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Johnny Davenport's Fire Chief Wagon
Russell Housen sold a very special '59 wagon on eBay, after
two years of ownership. Recently, I heard from the new owner:
"I am the new owner of the 59 plymouth Fire Wagon that
Russ Housen sold. The fire wagon now resides at the Big D flea market.
A little about my self. I am married and have one son and
a granddaughter. I live in Dalton Ga. I love old cars and working on them.
I am presently redoing a '59 Plymouth Fury. I also have a '55 Ford Sunliner
and two '55 Crown Victorias.
My Wife Linda And I started the Big D Flea Market in 1989
with 40 spaces; it is now grown to over 900 spaces. We have three sheds 50x300,
one shed 50x560, and one indoor bldg 50x300. We have new, used, antiques and
junk. We also have a good mixture of different nationalities selling and buying
here. We love and treasure ever one of them."
Here's Russell's original blurb about the Fire Chief Wagon
on eBay:
"Recently featured in several national automobile magazines like November
2001 Car Collector, October 1999 Mopar Magazine and August 2002 Cruisin Style
where this car made the cover, this car has provided my family and I with
the most fun you could ever expect in enjoying this hobby. The car was originally
purchased by a small fire department in New Jersey where it was used by the
Fire Chief. The car mainly sat in the Firehouse remaining mostly unused until
1979 when it was retired. At this time the car had 19,000 miles on it. It
was then sold to a collector and then wound up in the hands of the Peekskill
New York Fire Department. The car was then given a cosmetic restoration, all
the doors, windows and trim were removed, the car was taken down to metal
and then given a fresh coat of the correct color red. The car now has a spectacular
high gloss show quality finish even the door jambs are gorgeous. There was
NO rust whatsoever since this car never saw the outside environment for more
than an hour at a time. This is not your typical tired looking commercial
vehical with high miles. The Firehouse was it's garage. Restoration was photographed
and those pics are available. The undercarriage was cleaned painted and original.
Brakes and suspension had parts replaced as needed. The motor is the Flathead
six (last year it was offered) and still has the original Motorola alternator
which was only availble on commercial vehicles. Original build sheet is also
included. All accessories on the car work including bumper mounted flashing
light and siren, original rotating beacon (GLASS dome), stainless steel searchlight,
motorola 2 way radio, flashing red lights behind the grill, two mounted antique
stainless steel Fire Extinguishers. The interior of the car is original and
as new. If you are able to find a copy of Nov 2001 Car Collector the writer
of the article gives a great description of the cars current condition. The
seats are covered in the original black vinyl typically used in Taxi's and
Police cars of that era. Mechanically the car runs like a clock, the steering
nice and tight and the brakes stop straight. Remember this car has only about
20,000 original documented miles. The car was also fitted with two parade
flag holders, machined out of stainless steel they are attached to the bumper
wings and look great when the flags (included) are mounted. You would not
believe the attention this car gets when pulling on to the showfield with
siren, flashing lights and flags waving..."
