Wowabunga

I asked on a popular metal fabrication forum what kind of person builds a cabinet ( see yellow arrow ) that has 5 leading edges...? The answer back was a cognoscenti does that. Definition: "A person with superior, usually specialized knowledge or highly refined taste; a connoisseur." With most of the haulers the tail cabinets are square and any extra space is wasted space, but not on this truck. All the former fabricators at Baker are now gone. The Ford and Mopar factory haulers showed up around 1966. The imitators began making haulers in 1967 for example Junie Donlavey made his hauler in 1967 and drove it to Daytona in 1968. I've included a photo of his hauler that has never been posted online until this month. Junie Donlavey's day job was helping build the Truxmore commercial trash compactor trucks. Per the marker lights on the doors... I didn't know about that tidbit. Thanks for the education..!

After exhausting every online forum on racing and no answers I adjusted my sails and started asking who were the men who fabricated the much loved open car haulers from the 1960's. I ended up with a short list of builders who had the skill set and resources to do such, and by deduction eliminated those that didn't fit like a glove. For example Holman Moody gets all the credit for building the Ford NASACAR team haulers, but all they did was call Baker Body of Charlote and subcontract the job to them ( Baker did line trucks for Duke Power and knew how to build a bed and cabinets ). I"ll be putting all my research into a small little historical video around Christmas time called a Short History of Open Haulers. I've got visual proof that Baker Body also made the Mopar haulers of the same era including the Richard Petty Dodge Crewcab hauler. Did you know Petty's hauler was/is the yellow Hotwheels hauler....? Here's a taste of my research per the Hotwheels pair: Yellow Cuda Hauler - Richard Petty 2 Years ( Petty sold back to Mopar Dealership Briefly ) - Don "The Snake" Prudhomme and Hotwheels - Private Ownership - Don Prudhomme and restoration. Red Plymouth Duster Hauler - Sox & Martin Drag Team - Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen and Hotwheels - Don Lowery - Private Ownership - Don Prudhomme and restoration Mopar had an engineering department that only worked on race cars and they had a plain ( no graphics ) white Dodge Crewcab hauler. A family member of one of the engineers tells me this white hauler pictured was given to one of the Mopar teams and might have went to the Petty team. The tire deck on the Mopar truck and on the Ford hauler pictured are identical and both beds were made by Baker Body out of Charlotte NC. A characteristic of Baker Body was the chrome cabinet latches were all etched with the BAKER logo. The latches on my hauler are plain generic latches, and my tire deck is more aerodynamic. More to say on style and beauty in our coming video to hit around Christmas.

This story just keeps getting better. Add Red Farmer to the list of drivers who used this hauler. Hauler is in this photo, tools and equipment laying everywhere on the tail of the bed. In 1971 at the Martinsville Cardinal 500 driver Red Farmer ( member of the Alabama Gang ) came in 4th place, driving the #11 car for owner Bob Adams out of Richmond VA.

Thanks for the laugh I needed one...!!!!!!! Been surrounded by bozos in every direction all week. Sandy used to belong to me... she has a new forever home now. Pictured below was Sandy on the deck of the car hauler at the Winchester AACA Swap Meet in about 2005. Hershey field captain Bill Miller complimented me saying "You always bring interesting things... We like that..!"

Frozen clutch after 15 years sitting. Learn from my mistakes my friends. Metal and rubber clutch hose rusted out also and Ford hasn't had one on their shelves for decades. The rolls of 1/4 inch metal line are such a great solution... except this truck "tilts" forward a good 50 degrees thus the reason these trucks are called "tilt-cabs". I paid $118 for the local hose fabricator to craft a hose with the correct 1/4" tips. To bend by hand ( and find a rubber hose for the cab ) I was thinking would take forever: So I installed a clutch master cylinder, clutch slave cylinder and the new hose in 1.5 hours. Used a vacume bleeder and did it myself another 30 minutes. I now have a clutch again... giving free rides tomorrow if you can make it. I still don't have any brakes... bring a helmet.

Five years ago I had zero photos of the truck being used as a hauler... now I have a dozen. I'm going to make one more big push at finding out who fabricated the truck and then trade it for a farm tractor. Here's a page I made with the historical timeline and lots of photos: https://wowabunga.com/fun/bigred/

I WAS SO EXCITED five years ago when I finally found the first photo of my truck in service hauling a car. I've been told "back in the day" no one ever took pics of the haulers... it was always about the cars. Defying the odds I found 2 photos of Bobby Allison's #22 car on my truck. The lower photo is Charlotte in 1984 and Allison won the race that day..!

Haven't updated this page in 17 years. Truck sat quiet for 16 years.... my bad. Did I mention I've traced ownership back to 1969 and the truck has hauled race cars for legends Bobby Allsion, Geoff Bodine, and Ray Hendrick. It's still a mystery who made the truck when it was showroom new...!?!?! I'm very thanksful the engine still runs great. This weeks challange / headache is redoing the entire clutch hydraulic line it all froze up as well as the clutch plate is stuck to the flywheel. I just made a heart pounding walk around video, so if you love good welding and fabrication you are in for a treat. Music by the 1972 US Marine Band. . Video... https://rumble.com/v3xyvad-1966-nascar-hauler-inspection-walk-around-big-red.html

Have used SOLAR since 1999 and it's wonderful. As long as the sun is shinning. After a day of clouds can't run the freezer or fridge. All things in moderation.

Working on the air brakes this week. Here's a few new photos from this month. Much more to come...

Found a baseball cap and a beer pull tab in my NASCAR hauler truck. There's a website where you can identify old pull tabs... they are very serious about their hobby. https://pulltabarchaeology.com/

T R I G G E R - P U L L E D Great JOY to see both axles are free and rolling ( one less headache right ) Sold the Weaver Towing Crane and used funds to buy a set of 6 rims with tires out of Indiana ( six less migraine headaches ) Shipping 775 pounds from Elkhardt IN to Hagerstown MD via Fastenal was $195 bucks. It would have cost me $200 in gas to make the trip...!

UPDATE: A buddy just told me he has a old crane he wants to part with… photos to come Sunday night. My Weaver crane listed in this ad just SOLD to a fellow who is jumping for joy happy with his new toy. Do you need a reproduction crank for your Weaver Auto Crane..? Long time Hershey vendor ( 19 spaces of prewar parts ) Mr. Vin Cassisdy of Massachusetts has just contracted the mold and manufacture of the handles. Send Vin a email Vincentcassidy1 @ gmail.com ( remove the empty spaces ) today to pre-order a handle and he will fill you in on prices. I’m helping Vin get the word out and this will be the only post I will be making… I will not be returning to answer replies… I have projects of my own that need my full attention LOL. At this time the price will depend on how many pre-orders show up. Happy motoring…! - Ramblin Randy

Info sent to your mail box. Thanks.

I'm near Hagerstown Maryland. Listening to offers. I just posted it for sale here in the forum classifieds with 9 photos.