Larry Canterbury's 1958 Chevy Spartan 100 Fire Truck

21 May 2007 Update
# 1915

From Larry :

           Here are some additional pictures of the Spartan. The one above is a black and white photo of the truck taken in 1967 when it was in service at the Greenbrier Hotel.

           For those asking about the pump, I finally had a chance to check it out. It seems to be a Centrifugal pump. The rating had three different sets of numbers. I am sending a few pictures. One is the original state inspection 1957-1958 and the other is Oren plate and pumping plate information.

           Sorry I missed the Winchester, Virginia event. Hope to catch up with everyone at some point!

           As I get older I don’t know which I miss more, my mind or my knees!

Larry Canterbury
"Cannonball"
Bolter # 13677
Covington, Virginia

11 April 2007
# 1915

From Larry :

           My son and I recently bought a 1958 Chevrolet Spartan 100. It is a 500 gpm fire truck made by Oren in Roanoke, Virginia. It was originally purchased by the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. After 20 years of service it was acquired by Sweet Springs West Virginia rescue squad where it sat in their garage for 28 years without being used.

           This truck is a very low mileage vehicle with only 5289 miles when we purchased it. It came with a 348 cid engine with 4 barrel carburetor.

           We cleaned out the gas tank, fuel lines and replaced the filter and fuel pump. The engine started and runs very smooth. The truck itself does not run very smooth as the tires must have flat places. New tires are probably in order before any parades.

           We had tried to buy this truck for several years. Then last fall they put it up for sealed bids. We bid enough and maybe too much but just had to have it! No regrets.

           A few tales of the truck. One just about scared me to death and the other I am kind of ashamed of! On the day I was supposed to pay for the truck and get the title, I decided to make sure the engine was not stuck. I hooked jumper cables from a pickup to the fire truck. When I stretched up to hook the last cable, all of the red lights and the siren came on. This old heart was definitely stressed!!!

           Another time we had cleaned the gas tank and replaced the fuel filter. My son had gone to make up a fuel line for the fuel pump. I wondered if I could blow into the gas tank and force gas thru the filter. I came to three conclusions. No 1, yes, this can be done. No 2, the gas will continue to siphon. No 3, ten gallons of gas is not good on the floor under a truck even if it is a fire truck. My wife was kind enough to lay on the floor and hold her finger over the end of the line while I unhooked the line from top of tank and broke the vacuum. We limited it to maybe a gallon and had it cleaned up before our son returned.  Pshew!

           My earliest memories of Stovebolts were when I was very small riding in my Dads 1945 Chevrolet dump truck. I would stand in front of my Mother with my fingers locked in the defroster slot and nose as close to the windshield so as not to miss anything. He later had a 1948 with a flat dump.

           Thanks for your tireless efforts with the web site. It has provided me with many hours of enjoyment.

Regards,

Larry Canterbury
"Cannonball"
Bolter # 13677
Covington, Virginia