The vintage 1941 American LaFrance has a V12 engine
- 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.
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.
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