firemanhank
Legacy Registered User
- City
- Ooltewah
- State
- tn
I just wanted to address this thread 1983 Brush Scrambler for auction in SE PA that was started in May. If you haven't seen the thread, I recommend you look at it first.
Its always fun to guess where an auction price will wind up, especially when it is a well advertised auction that lasts 30 days. A few guesses were literally 'right on the money' or very close. Of course, there are those that posted it was crazy money for a Scrambler, especially a niche Scrambler.
Then there are the rust comments. Its crazy how much rust was diagnosed/assumed via mediocre internet pictures.
I was originally sent a link to the auction by an old friend on the second day the auction was posted and I was immediately intrigued.
Here is the picture that really caught my eye.
What I saw immediately was under the bottom door hinge is an area of obvious rust. Looks ominous, I know. But then protruding from the right side of the Fire Dept decal and under the door handle about 6 inches are the letters 'VILLE". Can you see it? I also thought the color of the door was different from the color of the body.
Above is another pic a little closer of the rust. These two pictures are the actual auction site pics. What I was seeing were two different colors. FWIW, I had been diagnosed with red/green color blindness since my first emergency service assignment in 1994. (It has never been a issue, I just don't see the numbers in the red/green color charts at the eye Dr like most do).
The next pic also caught my attention.
Above is another auction site pic. On the hood, where it is marked as Brush 95 B.A.F.& R., look an inch above the hood latch. You see the different color in the hood?
I had my wife look at it multiple times as well to confirm I wasn't seeing things. We agreed it was different. The lettering was also different than the striping, unit number, and Dial 911 letters.
I have been around fire trucks since 1994 and have seen plenty of red fire trucks with silver stripes, letters, numbers, etc. , but these were different .
I knew early on I would bid on it but the jeep was 700 miles from me. There was no way I could drive up and look at it so I called the Fire Chief and introduced myself. Here is the story of the Jeep.
The Liberty Fire Company in New Berlinville, Pa bought the Sebring Red Scrambler on May 5, 1983. It was sent to their shop where the red was repainted to exact red color of their other fire trucks. (It is a subtle difference in color but the interior is still Sebring Red.). All lettering and striping were hand painted. No stickers, no vinyl pin stripes, just good old school hand painted work.
The in house shop installed the water tank, hose reel, and all emergency equipment and It was placed into service as a brush truck/utlity truck that same year. Fast forward 30 years and it was decided the Liberty Fire Company would merge with the neighboring departments to consolidate equipment, manpower, and improve responses. The new department was called Boyerton Area Fire and Rescue.
All of the trucks had to be relettered with the new name. In the case of the Scrambler, the chief explained that they used small pieces of well cut vinyl to cover the old letters, then placed new decals on top of the vinyl. It has been maintained by the fire dept shop and kept inside the engine bay year round. It was always washed after a call and service was performed regularly.
The Scrambler was a true survivor and responded to many, many fires/emergencies.
As a working fire truck, the interior floor boards have very light surface rust and scratches from fire fighters and gear over the years.
I thanked him and waited for the auction to end.
I wound up winning the auction and brought it home. Here is what I found. (These are my pics, not the auctions)
On the hood on both sides under the vinyl. The original hand painted lettering was very well preserved.
On the doors under the vinyl were the original hand painted letters, again, very well preserved.
On the top of the hardtop is the original painted fire dept unit number as used for identification by aircraft. (also a lot of water drops on the jeep)
I wanted to address the rust issues that were addressed in the earlier thread. I asked the chief about the rust on the drivers side door. He told me that over the last 8 years, water would get behind the vinyl they had placed on it. He felt confident it was surface rust in that small area and not bubbled or rotten. When I pulled the vinyl off of the drivers side door, I found the small area under the bottom door mount to have a very light surface rust. The vinyl pulled the old paint and rust right off. It will be an easy fix if I decide to repair it. In my opinion, the rust spot adds to the history of the jeep and fits in as a working jeep.
I believe the fear of rust kept some of the bidders in check which really helped me. The underside of the jeep is immaculate and untouched. The engine is original and retains all of its original equipment except for belts, alternator, and filters. The wheels are original and the tires have been on for 10 plus years. All gauges and lights work on the dash without fail. The department granted me the courtesy of leaving the fire tools as they knew I was a retired fireman. The only items removed were the two way radio and siren box. I had both in my collection here and replaced them as soon as I got it home. The jeep drives like a 17000 mile survivor and I would not hesitate to drive it any distance. Yes, that is a Mack truck bulldog on the hood that any truck guy would recognize. The only hole in the body is for the antenna. All water pump piping is under the body and well done. The pump is actuated via belt driven compressor just as an AC compressor would work.
