AutoCult Opel Admiral (1938) (Germany) "Feuerwehr"

About the Original

The Admiral Fire Brigade
 
In 1945, the voluntary fire brigades in Germany were faced with the problem of motorizing their fleets. In this unfortunate situation, improvisation was the solution as a supply of ready-to-drive, fire-brigade-specific cars was not to be expected.

The volunteer fire brigade in Hofheim (Taunus) also faced this problem. An Admiral, which survived the war from military stock, was fortunately available. Together with local companies and their own energy, they converted the pre-war Opel into a fire truck. They benefited from the fact that the Admiral was the first Opel in 1937 in which the body was not firmly connected to the underbody and thus did not have a self-supporting structure. This cleared the way to adapt the body to your own needs. This meant first and foremost, at the rear a superstructure with hose castors was mounted and for a quick entry and exit any door was dispensed with. The roof also fell victim to this train of thought. From a visual point of view, the conversion, especially the rear area, was completely designed towards pragmatic use. Only the front was left in its original design. The finish in red paint marked the last step of the conversion.

The converted Opel fulfilled its task of transporting the crew of the volunteer fire brigade of Hofheim, as up to nine fire men could drive on the two wooden benches to their next mission. A power sprayer trailer of 0.75 t was often taken on the towbar – a weight that should not have caused any problems for the powerful engine. With the trailer, the fire truck reached a top speed of 90 km/h, without it was even 120 km/h – with a normal fuel consumption of up to 40 liters per 100 kilometers!