For Sale at Auction: 1924 American Austin Truck in Carmel, California

Register No. 4867

Built in 1924, this American-Lafrance Type 40 Combination truck represents the kind of purpose-built fire apparatus that helped define American municipal fire service in the interwar years. Equipped with double-chain drive and powered by a 75-horsepower, 570 cu-in T-head four-cylinder engine, it was supplied new to the City of White Plains, New York, where documentation indicates it remained in service until at least 1937. American-Lafrance factory correspondence further identifies the truck as a Type 40 Combination Truck with a 40-gallon chemical tank, Type LO four-cylinder motor, 8,000-pound shipped weight, and an impressive original selling price of $12,500.

Following its retirement, register number 4867 passed to a salvage yard, from which Lauriston Hazard McCagg, a member of the St. Paul's School class of 1951, recovered it in 1949 for $175. In 1954, the truck passed to a fellow St. Paul's student and then fifteen-year-old boy William B. Ruger, Jr.-son of the Sturm, Ruger & Company co-founder of the same name and later Chairman and CEO of the firearms manufacturer himself. Already mechanically inclined, Ruger corresponded directly with American-Lafrance while at St. Paul's in Concord, New Hampshire, seeking information on valve timing, ignition settings, tappet clearance, spark plug gap, and model designation. These period factory replies, together with Ruger's own letters, form part of an unusually complete history file that traces his long-term love affair with the fire truck. Subsequent Connecticut and New Hampshire registrations spanning 1958 to 2010 document Ruger's continued stewardship across more than half a century.

In 2004, Ruger entrusted the truck to Andy Swift's Firefly Restorations in Hope, Maine, where it received a high-quality restoration supported by invoices totaling nearly $126,000. Work included a custom high-capacity radiator by Hal Fillinger and extensive gold-leaf striping by Peter Achorn. It should be noted that a small crack was observed in one of the cylinder walls and a temporary patch was applied in Ruger's care; the current owner reports that the engine continues to run well, though a more permanent repair will eventually be required.

Acquired by The Casa Bella Macchina Collection in 2019 from the Ruger estate, the fire truck has continued to be exercised regularly, including at the Pittsburg Fire Department, where it was used in welcoming new fire cadets and sprayed its hose over the recruits as part of the ceremonies. Today, this Type 40 remains a highly documented and charming American-Lafrance benefitting from passionate long-term ownership.