A view of the Past, Vintage Photos

My last remaining uncle & I have determined this is a 1948 model GMC. It had a 4 banger detroit with a 5x3. The flatbed was for hauling hay & my dad had a squared tank he would set on it to haul fish. He hauled hay mostly from Bakersfield to Oxnard CA, over the "Grapevine". Had to be a long day. Pic on left was with bulk sugar from Betteravia, CA to LA. I know pic on right was 1956, I was 3-4 yrs old.

 

Semi, my uncle said there was a joke goin around that my dad must have had 3 arms! Because some had seen him wave a few times. [QUOTE="semi" retired;4502316]Thanks truckdad. That probably was the 4-53 with 175 hp. I think that motor was popular in buses for a while. I heard those things were so slow, on hills you could get out and walk next to them.[/QUOTE]

 

Semi, after consulting with my uncle, he insisted it was a 4-71, so I did a little research. (which I should have done long ago) The 6-71 was introduced in 1938 & the 53 series never came about til 57, go figure. Anyway the 4-71 had 284 cu inches , 160 HP. (and we thot a cummins 262 was weak!!!) I guessing the first things to wear out on this truck was the shift knobs!![QUOTE="semi" retired;4502316]Thanks truckdad. That probably was the 4-53 with 175 hp. I think that motor was popular in buses for a while. I heard those things were so slow, on hills you could get out and walk next to them.[/QUOTE]

 

Here's a couple loads of barreled asphalt coming from Betteravia, CA to Port Hueneme, CA. 1953 & 54. Betteravia was the home of Union Sugar, Douglas Oil Co. refinery, Sinton & Brown Feed lot. The truck traffic in & out kept area truck drivers busy for years, not to mention the produce that came out of the Santa Maria Valley. All pretty quiet since early 80s though, Union is gone, feed lot gone, what oil there is is all pipelined.

 

Semi, all the black & white photos were taken by my dad. I dont have too many left. The A-Car was sure a good lookin truck in its day. Not sure on the Whites model but its load appears to be asphalt poured into hard paper or thin metal cylinders. My dad said that everybody & his brother was haulin these loads to Port Hueneme for shipment to an unknown island. Who knows??[QUOTE="semi" retired;4503899]Wow, where you gettin' all these from, truckdad? Good heavens, that "barrel load" looks like an accident waiting to happen. Nice A-car (or car-car, as some called them) I think this was shortly after White took over Autocar and has the new "Custom Cab". The other one looks like a late 40's WC (?).[/QUOTE]

 

More from the 2009 show in Huntsville. The Pete on the left is a DD-280, 1946 model & a friend of mine from Monument, CO. 2nd is a 1930 Witchita, 3rd is 61 Emeryville, and a 1949 Autocar C-50

 

A whole "herd" of Macks from Huntsville 09 show.