Hank
Its always fun to guess where an auction price will wind up, especially when it is a well advertised auction that lasts 30 days. A few guesses were literally 'right on the money' or very close. Of course, there are those that posted it was crazy money for a Scrambler, especially a niche Scrambler.
Then there are the rust comments. Its crazy how much rust was diagnosed/assumed via mediocre internet pictures.
I was originally sent a link to the auction by an old friend on the second day the auction was posted and I was immediately intrigued.
Here is the picture that really caught my eye.
What I saw immediately was under the bottom door hinge is an area of obvious rust. Looks ominous, I know. But then protruding from the right side of the Fire Dept decal and under the door handle about 6 inches are the letters 'VILLE". Can you see it? I also thought the color of the door was different from the color of the body.
Above is another pic a little closer of the rust. These two pictures are the actual auction site pics. What I was seeing were two different colors. FWIW, I had been diagnosed with red/green color blindness since my first emergency service assignment in 1994. (It has never been a issue, I just don't see the numbers in the red/green color charts at the eye Dr like most do).
The next pic also caught my attention.
Above is another auction site pic. On the hood, where it is marked as Brush 95 B.A.F.& R., look an inch above the hood latch. You see the different color in the hood?
I had my wife look at it multiple times as well to confirm I wasn't seeing things. We agreed it was different. The lettering was also different than the striping, unit number, and Dial 911 letters.
I have been around fire trucks since 1994 and have seen plenty of red fire trucks with silver stripes, letters, numbers, etc. , but these were different .
I knew early on I would bid on it but the jeep was 700 miles from me. There was no way I could drive up and look at it so I called the Fire Chief and introduced myself. Here is the story of the Jeep.
The Liberty Fire Company in New Berlinville, Pa bought the Sebring Red Scrambler on May 5, 1983. It was sent to their shop where the red was repainted to exact red color of their other fire trucks. (It is a subtle difference in color but the interior is still Sebring Red.). All lettering and striping were hand painted. No stickers, no vinyl pin stripes, just good old school hand painted work.
The in house shop installed the water tank, hose reel, and all emergency equipment and It was placed into service as a brush truck/utlity truck that same year. Fast forward 30 years and it was decided the Liberty Fire Company would merge with the neighboring departments to consolidate equipment, manpower, and improve responses. The new department was called Boyerton Area Fire and Rescue.
All of the trucks had to be relettered with the new name. In the case of the Scrambler, the chief explained that they used small pieces of well cut vinyl to cover the old letters, then placed new decals on top of the vinyl. It has been maintained by the fire dept shop and kept inside the engine bay year round. It was always washed after a call and service was performed regularly.
The Scrambler was a true survivor and responded to many, many fires/emergencies.
As a working fire truck, the interior floor boards have very light surface rust and scratches from fire fighters and gear over the years.
I thanked him and waited for the auction to end.
I wound up winning the auction and brought it home. Here is what I found. (These are my pics, not the auctions)
On the hood on both sides under the vinyl. The original hand painted lettering was very well preserved.
On the doors under the vinyl were the original hand painted letters, again, very well preserved.
On the top of the hardtop is the original painted fire dept unit number as used for identification by aircraft. (also a lot of water drops on the jeep)
I wanted to address the rust issues that were addressed in the earlier thread. I asked the chief about the rust on the drivers side door. He told me that over the last 8 years, water would get behind the vinyl they had placed on it. He felt confident it was surface rust in that small area and not bubbled or rotten. When I pulled the vinyl off of the drivers side door, I found the small area under the bottom door mount to have a very light surface rust. The vinyl pulled the old paint and rust right off. It will be an easy fix if I decide to repair it. In my opinion, the rust spot adds to the history of the jeep and fits in as a working jeep.
I believe the fear of rust kept some of the bidders in check which really helped me. The underside of the jeep is immaculate and untouched. The engine is original and retains all of its original equipment except for belts, alternator, and filters. The wheels are original and the tires have been on for 10 plus years. All gauges and lights work on the dash without fail. The department granted me the courtesy of leaving the fire tools as they knew I was a retired fireman. The only items removed were the two way radio and siren box. I had both in my collection here and replaced them as soon as I got it home. The jeep drives like a 17000 mile survivor and I would not hesitate to drive it any distance. Yes, that is a Mack truck bulldog on the hood that any truck guy would recognize. The only hole in the body is for the antenna. All water pump piping is under the body and well done. The pump is actuated via belt driven compressor just as an AC compressor would work.
Hank
