Antique Commercial trucks, how many are still in use?

[Steve9]

Here is my favorite morning coffee stop. 1945 Ford cab mated to a 1970 Chev chassis. I know purists won’t love the marriage of the two Marques, but the way I see it, it’s been saved from the crusher. Any other working antiques out there?

[TerryB]

AACA bookmobile comes to mind

 

[Billy Kingsley]

I saw a couple acting as food trucks in Manhattan last December. I will post photos when I get back on my computer.

[Billy Kingsley]

There's another green Citroen just like this one on the other side of the ice rink, but we didn't try to get over to it. You can barely see the roof. Oddly enough I've seen several of these Citroens in Midtown Manhattan. The Sunday before Christmas was packed. A mistake I won't make again.

 

You can see the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree in this photo

The registration for this Ford said it was a 1954.

 

Not sure if you count fire engines, but my hometown maintains a vintage truck. I don't think it fights fires anymore. It's always the end of our Christmas light parade.

 

Edited September 23, 2020 by Billy Kingsley (see edit history)

[jpage]

Not a real antique, by what I term an antique, but we still use our '75 Chevy C65 dump in our construction business. 45 years young, rode hard and put away wet, but still on the job, although, the old 427 is getting a little tired!

[Restorer32]

Nanty Glo?  Where in PA is Nanty Glo?  I live in Jacobus, PA which everyone has heard of...lol

[TAKerry]

I just saw an old rerun of Mission Impossible. They were using a Citreon cargo van identical to the first post (albeit without the food truck settup)

[TAKerry]

13 minutes ago, Restorer32 said:

Nanty Glo?  Where in PA is Nanty Glo?  I live in Jacobus, PA which everyone has heard of...lol

Near Johnstown, I too was curious.

[Steve9]

This  truck is parked on the deck of a decommissioned ferry boat/ party venue. Not much partying these days.

[Guest]

1956 F750 converted to a ramp truck The cargo is a 1941 COE Ford converted to a tow truck.

[60FlatTop]

Even though it is a Studebaker the rig was built in Ford Country, where the best recovery vehicles are built.

[Frank DuVal]

Amsoil? Should be STP for historical accuracy.😀

[60FlatTop]

I hated to sell that Avanti II but the previous owner had sanded off the Gelcoat, primered it, and left it outside. Without the Gelcoat fiberglass was shedding like hair.

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

I’m just wondering what the true definition of antique is? Everyone that I talk to has a different opinion 

[BearsFan315]

58 minutes ago, Mike "Hubbie" Stearns said:

I’m just wondering what the true definition of antique is? Everyone that I talk to has a different opinion 

 

"antique" is one of those relative terms !! like hot, cold, early, late, etc... depends on who you ask

[Billy Kingsley]

25 years or older. As defined by the club who runs this website. 

[jpage]

The term 'antique' can be a relative term. In my statement about the truck not being an antique, as I would look at an antique, simply means that it doesn't feel like it's old enough to be 'antique' to me. While it falls into the 25 year or older category, I was a young man in 1975, purchased my first new vehicle, a 1976 Chevy p/u and started restoring my 1928 Ford p/u. So to me, a vehicle of this vintage, still feels like a 'newer' truck or just a truck. Maybe it's just the coming to grips about getting older; my kids call me 'antique'!  When I was a teenager, the'50's cars were still just 'used cars'! But by AACA rights, it is an antique vehicle, and we do get some comments on it from time to time. 

   Restorer32... Nanty-Glo or the original spelling Nant-y-Glo is a small coal mining town just outside of Johnstown PA. It's name ,in Welsh, means Streams Of Coal.

[3macboys]

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by 3macboys (see edit history)

[3macboys]

First saw that steam shovel and truck on a show up here in Canada on CBC called Still Standing - from Teeswater Concrete 

[TAKerry]

I remember when generically we called all loaders steam shovels as well as steam rollers!  I see the chain drive but is that the original drive train on that dump truck, it seems the wheels and tires are too modern looking.

[Flivverking]

New Haven Pizza Truck ,1946 International H.

Brick oven onboard to.

Great Bday party favorite and get togethers for any reason..

The biz  is called "New Haven Pizza Truck..."

There are a hand full of usually green painted late 40s early 50s ,large size GMCs and Chevys operating in well kept shape in Connecticut..

We still see the open cab-no doors  step sided , with the bank if jingle bells across the windshield header ice cream truck every summer.like a 61 or 62 Chevrolet. 

[Rusty_OToole]

A local architectural salvage company had a 1937 International 2 ton truck for some 20 years. Mostly as a display by their entrance but did use it from time to time, along with a fifties Dodge Power Wagon. Haven't seen either in a while.

[Doozer]

Very cool. Wood fired too! I’ll try it when the line for Pepe’s is over an hour 😁🍕

[3macboys]

Just took a load of scrap with it last week

[Terry Harper]

Yesterday the Maine Forest & Logging Museum's 1928 Lombard dump truck actually earned its keep (somewhat) I am sure the amount of fuel we burned offset the value of the work! Its amazing how much ethanol free gasoline that big Hercules will suck down. One of these days I will have to calculate out the fuel burn rate.

