- Jay Leno was spotted serving meals to first responders in L.A.
- He was doing so with a 1941 firetruck in tow
- The machine has been retrofitted with an innovative braking system
The front line first responders battling the wildfires in and around Los Angeles have been hammering the blazes day and night for some spell now, managing to knock down some conflagration in the face of unbelievably difficult conditions.
As a way to give back to his community, gearhead and all-around good guy Jay Leno, 74, has been driving his 1941 American LaFrance firetruck to relief sites around the city, delivering food to first responders. “We’re cooking for the crew,” Leno explained in an interview with CNN. “We’ve got a big barbecue going. They’re all getting boxed lunches, so we figured let’s get some hot food.”
As for the truck, Leno acquired it about 20 years ago after the thing sat idle at the end of a runway at Burbank Airport for the better part of three decades. After it outlived its usefulness as a functioning piece of firefighting equipment, the truck had been parked there acting as something of a windbreak to keep dirt and debris from blowing across the runway, which was apparently a big enough problem at the time to warrant such a solution.
Leno explained he just happened to be in the right place at the right time, passing by and seeing the unit about to get hooked onto a wrecker for disposal. He allegedly shouted an offer double its scrap value, which was likely just a few hundred bucks, and suddenly found himself palming the keys to a 60-year-old fire engine with just 11,000 miles on the clock. Powered by a 12.3L V12 engine, Leno figures it makes about 265 horsepower.
Interestingly, Leno added an innovative braking device to the machine during its restoration, no small modification since this behemoth was originally built with drum brakes and likely required prayers plus a ship’s anchor to slow down. The unit, installed about halfway along the propshaft, apparently uses electrically generated magnetic fields to brake the drivetrain and is controlled by a dial in the cab.
Sign up for our newsletter Blind-Spot Monitor and follow our social channels on Instagram ,Facebook and X to stay up to date on the latest automotive news, reviews, car culture, and vehicle shopping advice.