''We've got some fantastic pledges of support from local firms,'' he says. ''We are waiting for a quote for the shed now, but the plan is we should have enough to build it early in the New Year, while the Givealittle page is to provide an ongoing source of funding.''
He says the main focus for the fire engine has been to make sure it is safe and to get it registered and warranted.
Some of the work was done by Martin Carey at Electrodip.
''He had it in his workshop and donated a quite a bit of time to getting it safe, so it's roadworthy now,'' says Dale.
''It's had a new set of tyres and we put a new exhaust on it. We've fixed the brakes, checked the engine, made sure the drive train's all good and checked the wiring. [Fire brigade volunteer] Keith Merritt did some of the wiring.
''It still looks pretty much the same as it did when we got it. It's an old truck that hadn't been driven on the road for quite a long time.''
The fire engine is a 1938 Ford V8 Fire Truck and is a similar model to a fire engine that was in active service in Te Puke until the late 1960s.
The earliest record of it being in New Zealand comes from when it was registered with the Upper Hutt Brigade. In 1958 it went to Patutahi, near Gisborne.
In 1971 it was transferred to the Southward (Car) Museum Trust.
