St. Jude Truck Show 2016

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Eric

Tradition dictates that truck shows take place during warmer weather. I don’t see any of that on the East Coast so I guess that explains all this great footage from Ryan and the St. Jude Truck Show from Sutter, California. Believe it or not the skies were overcast with rain! Rain! Usually a disappointing element to any truck show but with things as they are in California it was welcomed with open arms.  Rigs of all shapes and sizes showed up to the benefit the St. Jude’s Children Hospital. Take a look at this Kenworth T-800 with a massive Cat scraper lurking out back.

Kenworth T-800

To truly appreciate how far trucks have come compare the Kenworth to this Autocar from sometime in the 19TEENs date range. Do you think that steering wheel height is adjustable. And those side mirrors seem to be in a convenient spot. At least it has year round A/C. All kidding aside it’s a very cool machine and no doubt it was just as impressive to the people of the time as the T-800 is today.

Autocar Truck

It seems strange to me but there is only one photo of a B-Model. Just one? We are still overrun with them back east. 😉

Thanks for the share Ryan!

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Auotcar Mondays – 1973 DC 10364B

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Eric

When you think about Autocar trucks what kind of truck comes to mind? Maybe your imagination travels to the the curving and flowing style of a 1940’s U-Model. Or perhaps your tastes lean toward the squared lines of a the ever popular ACL. For me, I see a truck very similar to this 1973 DC 10364BDC owned by Anthony Cortese. Completely restored in 1995 this truck has all the features I love on heavy haul trucks with tall rubber, spokes, external air cleaners, and diamond plate pit fenders all around to name a few. Under that long piano styled hood a small Cam Cummins 350 lurks. A Spicer 5 x 4 trans with Rockwell 65,000 pound rears and a 100 ton oscillating 5th wheel complete the hauling picture.

DC Autocar Truck

Anthony purchased this truck from a farmer in Wind Gap, PA and began the restoration process during which every single part of the truck was touched. And I mean every, single, part. Gauges, wiring, cab roof, all glass, doors, interior, upholstery, and steering components, nothing was overlooked. Rumors abound that this truck was a former Gerosa unit but no proof has been found…yet…to substantiate this claim.

Autocar DC Heavy Hauler

Thank you to Anthony for sharing these amazing photos. Stay tuned for a few more trucks of his in the coming days. Have you spotted an Autocar? Let the world see! Email eric@dailydieseldose.com today!

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The New Face of Plowing

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Eric

Last year International trucks and Viking Cives won the NYSDOT contract to supply Class 8 heavy trucks and snow plows to the agency for the next three years. Below you see one of the first trucks of this new contract at that Viking plant in Harrisville, NY. It will be interesting to see Internationals return the roads in large numbers after a decade of dominance by Mack with Henderson plow gear. How will they hold up? Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure, without Maxxforce engines they stand a fighting chance. Some of the first trucks up for replacement are sure to be the remaining 2001 and 2002 International 2574 models still in active use as of this winter!

NYSDOT Snow Plow

It’s a nice looking setup if you ask me. When I first saw these photos I though the cabs had yet to receive their state markings but upon closer inspection you can see the new “unified” DOT logo on the door. Please bring back the flying T!

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Demag AC665

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Eric

Here is a big crane. I could leave it at that and move on with life but as NBC told us for years, the more you know the more you grow. To get specific this is a 1997 Demag AC665 complete with 190′ main boom, 134′ fix jib extension, and a 213′ luffing jib. For those outside the crane world most of that information won’t make that much sense, myself included, but from the raw numbers you can tell this crane has some reach. The luffing jib is the small looking jib that angles away from the main boom. According the web it allows for the jib to move independently from the boom for precise lifting and landing of cargo. The carrier is powered by a Cummins N14-500E while a Cummins 6 BTA 5.9- C200 provides muscle to the lifting unit. New paint, upholstery and many other parts all around. If you have 699,000 laying around this can be yours today! Visit Empire Crane for more details.

Demag Crane

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Onward into History

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Eric

Up until last week the Town of Herkimer, NY had TWO Walter Snow-Fighters in the arsenal. Now they have none. Please don’t be confused. These were not rust buckets hanging out behind the salt shed. From photos and personal inspections these trucks were ready to go during the next big storm.

