1952GMC720T740Fire750Truck1949Pickup1950Chevrolet1951a1952Diamond1953b1954c850

Description

This "HUGE" 1952 GMC model 720 firetruck "survivor" has a 177" wheelbase and 11.0 x 20 tires. The track of the front wheels is about 80" which is 24" wider than the 56" track of the front wheels on the much more common 1-1/2 ton GMC and Chevrolet trucks of this vintage. The previous owner told me that the engine of this truck has been updated to a 454 Chevrolet gasoline V8 with a similar vintage of manual 5-speed transmission behind it. This truck has the original 10 hole Budd 20" steel disc wheels, single speed rear axle and vacuum boosted hydraulic drum brakes.
The
newer engine in this truck is not stuck so I plan to try to make it run soon. I will first remove both of the valve covers and check for any stuck valves. I will then drain the engine oil and replace it and the oil filter. I will then remove the spark plugs and squirt some oil in each cylinder. I will then remove the distributor and use a special tool to turn the oil pump with an electric drill to pump oil throughout the engine until it shows at most of the valve rocker arms. Then I will replace the spark plugs, install a new battery, hook up an auxiliary gas tank and attempt to start the engine. I will add notes to this description as I pursue making this engine run. The former owner told me he had this engine running about 3 years ago.
The last photo of this listing shows a restored GMC 750 which is "NOT" part of this listing. I have included that photo for your reference only so you can see how stunningly impressive any of the HUGE GMC models 720, 740, 750 and 850 trucks really are. Please notice how it dwarfs the smaller Chevrolet or GMC truck in the background. I believe all of the 700 series and 800 series GMC trucks share the same wider and taller cab. It also appears that they have a grille with 6 rather than 5 horizontal bars. I believe all of the 600 series of GMC trucks have the shorter grille with 5 rather than 6 horizontal bars. I also believe the 600 series GMC trucks and all of the smaller GMC trucks have the smaller and narrower cabs that are also used on Chevrolet trucks of this same vintage.
The width of the seat between the insides of the doors is 72" wide which is 12" wider than the 60" width on
the 1949
to early 1955 vintage smaller GMC and Chevrolet trucks. This truck has a very special cab which is about a foot wider than the cabs used on the smaller and much more common GMC and Chevrolet trucks of the same vintage. Of course, the dash panel is also a foot wider to fit the wider cab.
The cab doors are about 60 inches tall which is 9" taller than the 51" tall doors used on the smaller GMC and Chevrolet trucks of this vintage. When both the left and right cab doors are open, one can see a 12-volt battery under the cab floor on both sides of the cab. The windshield panes on this truck are                  " tall compared to the                       " tall panes used on the smaller GMC and Chevrolet trucks of this vintage. The wider and taller cab with taller doors and windshield panes really set it apart from it's smaller cousins.
Many surviving firetrucks of this vintage seem to have been "stripped" of lights, sirens, and other accessories when they were decommissioned by the company that bought them new. That is not really the case with this great old truck. It has an old unity spotlight on the center of the top of the cab, a pair of lights on the upper outer corner of the cab and a large spotlight that one rarely sees mounted on the right-hand running board. The motor-driven Federal siren is still on the left front fender and I have the missing cover but it has some age cracks in it.
All of the 4 separate seat cushions appear to have been reupholstered in a perforated heavy black vinyl not very long ago and are still in very nice condition.
The right-hand door window works fine but the driver's door window appears to have a stripped pinion on the window regulator. Please let me know if this regulator is the same as those used on the smaller GMC and Chevrolet trucks or it you know where to get repair parts for it.
All of the information I can find so far lists this vintage of GMC truck as having been shipped from the factory with a 6-volt electrical system. It appears that this truck was converted to a 12-volt electrical system when the Chevrolet 454 V8 was installed several years ago.
The pair of front bias ply tires were new about 3 years ago. The 4 rear tires all match and appear to be in like new condition. According to the data sheets I have looked at for this series of GMC trucks, I suspect this truck may have been shipped from the factory with 10.0 x 20 tires all around which were upgraded to 11.0 x 20 tires at a later date.
Judging from the words "ARDEN F D" that are stamped on both of the larger pump suction fitting covers, I believe this truck may have been used in Arden California at one time. Since both cab doors have been repainted at some time, I suspect this truck was used in Cutler California after it was decommissioned by the fire department in Arden California. I am trying to work with the fire departments in Arden (Sacremento area) and Cutler California to learn more about the history of this gem.
This truck appears to have no rusted out sheet metal anywhere so that would indicate it may indeed have spent much of its life in dry and sunny California. The only body or sheet metal damage I have found so far is in the area of the cab cowl behind the left front fender and in front of the left door. Whatever damage was there was poorly repaired and some filler material is coming loose there. There is NO indication that the left door check strap broke and that the left door swung too far ahead and bumped into the bottom of the cowl. That seems to have happened fairly often on trucks of this vintage but is definitely NOT the case with this truck.
This truck has w
hat I believe is a "Coast" fire pumper body judging from that name on the pair of caps covering the suction fittings on both sides. The pump is a piston type Waterous unit that is rated at 750 gallons per minute at 150 pounds per square inch of pressure. That pump is driven from a PTO on the side of the transmission running 4 V-belts up to the front of the pump.
I suspect this truck had a pair of power operated hose reels on the back but the left reel assembly appears to be missing.
I am certainly no authority on this make of fire pumper body so please help me out here if you possibly can.
I have the chrome plated motor cover that is not shown on the siren motor on the siren that is mounted on the left front fender. It has a few stress cracks in it and will need to be repaired or perhaps replaced to make that siren look like new again. The rotating red emergency light on top of the cab appears to be much newer than the vintage of this truck. I assume it was upgraded when the drivetrain in this truck was updated and the 12-volt electrical system added. All of the dash gauges are newer than the original gauges due to the 12-volt electrical system upgrade.
The chrome plated handrail on the right rear corner of this truck was damaged some time ago when someone likely backed into something with it. I do not plan to repair that damage at this time and will leave that task to the new owner.
The chrome plated grille is still very nice with no damage other than some light rust in a few places that might be able to be polished out without much work. The chrome plated front bumper is super nice and straight and damage free except for some problems with the plating. It seems that the chrome plating has disappeared in several places leaving the yellower nickel plating intact. This seems to be a fairly rare occurrence as far as I know. Chrome plating is usually intact unless it is rusted and pitted or literally peels off. The bumper would look better if it were polished but it will always have the yellower nickel plating showing unless it is stripped and re-chromed.
I have a good open Montana title for this truck. I am keeping nothing from this truck so everything you see in these photos will be included. This truck is stored at a friend's fairly secure outdoor location and can be left there for a few months if you are planning a trip to beautiful Montana sometime this spring, summer or fall. Thanks a lot, Bob Woodburn - phone 406-799-1847 in Bozeman Montana USA