Gilroy
– The historic Seagraves 760 engine may never fight a fire
again, but Phill Laursen has high hopes for this symbol of Gilroy’s
history.
The historic fire engine was in service with the Gilroy Fire
Department for 30 years, first hitting the streets in 1923.
Gilroy – The historic Seagraves 760 engine may never fight a fire again, but Phill Laursen has high hopes for this symbol of Gilroy’s history.
The historic fire engine was in service with the Gilroy Fire Department for 30 years, first hitting the streets in 1923. Now Laursen and the Gilroy Historical Society hope to restore the engine so it can be driven in parades and other community events.
Laursen feels the project will help the community feel more connected with Gilroy’s history describing his own emotional investment in the restoration.
“I love seeing the look on people’s faces when they see the engine,” he said. “Kids love to climb up on it and (ring) the bell.”
The main challenge will be fixing the original honeycomb radiator, an estimated $7,500 job. Even if they are unable to repair it, they may insert a modern radiator behind the original to preserve the old-fashioned look. He has been working with historical society members and vintage car restorers to plan the project, hoping to get most of it completed through volunteer work.
Laursen also wants to restore other vintage details by repainting the engine, polishing the brass and adding the traditional gold lettering. The engine is currently without its number or the City of Gilroy logo.
“Then we want to find a place where people can see it and have easy access to enjoy it,” Laursen said.
When Gilroy purchased the Seagrave Centrifugal Pumping Fire Engine, Model 760, is was considered “the latest and most approved design, and constructed with due consideration to symmetric proportions, distribution of the load, the nature of the load to be sustained, and the general character of the service to which the apparatus will be subjected when placed in commission,” according to the manufacturer. The engine cost the city $12,050, a huge purchase at the time. Adjusted for inflation, that price is equivalent to $135,850 today.
This will be the engine’s second make-over. Shortly after the engine was retired in 1953 it was sold and disappeared from Gilroy. In 1968 the owner returned the engine to town hoping to sell it back. The Gilroy Historical Society purchased the engine for less than $2,000 and still owns the engine today.
“It’s really an amazing engine,” Gilroy museum assistant Susan Voss said.
Last year the historical society displayed an exhibit on the fire department featuring the 1922 Seagraves engine. Recently, the engine made an appearance at Happy Dog Pizza, the site of Gilroy’s historic Station 55 and the engine’s original home. In the late 1940s it was used by the Rural Fire District and was housed in a building behind Station 55.
For more information or to contribute to the restoration project, contact Phill Laursen at 847-1823.
