By LongRoofian
Well my fellow Hoons, ever since this olelongrooffan started driving my new baby longroof, my on the road exploits have mostly been destination driven. Well after I posted that tidbit of information, this olelongrooffan once again began pondering what a real balanced existence is. I mean, yes, my job is important and I believe in giving as much as I have to my employer, however, we all need to have balances in our lives. As such, this olelongrooffan decided during that fateful trip across the Everglades to stop and take a moment to smell the exhaust fumes every once in a while. Well, my fellow Hoons, I had just exited off of Eisenhower’s Interstate System when I spotted this Cargostar sitting under that live oak tree just waiting for this olelongrooffan to take a moment and enjoy its nuances. And I did.
Yeah, this is the sight I saw as I was traveling along that roadway on my way to one of my projects over in the FantasyLand that is Naples, Florida. Well, this olelongrooffan immediately engaged the pedal that provides stopping power to my baby longroof and hung a lewey onto that adjacent street to capture a few images of it to resurrect a dormant series here in the Hooniverse, Long Shots.
Now, this olelongrooffan, like I would suspect most of my fellow Hoons do, appreciates the funky and off beat vehicles of our present and past. And cabover trucks fit the latter category. Sure, Isuzu and others have many available cabover trucks available but can any modern company beat a Blue Oval cabover or one offered by a company famous for tractors? Yeah, it’s an INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER.
I am fairly certain that while this sweet ole Cargostar was in the livery of whatever fire department possessed it, it was in somewhat better condition than it is these days. Rust could be found all over this truck, especially along the lower edge of the cab at its pivot points.
The interior was not in much better shape. The headliner was falling and there were several cans of starter fluid laying about. The transmission lever reminds this olelongrooffan of MOPAR’s A100 series of forward control vans the way it was dash mounted. That loose leaf binder laying on the floor was the service manual for this oldie. I can only imagine the stories this ole truck could share with we Hoons if only that were possible.
This olelongrooffan can only wonder how many swimming pools could be filled with the water this ole pumper truck put through that ancient pump during its lifetime.
The hoses and most of the accessories were not existent on this old firetruck. I would suspect age had gotten to them and they merely crumbled apart over the years. And while the roof top lightbar on the front appeared to be somewhat late model, those bubbles on the rear end appear to be period correct.
I couldn’t ascertain whether these tires were re-caps as would have been done back in the day but the tread on them sure looked adequate for winter time use up north. Down here in the Sunshine State, street tires rule the roost on our municipal firetruck fleets.
And even though this ole firetruck seemed somewhat ghostly to this olelongrooffan, there was an occupant
or two hanging around to keep things lively. When I opened this passenger side door, another one of those reptiles jumped out right at me. I think this olelongrooffan jumped even higher though.
Images Copyright Hooniverse 2013/longrooffan
Jeff Glucker 
Kamil Kaluski
Longrooffan, did you just walk up and open the door of some random fire truck?
As he discovered, that's a good way to get frog-marched.
He could've gotten croaked!
You guys . . . don't jump to conclusions. That's a pretty big leap.
You're toadally right. I overreacted.
"I had just exited off of Eisenhower’s Interstate System"
That's good advice, in general.
The military-industrial complex tends to get their way…or the highway!
Frogs… are those the Florida poisonous frogs?
Does Florida even have poisonous frogs?
Does Florida even have frogs?
Yes. They're delicious.
Even these tiny ones would make me hop higher, hate frogs ( ranidaphobia ) love the French tho !
Yes, Florida has frogs. Since they're from Florida they're prone to committing bizarre crimes, usually naked or at least 1/2 naked. (I can say that because I live in FL)
Fun Fact: Florida has native tree frogs and invasive tree frogs. The invasive (cuban) tree frogs eat the "native" species. There are a couple ways to tell the difference. The invasive frogs actually have a mucus on their skin that acts as an irritant if you pick them up. They also have blue bones (which you can only see if you pick them up) and different toe-pads.
"and different toe-pads." Which I'm guessing you also can't see unless you pick them up?
so, FL frogs are naked and commit bizarre crimes, while Cuban frogs commit somewhat more sane crimes like cannibalism while clothed (in irritating slime)?
Sounds about right.
What animal in Florida ISN'T invasive?
The two fleur-de-lis emblems may mark this as an American LaFrance build. Also, frogs.
Had one of these at the FD I was in once, loved it.
Is it 4 sale???? make a great house hauler for my little home.
Of course there is the rust…… oh well
any idea of what FD it was with???
Horsefarmer
27 years of volunteer fire fighting.