This nicely preserved Jeep Fire Engine built by Boyer Fire Apparatus of Logansport, Indiana in 1947 is now on display at Hose #5 Fire Museum in Bangor, Maine. Formerly in service as Portage Lakes Fire Dept. No. 3, the CJ-2A has a beautiful custom paint job featuring a "PL" logo on the rear panels.
Click these photos to see larger copies (120K JPEG's).
A close look at the photo of the dash reveals the serial number J188 on the small "Boyer Jeep" plaque. Not much else was modified in the cab, with the exception of extinguishers mounted behind the seats.
According to the Boyer Jeep Fire Engine Production List J188 was sold by Boyer through Maine Willys Sales Co. in Camden ME.
The Jeep is in excellent working condition and fully equipped; the original carbon tetrachloride pump extinguishers have been replaced. It's a real traffic-stopper when it's parked outside the #5 Hose Museum, housed in a former fire station built in 1897 on State Street in Bangor. Other pumpers at the museum include a 1917 Garford, 1930 McCann and 1952 Mack LS.
Boyer J132 was originally sold in 1947 through Roy Fisher Motor Co. in Oklahoma City, to the nearby small town of Luther, OK. In 2005 it sold in an eBay online auction for $12,500.
The Willys serial number is 73757; like J188 above, the Jeep is a 1946 CJ-2A. The engine is original and has been rebuilt, and the Barton U-40 pump is also apparently in good shape.
The paint and interior are very clean, and said to be original, but some pieces of equipment such as the ladder and the carbon tet extinguishers are missing. The Jeep was a pretty bare-bones version to start with; apparently Luther (population 612 in 2000) didn't think they needed a siren or fancy paint.
The missing ladder allows a good look at the overhead rack. Other detail photos include:
There are more CJ-2A detail photos in Boyer CJ-2A Fire Engine in Brazil.
Thanks to Gary Dreyer, and Paul Tower of Hose #5 Fire Museum. -- Derek Redmond
See also a photo of CJ-2A J180 in a parade (100K JPEG) in upstate New York.
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