Guest curtammy Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hello everyone. At first i wanted to find a truck of appropriate age to wrap around my 3 1/2 ton Manley wrecker boom. Then I got thinking maybe it was worth enough to consider selling it. Still, It would be nice to goto a car show with a wrecker, you really dont see many. But, anyone have an idea what it would be worth? The manufacturing number is 52067. and here is a photo.Oh also, I think its around 1920-1928. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 A lot of early wreckers or "tow cars" were built on used luxury car chassis. Good luck finding a cheap 1918 Rolls Royce, Pierce Arrow or Packard 12 to put it on . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest curtammy Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 was thinking of putting it on a 37 chevy, that would be a nice look. But im hoping its worth some kind of money and ill sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmazcol Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Where are you located? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jim_Edwards Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 A lot of early wreckers or "tow cars" were built on used luxury car chassis. Good luck finding a cheap 1918 Rolls Royce, Pierce Arrow or Packard 12 to put it on . Rusty it may come as surprise to you but Packard was in the truck business at one time as was Pierce. Old wreckers of the late nineteen teens and twenties were not car chassis conversions. Below is a link for an example of a Packard tow truck.Packard Tow Truck pictures from trucks photos on webshotsToo bad the shot does not include much of the crane assembly.Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jim_Edwards Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 was thinking of putting it on a 37 chevy, that would be a nice look. But im hoping its worth some kind of money and ill sell it.There is a tow truck museum in Chattanooga and you might give them a call to see if they can help with value. The serial number you posted would leave one to believe it is pre 1930 vintage and if it still works probably quite rare. Finding a 1920's era Packard, Pierce, REO, Ford, Mack, or other vintage truck to put it on would make for a really fine vehicle to own. The '37 Chevy idea is okay but you really need a 1-1/2 to 2 ton chassis for it, not a garden variety pickup truck. Just wouldn't look right, though I do remember seeing a few Ford and Chevy pickups converted in such a fashion in East Texas in the early 1950's. Not too many because they were just not capable of towing heavier vehicles like Caddy's, Oldsmobiles, Chryslers, Lincolns, or Packards.Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMoneyPit Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 There was a 2-ton Manley for sale on one of the Model T Websites last summer for $400.00 - it was located well up into Maine.Seems to be some interest in fitting them to TT Trucks in place of the original beds which are harder to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest curtammy Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thnx for all the replys guys. Yeah on the 37 but i thought finding the right year and make of a vehicle for it would be rough stuff. heres some more pics. the one is of the tag thats still on it. the others just the rest of it. and everything still works and spins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmazcol Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Can you tell where you are located?? :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I know Pierce, Packard and others made trucks. But in the twenties and thirties it was common to make a tow truck out of a used luxury make. Old limousines had the heavy duty chassis and powerful engine, and once they got to be over 5 to 7 years old, were very cheap. I have seen pictures of several such tow trucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest curtammy Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Im located in Winnemucca N.V.:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_a Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 How about the 1930 Franklin for sale here on the AACA Buy/Sell? The rear half of the body is already off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruffsup Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Rusty is correct as that one you linked the picture to is well known and is a converted car. as most of them were. Rusty it may come as surprise to you but Packard was in the truck business at one time as was Pierce. Old wreckers of the late nineteen teens and twenties were not car chassis conversions. Below is a link for an example of a Packard tow truck.Packard Tow Truck pictures from trucks photos on webshotsToo bad the shot does not include much of the crane assembly.Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 (edited) Thank you Barry.Here is another one. Can anyone identify this 1920s tow car on a postcard from Zazzle? It is some kind of luxury car chassis not a truck. In a contemporary 1920s photo.Antique Tow Truck, 1920s Post Cards at Zazzle.caSpecial thanks to anyone who can copy the photo onto this thread. Edited February 18, 2011 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Here is a 1913 Locomobile converted to a tow car. 1913 Locomobile Tow Truck - PicturesHope those 3 are enough to prove that luxury cars were converted to tow cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 The first Holmes wrecker ever built, was built on a 3 year old Cadillac car chassis."Holmes (USA) Cadillac wrecker (built 1916), McC, p.53 [may be at International Towing and Recovery, Hall of Fame, Chattanooga, TN]. Yes, the very first tow truck WAS a Cadillac. In 1916, John Wiley, a business school operator, dumped his Model T upside down in a ditch. It took a day and six men to get it out. One of the men, Ernest Holmes, a student of Wiley's school, thought there had to be a better way. He mounted three poles to the frame of a 1913 Cadillac, added a pulley and ran a chain through it. He patented his invention and during WW2 his company provided more than 7,000 tow trucks to the Allies. His shop was in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and recently a group called "Friends of Towing" opened the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum a few blocks from his shop. In the 1930s and 1940s, an old car was exactly that, something to be sold cheap as winter transportation, or crushed. A lot of big, heavy cars ended up as tow trucks. Cadillacs were very popular as tow trucks." