|
#743945
Tue Feb 18 2020 11:01 AM
|
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 5
Member
|
OP
Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 5 |
I just bought this beautiful machine and I'm very excited about it. I have quite a few antique cars and trucks but this one is a unicorn for me. The 1st vehicle I ever bought was a 52 Ford pickup and have regretted selling it since the day I sold it. I also love fuel tankers, I don't know why I just always have. You could say that I root for the truck when watching the movie "Duel". I always said the perfect truck would be a 52 Ford Tanker. This is the only one I have ever seen or heard about.
I was hoping some of you could give me an idea of what this truck would have done in its service life and maybe fill me in on any little bits of interesting information on this type of truck. Would it have fueled airliners, fueled filling stations or possibly construction equipment? I figure the body was built for a specific purpose. What I do know is it was recently being used to fuel farm equipment. I was told it was bought from a mine before that. The owner of the mine also owns a few aviation companies so I'm guessing it was a roadside display at an airport for a while.
The truck is a 52 Ford F8, they were called "Big Jobs". It still retains it's original engine and 6 volt + ground electrical system. It's very original, which is a huge plus for me. The body was built by Quaker City Iron Works in 2/53. It runs and drives and is surprisingly rust free but according to my friend that looked it over for me it has a lot of paint cracks which could mean its loaded with body filler or it just had a bad paint job. I do plan to enjoy it as is for a while and eventually restore it as is should be.
|
|
|
Please - NO offers to Buy or Sell in this forum category
Statements such as, "I'm thinking about selling this." are considered an offer to sell.
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 5
Member
|
OP
Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 5 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 19,464 Likes: 1017
Veteran Member
|
Veteran Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 19,464 Likes: 1017 |
appears truck is ready for service, congratulations on your newest accusation .. ...
RANDY
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,871 Likes: 48
Veteran Member
|
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,871 Likes: 48 |
Pretty cool, looks like it is in really good shape. We have an old IH that is yard art by the pole barn. They are fun to look at but I think it would take some muscles to drive it.
Have gas all the time
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 614 Likes: 32
Petro Enthusiast
|
Petro Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 614 Likes: 32 |
I would say it was used to fuel helicopters at an airport during the 60s and 70s and maybe longer. lotsa Bells with jet engines around then.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,004 Likes: 58
Veteran Member
|
Veteran Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,004 Likes: 58 |
Got to live the dream....nice!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 8,513 Likes: 293
Moderator
|
Moderator
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 8,513 Likes: 293 |
Good looking tanker truck. Great find with it being solid and running. I'll bet it has some stories to tell. Could have had several careers hauling different fuels for different owners.
Jim "Oldgas" Potts Your host and moderator
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,162 Likes: 100
Veteran Member
|
Veteran Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,162 Likes: 100 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 2,172 Likes: 34
Veteran Member
|
Veteran Member
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 2,172 Likes: 34 |
Love the look of the cab!
Last edited by RedHat; Tue Feb 18 2020 06:26 PM.
Looking for Michelin items + NJ oil company related items (Mohawk, Guardian, Whiz, etc) + animal-related petroliana + Gargoyle/Shell/Sinclair items
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 81 Likes: 6
Active Member
|
Active Member
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 81 Likes: 6 |
Super nice. Always enjoy photos of old vehicles that will be saved from scrap. My son bought one similar and is on his farm now. Believe his also came from a small airport.
Anything oil and gas.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 5
Member
|
OP
Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 5 |
Thank you for the compliments everyone! It potentially fueling helicopters years ago makes sense. The area is pretty rural and I doubt there would be much demand for Jet A other than helicopters.
I'm guessing this truck would have stayed pretty local is what ever it did. I can't see one going on long hauls. I'm guessing that was left to the tractor trailers.
Any pictures of the one your son has on the farm? Id love to see it.
Last edited by 60Buick; Wed Feb 19 2020 10:19 AM.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 992
Petro Enthusiast
|
Petro Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 992 |
Good looking truck, Great condition for it's age. Looking inside the rear of the truck there is a large Jet Vessel for filtering water. Indicates an intended use for Jet A Fuel. But other distillates work fine (ie: farm use) Typical farm service trucks had multi compartment tanks. Wonder why "Flamable" is miss-spelled? Looking at all my old tanker photos they all spell it with 2 M's. Trucks from that Era did not have placards, just Flammable or Inflammable on them.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 14
Member
|
Member
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 14 |
HEY!!! I saw you post this over on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, too! I'm on there as "Reforder".
This is such a great vehicle, and it's great to see you over here, too!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 5
Member
|
OP
Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 5 |
I hope to get it home this coming weekend. It's a good 4 or 5 hours from my home. I'll check to see how many compartments it has and take some better pictures.
What is the "large Jet Vessel" that you mentioned? Is it the large canister on the right in the rear? I guess it is just a large fuel water separator?
I have a pretty good guess as to what this truck did new, of course it's just speculation.
BLK, a mining company acquired this truck in 1989 according to the title. They were in Mt Hope WV. The owner of BLK also owned Beckley Aviation at the local airport not 10 miles away.
That airport opened in 1952, the truck is a 1952. The first commercial flights from the airport were Piedmont Airlines DC-3's. The large1800 gallon tank is enough to fill 3 of them it's over kill for general aviation aircraft at a small airport. The last aircraft that Piedmont flew out of that airport were turbo prop YS-11's and they burn Jet A fuel. Piedmont went out of business in 1989 the same year the truck was acquired by BLK.
Last edited by 60Buick; Mon Feb 24 2020 11:18 AM.
|
|
|
|
|
|