We’ve featured a few firefighting appliances here on Barn Finds, but we haven’t had anything quite like this one. I have to thank Barn Finders Marc and Peter R for spotting this one for us because this is an absolute beauty. It is a rare vehicle, and it is worth a look. You will find it listed for sale here on eBay. This big Ford is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is being offered for sale with a clean title. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $15,100.

It’s hard to know where to start with this particular vehicle, so it’s probably best to start with the vehicle’s lineage, as this explains how this vehicle came to exist. The base for the truck is a 1956 Ford COE C500 truck, powered by a 272ci V8 engine. The truck then proceeded to the renowned Marmon-Herrington factory. This company were specialists in this era for their work in undertaking 4-wheel drive vehicle conversions, mainly for military purposes. Once the vehicle had received its conversion, it was then shipped to Canada, where its next port of call was at the factory of King-Seagrave Ltd. This company then undertook all of the work to convert the vehicle into the fire-fighting apparatus that you see here. Historic data is quite vague on this, so this is where we come to rely on information provided by the owner. He states that 11 of these vehicles were built for the Canadian military as fire tenders on artillery ranges. According to the owner, virtually all of the original 11 vehicles were destroyed, leaving this as the only complete vehicle in existence. The owner also provides a link to this YouTube video, which gives you a full overview of the vehicle.

This truck is just stunning to look at. It underwent a full restoration two years ago, and the level of detail in this restoration is just jaw-dropping. The body and frame are completely free of rust, and the paint finish is close to perfect. Since the restoration, the vehicle has been kept in climate-controlled storage and has only been out for display purposes. However, it’s when you start to take a close look at the photos that you truly begin to realize and appreciate the amount of work that has gone into every detail of the restoration.

You look at the vehicle and realize that the picks and shovels have the correct timber handles, with the ones on the shovels being single piece “split timber” items. All of the knapsack sprayers are present and operational. The spigots on the back of the vehicle provide gravity feed from the on-board water tank to fill the knapsacks. Those steps on either side of the vehicle at the back are designed to fold flush into the bodywork when not in use. All of these items have been painstakingly restored so that the vehicle looks and is equipped exactly as it was when it rolled out the doors of King-Seagrave.

The original water pump for this vehicle has also been completely restored, along with all of the plumbing and pipes. While the spigots on the back of the vehicle are gravity fed, the vehicle also has a number of hoses and nozzles which are fed from an onboard water tank via this pump.

The interior of this beauty is at one with the rest of the vehicle. Once again, the restoration has been beautifully complete, and the interior trim (such as it is) is perfect. An unusual feature of this vehicle is that it is fitted with seat belts, and these are an original fitment for this vehicle. Apparently, these were considered as essential equipment due to the open nature of the cab, and the fact that the vehicle mainly operated on rough terrain.

Under the hood is the 272ci Ford V8 engine. This sends drive via a 4-speed manual transmission to the Marmon-Herrington 4-wheel drive system. This system incorporates selectable high and low range modes to cope with the varied terrain that the vehicle operated in.

Looking at a vehicle like this, it is virtually impossible to place a value on it. As a fire-fighting appliance, there is virtually nothing comparable that was used in civilian life. As a military vehicle, it looks to be the only remaining example of its type. It will never return to active duty, but whoever buys this will have a truly unique vehicle to display at car and truck shows.