Autoracks - and a twist

With the recent upheavals in the auto transport business, we have been seeing some variety in the area. The sighting of a pair of Jack Coopers in July inspired this little portfolio.
1. This pair of Volvos from Jack Cooper Transport Co Inc of Kansas City, MO were parked in Burnside July 30, complete with their Kansas plates. Cooper has taken over a lot of work lost by the other big carriers and has called up units from layup.

2. Back in November 1979 Atlantic Automobile Transport was running this rather battered Ford W series COE. Ever wonder how the "stinger" trailers are connected?

3. "Stinger" is on the back of the truck and carries a low mounted fifth wheel. The trailer has a tongue with the king pin. Look at the miniature landing gear, which wouldn't get used much.

4. Nova Scotia's Lunenburg County counts itself as is the Christmas Tree capital (of the world?), and once used (old) autoracks to speed the balsam firs to market in the US. Ray Merlin had this White COE on the road November 24, 1979. Believe me it was one of the better looking rigs in this kind of work. The trees are now usally bagged and stuffed into containers or closed vans for long hauls.
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Chev and GMC in the big tilt cab business

General Motors was certainly a major player in class 8 tilt cab trucks. To replace the F model Crackerbox Jimmy, they came up with the Chev Titan 90 and the GMC Astro 95 in 1968. Both space/rocket names they were trying to cash in on the space age with these sleek aluminum cab tilts. More sophisticated styling appealed to fleets and owner operators, and I am sure they were price competitive with Ford. Compared with the clumkier Freightliners and Petes, they were certainly more up to date looking. They also had plush interiors.
Chev produced the Titan 90 from 1969 to 1980 (they dropped the "90" for the last year.)
GMC produced the Astro 95 from 1968 to 1987 (it was the Astro, without a number after 1980.) Also in 1980 they went with the bigger grille, which had been an option the previous year.
My pre-occupation with dromedary boxes in the 1980s may give the impression that only movers used these trucks, but that is far from the case. They could be seen in all lines of work.
1. Taken from the back seat of a passing car (you can see the defroster wires crossing the photo.) This Chev Astro 90 is making good speed on a downhill - somewhere in New Brunswick, August 1973. Miss Viola has an illuminated "A" up front - I didn't record an owner. Tarp top trailers were the norm in those days.

2. "Where WereYa" "What Kept Ya" - words a trucker might hear all to often. This GMC Astro 95 was at the freezer plant on the Halifax waterfront taking on fish, September 1975. He's already got his cold weather tarp on the grille.

3. Dean Mackie ran this large grille Astro 95 for Coleman's of Oshawa, October 21, 1979. The big grille was an option on the high end models before the 1980 model year.

4. No amount of custom fender faring was going to make up for the lack of aerodynamics in this load! Stake side trailers bulging with all sorts of strange loads were once common on the roads. Fredericton, NB August 3, 1984. This is the only photo I have of an Astro or Titan with stacked headlights-maybe a custom touch.

5. Seaboard had this short wheelbase Astro in tank hauling service July 11, 1987. Note the odd "witches hat" air cleaner intake.

6. Daycabs were not unknown, but I think they were rare-particularly in moving service. North American Van Lines of Calgary had this one in Dartmouth, NS July 9, 1988 for the annual Canadian Forces re-posting crunch, where every truck was on the road, moving personnel from coast to coast and places between (in this case likely to Cold Lake, AB.)

7. I don't think I would want to do door to door pick ups in this one, but any truck will do when you need one. Not sure if its a Chev or GMC. Burnside February 22, 1990. He certainly has the front well quilted to keep a little warmth in the cab.

8. Home Hardware ran a large fleet of trucks from their St.Jacobs, ON distribution centre, including this modified GMC. The accordion fold lid was odd enough, but the grille and bumper were certainly unique. This must have been an experimental model to determine the benefits of streamlining. June 2, 1990.

9. Outaouais Moving moved the fuel tank back under the drom on this long wheelbase Astro. June 30, 1990.

10. One of each. A Titan on the left, and an Astro on the right. The Titan has seen some miles. When this was taken at The Lady Wentworth at Streets Ridge, NS June 10, 1992, the truck was at least 12 years old. The GMC was five years old or more.

11. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp had this Chev Titan 90 in service for many years with its mobile control centre. It was relatively low mileage and well cared for, and was more than 15 years old when I took this in Halifax April 9, 1994. Like those big rear tires with the Mack mudflap!

