Vintage Truck has Steam!

Drag racing truly does come in all shapes and sizes.  But the city of Camrose Alberta is home to something from the very fringe of that notion….

It is from there that a group of Firefighters are heading a rather unique civic effort, by drag racing a truly one-of-a-kind machine ; a 1948 International KB1.  

History shows that after sitting in a farmers field for a very long time this truck was first reborn when it was rebuilt into a “truck puller” where it did very well while winning within that circuit.  Then after sitting idle again (in a shop) for a few more years, the Camrose Firefighters Association acquired the body and evolved it again for drag racing.

I believe we can safely say that you are looking at the only 1948 International KB1 in drag racing existence !! (?)

According to team member Lauren Adamson (the driver), a frame was built by Ken Storms and the engine set up (a 650 HP 454 CID Chevy) was converted to the rear.  The project was an all volunteer effort with funding for building and finishing coming from donations of time and money from within the Camrose community.

“We have lots of local sponsors that took an interest in our project,” Lauren explained.  “It took about three years to build and six different firefighters have been involved since we started this in 2010.  The truck is unique and different for sure and it gets a great response with the public at all the car shows and short track drags we take it to.”

In addition to Adamson, the team which actively helps to promote fire safety within the community, now also includes Joel Cassidy, William Backus and Al Majeski.

Tipping the scales at 2900 lbs, the truck does make some steam too – evidenced by it’s best time being a rather impressive 11.3 secs at almost 120 mph on the quarter-mile. It is powered by a 468 CID Chevrolet which produces about 650 HP.

The Camrose Firefighters drag racing project is a community effort.

 Posting & Photos by:  Bruce Biegler