Big rig racing is officially back in the United States! Rejoice! This past weekend saw the inaugural race of the Meritor Champ Truck World Series at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. Ten honest to goodness big rigs torn around the road style course sometimes bumping, sometimes spining, sometimes crashing but always entertaining the crowd. I really wish I had put more than zero effort into attending this race that happened to be not that far from home. OH WELL! Check out the video below for a small taste of the action.
https://youtu.be/FCq8dD68eTQ
Awesome! I really hope this series takes hold and gains a dedicated following. Check out the Champ Truck YouTube Channel for more videos like the one seen above. The first pole position of the season was claimed by Mike Morgan and truck #88, Mackvadar, a 99 Mack CH running a Mack MP7 engine. Stop by the Powershift Performance website to see this truck go from a bone stock rig to a monster of the race track. You can also learn more about Mike, his racing team and the upcoming season.
Good luck to all the drivers and teams involved. Much money, time, and sweat have been poured into these trucks all in an effort to bring back semi truck racing to America. So far so good! It looks like the sport is off to a solid start.
All Roads lead to Rome. In the case, Rome, NY. If you enter this city along the canal from the South James St approach you’ll think you are entering some medieval fortress. First you pass through a small hole in the earthen defense works that ring the metropolis. Next you traverse a rusting bridge that allows for passage over a deep moat that completely blocks the southern half of the city. It’s almost as if they don’t want you to visit! I’m just kidding off course. The earth wall is just a raised railroad bed and the moat was simply part of the Erie Canal. It’s fun to pretend. Anyway, this road leading into the city has some interesting relics worthy of sharing. First, the large Michigan loader sitting near an onion field.
Nearby a former command center of the Syracuse Police Department provides little if any deterrent to criminal activity. At the very least it probably makes a nice home for a raccoon family.
This old Mack dump truck was right next door. Appears to be a farm truck now. The paint is extremely faded but the rig appears to be all there. The mirrors look nice.
That brings us to the highlight of my little journey to Rome. This Ford LTL9000 of L.P. Trucking & Excavating. I first saw one their trucks on the way into the city but was unable to grab a photo. Later in the day when I stopped to look at the Michigan loader I saw this truck coming down the road. Right place. Right time.
While this isn’t the one I spotted earlier in the day it was just as nice. Check out the L.P. Trucking website linked above for a shot of the other truck.
Do you hear that? The fat lady is singing…for a second time. If you’ve been able to put up with my ramblings for the past four years or spent any time digging through the archives you might remember this truck. I first came across this 1966 Walter AWUS back in March of 2012. Located behind the Town of Camillus composting pile this truck and a 1964 ACRS were nearly obscured by weeds. Around a year and half later both trucks would be sold at auction. The ACRS going for $2,300 and the AWUS selling for $2,350. I figured that was that and resigned myself to the belief that both trucks were presumably sold for scrap. It goes without saying that these old Walter Snowfighters are tough machines. So tough in fact that the ’66 model managed to hang on for nearly another two years.
As it was in 2013, Auctions Internationals was again tasked with selling this massive machine. The listing information was relatively unchanged since the last go around with the exception of the engine being listed as a six cylinder Cummins as opposed to an eight cylinder. Dragged from the tall weeds the new crop of photos showed what appeared to be a semi solid rig. Tread life and conditions of the tires seem half way decent. Just bring fresh fuel and batteries and fire it up.
I gave the Town of Camillus a ring to see if I could learn more about this old warrior. I spoke with man named Billy who was more than happy to share some details regarding the history and condition of the truck.
Turns out this Walter was purchased from the Town of Manlius, NY around 2005. At the time it was obtained strictly for parts and was not in any type of running condition. Sadly a snapped rear axle left this vehicle sitting toward the wrong direction of the wind for a number of years. When town staff attempted to start the truck they began by draining nearly five gallons of water from the Cummins. Needless to say it didn’t start.
The song doesn’t end on that sour note. Thanks to the hard work of Mike Bartlett and the seasoned knowledge of Joe Kelly I was able to put together a video of the truck highlighting some of the facts and features of the AWUS. I’m sure I misspoke on a few thing so please feel free to correct me in the comments below.
Looking back, I wish I had spent a little more time learning about the drive system these trucks utilized so I could have narrated with some form of intelligence. There is nothing that resembles that familiar pumpkin shape of the rear differential on these old trucks. I assume that is the magic behind the 100% Traction tag line. Can anyone put this in layman terms?
The auction for this old girl ends today, 4/28 at 7:10 PM EST. If you want to try your luck you can visit the official page by clicking here. Here’s hoping it finds a good home.
