As I mentioned the other day I first learned of Dobbins Auto Parts through a Facebook group. One of the pictures that caught my attention was a yellow Brockway 776 wearing an old NYS DOT logo. I knew right then and there I had to make the short drive (as Billy Fuccillo would say) up 81 to see the trucks in person. Saturday I had my chance and was able to find four trucks that once belonged to a much larger fleet. I had no illusions to the conditions of these Brockways. I knew they were far beyond gone but they still were awesome to see.
NYS DOT Brockway – Click to Enlarge
Out of the four it’s hard to say which one was in the worst shape. I give my nod to the 776 shown above but it really could go to any of the group. All suffered from severe floor pan rot. Seriously. The floors were gone. As you can see the axles, drive line components and body panels have been removed. Scattered through out the yard I found a few fenders and grill assemblies. On three of the four trucks the gauges, switches, and other parts of the dash had been completely removed and replaced with very large bird nests. Only one truck looked complete and by that I mean it still had a plow frame, dump body and both doors. It was still missing parts of the hood and set of tires. Trying to assemble one complete truck from the four would be a fools errand.
Despite the horrendous condition I was thrilled to see these Brockways. The old DOT logos really set me off. I guess I am just that easy to please. From what I know these trucks were not part of the auction. Their future plans are unknown.
Looking back at the day I realize I didn’t do much to determine engine or transmission specs. My bad. Maybe someone can piece it together from these videos.
More to come!
Wow. These are a rare sight today in any condition. There is one that makes the ATHS show circuit that has been stretched and has some sort of flatbed on it now I think. It was for sale in the back pages of Wheels of Time a few years back.
I remember seeing these on the roads of NY fondly back in the 1970’s & ’80’s. While most were dump trucks, many were used as lowboy tractors as well. The Town of Sullivan (where I worked for a time before going to Madison County) had one of these they bought new off of State bid specs. They converted theirs to a tandem around 1981 and it has now sadly been junked as of 2005 or 2006.
I can help with the specs on these for you. I believe these were all built with Cummins NTC-230 diesels, Jake brakes and Fuller 9 speed transmissions. They were all 1976 models, hence the Bicentennial “776” model designation of what was essentially a re-badged 761 model.
Thanks! I will update the story.
Interesting about the SUNY Morrisville connection. The last time I saw one of these on the road was in the late ’80’s/early ’90’s in Morrisville and now I know why! Nice narration by the way. Really good.