This Mercedes-Benz L408 G van, for sale on Hemmings.com, entered service with the Freiwillige Feurwehr Heide-Stadt (Volunteer Fire Department of the city of Heide) in 1969, and for the next 45 years it served the town’s residents as an auxiliary fire truck. Heide is a small town, meaning that the Mercedes accumulated just 27,000 kilometers over its four-and-a-half decades in service. The body is said to be rust-free, and the doors still carry the department’s logo of a knight killing a fire-breathing dragon. Sirens and flashing blue lights remain functional, too, though their use is discouraged on public roads. Perfect for the fire apparatus collector, this Mercedes van would also serve as a sound base for a camper conversion, business marketing tool, or anything else its next owner can imagine. From the seller’s description:
Offered for sale is a fantastic, exceedingly well preserved and entirely original 1969 Mercedes-Benz L408 G Auxiliary Fire Truck outfitted from new by Bachert Feuerwehrtechnik (the oldest fire equipment truck outfitting company in the world) and delivered new to the Freiwillige Feuerwehr Heide-Stadt, the Volunteer Fire Department of Heide, a small town in the Dithmarschen district of Northern Germany. Decommissioned just last year and subsequently imported to the U.S., this is absolutely the case for this exceptional example, having been driven a shockingly low 27k original kilometers (or 16,778 miles) in nearly 45 years of trusty service.
As one would expect of a firehouse kept and perpetually maintained low mileage service vehicle, the truck exhibits an extremely limited amount of wear. The paint is lovely and consistent, but not without its flaws (it was used in the field after all), however those flaws are far and few between, difficult to see in the photos and in many ways only add to this truck’s vintage appeal. The body itself is rust-free and entirely straight and true, exhibiting no evidence of any past accident damage and retaining even and correct panel fits and gaps throughout. All of the original glass is in excellent condition, as are the wheels and all of the original trim, and the car’s undercarriage is entirely solid and original.
Featuring the correct Freiwillige Feuerwehr Heide-Stadt insignias (very cool, considering they depict a knight killing a fire-breathing dragon) and the original and fully functional Eisemann RKLE 90 flashing blue lights and twin modulating Hella Supertone sirens with their distinct European tone, this example is certainly an attention grabber, although for legality’s sake we’d recommend not engaging the light or siren when on public roads. Of all the unique, classic or collector cars that we’ve owned, no single vehicle has come close to drawing the same attention as this L408 Auxiliary Fire Truck. Thumbs ups, waves and requests for photographs run rampant – people just can’t help but smile in this car’s presence.
The car’s interior is in equally clean, entirely original condition, the cloth seats showing virtually no wear, which can also be said for the molded dash, interior panels, headliner and rubberized floors. Everything works as it should, a testament to the meticulous care afforded by the Department, and the truck retains all of its original Bachert fire-specific fittings, including ladder/hose racks on the roof, extinguisher mounts, tool and accessory cabinets, etc. As the photos of the rear cabin exhibit, everything is exactly as it was delivered 45+ years ago – sans equipment of course – however it is worth noting that virtually everything is bolt-on and can be removed easily depending on the next owner’s preference.
As one would expect of a 27k kilometers (or 16k miles) 1960s Mercedes L408 that’s been systematically fire-department maintained, it is also mechanically fantastic, its original 2.2L I4 engine starting up flawlessly, idling consistently and pulling strongly and smoothly through each of the manual transmission’s gears. Compression is excellent and even across all cylinders and the truck drives and brakes straight and true, it’s road manners impeccable. Unlike a majority of its diesel-versioned brethren, this gasoline powered L408 is also capable of highway speeds and can be driven in modern traffic quite comfortably. This era is arguably Mercedes-Benz’s most notable, earning the marque its well-engineered, “bullet-proof” prominence, and this L408 certainly lives up to that reputation.
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