Bil Moon noticed this truck posted for sale by Gerry Noordman of Enumclaw, Washington and commented that it was a rare truck, and someone should really buy it.  Jerry was a long time truck collector.  Jerry believed, as did Bill moon, that old trucks are significant pieces of history and shouldn’t be scrapped.  A few years later the truck was for sale again.  It was at this time that Iowa 80 purchased the truck.

All Freightliners of this age were built for Consolidate Freightways, and in those days Freightliner made less than 50 trucks per year.  Like all of the other early Freightliners, this truck was rebuilt from an existing truck and carries a rebuilt stamp.  You can see the Fageol front fenders and their distinctive headlight mounts.  The rear ends are Timken worm drive.  the crane on the back of the truck would have been used to load freight onto a flatbed trailer that was pulled behind.  The HB Cummins engine block has a casting date of December 8, 1941 one day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

This Mack EQT was built in 1944 during WWII, with little to no chrome used it’s construction.  During the war, chrome was conserved for building engines or various projects aiding the war effort.  If someone used excessive chrome on their truck it was seen as distasteful and flashy since the material was needed elsewhere.  Over the course of WWII, Mack provided roughly 35,000 trucks to the Allied forces to contribute to the war effort.  Ranging from tank transporters, wreckers, personnel carriers, and more.  Mack had a heavy presence both on the war front, and back at home.  While this EQT was not sent overseas, it is believed to have been used as a local delivery truck.

This truck is a model M-16 Studebaker, which were produced during the years: 1941, 1942 and from 1946 thru 1948.  In 1946, 19,450 M-16 models were produced.  This Bumble Bee was built in South Bend, Indiana on June 22, and was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Hall in Connecticut.  Originally, this truck was a two-axle, six wheeler, 1-1/2 ton with a standard cab and chassis.  Mr. Hall soon hand-built a 12 foot long trailer to go along with the truck.  He also added a third axle to the M-16, making it a 10 wheeler, as well as a hand-made sleeper box, which he mounted to the trailer above the cab of the truck. 
The truck was restored in 1998 and the trailer in 2001.
The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum acquired this truck in 2011.

This truck rolled off the assembly line in Cleveland, Ohio in April of 1946.  The original owner lived in Beaver Dam, Ohio.  The truck was then licensed and used by Mayflower Transit until 1979, and had one primary driver for all 33 of those years.  This truck has a top speed of 55 mph., which was more than sufficient given that the speed limit where it mainly operated was only 45 MPH.  This particular White has one of the first integrated sleepers seen in production; it is only 18 inches wide.  It also has one of the last wood structured cabs that White ever built; starting in 1947 all cabs produced were constructed of steel.  This truck has been in the Iowa 80 collection for a number of years, but was newly restored in 2012.

The Diamond T 201 – 1 Ton was introduced in 1938, costing $1,800.  It has hydraulic brakes.  Diamond T was considered high-end and was known for its stylish design and quality.  Over the years, Diamond has built tow trucks, dump trucks, delivery vans, buses, fire engines, and a variety of additional heavy-duty commercial vehicles.  The Diamond, know for its famous trademark of a gold-bordered green diamond with a “T” in the middle, is a highly sought after collector item.

Brockways, like this 1949 model, were viewed as top-of-the-line trucks during their time.  Built in Cortland, New York, they were considered a custom truck like the Kenworth and Peterbilts on the west coast.  It has a wood cab and the typical Brockway frill, which is highly ornamental and difficult to make.  There is still a starter crank hold. You probably couldn’t start this engine with a crank, but you could turn it over to set the timing.  The valves did not have hydraulic lifters, so you set the valve clearance by hand.   On an unrestored truck like this, you can see the faults in the truck’s construction.  It is rusted out in places like the windshield are exposed.    There was a problem with the drainage; water sat there all the time.  Furthermore, the hinges are exposed.   While that makes for quick-and-easy construction, it’s not the best for longevity of the hinge.  The hood is also exposed, and the paint is faded and falling off.  Still, there is a lot of metal left and a surprising lack of holes; it isn’t rusted through like a lot of old unrestored trucks we find.  Construction of this truck was pretty basic – the fenders don’t even have a rolled edge with a wire in it.  Lots of fenders were rolled under and that would make it look more finished, more attractive.  This truck doesn’t have that, so it didn’t have a place for salt and water to collect which has helped its longevity.

Brockway started as a wagon maker and made it’s first truck in 1912.  In 1956, Brockway was bought by Mack and the last Brockway was built in May 1977.  Built in Cortland, N.Y., it was considered a custom truck like the Kenworths and Peterbilts on the west coast.  This truck has a wood framed cab with metal over the frame and a wood trim on the outside of the doors.  These old gas trucks were cold blooded; they were hard to start on a cold day and not easy to start on a warm day either.  The carburetor had to be choked hard to get this truck started and keep it running.  That was the nature of how trucks used to run back then.

General Petroleum originally used this truck to haul fuel for Mobil Oil Company.  Iowa 80 purchased the truck in 1994 from Motor Transport Museum in Campo, California.  Everything on the truck is original, including the fuel tanks.  All of the serial numbers match.