12. Second career GMC Astro. Fish dealers like straight trucks with sleepers so they can deliver fast and fresh, but this one has no reefer motor. It must be used to carry a high value/low weight or dangerous cargo, such as explosives. Fredericton, NB, June 30, 1994.

Ford tilt cabs

Once upon a time when tilt cabs ruled the roads, all truck manufacturers had tilt cabs. Some, like Dodge, didn't achieve much market share, but Ford and GM certainly did get on the band wagon in a big way.
After the GMC crackerbox (see post below) they swung into the popular Astro/Titan series (and there will be more on these later.)
Ford spread out too with the W series, which was more of a fleet type. In 1976 they went after cross country truckers with their Louisville cab LTL 9000 series conventionals and the CTC 9000 series tilt cabs. Fleets liked them, but so did some owner operators. They were impressive beasties.
1. Midland Transport CTL 9000 doing parade duty in Halifax July 30, 1983. This was an owner/operator rig, with large sleeper. Note the trailer with bulkhead and arch for a canvas tarp top.

2. Early versions had single head lights, and showed "Ford" in joint where the cab tilted. Halifax October 21, 1979.

3. Always popular with movers, the 9000 tilts could look sharp with the right paint job. This one also has the larger sleeper. July 6, 1988.4. Same day, same lot, Coastal Moving & Storage of Dartmouth had an even bigger drom box on their CTL. They had also installed bug screen over the large grille area.
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Western Star hooks a Mack -now and then.

1. Ace Towing's big Western Star #15 - spotted this morning after hooking one of REGroup's Mack packers on Water Street.

2. Petitclerc Inc. was running a province wide service with this White Western Star September 2, 1980 in Baie-Ste-Catherine, QC. They have just hooked a Cartier Transport R-Model Mack.

3. Nova Enterprises of Truro, NS had their White Western Star on the job righting a tipped semi March 24, 1979.

When White sold to Volvo, the Western Star line (built in Canada) had been sold to Canadian owners, along with the Autocar "Driver Cab" and became the stand alone Western Star brand, until picked off by Daimler and moved to the US.

Surprise- more Autocars

It's been more than ten days since I posted Autocar photos - so I can't keep these back anymore.
All found at Layton's salvage and recycling yard in Look Off, King's County, NS, each represents a different vintage, and thus is a significant find.
1. The classic plain painted rad was available until about the mid 1960s, but this one could be bit older, say early 1960s. This is the definitive A-car.

2. Construcktor model was an attempt by White to market a line of Autocars and Whites for the construction industry, as opposed to over the road trucks. Square fenders were part of the Construcktor look. This late model has a White Mustang mounted on the hood and looks ready for work.

3. Weathered dumper looks like it might be a daily driver in the scrap yard. The quad headlights are not original, but the beefy fenders and skid plate certainly are. The aluminum rad shell was first offered in the mid 1960s and eventually replaced the painted steel shell.

Three Autocars in one spot - made my day!

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Dodge AWD

Yesterday's trip to the Annapolis Valley turned up this interesting Dodge rebuild. The old Dodge cab has been successfully grafted to a more modern 4x4 chassis, and finished off in grand style with new wheels, flat bed and chrome stacks.

All the US truck manufacturers halted development of new styles of commercial vehicles in 1942 and continued to produce limited numbers of the 1942s or shifted over to war work until 1945. When the war work ended they resumed commercial production as quickly as they could without re-tooling. For most, the 1946 and 1947 trucks were indistinguishable from 1942 models. It's good to see that this one's classic good looks have not been compromised by the rebuild.

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Crackerbox in the Valley

When I spotted a GMC Crackerbox conversion today - it got my mind ticking.
The GMC F model aluminum tilt cab, produced from 1959-1968 was your basic no frills fleet type tilt cab. The sleeper models had little more than a shelf slung on the back of the cab, and what styling there was, was confined to the front grille.
Lots of these were sold to the big fleets, but they weren't very common in Nova Scotia.
The one I saw today, at Look Off, Kings County [so named because it's on top of a mountain] was not far away from one I had seen before - but I couldn't remember when, so I went digging. Sure enough - I photographed a Crackerbox Jimmy in Canning [at the bottom of the same mountain] in 1983.
Any bets its the same one?
1. A GMC Crackerbox cab and a GMC New Look bus joined together-and quite possibly with the bus engine in the rear (the cab does not tilt anymore). A distinctive mobile home! Photo taken today at LW Layton's scrap yard, Look Off, NS., and apparently owned by the proprietor.

2. July 20, 1983, Canning, NS - long wheelbase Crackerbox, with converted dump body that looks look like it might be used for collecting scrap metal. Too much of a coincidence.
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