This 1954 International R185 fire truck was built by Rick Weyand in Stoystown, Pennsylvania. Rick came across the old fire truck at a junk yard next to the crusher. He started by removing the factory chassis and replacing it with a 1978 Ford F-350 dually chassis. On that he installed an air bag suspension on dropped I-beams up front and a back halfed rear with a Chassis Engineering ladder bar and heavy-duty panhard bar. The roof has been chopped 8 inches and to match the proportions the mirrors were also shortened. Rick then installed a bed from another International truck which had 10 inches removed from the center so it would fit between the rear wheels. Under the hood sits a 1978 Ford 460 ci V8 with new heads and aluminum intake. That is backed by a C6 Corvette automatic transmission and Dana 60 rear end with 4:11 gears.
Source: Cars From Uk via Speed Society FB post
Does it even move? Fron wheels are so small and front end is so low. Or is it on air suspension?
The front does use an air suspension.
I’m thinking the front wheels are the same size as the rear, it is just the dropped position behind those massive front fenders. From just looking at the pictures it appears the front fender is at least 4 inches wider than the step at the door. I might have been tempted to trim the fenders back at least that much. And the massive drop keeps rear fenders at bay… Great looking ride. I wish I could see it in person…