UNIDENTIFIED TRUCKS OF ANCIENT VINTAGE

http://route66chronicles.blogspot.com/ I recently acquired a bunch of photos of Kingman, Arizona. Buried among them were some great shots of businesses along Route 66 and a few predated the highway by a decade or two.

I have posted the first batch on my blog, Route 66 Chronicles. Though there are some great vehicles in most of them the trucks at the bottom are really different. Any ideas as to make, model or vintage?

Dave at Desotoland found a 1950 Desoto Deluxe in the picture of the Mobile station. The car at the Kimo Shell was an easy one to identify, 1939 Plymouth coupe.

Very nifty site!!

I am glad you enjoyed your visit. I try and update this blog three or four times a week with book reviews, a fresh feature article and always some great photos.

The photo of the old truck on the narrow road with a fellow on the back seems to be a White. As an historical footnote this road was paved, widened and designated Route 66 in 1926. It was used until the 1953 bypass which relocated the highway to the current path of I40.

The road in the picture is the one driven by Barney Oldfield and Louis Chevrolet in the 1914 Desert Classic Cactus Derby race from LA to Phoenix.

nice find..

The White would have to be pretty early, because of the chain drive. Most of the smaller whites seem to have been shaft drive. The bonnet louvres seem to be fairly constant on Whites. Otherwise it looks a bit similar to one of the small early Macks.

Floyd Clymer's historical Catalog(s) of (year) Cars are some reference, because they have a truck section at the back. I can only find 1912, 1914, and 1924; but I have several others that are hiding. Nothing among the big forward control stuff matches that big pair #'s 51 & 52. Those wheels are huge, maybe 5 foot diameter. The most distiguishing feature would be those incredible front spring gooseneck mountings. A few years back there was a series in HCCA Gazette called "George's Truck Stop" or similar. You might need to ask George.

Ivan Saxton

Any thoughts on the other trucks - the one hauling the culverts and the one with what appears to be prefab walls? The big trucks are a real mystery.

Unrelated to this, at least I think, is an odd set of wheels and a fram found several years ago off the original alingment of Route 66 (the National Old Trails Highway) near Peach Springs, Arizona on the Hualapai reservation.

There was a massive frame, truck, set up for chain drive. There were still two wheels on the truck, two more were on the ground nearby.

The wheels were massive - about 5'5" tall, squared wood spokes, solid rubber tire. Foolishly, my friend and I decided to take one wheel and come back for the other. We could barely get this thing into upright position let alone load it!

Shortly after this visit the tribal council deemed the area off limits. I have been back to that location once with a friend from the reservation. The frame, wheels, a couple old coupe bodies and several ancient pick up carcasses are all gone.