Truck After Truck After Truck

More coverage today from the ATCA national meet in Macungie, PA.

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Autocar Mondays – Matching Set

When I first saw video of this old Autocar wrecker it reminded me of that not 1950’s DC model Clarence found at Caledonia Diesel. For a moment I thought I had found the truck in it’s original form what with the integral sleeper, blue color, and white cast spoke wheels. For reference.

Autocar DC with sleeper

And then, upon closer inspection, I realized they aren’t the same truck at all. Both are very cool but also different trucks. I think the truck at the Caledonia yard would look great with a wrecker. Don’t you agree?

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Town of Little Falls Highway Department

The first highway department visited during the great plow hunt of 2016 was the Town of Little Falls, NY. We were welcomed with open arms and provided a grand tour of all the great pieces of equipment in the snow fighting arsenal.  We had been told one of their trucks was a Mack RM with V-plow. In this day and age of shrinking budgets and aging trucks this style rig is often sent to the auction lot. Thankfully we arrived in time and found the truck safely in one of the rear bays. With the lack of snow last season the truck wasn’t in a condition to be pulled out for a better shot on short notice but still was able to put out a good photo.

Mack RM with V-Plow

Out near the salt barn was a lean-to full of wings and other plow parts including this Walter. Another victim of declining snow fall and spare parts availability this old rig hasn’t seen the open road in a few years.

Walter Snowfighter

It’s certainly is doing much better than this one out by the sand pile.

Junk Snow Plow

Back to the main garage we come across the front line fleet, a 2007 Mack Granite with an Marmon Herrington AWD system installed by Mack at their custom truck center in Allentown, PA and a later model International 2574 also with M-H drive train.

Little Falls Highway Department

Both trucks spend most of the off season around the garage as they are plenty of heavy even without their blades. This type of situation explains the rise in popularity of year round tandem trucks. It simply costs too much many to have these trucks only be usable, at best, six months out of the year.

A few other goodies in the gallery below including an International Hough Payloader.

And of course, video.

Thanks to the great folks at the Little Falls Highway Department for rolling out the red carpet!

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Ultimate Snow Plow

We’ve seen a Diamond Reo. We’ve seen Macks. But where are the plows? I can hear your angry screams at night and they keep me awake. The wait is over. Behold the most quintessential upstate plow truck of all times. A 1978 Walter NDUS powered by a Detroit 8-V92T with Frink headgear, wings, and V-Plow. This is how you plow snow.

Walter Snow Fighter

The Town of Newport, NY was gracious enough to pull this truck out for full inspection and inspect we did. If you encounter a drift with this truck that you can’t bust or a snow you can’t bench, turn around and wait for spring.

Town of Newport, NY

Hard to believe that at one time you could buy both a New York built truck and plow combo but it’s true. Glory days. Enjoy the sights and sounds and imagine seeing this truck at work on a cold winters day.

The required angles.

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B-Model Mack Trucks of Herkimer

I am convinced that almost every B-Model Mack ever produced still exists. How else can you explain the sheer number of these truck that still wander out of the back 40 and onto the pages of ebay and Craigslist?  It’s 2016 and the last B-Model was produced over 50 years ago yet you can still find collections of them without to much work. You just can’t kill these things.

Anyway, the first stop of the plow hunting journey through Herkimer was at a location known to have a few trucks kicking around. If your definition of a few is somewhere around a dozen then we understand each other.

B-Model Mack Dump Truck

Most of the Macks on the property are owned by the same family with many being owned since new. This truck for instance came from the Mack Syracuse branch and survived a train collision. Like I said, you can’t kill a B-Model.

B-Model Mack Dump Truck

Some of the trucks were solid from top to bottom while others had been saved from the junk yard so they could be restored or help restore others.

Creeping into the collection, an R-model.  I don’t recall the exact age of this truck but it does have a flat back cab and steel dash. Those two facts place this truck between 66 and 73.

Mack R-Model

Plenty of great trucking history in these photos. Thanks to Brian for letting us wander around and bomb him with questions first thing in the morning.

