I have just bought a 1936 Airflow tanker but it is missing a lot of parts. It had been wrecked in the right front fender door area. The truck is missing the front clip, motor/transmission, grille, axle. Amyone with any information would be helpful alot. Thanks

Dasher,

The website refers to Airflow cars by Chrysler built between 1934 and 1937. I believe you have a camper or such? That's why no reponse.

If so, they're missing out on a great version of the airflow. Tanker is a streamlined fuel tanker, not a camper. They are rare and extremely interesting.

Never knew Chrysler made an AIRFLOW TANKER - sure wouldn't mind having one, though! {Or even Part of One!} See the latest Club Magazine, right?

Airflow tankers were made from 1934 -1940 and are very rare. i think they were all badged as Dodges and were powered by a 331 cubic inch six. There is a restored one (i think it is a 1934-5 )in Bill Richardson's Truck Museum in Invercargill, New Zealand, which is reputed to be the largest collection of its type in the world, there is more than 170 trucks representing 50 manufacturers. the airflow truck was imported by the museum and restored in there workshop in Texaco colors

Dasher,
How would you like to post a photo of the Airflow Tanker that you have just purchased.
Yes they do exist and besides the one in the museum in NZ a few others exist also.
We would very much like to see what you have.
Cheers
John Spinks
Aussie C9 Airflow Coupe

The Airflow Club has a great deal of info on these Airflow tankers. The Oct. 2001 issue of the Newsletter reprints a Hemmings Special Interest Autos article, crediting Texaco for coming up with the idea in 1931. The first Airflow truck came out of the Dodge plant in in Dec., 1934. A number of these are still in around, and have been restored by club members.

If any of you are around the Detroit area there is a beautifully restored Airflow tanker in the Henry Ford museum

There is an even better restoration in the Chrysler Historical collection, it actually runs!, unfortunately it is too big to fit inside the Chrysler museum.

Well with these various Airflow Tankers around, it sure would be nice if someone could post a photo or two or share a link so that we all could see one! I'd be happy if one of you guys could post either a photo of either the Ford, Chrysler or New Zealand Airflow Tankers! Thank very much!

Willys77,
I would post a few photos of an Airflow Tanker if I could work out how to do it!!!
Cheers
John Spinks

There! are you happy?

Thank you for the photos.
I have others but still cannot post them.
Tis' a pity,
Regards
John Spinks

why not? it's easy
click on the "Switch to Full reply screen"
put your text in the box, then go to the box below and click on "File manager", click on the "browse" button, select your picture you want to post and click on the photo yu want to post, click on "open" in your photo server, then click on "add file" when it has finished click on "done adding files" and thats it, you are posting pictures.

Thank you for that, here goes
Regards
John S

Here is another photo of the Airflow Tanker.
Cheers
John S

Mahalo John, for posting the Airflow Tanker Photos! If anyone has any other photos to post of Airflow Tankers, in whatever condition, I'd certainly appreciate it! Regards, Tom

This gets my vote for the BEST lookin BIG truck on the PLANET.diz

I must agree, and take back my comments "that you must have some kind of camper". Imentioned that since there have been Airflow campers around for years.

Is that truck not the best looking commercial vehicle ever? Especially in profile, you can easily see the stream lining and there appears to be no compromise - look at the back shots provided by Mr. Spinks.

Art Deco execution in the finest. Consider yourself lucky to have purchased one. They would be a fun restoration I would thinks. Red sets off the obviously purposeful styling, where darker colors would not.

Thanks to all for posting the photos. I had no idea...

Bryan,
The photos were compliments of Mr Jon Clulow who emailed them to me some time ago and yes I agree 100% that the Airflow Tankers were the ultimate in design during the early part of this century.
Tis a pity that a few more have not been preserved.
Regards and comments and compliments greatfully accepted.
Regards
John Spinks
Aussie Airflow Coupe Down Under

Tom,

"Mahalo," does that mean you're in Hawaii? If so, then that's a pretty far-flung tanker you've got there!

@ 1984 I went to the Brooklyn Museum while living in NYC, to see their Machine Age; 1919-1941 exhibit. Smack dab in the center was a '34 Chrysler Airflow sitting amongst all manner of items designed during an era that overlapped with the Art Deco period. The industrial designers of the Machine Age considered "Deco" to be effette, and applied their skills to everyday objects like toasters, radios, cameras, vaccuum cleaners, gas stations, automobiles, and even locomotives.

