Oletruckers,
There is a fella just down the street from me who has a 1942 Chevy 1.5
ton troop carrier for sale. I've driven by it a bunch of times and
decided to call about it to get some history. It spent the first year
of its life at Camp Hale near Leadville Colorado. Still has blackout
headlights. Camp Hale is where the famous 10th Mountain Division
trained. The 10th Mtn was specifically trained for winter warfare in
mountainous terrain. My boss was in the 10th back in the 50's. Anyway,
It was then purchased by the city of Meeker, Colorado Fire Department
where it was converted into a fire truck. The fire department owned it
until 1984 when this gentleman (who lived in Leadville) purchased it.
He purchased it with only 5,000 miles on it. He has a certificate from
the fire department verifying this. It now has only 10,000 original
miles on it. He replaced the fire truck bed with an original style
troop carrier bed. This gentleman used it on his property for
snowplowing so it has a plow blade installed. He installed a 12V
alternater to operate the blade. The 6V system is still in place as the
12V only operates the blade. The blade and 12V equipment could easily
be removed. He still has the original front bumper as this was replaced
by the blade equipment. It has a 57 235 which came out of a bread truck
that had been rolled. He says it runs strong. The fire department
painted the truck white, but you can see the original OD green coming
through. This truck is amazingly void of rust. Fire departments take
good care of their vehicles. It is a 4wd truck, of course. He has had
several people interested who want to turn it into a workhorse on their
farm or ranch, but would rather see it purchased by someone who would
maintain it's originality. He even has the original war department
maintenance manual and operators manual which came with the truck. He
is asking $3500. I sure would like to have it. This is a very cool
truck - if only I had somewhere to put it! I might have to meet with
the gentleman and see if I can drive it around just for kicks. He said
it was OK if I gave his phone number out, so here is his name and number
for interested parties.
Jim Hilldebrand
303-424-5914
The truck is located in Wheat Ridge, CO (Denver-Metro area)
Regards,
Mike 56 3200, 46 1/2T, 79 C20
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