Over the years of ownership a vehicle can begin to take on its own personality. Nearly every car I have ever known acquired a nickname as time passed. My first ride was a ’85 Pontiac Bonneville that was affectionately called old brown. The red ’93 Jeep Grand Cherokee owned by my parents eventually earned the title Big Red. Granted, neither of these names are terribly creative but they were bestowed when the vehicles reached a stage of high milage and use. I suppose a similar story can be found with the 1971 Walter named Wilma that was at the ATHS Hudson Mohawk show this past weekend.
This Walter spent the majority of its life on a US Air Force base near Newburgh, NY. Equipped with a 28 foot folding plow this truck was used to keep runways clear. To help with this task Wilma Walter was equipped with a blistering top speed of around 48 MPH which makes her something of hot rod when it comes to a rig of this kind.
As with many old trucks the current owner had to spend countless hours and untold amounts of cash to bring the truck back to life. Parts had to be sourced, scavenged or recreated. Rust had to be scraped for paint to be applied. To learn more become friends with the truck on Facebook! Click here.
I would like to take a moment to point out the vehicle that was used to bring this Walter to the show.
Yup, I’m sure that was a comfortable ride! If there was an award for the most effort expended to a get a truck to the show I would nominate the owners of this setup. After hauling this wide load through many small towns and numerous traffic circles their work was not done! The wing still had to be assembled with the help of forklift. Their hard work was apperciated by not only me but by a steady crowd of on lookers and droolers.
Below is a video of the Walter’s arriving, unloading, and moving around the fair grounds. Enjoy!
