This old girl hauled the bus just over 1000 km (about 600 miles) from Sydney to Queensland in December 1938.
John Tozer
#7946
Another view
Apparently that was common. They were stronger than the trucks of their time and likely cheap to pick up a used one and convert it. I know a guy that has a Packard twin 6 car that was a wrecker when it found it. I believe at least one of Jay Lenos Dusenbergs was also converted at one point. Seems like there was a show on tv called something like tow tech. The purpose built tow truck was a fairly late invention considering there was a need for one as soon as there was cars.
Here's the same from another angle.
The Peach State Chapter of the CLC took a driving tour recently to Chattanooga. One of the stops was the International Towing and Recovery Museum. http://www.internationaltowingmuseum.org/about.htm
Our Chapter website has some pictures taken on the tour and of some of the vehicles in the museum, including a factory-built 1913 Locomobile tow truck.
http://www.peachstateclc.com/events_2008.htm
Love the Cadillac Tow Truck. I wonder if it still exists?
Quote from: Otto Skorzeny on January 11, 2010, 04:30:11 PM
The Peach State Chapter of the CLC took a driving tour recently to Chattanooga. One of the stops was the International Towing and Recovery Museum. http://www.internationaltowingmuseum.org/about.htm
Cool place Otto! Looks like the Peach State Region had a great time.
Now I'll have to plan a side trip the next time going to FL. :)
Notice the right side of the Cadillac truck seems to have a little door in front of the rear fender. Perhaps that's the golf bag door? There don't appear to be any signs of rear doors on the car so it looks like it might have been a roadster to start with.
Forrest,
You're right. It is a 29 roadster. The car was only 9 years old & already had so little value that it was turned into a tow truck. If it managed to work all during the war, it probably didn't get scapped at that time. Who knows what happened later.
My 31 V-16 Madam X sedan had so little value in 1940, it got turned into a boom truck. That's the ONLY thing that saved it.
Bob
Wasn't so much that the vehicle was not worth much, than what was available at the time to press into service as a Commercial Vehicle.
Probably made more money as a Tow Truck that the purchase price was not an issue.
Don't forget that these days, Brand New cars are converted into Commercial Vehicles. Especially Cadillacs. Remember that Hearses and Ambulances carry the dead and the dying, so there isn't much difference between these and a Tow Truck.
Bruce. >:D
Arnold's Towing Service sure had a helluva service area!
I wonder how much that 1200 mile round trip paid? Was Arnold located in the town where the bus broke down or was his shop in the town to which the bus was towed? The mind reels!
Gasoline alone probably cost him $35US! (assuming $.20gal and 6-7mpg)
In the ’20s my grandfather had a garage in Fort Morgan Colorado and he had a 1916 Cadillac that had been converted into a tow truck.
Here in Hawaii up until recently there was a 20s something Cadillac converted to a tow truck. It recently disappeared from the house where it was stored. The rumor is it went to Canada.
So yeah I would say it was a common practice to convert these big old cars to tow trucks.
Glen
"The car was only 9 years old & already had so little value that it was turned into a tow truck. If it managed to work all during the war, it probably didn't get scapped at that time. Who knows what happened later. "
Bob,
All sorts of funny things were happening with cars in Australia at that time.
First off, Australia took longer than other countries to climb out of the Depression with its rural commodity based economy. There wasn't all that much money around for new cars and probably explains why it was worth it to someone to pay Arnold to drag the bus over lousy roads from Sydney to QLD rather than leave it broken and stranded!
The Ottawa Treaty of April 1936 had imposed a huge duty on cars imported here that did not originate from British Empire/Commonwealth countries, the US included (many a US car crossed the short straits from Detroit to Canada for this reason) so large US cars and trucks that could function as tow trucks in particular woould have been heavily slugged. One that was already here might have enjoyed an increased value and an extended life as a result.
I'm guessing here because there don't appear to be any story records with the photographs but the Caddy looks to be in very good condition as at December 1938 which suggests that, short of a bad accident, it may have struggled through to the end of 1939 when WW2 broke out or the end of 1941 when the Yanks arrived and pretty well claimed everything in sight (particularly if it was in Queensland - women included!).
My own '37 75 series Caddy did time in the Forces and it still has its service number painted on the firewall. Probably also a reason it survived that little bit longer.