One of the leaders of this movement, Walter Dorwin Teague*, designed the famed Texaco Service Station with its signature three-striped streamlined awning. Beginning in 1936, these gas stations eventually appeared across the country and were quite sensational (and widely copied). They were fre-fab units, built like erector sets and delivered to the site on a truck; completion took only a matter of days.



This 3-bay Texaco in Anderson, SC began life in 1931 as a small cottage with awning station with an outside lift and separate wash bay+. Around 1938 they built the first Teague-designed building, a 2-bay unit very similar to the one below. In 1957, it was enlarged to the 3-bay version using the 1938 footprint but with considerable alterations.



The station soldiered on till the late 90's and became a repair shop, though still owned by a "Texaco Man." When he died in 2005, the widow sold the building to the city so it and the closed Gulf station next door could be razed for a parking lot. In August 2006, the widow contacted my car club, the Hornets Nest Region, AACA in Charlotte, NC to see if anyone might be interested in some spare parts her huband had left. They called me (I live four blocks from the site), I called her, and on investigation I found I didn't need the parts.

But as I stood inside the building, looking around at the once-gleaming interior porcelain-enamelled panels, a light bulb went off. Though a bit grimy from years of service work, the building ought to "clean up" well enough; if it was erected with nuts and bolts, surely it could be dismantled the same way. And knowing what petroliana collectors pay for gas pumps and globes and signs and bathroom keys...#

I raced home and called City Hall (right next door to the station) and asked for a meeting to talk about selling the building...on ebay. Why spend the money to demolish and cart it off to a landfill, when it could be revived by some deserving collector? So very "Green," too! (Though I must add the ebay thing had been done before, just not by a municipality).

Long story short, they agreed, I listed it for them and it sold (for $3,700 after 57 bids) to a car guy who plans to reopen it as a petro/auto-themed diner/burger joint in Auburn, IN. The buyer (now a good friend) had a small crew come in, diassemble & number the parts, and hauled it away in a semi-trailer truck. The city made some money, got great publicity (even on NPR!), and I made a commission for running the auction.

Everybody won, and I can't wait to go to the annual Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Meet one day and have a double cheeseburger and a beer in the triple-bay Texaco station!



Getting back on point (and sorry for putting the gas station before the tanker), here's a post card of the Henry Ford Museum's 1939 Dodge Airflow Tanker, @ 1989 at Greenfield Village. Imagine a period B&W photo of one of these Airflow beauties topping off the tanks in front of a streamlined station...now that's a picture worth a thousand words!

Regards, and keep us posted on your progress,
Tom G.

* Teague's other design credits include the Lucky Strike cigarette package, Kodak's Brownie camera, and the body styling for the 1931 Marmon V-16.

+ An excellent research tool for the design evolution of service stations is The Field Guide to Gas Stations in Texas, published by the Texas DOT.
http://www.txdot.gov/publications/environmental_affairs/fieldguide_gas_stations_.pdf

# www.oldgas.com can't be beat as a source for all kinds of petroliana.

Hi,

Contact me direct and I can email you photos of several Dodge Airflow Tankers. The one at the WPC Museum is the nices I've seen (I saw this truck in SC, years before the museum got it), the Henry Ford's is nice, but no motor, so I've been told. Have Bill Richardson's book from New Zealand, it shows a photo of the one in his museum. Found one that a Fire Department used as a tanker truck until mid 1960s and they don't know what happened to it. Was just recently in the restoration shop that use to own the one that is at the WPC Museum, this guy started the restoration, but it was later finished in Auburn Hills. He had a lot of photos of it on the wall in his new shop, here in NC.

Email me direct if you want some photos.

Nollie
dodgefiretks@hotmail.com

Here's the Airflow tanker, that ended up as a Fire Department tanker.

Any ideas on how many were made? What a shame. Old cars were thought to be worthless and scarpped, by the mid fifties, these commercial trucks - same deal. Makes you wonder though, that because of their size, some might still be around.

Think about it - if it starts to sink into the mud, tires go flat, and it weighs a lot, it stays put in a yard whereas the 1985 Dodge Omni gets crushed.

Keep those eyes out for one, I would like a shot at one inmy lifetime, but probably a pipe dream.

I've got a total wrote down or seen it in print, for some reason I'm thinking around 250-300 were built. I'll have to look for number.

At one time 2 were in KY, so I was told, but in ruff shape, then the one that was in SC, that became the WPC Museum piece. Each time I've learn of any for sale, I've called, but always out of my price range.

Of course they built a few more, with the same airflow style tanker body, but NOT what I call airflow cabs. Photo below shows the 1940 Dodge with same body as earlier Airflows.

Like you I hope more show up one day.

Nollie
NC