The works fire brigade of Ford-Werke AG acquired two LF 16 fire-fighting group vehicles in 1984 and 1987, with Ziegler bodies on in-house Ford Cargo chassis, and stationed them at the Cologne-Niehl plant. At about the same time the Cologne professional fire brigade also acquired such a vehicle and used it for two years in the fire company at station 6. Unlike the two Ford-Werke LF 16s, the Cologne fire brigade vehicle had a chassis uprated to 15 t, an FP 16/8 pump and a rescue equipment set.
When the Cologne professional fire brigade put this LF 16 with Ziegler body into service in 1986, I drove to Cologne and photographed the vehicle. This Cargo was an absolute one-off. A series order that Ford had hoped for never materialised. Back then I also had the idea of building this unique vehicle as a 1:24 scale model. It stayed an idea, so I am putting all the pictures and data on this LF 16 here, and I think perhaps a skilled model builder will build this Cargo one day; then this Ford would be something unique as a model, too. More pictures in the archive.
Drawing: Ziegler 1985.
Click the PDF button to download the drawing of the Ford Cargo in the LF 16 version in 1:24 scale.
Drawing: Ford Werke 1985.
Click the PDF button to download the chassis drawing of the Ford Cargo in 1:24 scale.
Anyone who dares to build the Ford fire truck will surely find these additional illustrations from the Cargo brochure helpful.
It gets a little difficult when it comes to fitting an engine as well. Where do you get an air-cooled Deutz 6-cylinder V engine? If there were data, e.g. an STL or STEP file, it would be possible to make the little engine in 1:24 scale with a 3D printer.
