Curbside Find: 1959 Chevy Apache – Ambulance Rescued Abroad?

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– Posted on August 29, 2025

I’m not entirely sure if this old panel van, posted in the CC Cohort by Guillaume Vachey, was rescued or just preserved. Regardless of the precise details, the point is this Task Force Chevy Apache has made it to our days with minor blemishes and great period patina. It may be old, but from the images, its condition seems more than stable.

Indeed, this find ticks a lot of the right boxes: a vintage truck, in preserved condition, and not resto-moded. And with the neat panel body, by the curbside? Talk about CC fodder!

I’m admittedly uninformed on the matter of old license plates, but from the surrounding ones, I understand this Apache is in the Netherlands (let me know otherwise). A number of these GMC and Chevy trucks were assembled not far from where this one sits, in GM’s Antwerp factory in Belgium. I would presume this one comes from there, but without looking at the data plate, one can never know for sure.

But chances are high. Many such vehicles came from the Antwerp factory and are still found in the Old Continent, like this ’62 truck sold not long ago in the Netherlands. The additional fire truck coachbuilding on this one was done at Berwi N.V. in Winschoten, Netherlands.

And if you wonder, this one carries Chevy’s 283CID V8, though as noted in the sales ad, it was a rare option. Most models found in Europe sold with the thriftier 6.

The interior of the fire truck comes with glued-on translations on the controls, which I would think was a somewhat common practice in service vehicles.

Unlike the ’62, today’s find belongs to the Task Force generation, which was entering its final year by then. A significant restyle had taken place in ’58 for the models, and there was little news for ’59 outside of minor trim updates. Two versions of the Duty Panel model were available, the Light and the Medium; today’s is the light 3105 version, with its 114″ wheelbase.

As for the hardware, it was mostly carryover. I would say the likely original engine on today’s find was the Thriftmaster 6, which was the standard in panel models. As for shifting, who knows what’s in today’s? But choices were the 3-speed synchro-mesh, 4-speed heavy-duty, and Hydra-matic.

As said, good thing this Apache condition seems pretty stable, with no terminal ills apparent in these recent images. No doctors, paramedics, or mechanics needed in the emergency room, for now.

(Update: turns out this Apache arrived to the Netherlands in 2014. The Red Cross markings are recent as well).

Related CC reading:

1959 Chevrolet Apache 32 Fleetside – Last Year For High Cabs; For The Time Being

Vintage Snapshots: Chevy And GMC Trucks, As They Were In The ’50s & ’60s