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmazcol Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Oh thats not too bad, only 1750 miles away. If you decide to sell this wrecker boom and have an asking price I would look into transport. I would have a possible truck to install under it.Keep us posted, Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Rohn Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 How about the 1930 Franklin for sale here on the AACA Buy/Sell? The rear half of the body is already off.perfect match imho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I sold one a couple years back, with a tow-bar for $500, if I remember correctly.Used to have it in the back of my '61 Willys Pick-up.Guy I got it from said he used it to pull cars with his early '80s Dodge full-size PU.The mystery wrecker in post #14 has my Manley wrecking crane in it, the car looks to be a Locomobile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulrhd29nz Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I thought I would post some pics I took from a Manley supply book that I have for fun. I would love to find one of these.Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul Christ Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Curtammy, I hope you're doing better than Charlie Sheen with your project.Perhaps this will provide some motivation;Other Makes - eBay (item 130492008425 end time Mar-06-11 14:12:53 PST)Have fun, after all - that's what this hobby/addiction is all about!Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Walling Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I just bought a wrecker boom that closley resembles the Manley last Thursday for $275. A real bargan, as I had located at least 6 1930's booms in New England in the last 2 months and none of them were for sale! One guy is "going to use it someday" Another uses his to hang his deer on it every fall. One is a lawn ornament. (I gave serious thought to stealing that one on a dark and stormy night) One gentelman said I could dismantel his and copy it if I wanted. (very generious offer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nancy DeWitt Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Our Manley towing crane (#51623) was mounted on a 1919 Studebaker Big Six touring car in 1926. We didn't choose the blue paint, but it sure helps it stand out in the museum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W MacDonald Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I know this is an old thread, but since Nancy just posted an addition, I can add a little to it for anyone interested. The crane that started this discussion a year ago is a Model 107, 3 1/2 ton capacity which first shows up in Manley catalogs about 1926. There were smaller and larger models available. The attached photos show my Model 102 mounted on a 3/4 ton 1925 Dodge Brother chassis. The Model 102 has a capacity of 2 tons, and, unlike the other Manley cranes, it was designed to be "quickly and easily" removed from the vehicle to free it up for other purposes. This model was, therefore, more likely to be mounted on a light truck which also served other purposes for the garage. The Model 102 disappeared from the catalog after 1925. Judging by how bent and twisted mine was when I got it, I can see why. It just wasn't heavy enough to do what was expected of it. But it makes a nice unit for mounting on a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nancy DeWitt Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 What a neat rig! How did you figure out the model number on the crane? I don't think I've found a model number on ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Rusty it may come as surprise to you but Packard was in the truck business at one time as was Pierce. Old wreckers of the late nineteen teens and twenties were not car chassis conversions. Below is a link for an example of a Packard tow truck.Packard Tow Truck pictures from trucks photos on webshotsToo bad the shot does not include much of the crane assembly.JimI guess I missed this thread when it first came around. Jim, the link to the 1929 Packard shows a converted car to truck. The last Packard truck chassis was built around 1922-23. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I photographed this Ford a couple of years ago. I have more photos, but I can't find right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nancy DeWitt Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 We have the original registrations for our 1919 Studebaker and it shows it started life as a touring car. In fact, I think the only Big Six body style offered that year was a 7-passenger touring. In 1925 this one was still registered as a touring; by 1926 it was listed as a wrecker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hershey Chocolate had several large Packard trucks back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldovert Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I think that would look good on the back of my 38 Stude K25.Cheers,Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W MacDonald Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Nancy:Manley did not put model numbers on their cranes, but did identify them by model in their catalogs. While Manley cranes bear a family resemblance to each other and are easily distinguished from manufacturers such as Holmes and Weaver, it is really fairly easy to identify which model is which by looking at them. Your crane is a Model 101, with a capacity of 2 1/2 tons. This model was available continuously from the early twenties into the thirties. It is the only model that used angles for the main beams instead of channels. A copy of the catalog page showing the Model 101 in the 1926 catalog is attached.The other available models included102 (2 ton)105 (5 ton)107 (3 1/2 ton)117 (2 1/2 ton) introduced in the thirties and with electric drive option but available concurrently with Model 101 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nancy DeWitt Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Thanks, W! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1928internationaltowtruck Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Hi I was wondering if the wrecker boom was still available? I am looking for one to complete my 1928 international tow truck. the truck was originally a tow truck in the town that i grew up and still live in. I acquired the truck after much searching and the boom is gone. Looking to get a boom. Please let me know. Thanks Ben, 518-321-3483 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Or you could just buy the next wrecker that Thomson's Garage had. I think this was their next wrecker? It probably has the boom that was originally on your truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 I forgot to mention the truck is for sale. A friend here in town has it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSX387 Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 Is this still for sale ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 6 year old thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL1630 Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 More like 12… depends on what “this” is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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