|
| This is a unrestored 1926 Gotfredson Bickle fire truck. Originally owned by the town of Merriton [since incorporated into St.Catharines] it was sold in the early 60's. It was tracked down and purchased by a local firefighter, AL Lobsinger in 1982 and returned to running condition with very little actual restoration being done. Al was born and raised in Merriton and remembers the truck from his childhood. Bullet holes in the rad were repaired and a correct rear axle was located and installed. The original had been replaced early in its career with a heavy duty dual wheel axle. |
|
| All chrome and paint is original although some may have been redone in the early 30's. At that time the fire hall burned down and this truck fell in to the basement! As the truck was still new and had received little damage it was repaired and put back in service. |
|
| Can you imagine driving this to a fire in the winter, no windshield or heater. Some paint is missing but it was decided not to repair this as the original condition is so excellent and the vehicle is always stored inside. |
|
| This is a large truck and still carries most of its original ladders and hoses etc. We are not sure what this truck weighs but consider this, there are NO front brakes and the rear brakes are a drum setup. One brake shoe is used as an emergency brake and the other shoe is used to stop the truck during normal driving. Brave men those early fire fighters! |
|
| The engine is the original 6 cylinder with 2 spark plugs per cylinder. It has a 41/8 inch bore with a 5 inch stroke for a total of 400 cubic inches. It has 1 standard points type distributor and 1 magneto setup so it can run on either or both ignitions systems at the same time. To our knowledge these are the original plugs and wires from the factory. Mr. Lobsinger has been involved with this truck for a number of years and all his research indicates they have never been changed. It was in our shop for a safety inspection before transferring to new owners. The only work needed was to tighten a loose pitman arm! |
|
| Other than the rear axle change, the only restoration was to upholster the seat in original red leather. The excellent condition is probably due to its low mileage. The speedometer shows just over 4000 miles and many of those are not road miles. A little explanation is needed here. Most fire trucks drive the water pumps with the driveshaft that goes through the pump and then to the rear axle. This means that while pumping water to fight a fire the speedo is working as the front half of the driveshaft that goes in to the pump is turning but the rear half is disengaged so the vehicle does not move. Due to this feature actual road miles are probably very low. Mr. Lobsinger recently decided to sell the truck. He really wanted it to stay here in the city so he contacted a local council member, Wendy Patriquin, who spearheaded a campaign to purchase the truck. Local business's raised money to buy the truck and as it was to stay here in the city Mr. Lobsinger sold it at well below its estimated value. No tax money was used to buy the truck, but ownership was turned over to the city of St.Catharines with one stipulation. The truck is not to be restored so it can be used in parades and displays and children can climb aboard to experience such a rare vehicle up close. Congratulations to all those involved in keeping this piece of history here for all to enjoy. |
|
