1965 Ex-German Fire Service Panel Van

1965 Firebus - Magirus

Magirus, but what does it mean? Well….

This 1965 ex-german fire service panel van came to us looking fairly stock but reworked mechanically to be a bit of a sleeper. 

With only 41,000kms from new the original mechanics were in decent shape but in usual T2D style they could always be better. It now sports a narrowed beam on dropped spindles, rack and pinion steering, Bilsteins all round, CSP disc brakes, dual circuit, servo assisted. On the rear it’s had a straight axle conversion with adjustable spring plates. 

The engine is a 2165cc with a pair of 48 Webers with a MSD ignition which pushes it along superbly. The aim of this bus wasn’t to make it the fastest out there but it can certainly hold it’s own among modern traffic, overtake with ease, and stop when needed too. 

The interior is in its original basic form with a flip down fire crew seat just inside the door which is pretty rare and with the practical addition of a rock and roll bed to pull out and get your head down. 

Simple enough to transform into a capable camping interior though as is the beauty of a panel van, you’re not restricted by windows and can panel it out with storage etc.

You may have seen it on one of our YouTube episodes before it was sign written and spotted the chrome Magirus badge on each side. We did a little digging and found out with thanks to some comments on YouTube that Magirus was and still is a conversion company for emergency/fire service vehicles and were responsible for converting this van for use in the 60s. 

We had the van for sale for a couple of months and people seemed to be put off by the fact it was obviously a firebus, blue light an’ all, so we thought we’d mix it up a bit. 

We made the call and had legendary signwriter Mandy Melliard drop by and transform the sides of the bus by hand with the same logo we all loved, in homage to the conversion company Magirus. 

This unique piece of rolling artwork can now be yours. Everything we’ve changed can be removed if you’re looking for a stock panel van, we even have the blue light still. 

If there’s anything else you’d like to know, more photos, or to come and see it for yourself please call us on 01638 743211 or send us an email on info@type2detectives.com