV
And other assorted stuff I keep buying for some reason

Jay Friedman

The front clip is not '49.  Looks like 50-53.
1949 Cadillac 6107 Club Coupe
1932 Ford V8 Phaeton (restored, not a rod).  Sold
Decatur, Georgia
CLC # 3210, since 1984
"If it won't work, get a bigger hammer."

Carfreak

I will share the pictures with Walt McCall, he will know the answer if it really was a Detroit fire department vehicle.

What state was this located?
Enjoy life - it has an expiration date.

Caddy Wizard

Art Gardner


1955 S60 Fleetwood sedan (now under resto -- has been in paint shop since June 2022!)
1955 S62 Coupe (future show car? 2/3 done)
1958 Eldo Seville (2/3 done)

signart

'48's still a flattie, right? Still very unusual.
Thanks for taking time to give us a look.
Art D. Woody

Dr. John T. Welch

That is indeed an authentic piece of DFD equipment. I would be interested to know the location of the salvage yard where it now resides or the photos were taken.
I grew up in Detroit in the late 40s,50s and 60s. My uncle was the Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit, essentially the city attorney. His downtown city hall  office was close to the fire department headquarters on the corner of Washington Blvd. and Larned St.  He loved to take me to the main fire station and chat with his fire department friends while I roamed the cavernous main floor where all manner of fire vehicles were parked in pristine readiness waiting for the bell and the firemen to come down the poles.

Detroit commissioned many unique and purpose built pieces of fire rescue equipment, and  their photos can be viewed at the department's historical website. Most of them were kept downtown at the main station.  I distinctly remember these one-off Cadillac ambulances being there when they were practically new and I would visit the main station. They had a couple of the older 75 series '47,'48 and '49 versions of these same style ambulances.   I had never seen such Cadillacs which were so much bigger than the standard Eureka and S&S ambulances of the era.

Detroit had many unique one-off ambulance -like vehicles used to attend injured fire fighters and civilians  on sites of fires, accidents and disasters. Those vehicles were used solely for that purpose and not general civilian EMS -type  medical emergency duty. Private ambulance
companies  and funeral homes did that in those days.

Thanks for the photos and the memories.
John T. Welch
CLC   24277

J. Skelly

There is an excellent softcover book titled "Detroit Fire Department Apparatus History" by Matthew Lee. c. 1989.  It has 272 pages and all photos are black and white.  I did not see this particular truck in the book.  The Detroit Historical Museum has a good collection of early fire-fighting apparatus.



Jim Skelly, CLC #15958
1968 Eldorado
1977 Eldorado Biarritz
1971 Eldorado (RIP)

Carfreak

Quote from: Walter McCallThanks for this, Sue. I remember this vehicle very well.

It was retired ca. 1972. Very unique, truly one of a kind.

What's your email address? I'll be back to you with more info and photos.

PS: nice to see you folks at the flea market on Saturday....!

Enjoy life - it has an expiration date.

Carfreak

Quote from: Walt McCallHi, Sue.....

This one-of-a-kind ambulance has a fascinating history....

It was custom-built on a special 1937 Cadillac Series 90 V-16 chassis for the Detroit Fire Department. The body was supposedly built by the Meteor Motor Car Co. of Piqua OH, a major manufacturer of ambulances and hearses. In 1951 the ambulance it was rebuilt with a new Cadillac front end and the V-16 was replaced with a Cadillac 346 V8 engine.

The `37 was a gift to the DFD from longtime Detroit Fire Commissioner Paxton Mendelssohn in memory of his mother, as was the 1927 Packard ambulance the `37 replaced. The Mendelssohns were early investors in Fisher Body and became quite wealthy. The `51 ambulance was retired in 1972. and went through several owners. The last time I saw it was in the late 1970s rusting away on a gas station parking lot on Fort St. W.

BTW, the 1927 Packard ambulance has been professionally restored and is still on the road today.

I took the photo of the `51 at a Fire Prevention Week parade in Detroit in the late 1960s.
Hope this helps. - Walt
Enjoy life - it has an expiration date.

