It’s one thing to drift a small, puny, gas powered car. It’s an entirely different thing to drift a full size daycab Freightliner. After climbing Pikes Peak 12 separate times with his custom Freightliner driver Mike Ryan demonstrates how it’s done on flat ground. True, this Cascadia isn’t your normal Wal-Mart spec’d truck seeing as it packs a 1,950 HP generating diesel creating an earth shattering 3400 pound feet of torque.
Here is a quick clip of his Pikes Peak run. Detroit Diesel FTW!
Prepare for another great truck show this summer. The American Truck Historical Society will host their national show South Bend, Indiana this year. The national show routinely brings out the best of the best in the classic truck community. Various events and tours in the local area will be held. A truck auction is also planned. If you attend you will not be disappointed.
At some point in the 1960’s International Harvester and American Trucking Associations worked together to bring this wonderful ad series to print. Through the ads International was able to highlight their product line by slyly inserting model names and features. The ATA motive appears to revolve around a desire to educate the public regarding the vital role trucking played in the economy of the country. Drivers are shown to be clean shaven, uniformed professionals willing to help a stranded motorist on a dark desert road. Trucks are shown as modern, efficient and safe. Were the ads an attempt to overcome negative stereotypes of the time? While much has changed across the industry in the past 50 years I would be willing to say that many of the same issues addressed in the ads still exist today. One thing does remain constant, the trucking industry is still crucial to the well being of the economy and every person in this U.S.
Did you know The National Archives has Flickr account? Now you do. You can find the patent for Michael Jackson’s moon walk shoes or JFK’s fish chowder recipe. Feel free to browse thousands upon thousands of historical images. Being the … Continue reading
I nearly lost control of my car when I saw this old Cargostar parked at the NYS Thruway garage in Syracuse. Some may find this crazy but being partial to Internationals I consider this quite the catch. At first glance the Cargostar appears to be a Thruway truck but actually bears the seal of the New York State Canal Corporation.For your daily civic lesson the Canal Corporation is responsible for the maintenance and administration of the Erie Canal system in NYS. It is quite amazing that this truck has not been upgraded for a new model in the past 30 years. Maybe the Canal Corp is thrifty or just the runt of the litter when it comes to government agencies in NY.
The Cargostar can trace it’s roots back to 1963 when a cabover version of the Loadstar begain production. In 1973 the Cargostar became a unique model and contiuned production until 1986.
Canal Corp Cargostar
Do you know of an old truck that is still working and earning it’s keep? Email eric@dailydieseldose.com
I know Chevy’s are built like a rock but can one Silverado pull a truck built to haul 360 tons of rock? Will engaging the tow-haul mode on the shifter be enough to get the Komatsu moving? You’ll have to wait until the June edition of Top Gear Magazine Austrailla to see how this experiment ends but I think we know what happens.
FYI the Komatsu has a 3,500 horsepower (2,600 kW) V-18, dual-stage turbocharged, diesel engine.
A White 3000 awaits it’s fate in East Syracuse.
I assume this White 3000 has been here for quite some time, years perhaps, maybe decades. I never noticed the truck until earlier this year while browsing through a map of East Syracuse. The map images on Bing were detailed just enough to make out the basic
shape and color of the truck. However, based on the buildings in the image that were torn down nearly 5 years ago I wondered if the truck was still resting in the weeds. A quick trip over the Clark Street bridge revealed it was indeed still waiting for some uknown fate. Access to the White proved to be easier said than done. The local roads quickly turned from slightly cracked to surface of the moon quality cratered. Clearly better suited to the garbage and CSX crew trucks that are it’s regulars users. I definitely gained a new level of respect for my Mazda 6 when all was said and done.
No markings or signage exist on the truck anymore. The drivers side door is completely missing and the windshield has been smashed into oblivion. Despite these obvious 
deficiencies the metal work on the truck is still solid. Based on the gauges in the cab it looks like this truck used to be used in asphalt or road oiling. This White still has many usable parts and put into the right hands it could be salvaged and returned to the road.
The White 3000 line of trucks was introduced in the 1949 and phased out some time around 1960’s. It’s hard to determine the exact age of this truck. If you have any information please let me know by emailing eric@dailydieseldose.com
Last month Western Star revealed their new vocational truck the model the 4700. It features their newly designed interior that will spread across the whole Western Star line of trucks. Designed for operators of dump trucks, cement trucks, crane trucks, etc, the 4700 comes with a stationary grill to ease the mounting of PTO, pumps and other stuff. A single channel frame is rated at 3.2 RBM. What does that mean? Basically, the frame can take alot of abuse before it begins to twist which means heavier loads. Of course Western Star is part of the Daimler Trucks family so a Detroit Diesel is an option along with a two choices of Cummins. Alright, that’s enough boring technical talk. If you need more info look at the brochure. Time for a picture.
At first glance this truck reminded me of the new International Paystars, (SFB and SFA models) especially the grill setup. The more I look the cab reminds me of the old White/Volvo/GMC/Autocar trucks. So, what do you think of this new Western Star?
Source: Western Star
I know electric motors have high amounts of torque which translates into pulling power but this is just madness! Pandemonium 2011! I’m not even sure this is electric powered, it may have a diesel!
Large Marge, who was she? Some may say a myth. To others, a ghost. Still others say she was both. Perhaps the only thing we know for sure about this highway legend is her truck of choice, a Ford CLT 9000 powered by a Detroit Diesel.
Did I forget to mention he was carrying rocket fuel?
The Ford CLT with its long nose brother the LTL were certainly some of the best looking trucks ever produced by Ford which allowed them to be the natural choice for directors looking to fill the roll of a “big rig” in their movies. Oh, and don’t forget to tell them Large Marge sent ya!