Ryan had his brother in-law Tom stop by the town garage to take a closer look and grab some great photos. Below, a 1959 model with blower. According to the listing this truck is still powered by it’s original 140 Waukesha gas engine. Power to the Bros blower comes from a rear mounted LeRoi 2000 engine. All gauges and other equipment were 100% operational at time of auction with the exception of a minor hydraulic leak. The optional coffee can over the exhaust stack was also included. The final hammer price for this unit came in at  $6,100.

Walter Snow Fighter

Also up for bid was a 1948 model complete with V-Plow and wing. This truck was a little worse for wear with a rusty cab and exposed wiring but still functional. The auction paper work indicates this truck is a gas model but further investigation by true Walter experts concluded that it was repowered by a diesel at some point in time while receiving a newer style cab. The question remains, was this a town job or a factory repower, as was the style of the time.

Walter Snow Fighter

The final price for this beast was $2,351, a true steal when you consider the pound per dollar ratio.

The town also had a few other goodies up for sale including Walter spare parts, a ’77 GMC Dump and a 70’s International M-Series that was in rough shape compared to the gem from the farm auction a few weeks ago. Check them out by clicking here.

Thanks for Tom for grabbing these photos and to Ryan for sharing them with us.

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Norfolk Southern 5291

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Eric

Locomotives hide their age well. When I first saw this train I never would have guessed it was a seasoned 43 years old. If I saw a truck from 1973 running down the road I would know instantly and probably chase after it for a photo. At first glance this was just another train parked along the former passenger siding of OnTrack, a failed passenger venture of the New York, Susquehanna and Western railway. I was going to walk on by but the Norfolk Southern livery brought me in for a closer look. The black and white color scheme was a breath of fresh air from the standard blue and yellow of CSX locomotives commonly seen in the area. Ol’ 5291 here has seen plenty of changes over the years with a few clues speaking to its history. From a novice standpoint I spotted CSX spill response stickers on the fuel tanks and NYSW safety stickers on the walkways indicating a shared history among the three companies. Further digging at RRPictures.net reveal this EMD GP38-2 was originally built for the famous Penn Central company. Later it would haul under the Conrail empire. This old rig has held up well through decades of turmoil and hard work and looks ready for many more years to come.

Norfolk Southern 5291

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Still Working – Brockway 361

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Eric

Still REALLY Working should be the title of this photo. Clarence and his 1974 Brockway 361 were recently pressed into action to help a friend whose tractor trailer had become stuck in the mud. It’s nice when you have a classic truck that not only looks good but can still do the role it was built to fill. Clarence tell us the hardest part of the entire process was getting the back tires to dig into the ground.

Brockway Tow Truck

Enjoyable. I can imagine the 6-71 under the hood had something to say during this process.

Brockway 361 Tow Truck

Of course you want to see more of this truck? Here ya go.

1974 Brockway 361 with Detroit 6-71. Photos and video!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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Autocar Mondays – 1967 DC 103

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Eric

Join me as I once again fire up the wayback machine and travel to the simpler time of 2008. Back then the Apple iPhone was barely a year old and gallon of gas sold for right around 4.00 dollars. I guess we had it great back than?! At the very least there were some great trucks to drool over if you could afford driving to a show.

This particular model is a 1967 DC103. Owned by Tom Amaducci, it has been seen at the ATCA Macungie show more than a handful of times with the most recent appearance being last year. I happy to report it still looks just as perfect now as it did eight years ago.

1967 Autocar DC103

Have you spotted an Autocar? Let the world see! Email eric@dailydieseldose.com today!

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Allis Chalmers and Trojan

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Eric

You’ve read the text (I hope) now see the video.

The Trojan

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Everyday Big Rigs – PACCAR

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Eric

You can’t say you didn’t see this one coming down the road! This Peterbilt 587 of Transco Lines is decked out in an eye catching U.S. Marines livery. If you check out the Transco website linked above you’ll see photos of trucks sporting paint jobs of other military branches. Headquartered out of Arkansas I don’t see many TLI trucks on the road around my part of New York but this one just happened to be parked in a driveway down the street from me. I couldn’t walk by it and not take a picture.

Peterbilt 587

I came across this Kenworth T800(?) of Quebec based MJP express, at a rest stop not too far from Canada. If you are having trouble reading the trailer it’s not your eyes, the trailer wears both English and French Canadian slogans.

Kenworth W900

One good Kenworth deserves another. Here we have a 2012 W900 with a Cummins ISX and just under 300,000 miles. Buy it today!

Kenworth W900

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