Dr. John T. Welch

Paul PM'd me to say he encountered this car at a salvage yard in Sterling Heights, MI.  The yard, now U.S Auto Parts, is the former Warhoops Auto Wrecking.  That is the place where Harry Warholak  stashed away the GM prototypes and Motorama cars sent for demolition by GM from the nearby Tech Center and later sold to Joe Bortz for resurrection and restoration.

I spent a lot of time at Warhoops buying parts (tri-power set ups, positraction differentials, overdrive and 4-speed transmissions) for cars we played with as teenagers. Harry was quite a guy and  he always had all the neat stuff. There was never a visible or even suspicious hint that he was sitting on all the GM prototype and Motorama  gold.

It's fitting and ironic that this vintage Cadillac and  piece of DFD history would end up there in 2023.   
John T. Welch
CLC   24277

Scott Nellis

   Thanks Paul for sharing those photos and starting this thread. Thanks Sue for reaching out to Walter. The man is a walking encyclopedia of professional cars and fire apparatus. He has a mind like a steel trap and an unbelievable memory. We are so fortunate that he takes the time to share his knowledge to all that will listen. Every car has a story, and this one was extraordinary.
1957 Eureka Hearse
1965 Miller-Meteor Hearse
1968 Miller-Meteor Hearse
1968 Fleetwood Brougham
1970 Superior Hearse

Tom Boehm

Notice the wood framing in the front door that is detached.

Dr. John T. Welch


Yes.  Nice elements of the wood composite body custom coachwork structure characteristic of even  some later classics stretching into the early postwar period.

As I mentioned earlier, my uncle would take me to visit the Detroit main  fire station and let me roam around while he talked politics and city business with the fire captains and marshals.  There were always two of the gleaming red and gold-lettered custom built '47-'51 Cadillac ambulances at the ready, one parked front line facing Washington Blvd. and one front line facing Larned St.  Next to them were the famous iconic Detroit Seagrave "Sedan Pumpers".

Firemen instinctively knew what 8-year-old little boys liked. One would always boost me into the drivers seat of a Seagrave, flip on the beacon ray and blip the siren.

A TikTok smart phone can never compare.       
John T. Welch
CLC   24277

J. Skelly

That fire station has been converted into this:

https://detroitfoundationhotel.com/apparatus-room/

I wonder what happened to the V16 that was originally in the vehicle.
Jim Skelly, CLC #15958
1968 Eldorado
1977 Eldorado Biarritz
1971 Eldorado (RIP)

Dr. John T. Welch

Fire station looks a little different from what I remember, but at my age then everything looked big!

I have no idea what happened to the 16 cyl engines in earlier versions. Maybe Mr. Walt McCall would know.

 The Seagrave Sedan Pumpers and ladder trucks of my youth had the Pierce Arrow V-12s. For safety and faultless reliability they had complete dual ignitions: dual spark plugs, wiring harnesses, distributors, coils, batteries, fuses. Very impressive just to look at. 
John T. Welch
CLC   24277

Carfreak

Quote from: Dr. John T. Welch on May 21, 2023, 06:11:43 PMThe Seagrave Sedan Pumpers and ladder trucks of my youth had the Pierce Arrow V-12s. For safety and faultless reliability they had complete dual ignitions: dual spark plugs, wiring harnesses, distributors, coils, batteries, fuses. Very impressive just to look at. 

American LaFrance aka the Cadillac of Fire Apparatus with Lycoming V12 engines also had redundant systems as you describe above. Buy a 100' roll of spark plug wire and you will have less than 12" remaining when finished. 

Speaking of Seagrave 'Detroit Sedans' one was restored for funeral service a few years ago.  It is magnificent but too bad the Cadillac from the pics of the first post in this thread wasn't restored instead.
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2014/03/seagrave-safety-sedan-restored-by.html
https://www.carparts.com/blog/honoring-fallen-comrades-detroit-f-d-restoring-a-1937-seagrave-safety-sedan-for-use-as-a-hearse/

LOL, Walt McCall here discussing the Pierce Arrow V12:   https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/for-detroits-bravest
Enjoy life - it has an expiration date.