History Car Carriers of Yesteryear

Back in the day, it was a special moment at the dealership when the carrier pulled up to deliver a fresh load of shiny new cars. This photo essay features the special trucks and trailers that brought new cars from factory to market -- including the odd and unusual.


Car Carriers of Yesteryear | Mac's Motor City Garage.com

 

Very interesting seeing how they developed. I assume that's how the flat front cabover developed. It looks like quite a climb into the cab of that DeArco. You hardly ever see cabovers anymore, I hear liability killed them for the most part, that's what the trucker gossip is anyway.

I drove a couple of car carriers over the years. One was a big Marmon 10 car carrier, it was 71 feet long. The other was one of those strange looking Freightliner 10 car carriers similar to the attachment, you sat in front of the front wheels in those since the cab was lowered and moved forward on those. That Freightliner would freeze my right foot.

 

Thanks for the first-hand story! This may be weird, but I always thought those modified Freightliners were cool -- had a chopped and channeled look.

 

I noticed that when I was visiting your country last year. Cab overs are HUGE in Australia still - about a 65/35 ratio on the local medium/heavy truck market. -H.R.D-

 

Drivers falling off and getting injured when entering and exiting. I once ended up with a sprained ankle and my right arm in a sling when I fell getting out of a truck.

 

Cab over trucks are more cramped and uncomfortable than longer wheel based conventional trucks so that when the US DOT changed the rules on total length of truck combos, and the new bridge laws came into effect,the COE's died an ungracious death except in close areas of confinement like ports or cities,

 

There was a story going around that when Lee Iacocco (sp?) went from Ford to Chrysler, the first he did was resize side mirrors and bumper guards in order to get more cars on rail car transporters.

 

that and also fuel economy helped kill them as with a conventional you can get a mile or 2 more per gallon and thats a big thing when your getting 5 Mpg at $3-5 a gallon for fuel . I Loved my cabover International when I went into the city or had a heavy load as they were light ( 2-5000 pounds lighter on average ) , but being over or infront of the steer axle made it a rough ride at times , My Pete when I bought it got 3 Mpg more and with a larger ( cid and HP) motor and the wind din't effect it as much .

 

Thanks for your input. I can see where only a few mpg would be a huge difference.

 

A friend in Australia sent this photo:

 

I love going to Australia just to see all the different vehicles -- fascinating similarities and differences with the USA, as with so many things.

 

This custom-built Convoy unit is interesting -- has a horizontal mid engine, sorta like a bus. Down between the front wheels where the engine ordinarily would be, there's a cuddy-cabin style sleeper compartment. Among other things, can you imagine how noisy that would be?



Car Carriers of Yesteryear | Mac's Motor City Garage.com

 

Just found some more of these wacky Convoy Transport custom-built trucks. Stay tuned for part two.

 

This may not fit the definition but it's an interesting photo and piece of history....

 

Great selection of vintage car carrier photos here....

flickeflu.com/set/72157622820579423

 

Wow! Great, great find. What are the cars? Not sure I have a solid ID.

 

Was 1966 Yesteryear

 

Here is a shot taken at Fred Sayre Motors in Ripley, WV as a load of new 1951 Fords were being delivered. Sorry for the poor quality, but it was taken as a "screen shot" from an old 8mm "home" movie. The large Ford sign above the showroom now resides in my garage.

Jim

 

I am a sucker for Big Red

 

Wow, nice photo. Is this the one John Holman later obtained?

 

Yes it is. Here is a picture of the cab in the Holman & Moody storage building. Note the ladder to gain access.

 

Just think how unique it would be if that truck was around today. Just as unique as the General Motors Parade of Progress trucks. I'm sure the 1st thing to have been pulled was the turbine.

 

Thank you! Maybe I can return the favor with a pic of the Chevy Titan Turbine.
Hmm, seems like there was a whole turbine truck trend that never materialized. That might be a story in itself.

 

Crazy that they would build one of trucks just to haul the cars to market. You'd think even back then it would of been more standardized.

 

I used to work for the White motor company. The first chop I ever performed was for the car carriers. The doors and roofline were chopped to provide clearance for the carrier trailers.

Here's one before my day.



and a few not white but cool.




Another hamb post
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=756560

 

There were turbine trucks used in actual service. Consolidated Freightways ran one on regular freight service. Seattle had a Kenworth fire truck that was a turbine. Story goes that they started it inside the factory with all the city officials there. The heat from the exhaust was so intense it set off the fire sprinklers!! Well at least they found out they worked.
International Harvester built a show tractor that had a turbine also.

 

Yes, there's definitely a good story there, thanks.

 

The story actually gets bit more involved. In the Early 70's, EPA was looking at ways to mitigate the fuel crisis, and diesel technology was still in it's infancy and wasn't considered practical, especially in the 450+ hp range. Turbine powered trucks were looked to as the answer. All the manufacturer's were seriously concerned that diesel piston power was going to be outlawed and turbine was going to be the only alternative. The Mack Truck Center in Allentown, PA has a COE turbine conversion still on display. You can see the large intake stack behind the cab.

 

here is one I found on my vacation