Michael Satterfield
TGR Staff
Most of the time our eBay Watch stories are about the worst of the worst, but today we have found one of the coolest cars on eBay! I would totally rock this to the corner store to pick up some milk, of course, dressed like I fell out of the Great Gatsby with gloves and goggles.
Check out the eBay Listing and More Photos Below. You can buy it now for just $149,000…
Originally starting life as an American Lafrance fire truck, this speedster, completely left with its original patina as you can see from the photos; is to say the least, a remarkable ‘beast’. According to the identification markings; and to the best of my knowledge, the VIN plate number of 3646 indicates that this speedster was built from a 1921 type 14-6 combination service short chassis fire truck sold to the Wilmington, DE fire dept. The 6 cylinder engine stamped 2170 is from a 1918 type 31-6-75 front drive aerial ladder fire truck originally sold to the Shreveport, LA fire dept. The cast aluminum cowl appears to have come from an American Lafrance built between 1927 and 1930. When this was all done, I do not have any idea. Regardless, you don’t what “awesome” is until you drive this car.
If you’re wondering why the car is titled as a 1915, there are 2 reasons. One is because that’s what it looks like, and two is because that’s the way the previous owner had it titled. So rather than fight with the dept of motor vehicles, I left it as a 1915.
Mechanically, this entire vehicle has been gone through in the past 4 months, with the following performed: New radiator core: $6000. All fluids replaced. With the exception of the differential(takes 600 weight oil) The correct non-detergent oil was used for both the engine and transmission.
Center cylinder water jacket housing repaired. Clutch plates replaced. Brakes adjusted. New gaskets for the 3 brass water domes and all-new hold-down bolts, including new hoses and clamps. Starter motor cast aluminum cover was replaced with a new re-machined tempered steel cover.
This 6 cylinder motor runs on 12 spark plugs. 6 off the distributor and 6 off the magneto. They are timed in perfect synchronization. This car runs smooth and strong and starts the first time, every time! The starter motor has been converted to 12 volts. For the first time, probably ever, a muffler was added to accommodate the 3-1/2″ exhaust pipe. An alternator has also been recently added.