A few weeks ago Clarence sent me this shot of a 6×6 Autocar truck employed by a local farm. As you can see he kept his distance maybe because of the nature of the fertilizer carried by the truck. Think cow poop and lots of it. That’s my guess based on the spinners found near the rear of the tank.
Elsewhere on the web I stumbled across this great video of an 1974 Autocar dump truck. The creator of the video tells us this truck started life with a boom and was converted to a dump in the mid 1980s. Now on its third owner it used by paving business every summer. Under the hood a 290 Cummins, 9 speed on 18 & 38 axles bring it all together.
Thanks to Clarence for sharing and Mike for posting this great video to Youtube!
Time for another edition of Rail Car What Is It. Today we have a large General Electric device. Some sort of large generator? Or maybe an steam powered industrial sized cheese grater? Inquiring minds want to know.
Many, many years ago, long before this site started and long before I had a digital camera I saw this truck working alongside Route 5 in Fayetteville, NY. At the time I thought it would be a cool truck to photograph but realized because of its age I may never get that chance. Imagine my surprise when I saw it parked near the lot hosting the surplus vehicle auction from last week. I love the S-Series International and the S1900 6×6 is one unique machine in the NYSDOT fleet. There is not a spec of rust on that cab and if it wasn’t for that damage front fender this truck would be pristine.
Elsewhere on the grounds was the stout looking forklift. Clearly military surplus, this machine must have one insanely low center of gravity.
I used the zoom on my camera for this shot of a burned out Mack Granite. No details on the cause of the fire but events like this can bring down any entire garage if the time is wrong. Hopefully this resulted in no injuries.
The Oshkosh duo from yesterday were not the only blowers to be found. A flat tire on this one causess me to question the road readiness of this beast compared to the other two.
In the gallery below we have another angle of the Oshkosh from above, a random crane and more shots of NYSDOT Internationals. Before the Macks entered service most DOT yards could easily be mistaken for an International dealership. Such was the amount of ‘Binder iron employed. Many of these trucks still exist and a few show up in the gallery below.
Yesterday when I stopped by the surplus vehicle auction for NYS I admit that I was hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the more rare pieces of equipment that hide behind the iron walls of the Region 3 Headquarters. Fate was on my side. Check out this monster.
At the time I had no idea of the specifics. I knew it was an Oshkosh. I knew it was old. I knew it was cool. But at the end of the day the story needs a little more meat on the bones to help you walk away from the table feeling satisfied. To the Google! I’ve found recently when trying to identify old trucks that heading directly for the image search is the best way to go. The traditional text search simply returns to many dead links from past auction websites. I now have good reason to believe this is an Oshkosh W700-15R with a Sincard Blower. Power to the blower comes from a Cat D348 V-12 churning out 850 brake HP. I believe this information to be factual as it comes from man who has thousands of Oshkosh photos in his Flickr feed.
Does that rear end look big enough to house a V-12? I think so. The green hubs suggest a previous tenure with the military, most likely Air Force. I don’t think a single state agency every bought one of these trucks new. Military surplus seemed to be the usual chain of custody. One question remains. What is the year of manufacture? Some sources suggest 80’s but those trucks often sport new style cabs so that is most likely a remanufactured date. With those narrow windows and long rounded hood I’m think late 50’s to early 60’s is a safe bet. Anyone know any better?
And guess what? They actually have two of these rigs! This one was parked closer to the front gate.
I did a walk around video of the first truck with some basic observations. Static photos are nice but sometimes video can pickup the overlooked details.
Can you believe that I have never been to an auction of NYSDOT and NYSTA surplus vehicles? Me of all people. It seems crazy I know but it’s the truth and nothing but the truth. Yesterday I swang by the NYSDOT Region 3 HQ to check out the offerings. A large selection of International 2574’s were on hand from the DOT and the Thruway. For unknown reasons these are some of my favorite style of modern truck so I wanted to get a closer look before they left the fleet for good. I have to think by now that most of the plow trucks are tandem axle Mack Granites. The guard has been changed! For the better? Who knows. I will admit that the lure of being allowed past the hallowed gates to see what else was visible but not for sale was a strong incentive to attend on a rainy day. More on that later.
Look at the beautiful lineup. They almost look to good to surplus right? These are 20 footer trucks for sure. From a distance they look great but get a little closer and you start to see the truth. Thick and scaly rust on the frames. Cabs they have rotted straight through in the oddest of locations. Scott Perry and Co. Auctioneers host these events for the state and they do a great disclosing all the known defects of the vehicles. Each truck had a paper on the windshield detailing specs, VINS and deformities. Another sticker told the running condition. The DOT trucks were listed as non running thanks to a host of electrical problems, exhaust leaks and fuel issues(leaks). The Thruway trucks fared a little better on their reports but were still beat.
