VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 '35 Chevy 1 1/2 ton PU

I have a '35 Chevy which was made in August in Oakland. It was purchased by the California Division of Forestry (CDF) in late '35. It was converted from a PU to a Fire Truck at one of the CDF shops and placed into service in late '35 or early '36.
My dad went to work in '37 and this was his first fire truck.

It has a Viking midship pump powered from a Chelsi PTO.

My pop passed last Feb. My intention was to have this up and runing so he could ride in a parade or just down the road.

I am wondering if any one has some additional history on these fire trucks. What type of tools and how many, what type of ID, engine numbers, type of code 3 equipment if any, etc.

I have the fire truck stripped to the frame at this time and am preparing to paint the frame.
Have the wood infrastructure on order. The sheet metal is very straight and it appears all the pieces are intact.

John Boy

John boy I have some pictures of 34-35 firetrucks I can copy for you. I can help on the Chevrolet components. E-mail me with post office address and I'll send them to you. What are the ID numbers on your zinc plate (RH side of engine compartment firewall)?

The info is 6QD07 627? I need more info on what CDF did with thes vehicles how many were purchased in '35. I have been told that this was manufactured in Oakland in August of '35. It has duals and as I have stated, it is a '35 PU. I have just redone the tranny with new gaskets. The Chelsi PTO looks in good shape, but the Viking Pump is in poor shape. I am putting a '57 vintage 235 in her with the oringinal bell housing.
Thanks for the contact and I will email you as I need the bearing retainer on the front of the tranny.

i would like to see how you are going to put a 235 on a original 35 bell housing as the bolt patern is not the same .

Well, you may be correct....when I matched the two housing, the holes appeared the same. That may mean that my housing is NOT a '35. The tranny that the housing came from has the clutch/break mounting bracket holes and this same housing fits the '57 engine. Something sour in Denmark?
Anyway, thanks for the heads up. I may need to stick with the '49-'56 235 that was in the fire truck when I picked it up.

Push Rod
You are correct. As it turned out, the original motor was replaced with a PG 235 and the new BH was used. I bolted this housing on the '57 235 just to make sure. Thanks for the info.