Dennis Davin's 1952 Chevrolet 3800 1-Ton

Update from June 2010 -- Dennis has sold this pickup and has gotten a new project: a 1960 GMC 1-ton Panel. ~ Editor

26 December  2003  

From Dennis:

       I'm a new member to your site and have enjoyed it tremendously.  Having gone thru your site, I have noticed that there aren't many projects like mine. Only a few. Well, this is my retirement project.  It's a 1952 Chevy 3800, 1-ton Pickup, with a nine foot box.  I bought this truck about four years ago.

      Here is some history on the truck. It was bought new in 1952 by a local Fire Department in my area.  It originally was what they called a "Grass Truck."  It was for driving into fields that were on fire, where the larger, heavier pumpers couldn't go.  And with the very low first gear, it was perfect for that. 

      It had a 250 gallon water tank mounted in the box with some hard suction hoses mounted on side racks.  I'm not sure how the water was pumped though.  It also had some fire extinguishers and portable water tanks mounted on the running boards. 

      Sometime in early '70's it was semi-retired.  Everything was taken out of the bed and it was used only as a "go for" truck.  It carried rolled hoses back to the Firehouse to be cleaned after a fire. It was also used for transporting tables, chairs and other things to Fire Department functions. 

      In 1978 I was living in Avon NY. I was 18 years old and I joined the Fire Department. I drove this truck many times over the nine years I was there. It was fun to drive.  In 1982 during one of those functions, a new recruit blew the engine.  In the next year, feeble attempts were made to fix it.  The Village then decided they didn't want to invest any more money into it and put it up for a "sealed bid" sale. A farmer in the area won the bid and towed it home.  At that time I didn't know how much he paid for it. 

      For years I never saw the truck or knew if the farmer still had it.  Then one day 12 years after it had left the firehouse, I saw it.  It was Fall then and the leaves had fallen off most of the trees.  I had taken a short cut down the road that the farmer lived on while on my way to a car show 15 miles from there.  It was way in the back corner of the field, sinking into the earth next to some other abandoned farm trucks. 

      To make a long story short, he sold it to me for $450 which is what he had paid the village, plus $50 for a motor he bought to put in it.  So for $500 it ended up in my driveway. 

      I washed it off, took off what fire equipment was on it and that's how it is now.  With two kids in College and another one going on two years from now, my funds are channeled elsewhere .......... for now !!!

      I LOVE this website, and come here often.

Dennis

P.S. -- Did I mention it has 14,964 original miles, along with the original 17" 8-ply tires still on it?

Dennis Davin
"DDinNY"
Bolter # 3957
Caledonia, New York

      Dennis - That is a great story!  Keep us abreast of your progress in the coming years. ~~ Curator