Ahrens-Fox/Prominent extremely collectable Rolls-Royce of Firetrucks

1920 Other Makes Description

1920 Ahrens-Fox Firetruck

Noted fire truck collector Mark V. Smith, from Staunton, Virginia, sold this premium pumper to the current consigner, and it has been in his collection for 20 years. A fine show piece, and rare example of one of the best of its time.

The original owner, the Minneapolis Fire Department, had this 1920 firetruck in its arsenal for many years. Ahrens-Fox has long since been considered the Rolls-Royce of firetrucks. They are both rolling works of art and remarkably capable. This was the best equipment to have for the firehouse and as such, has become the envy of collector's worldwide. This beautiful example is being offered for sale at the Classic Auto Mall.

A large Chromed Priming ball sits above a 4-cylinder pumping engine. Early firefighting was not only dangerous to firemen because of the risk of collapsing buildings and being seriously burnt but was extremely hazardous due to a surge from the pump. Intense pressure would quickly move the hose allowing the surge to break arms and wrists, as well as causing facial injuries. With the Ahrens, the priming ball would store unevenly pumped water, and once the ball was somewhat full, a steady pressure would be on the hose, and a solid steady stream eliminating injury from early pumping engines. This coupled with the invention of a step-down nozzle, lower pressure with a larger stream was possible. These two inventions made the fighting with water aspect much safer overall.

A 6-cylinder gas powered internal combustion engine was capable of taking the truck up to 50MPH. Due to reliability issues, the Ahrens had built in redundancy. This can be seen on the engine with dual ignition systems, as well as double spark plugs on each cylinder. Numerous other systems on this truck were backed up with redundancy, which made this engine so expensive for the time.

This beautiful and rare timepiece, an item of firefighting historical significance presents in good condition. Engine does not run, however with some mechanical tinkering, it will be ready to go.

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 150 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. A 450 barn find collection is currently also on display.
This vehicle is in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.