Seeing Red - Part 1 - Chev and GMC

Back when General Motors built a steel tilt cab (1960 to 1981) they marketed Chevrolet and GMC versions that were virtually identical, with only one slight revisions in trim over the years. Sometimes called the L series it had a 72 inch BBC measurement. Never as popular as its direct competitor the Ford C series, or even the later International, it did see many sales to fire departments until closed crew cabs became the norm.

I spotted one survivor of the series today:

Now in the hands of a collector and possible restorer, this Chev ended its working career with a hog farmer in Canning, NS, but is likely a veteran of some Annapolis Valley fire department. The steel cab appears to have survived well. It is the only one I have seen recently, but back in the 1980s and 1990s I saw plenty:

Most of the trucks I saw of this type were straight trucks, but Seagrave built this tractor perhaps in 1965 to tow a 1952 Seagrave tiller steer trailer. Note the "tilt cab" on the trailer - it tilts sideways to access the aerial ladder. Hanover Fire Department, Newark, Ohio ran this rig.

Hantsport, NS had this GMC / Thibault on their roster in 1983.

Annapolis Royal, NS ran a GMC / Pierreville pumper/tanker in 1985.

Chester Basin VFD had a GMC / King-Segrave version in 1987.

 Chatham, NB had a pair of these tilt cabs in 1985, one a GMC/ Thibault running as engine 1,

and the other a GMC / Pierreville as engine 5.

Not all red trucks were fire trucks. Esso Petroleum Canada operated this 1970 GMC refueler at the Halifax airport for many years.

Kelly's Towing from Grand Pré, NS operated a Chev in 1986. The elaborate pinstriping hints at a fire department history for this truck. The theme was repeated on the tow body, which appears to have been the survivor of a previous truck.

Of course not all fire apparatus is red.

 Les Eboulements, QC still had this lime Chev / Pierreville in service in 1996. [see their current pumper tanker in my September 8, 2018 post].

Nowadays when every other truck is painted factory white, a white truck doesn't stand out, but at one time there were several departments that ran white apparatus.

 In 1997 Dickinson, NY VFD had this handsome GMC on their roster. Note that it is a high mount cab (maybe to accommodate a diesel engine?), with canopy extension. The centre console pumper tanker is by Thibault (yes they exported to the US and overseas too) and dates from 1970.

 That arrangement necessitated a longer than normal wheelbase.

I posted more photos of these Chev GMC tilt cabs back in 2010 see: http://truckfax.blogspot.com/2010/03/chev-gmc-tilt-cab.html


To be continued.........

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