Saturday, April 15, 2023

Too far gone?

 


13 comments:

  1. not even close., actually it looks like they're still using it

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  2. It could be restored, but would you want to? Commercial trucks of the '30s and '40s take a lot of effort to drive, as they have "armstrong" steering, heavy clutch pedals (you need to double clutch since the gearbox lacks synchros) and they ride like, well, trucks. Put the cab on a modern pickup truck chassis with power assist steering, power assist braking, IFS, and an automatic tranny and it would be a cool and enjoyable ride.
    Al_in_Ottawa

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    1. Sounds like you're describing driving a deuce and a half.

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    2. You're also describing the '65 Kenworth I hauled logs with in the '80s. No P/S, no A/C, hauling into LP Oroville and Red Bluff when it was well north of 110°. I ran that truck for several years and the physical nature of driving it never bothered me a bit. I just packed plenty of lemon-spritzed water.

      But then, I was in my late 20s and early 30s then, and I was built 'Like a Rock'. Didn't have a care, strong as I could be. Like a Rock. Nuthin' ever bothered me. Even sweatin my tush off. Good, hard times.

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    3. What Anonymous said about a deuce and a half. 4000 revolutions lock to lock and keep your thumbs away from the spokes in the wheel. And I only drove it once. God bless you if you moved one more than that.

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    4. 1 million mile driver here.
      The best handling trucks I ever drove were manual steering.
      No clutch required for most shifts unless you are down in the lower gears or stopping and starting.
      Every transmission I used had synchronizers.
      They were the accelerator pedal, the shifting lever, and best computer to date, the human mind.
      Synchronizers suck in that they make it virtually impossible to shift without engaging the clutch.

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  3. It’s beautiful! All that character. I’d retire it from work, drop it low, low, low, and fab a bed for it, maybe with some stakes….

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  4. search term: Elwoods RV.

    There is one like that within 3 miles of my house.

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  5. 1 ton dodge dually chassis with Cummins power, drop the body on that as is, glass and wipers as needed and the drive it. Maybe a sleeper cab and have a cool hot shot truck or rv delivery vehicle.

    Can almost guarantee you won't see another like it.

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  6. It'll be a rough ride sitting right over the front axle like that. And hard to modify a conventional truck chassis to accept this cab-over setup - easier to use a 1-ton van chassis I would think.

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    1. Air ride suspension the dodge chassis. Even a 1 ton van chassis your still sitting over front axle or nearly so. Lots of wrecked 1 ton dodge pickups out there, some with the diesel engines still in them.

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