Each truck came with its full compliment of blades and wings expertly loaded in the dump body. A few sanders were for sale but who cares about that stuff. All of the DOT trucks up for sale had been thoroughly demilitarized in the form of lights and logos being stripped off. Even the blue hoods had been painted over with a hasty coat of yellow. I suppose it depends on what garage the trucks come from that determines the level of striping. I have seen plenty of trucks leave the State with everything intact but the logo.
The Thruway had six of their International 2574’s up for auction. Most likely these trucks are fresh victims of the new Western Star 4700’s that started rolling into barns across the state this year. Unlike the DOT trucks the Thruway rigs were tandem axles with automatics and Viking plow equipment all the way around. No wings or sanders with these trucks.
Checking out the frame on one of the trucks I found holes, at least twenty, cleanly machined through the steel. Speed holes? Weight savings? Drilling out rust? Who knows. I shot some video of this event but it needs some drastic work before I’ll it see the light of day. Until then, enjoy more photos! Tomorrow we’ll take a look at some of the trucks that were around. Think Oshkosh. Think Oshkosh with blower.
Do you remember when the roads were filled with this make of Freightliner FLD? I do but then again I don’t as I didn’t pay much attention to them at the time. I never really though much about this model of ‘shaker for at the time they were a dime a dozen. Now that years have taken their toll and greatly reduced their numbers I find myself admiring these trucks. The first semi I ever drove on public roads was one these old FLDs. That poor old truck had over a million miles on the odometer but was still chugging along with with one student driver after another sitting behind the seat grinding gears. While to the general public I was just another normal sized big rig to me, the inexperienced driver, I might as well have been behind the wheel of the Death Star. That’s how large one of these trucks seem the first time you hit the open road. Once while approaching an intersection with a fading yellow I was too slow on my down shifting to effectively stop without touching the brakes. At the time the trailer out back was a 33’ dump half loaded with some form of soil. I laid into the peddle and the brakes out back clamped shut and bounced the entire truck around like a child with a Tonka in the sandbox. From that day forward I understood the concept of downshifting as a form of speed reduction.
The joys of fiberglass and aluminum have helped to preserve this truck over the decades but have done nothing to save the paint. Looking past that obvious defect you have a solid looking old truck on your hands.
Old tow truck for old trucks? John’s Body Shop or maybe it’s Ken’s runs this Western Star wrecker. This truck actually isn’t as old as it looks but the rusty tow body and slouching cab aren’t doing any favors in the looks department. Regardless, I’ll always be a sucker for grizzled looking rigs.
Classic car guys have it easy when it comes to restorations. Parts are readily available in the form of used, NOS or reproduction pieces. There are even some manufacturers reproducing entire vehicles from OEM stampings. Just open your catalog and order what you need. Old truck restorers don’t have the same luxuries. If you need something unique you have to go sources it from a donor truck or a junk yard the specializes in heavy trucks. Need a part for your Federal? Go find a junk yard. Need a chassis part for your Brockway? Go find a junk yard. Regardless of the vehicle being restored there is at least one common thread. There is a sweet spot between the money put into the project and the money that comes out of the project at sale time. Eventually you cross that line and you can never get back what you spent on time, labor or materials. Some restorations are a work of passion and selling the vehicles is not even a consideration. I wonder if that was the case with this 1955 Autocar flatbed?
I’ve seen this truck make the go around on ebay at least two times now. The starting bid price of 20,000 dollars may have something to do with so let’s take a look at what you are getting.
To begin, the truck is absolutely gorgeous. A two paint job of light green and brilliant white really work on this truck. Pin striping is found throughout. A painted grey bumper with chrome headlights, 5 inch stacks and aluminum tool bins really stand out. All the required Autocar detail pieces are here and in pristine condition.
The interior has received a custom grey velour interior along with air ride seats. All the original gauges are present and hooked to a new style GM 12 volt wiring and fuse system. Sharp eyes will notice the twin sticks of the Fuller RTO 9513 transmission with a 3 speed auxiliary transmission.
Behind the cab you have a custom built 21 foot Morgan deck complete with a Reese hitch. Looks like there is winch there as well.
Under the hood you have a small cam Cummins which the seller tells has been balanced, blueprinted and completely overhauled. Estimated HP of 490. A new jake brake, intercooler, upgraded turbo, pump and injectors tie it all together. The rear end consists of 1993 DS402 with 4.11 gearing. I’m guessing this truck doesn’t have any trouble getting out of its own way. The seller closes by telling us there is too much to list. I agree! What a fine looking machine. What do you think about the price? Could you do what has been done here for the opening bid price? Check out the official listing by clicking here.