After the war ended, new cars were almost unobtainable here till well into the 1950's so the old girls got another reprieve till the local industry and imports caught up with demand. Again, my '37 and several others I have tracked down were patched up/sewn up/beaten up to keep them on the road as long as possible (all the pins and bushes on the front end of my car were welded up because spares weren't available and virtually every pre-war Caddy here has a tank motor in it because they were cheap and available) and they were very popular as Mail cars.
Once cars became more readily available, anything older than about 1948 didn't last long. Our economy was booming by the mid-fifties and everyone wanted the latest! It is highly unlikely that this old girl survived much past about 1953 at best.
Regards,
John Tozer
#7946
John,
That's a very nice story. I appreciate you posting it. Many people have NO idea how many of the cars we love got scrapped during the war. The situation in Oz is of course different from the US but certain things were the same. The fact that roadster was RHD makes it a rare bird there or here. Anyone ever try to track it down?
Bob
How in the heck did the rear suspension handle that monster load?? Was it stock except for springs? I would think the wheel bearings would explode.
This practise of making wreckers out of Yank Tanks was a prolific idea here too, One, there were really cheap to buy, scrap value mostly as people here could hardly afford to put fuel in them, Secondly, they were incredibly strong and they had the low gearing to do the job. Almost without exception they were roadsters as this required very little bodywork modifications and it retained a roof for the driver. A friend of mine has over 50 years collected an enormous amount of period photos, many of these include American cars converted to wreckers, many of them were saved if they could survive beyond 1970, but many more went to the crushers.
Very few of these were Cadillacs, because they were here in smaller numbers, Buick's and Chev's didn't fare that well either because of weak transmissions and axle shafts for towing and most were taken for Hearse's anyway, that left Chrysler's, Strong, big engines and plenty around.
I tried to buy a 1930 Imperial Roadster about 15 years ago that was still a crane and in terrible condition, this had been pulled from a Field in the early 60s. The new owner subsequently only finished it last year. Another friend of mine is currently restoring a 1928 Imperial Roadster that was first restored in the 70s after being found behind a garage still with the crane in the back, Ill be building him a new top in a few weeks. Cant post these pictures on coarse, just not Cadillac.
My Uncle had a 29 LaSalle converted to a wrecker he used into the 50s with no problems.
He had an Oldsmobile Dealership in a small town south of Kansas City MO.
My Father has pictures of him and his brother pulling large trucks out of the ditches with the front wheels high in the air
I think the end came when it got difficult to get tires for it
MY 2 cents
post those pictures
Yes, love to see those pictures Fred.
I was looking for something else and noted this discussion.
There were several (but not many) factory built Cadillac tow trucks. One of my dad's businesses was a tow service in the early 1950s. One of his trucks was a factory built closed cab, not after market conversion, 1930 Cadillac. I loved riding in that truck. My uncle who ran a local repair garage, even made comments back then about the rarity. I've only seen one other (a La Salle) since.
Back when Cadillac's were mini Abraham tanks on wheels. So cool.
This topic reminds me of a time when I literally had to tow my 61 Lincoln Continental that broke down not too far from where I live many many years ago, with my 68 Cadillac CD.
I had one of those thick ropes with metal hooks on them that I used to pull the car home.
My neighbor just sat in the Lincoln and steered the car while I pulled it with the Caddy.
What was so surprising was how easy the 68 with the big bad 472 was able to pull the Conti without any issues at all. Those Continentals weigh over 5,000lbs and the engine and trans in the Cad didn't struggle a bit. I only went about half a mile down the street so I wasn't towing the car for a long period of time.
It goes to show how strong Cadillacs were constructed many years ago, including way back into the 1920's. That's incredible for those cars able to tow those huge buses.
Quote from: Bob Hoffmann CLC#96 on January 12, 2010, 01:28:46 AM....The fact that roadster was RHD makes it a rare bird there or here. Anyone ever try to track it down?....
In Australia they drive on the left, so cars have RHD. Before WW 2 most American car manufacturers supplied new cars with factory RHD for export to countries that drive on the left. I used to own a 1932 Ford with RHD that was sold new in Nepal and where they also drive on the left. Brought it back here and kept it until 2012. I worked in Nepal for several years in the '70s, saw lots of old American cars there with RHD, including lots of Model A Fords as well as a 1935 Cadillac and a 1929 LaSalle.