When you think of a modern gas station, there’s a good chance it looks quite a bit different than what’s in front of you right now.  Gas and service stations have evolved a considerable amount over time, and and this station, built by H. Leslie Leas, echoes what a Texaco Service Station would have looked like around the 1920:s and 1930’s.  This station was built in Waukon, Iowa and is a very rare example of a pre-fab gas  station building.  When you pulled up to the pump at one of these stations, an attendant would come out to fill up your tank, wash your windows, and check your oil.

    1930 Mack AK     

           ⇒ Engine:              6-cylinder
           ⇒Transmission:     4 speed
           ⇒Top Speed:         40 MPH
The 1930 Mack AK was used by a house mover in Rhode Island.  It has a window sticker showing it was licensed in 1969; it was still being used 39 years after it was built. The AK model looks like the AC Mack, but it has a six-cylinder engine and is a lot heavier.  This truck has an electric start as an option from the factory, however a provision for a crank is includd.  This truck wight 24,000 pounds and has a large winch on the back that was used for moving houses.  Mack AK made from  1927 to 1936

                 ⇒  Engine:  616 cu in. 6-cylinder gas 2 carburetors        
                 ⇒  Transmission: 4-speed with 3-speed auxillary           
                 ⇒  HP: 149                   

This GMC truck,  verified as Serial number 001, was originally owned by the Thomas Proctor Company of long Branch, NJ.  Proctor built most of the jetties, seawalls and piers along the NJ shoreline.  Proctor owned this truck until 2000 when the company was sold.  Designed for off-road construction service, this truck was equipped with very large 12:00-24 tires, a three-man cab and weighed 38,000 pounds.  This truck also has full air brakes, which is very rare for a truck built in 1931.  The transmission offered its operator 12 forward speeds and 3 reverse speeds.  Due to the U.S. being in a depressed economic state, very few of these trucks were made and this is the ony one of this model known to still exist.

This 1 1/2 ton capacity truck had the same basic engine style from 1929 – 1984.  Known as the “stovebolt six”.  Engine options ranged from 194 to 292 cubic inches.  The Chevrolet brand was on all major components including the rear axle.

The trailer (equipped with vacuum brakes) and 5th wheel were also made by GMC  The T-23 B has a 3-ton rating and mechanical brakes.  Brand new, the cost was $2,300.  This model was owned by Jake Iles from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.  He used it to haul livestock all over Iowa.  Iles’s grandson still attends our annual Truckers Jamboree.

This 1938 Fageol was built to be an off-road logging truck for Robinson Logging in norther California.  It is too wide to travel on normal-size roads, and certainly would not be legal on today’s modern roads.  The frame is reinforced with railroad track steel.  This truck is not just big and powerful for its time; it is also pretty extravagant for a truck.  The grill is cast aluminum and it has shark gill hood vents as well as an ornate hood ornament; those are the kind of details that Fageol offered.  This truck was made in Oakland, California during Fageol’s final year of production.  T.A. Peterman, a California logger and founder of Peterbilt, fought the factory and it contents. In the Fageol tradition, Peterbilts were built with high quality and high standards: a tradition that has carried through to today.

This 1939 International was purchased new by the Minneapolis Police Department in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  It features a 1/4 inch thick armored steel body that boasts 2 inch thick bullet proof glass windows with gun ports.  The steel plates mounted on the front bumper are bullet deflectors for the front tires.  All doors are made of armor plate.  The engine is a-cylinder 213.24 cubic inch with a 3 & 5/16 bore and a 4 & 1/8 inch stroke.  This produces 93 horsepower at 3400 RPM.  The D Series was introduced in 1937 and was discontinued in 1941.  This was the only truck of its kind produced.

This Mack BX was originally purchased by the George Atwell Foundation Company in New York City, in 1939.  It is believed to have been purchased to help haul steel beams and other equipment for the completion of construction of a part of Radio City Music Hall. 
In 1985, Tom Spencer purchased the Mack and completely restored it.  The body, the engine and the chassis are all original from 1939; which coincidentally was the first year Mack used this engine model.  While this specific engine uses gasoline, the same block was used in the soon to follow, 519 Lanova which was Mack’s first ever diesel engine. The winch on the back of the truck is typical of what would have been found on a truck in that era.  The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum purchased this truck from Tom Spencer in 2011.