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Ford Authority

1986 Ford F-350 XL Brush Fire Truck Up For Auction

While older Ford trucks are already quite popular among collectors and enthusiasts alike, we’ve also seen plenty of fire trucks and brush trucks wearing a Blue Oval badge surface for sale over the years, too. Aside from looking cool and carrying a host of equipment, these types of trucks were also typically driven sparingly during their time in service, leaving many with scant few miles on the clock. That’s also seemingly the case with this 1986 Ford F-350 XL brush fire truck that’s now up for auction, as it’s in pretty fantastic condition.

A rear three quarters view of a 1986 Ford F-350 brush fire truck.

Listed for sale at Bring a Trailer, this Ford F-350 brush truck spent many of its years serving the Hopewell Fire Department in South Carolina before it was acquired by the seller. Prior to its time at the fire department, the truck was used by a utility company, but Hopewell FD proceeded to give it a full-blown conversion once it landed there. That process included adding gold decals, a Reading six-compartment utility bed, a 300-gallon water tank, a Warn winch, a brush guard, roof-mounted emergency lights, and a high-pressure water pump powered by a 205cc Briggs & Stratton motor.  

1986 Ford F-350 XL Brush Fire Truck - Interior 001

The interior is quite basic, as one would expect, with a Chestnut vinyl bench seat coupled with emergency gear like a Whelen siren control, a switch panel for the exterior lighting, a heater, an aftermarket stereo, and black vinyl flooring. Power comes from a replacement 351 cubic-inch V8, which sends it to either the rear or all four wheels via a SelectShift three-speed automatic transmission, a dual-range transfer case, and a limited-slip rear differential.

1986 Ford F-350 XL Brush Fire Truck - Engine Bay 001

While they’re not terribly common, it hasn’t been too long since we came across our last Ford brush truck that was up for auction – a 1994 F-350 XL, which hit the block this past August. That machine was also in excellent shape after spending a number of years serving the Estherville Fire Department in Iowa, and it had just 7k miles on the odometer as a result.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

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