eBay Find of the Day: Insurgent-proof party bus
click above image for more pics of the Armored Limo
When you're headed out for a night on the town in one of the world's hot spots -- and by "hot spot" we mean someplace like Kabul, Chechnya, or the Congo -- and you want to guarantee safe passage, you need one of these. It's billed as an H1, but it's actually an armored limo built on a 4x4 Ford F550 using the 6.0-liter Power Stroke V8. Part of a lot built for US diplomatic missions, they are street legal and armored to level A9, which will stop high-powered rifle and sits just below 'tank' on the protection scale. They've also got a 1/4-inch of ballistic steel explosion protection in the floor, seven exits, rear seats that can be folded flat and used as shooting platforms, and room for 22 civilians or 16 combat-equipped soldiers for when you want to roll with your friends from the 1st Marine. It's also got the kind of interior that makes you wonder what diplomats do in their free time, and what limo would be complete without a Ballisticom Outside Intercom System with Siren? They'll paint it a more appealing shade if you wish, but if you're rolling in a 20-foot Brinks truck, making a fashion statement probably isn't high on your list of priorities.
Thanks for the tip, Mike!
[Source: eBay]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jaymez 6:43PM (7/31/2007)
Me. Want. Without the Powerstroke.
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aman 6:45PM (7/31/2007)
I always thought foam-filled tires were better than air-filled one. Now you'll never have a flat?
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-_- 7:06PM (7/31/2007)
One internet says we'll see a celebrity hop out of one of these things by the year's end.
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... 7:24PM (7/31/2007)
I bet bush rides around in one of those to protect himself from terrorist attacks.
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Richard 8:17PM (7/31/2007)
Lousy build quality... at least the wiring shots. I mean, look at the interior work in the first photo. Wires trailing around... for the kind of money I assume they're asking for something like this - considering the work and expense that's gone into the body - details like this should be taken care of as well. At least, IMO.
I would have thought that there'd be some more protection for the driveshaft as well, but that's just a random guess... I've never armored a truck before. I have, however, done quite a bit of rewiring.
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spigot 9:59PM (7/31/2007)
The racing seats are a nice touch.
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Supercharged 12:01AM (8/01/2007)
Ya I thought the same thing about the wiring. Looks like it was just thrown in with no thought as to hide the wires neatly behind the dash.
The driveshaft definitely looks like a weak point. One good explosives hit and you've lost your ability to move.
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Supercharged 12:30AM (8/01/2007)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hummer-H1-Armored-Limo-Armored-4X4-Diesel-Super-Hummer-Limousine-outruns-H1-H2_W0QQitemZ230156200564QQihZ013QQcategoryZ5360QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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CheezeDog 1:06AM (8/01/2007)
First off, I spent 5 minnutes looking at all the photos repeating out loud, and over and over again... "WHat wiring?" Finaly I noticed on the drash two wires in the left corner that seemed to go over section of dash...
Come on... did you buy this thing for attention to detail, or because you ticked off someone that can afford rocket lauchers? You want products with the attention to detail that makes you feel like your wiping you @$$ in 8 ply silk sheets, don't piss off any Nigerian weapons dealers...
Secound off... I guess if you mannaged to run this over a land mind just right you blow that transaxle in half... But that transaxle looks preatty beefy... I be willing to bet you have to use enough explosives to flip it over to cut the transaxle...
Next, intresting armor, why does it look like partical board?
Finaly, is it me or do the leaf springs in back look like the are being stressed carrying all that armor?
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nosmas 5:55AM (8/01/2007)
In a hostile country, nothing says "please hit me with an RPG" like riding in a stretched Hummer (more to shoot for!).
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splangtastic 7:17PM (8/02/2007)
Cheezedog - a transaxle is an transmission that can have axles put directly into it rather than this which a transmission at the front feeds the rear end (aka pumpkin) through a driveshaft. Transaxles are on rear/mid-engined cars with rwd, fwd cars with front engines, and ocassionally like in the Corvette to help with weight distribution.
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thesawzall 11:44AM (8/01/2007)
With those big flat sides, this thing is just asking to be tagged with graffiti.
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RL 2:59PM (8/01/2007)
talk about asking to be a target. When I was in the desert we used heavily armored suburbans to take DV's around vs an IED magnet like that. Plus, i prefer speed over armor. No vehicle short of an abrams (although they can be disabled) is immune to IEDs.
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