 

Anyway, the University of Maine Construction Engineering Technology students were working on several projects including putting new roof's on the Sawyer House and the Blacksmith shop as well as repairs to a privy and improving handicap access to some of the buildings. One team was tasked with taking down a couple of trees. We used the old beast to put tension on the rigging to ensure the trees fell in a safe area. Since we had to go back up the hill anyway we decided to take a load of branches and brush. It wasn't as fast as the students using the pickup and trailer but it was a lot more interesting!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojtuzD6WCr4&t=312s

 

Lew Crosby directing me back to the brush pile.

 

 

Better than unloading by hand! One of these days we will fabricate and install the upper boards and tailgate and get the locking mechanism fixed.

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[Steve9]

These old Dodge vans are rarely seen anymore. Maybe someone can tell me the year. Doing duty as a sandwich delivery vehicle should insure a nice long life. Seeing it always puts a smile on my face. Looks like period correct mags too.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Steve9 (see edit history)

[Steve9]

[Walt G]

GREAT THREAD!!!

[keiser31]

10 minutes ago, Steve9 said:

These old Dodge vans are rarely seen anymore. Maybe someone can tell me the year. Doing duty as a sandwich delivery vehicle should insure a nice long life. Seeing it always puts a smile on my face. Looks like period correct mags too.

1964 to 1967. The 1968, 1969 and 1970 had side marker lights.

[JV Puleo]

Certainly as late as the 80s (and maybe much later) there was a truck mounted steam pile driver in the Providence, RI area. We'd only see it when there was a big construction project underway but much of "downtown" Providence is built on the filled in 18th century waterfront so any large building has to be supported on huge piles driven into the ground.

Edited December 11, 2021 by JV Puleo
typo (see edit history)

[rocketraider]

Those Lombards and the Erie steam shovel are fantastic!😍👍🤙 but, being a retired steam plant operator, wonder how the Erie operator got by without a water tender onboard with him. Good way to burn out yer boiler and firebox...

 

I realise NYC is "different" from most of the US, but wonder how those Citroen vans made it to America? 

[1937hd45]

THANK YOU for all the great photos of old trucks still working. 

 

Bob 

[plymouthcranbrook]

1 hour ago, rocketraider said:

Those Lombards and the Erie steam shovel are fantastic!😍👍🤙 but, being a retired steam plant operator, wonder how the Erie operator got by without a water tender onboard with him. Good way to burn out yer boiler and firebox...

 

I realise NYC is "different" from most of the US, but wonder how those Citroen vans made it to America? 

Places like this: 

https://karpatiatrucks.com/citroen-food-truck/

 

There was a company I believe in New York that was importing the Citroen vans and redoing them for resale but it looks like they might have gone out of business.

 

[lump]

Several years ago I bought a double decker bus from Walt Disney World in Florida. It had been used at Epcot Center and Walt Disney World park for many years, hauling passengers around the park during the day, and hauling Disney characters in the nightly Main Street parades. Bought it sight-unseen (from photos only) on eBay. Had it hauled home to Ohio, and was delighted that it fired right up and ran fine (propane powered GMC 6cyl). Used it for many years at our CARS & PARTS SPRINGFIELD SWAP MEET & CAR SHOW event, hauling our attendees around the fairgrounds during our events. Also used it to promote the SEMA and ARMO program called, "Take a kid to a car show," in local parades here in Ohio. It still runs and drives, but it's been parked for a few years now. Title says it is a 1986 model, which I guess makes it technically an antique. 

Edited December 11, 2021 by lump (see edit history)

[zepher]

@lump is your great old bus titled as an '86 because that is the year of the engine?

 

 

[lump]

1 hour ago, zepher said:

@lump is your great old bus titled as an '86 because that is the year of the engine?

Zepher, I don't know, frankly. Another man bought one and restored it completely. He and I corresponded, and he claimed that these Disney buses were actually built in the 1950's, and then rebuilt and re-titled later. That doesn't make sense to me. I ASSUME it is a built on a 1986 GMC chassis, like school buses and other special-bodied trucks. 

 

 

 

 

[1937hd45]

Many of the Walt Disney vehicles were built in house by Boyd Coddington before he went out on his own building Hot Rods. If your bus was once green we rode on it in Disney World. 

 

Bob 

[ex98thdrill]

She might be retired now, but this truck was in service three months shy of 60 years.  The truck was delivered new on March 24, 1949, responded to it's last fire on September 21, 2008, and was retired from service in my driveway on December 1, 2008.

[keiser31]

A lot of those old trucks are used for advertising only now....

[JV Puleo]

We had a local collector in the Providence RI area that owned a glass company. He'd come to car shows in his 20s Cadillac tourer but he also had a restored 36 Ford truck with a special frame to hold the sheets of glass used in store fronts. There was also Peter Palagi — ice cream vendor — that had at least two model A and one Model B ice cream truck. These were commonly seen in my neighborhood — as was the old Italian vegetable vendor with a Model A truck. I would see that one on my way to work most mornings parked on the street in front of his house.

Edited December 12, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)