 

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Still Working – 1971 Diamond Reo

So what do you do when your cruising down a two lane country road and you notice a Diamond Reo sitting in a construction yard? You stop of course! This past Monday I spent most of the day travelling with Ryan and Chris as we searched for plows rigs of any make, model, or size. Ryan hand worked out a detailed itinerary planing to hit up a variety of town barns through out Herkimer County. While we found a few trucks of note I think more gems were discovered along the way than in any of the garages we visited. But that’s just me. In the coming days you’ll have the chance to form your own opinion.

Diamond Reo Dump Truck

Stopping to check out this Reo we came across the owner who was more than willing to let us climb all over it. Without prompting he grabbed a can of starter fluid and dosed the air intake. Seconds alter the Cummins 555 roared to life without much work. Unfortunately Rot has really done a number on the floorboards in this old truck and a few other sections so it’s strictly a yard machine now.

1971 Diamond Reo Cab

Looking at the cab it’s hard to believe this is a 1971 model but it’s true. Diamond Reo was part of the White Motor Company empire at this time and this cab is a clear indication of how the company had grown too large with too many overlapping marques. The time and money to develop modern interiors over the product lines of White, Diamond Reo, and Autocar was simply too much. It might not have been competitive for the times but it sure is cool, especially be the standards of today.

Below, listen to the triple nickel roar to life.

Much, much, more to come.

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2016 CNY ATHS Chapter Truck Show

Many of the bigger classic truck shows around the country grab all the attention when it comes to social media and other online sources. With hundreds of trucks descending on massive show grounds some people right off the “smaller” shows like the CNY ATHS chapter show held yearly at Long Branch Park in Liverpool, NY. That’s a shame, there are some great trucks and people at your local shows. Chances are high that you haven’t seen a Detroit Diesel (4-53) powered 1964 E45 Studebaker before this photo. If you had gone to the show you would have. 😉

Studebaker Diesel Truck

For some reason the past three years of this show have been cursed with rain and overcast skies but that still didn’t stop the trucks from coming out.

CNY Classic Truck Show

Even the tow trucks from Pullens put on a mini show.

Pullens Tow Truck

Many more videos and other coverage of this show to come later in the week. Enjoy!

 

 

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Autocar Mondays – The Only One

If you go to a classic truck show and there are no Autocar trucks present can it really be considered a truck show?

Thankfully we won’t have to answer that question when it comes the CNY chapter of the ATHS as they scored one Autocar truck at their annual show. That’s all it takes. Unlike last week’s truck I don’t know much about this one. It appears to have come from New Jersey and is covered in original “art work”. Check out that slogan, “we dig your hole”, get it? You can’t make this stuff up.

Autocar Truck

It came the show on the back of a really nice Mack Superliner. The two make an attractive pair. Watch them hit the road below.

In the coming days we’ll see more from this show that played a crucial role in the formation of this website.

 

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Austin-Western Motor Graders

I still have a few more interesting items for the Palmyra municipal auction from late May in the form of motor graders, Austin-Western graders to be exact. I immediately gravitated to one of the oldest machines in the group, a 1961 Super 100 with six wheel drive. This machine was painted in red and came with appeared to be a old fire truck light. Not your typical DPW colors of orange or yellow. It came to the auction by the way of Pendleton, NY. There is probably an interesting story behind the color but damned if I know what it is. Final hammer price on this classic machine was 2,000. Check the video below for a view of the cab with more than enough levers and buttons to go around.

Below, a more complete view of the grader offerings.

Used Motor Graders

And more select angles.

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When You Need Service

Here is an ad that I ripped right from the heart of the May 14th, 1960 edition of the Saturday Evening Post. Most of the magazine is in tough shape but the International advertisement has passed the test of time. IHC seemed to advertise in many of the mainstream publications of the time, more so than any other brand. Here we see International tooting its horn regarding not only its comprehensive model lineup but also the 5,000 strong dealer network reaching from coast to coast. And don’t forget about the 12 mammoth parts depots! A strong dealer network is essential to any modern truck manufacturer. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons International is still successful to this very day. When any rumor of take over by a foreign body rears its ugly head the large dealer network is always touted as one of the most attractive pieces of the Navistar empire. It very well could be the largest and most expensive part faced by any company looking to setup shop in the United States, an expense that is usually prohibitive to entry. Click on the ad below to see a larger version.

IHC Truck Ad

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