Fire engine red never looked so intimidating. A jet monster ride fire truck named “Fire Chief” is for sale in Florida. The donor vehicle is a 1950s-era Seagrave Open Cab Fire Truck. The vehicle maintains its all-original steel body and that’s about it for stock bits. Featuring seating for 18 occupants, the monster truck also comes with seat belts and a roll bar. Safety first! So what if there’s a jet engine behind you?
According to the Facebook Marketplace listing, propulsion comes courtesy of a Westinghouse J34 turbojet engine. This engine series was capable of up to 3,000 pounds of thrust and was outfitted with an afterburner. J34s were used by the U.S. Air Force in the 1940s and 1950s to power experimental aircraft, and now it’s on a lifted fire truck for amusement rides.
Oh, how lifted? Fire Chief is outfitted with 66-inch all-terrain Terra Tires, but that’s for show purposes. The listing states that the truck comes with newer transport wheels and tires. Either way, there are retractable ladders, so no one has to do any jungle gym-style climbing (unless you want to).
Everything on the vehicle is allegedly in working order. The powertrain for those joy rides is not the jet engine (this Florida man isn’t that insane) but a big-block 366 Chevy V8. The J34 is reserved for show demos and burnout use only. The truck is rear-wheel drive, has a stick shift, and it’s had just a single owner during its second life as an exhibition vehicle.
The Fire Chief has been on sale for a year, originally priced at $95,000. Currently, that figure has been slashed to just $70,000. And if you follow the suggested exhibition and per-ride pricing, Fire Chief is one of the best investments you’ll find out of Central Florida. Or just drive the thing around town and make all the rival dads (and their kids) jealous.
