Petersen honors historic haulers - Hemmings Auto Blogs ...

Photos courtesy Petersen Automotive Museum.

The Petersen Automotive Museum has loaded up on historic haulers for its latest exhibit, Pickups: The Art of Utility ? a wide ranging collection of 19 trucks that includes a horseless carriage, early 4x4s, an EV, and a custom SEMA show truck.

?Whether custom showstoppers, off-road adventure vehicles, or bone-stock cargo transporters, pickups have been an integral part of automotive landscape for more than a century,? said Petersen Automotive Museum Chief Curator, Leslie Kendall. ?The pickup truck means different things to different people, which is part of what we explore in this exhibition.?

The exhibit opened in June and will run through April 6, 2014. Truck enthusiasts will have an opportunity to take a guided tour of the rigs with Kendall on August 6, at 7:30 p.m. In his talk, Kendall will discuss each truck?s place among the 100 years of haulers on display.
If Los Angeles is not in your travel plans, however, here?s a smattering of some of the pickups on display and a little background information about each:

1909 International Harvester Auto Wagon
International Harvester rolled into the vehicle business in 1907, one year after it marketed its first engine-driven farm tractor. These early ?trucks? were highwheelers, built much like horse-drawn buggies but with an air-cooled, horizontally opposed two-cylinder engine mounted under the front seat. Initially, IH offered the Auto Buggy, then in 1909 it released the larger Auto Wagon. The Auto Wagon is considered one of the earliest multi-purpose vehicles, capable of carrying a family with the rear seats in place or a heap of cargo with the rear seat removed.

1929 Chrysler Model 75 Roadster With Aftermarket Pickup Bed
Before purpose-built trucks were common, people improvised, making cast-off passenger cars into makeshift haulers. The sturdy construction and powerful engine of this Chrysler 75 Roadster would?ve made it an able mover of stuff. Its 248.9-inch inline six made 75 horsepower in standard tune and Lockheed hydraulic brakes would slow it down fairly well when the car was fully freighted. Though it?s difficult to see in the picture, this car was equipped with an aftermarket add-on bed that squared off the roadster tail for additional hauling capacity.

1932 Ford Model B Pickup
The 1932 Model B introduced the all-steel cab roof on Ford trucks and of course, later in the model year, the flathead V-8 engine. The Model B?s wheelbase was slightly longer than the A, but the bed was stretched nearly a foot, giving these trucks a pretty substantial overhang. For 1933, the wheelbase was lengthened which positioned the rear wheels closer to the center of the bed sides. This truck belongs to the Petersen and was a gift from Rich and Laura Griffiths.

1934 Terraplane Pickup
Built between 1932 and 1938, Terraplane began as a model in the Hudson lineup before becoming a marque in its own right in 1934, the year in which it was significantly restyled.? The newly streamlined half-ton pickup shared sheetmetal with the beautiful Terraplane passenger cars, making it one of the most stylish pickup trucks of the era. In 1938 the pickups were sold as Hudson-Terraplanes and in 1939 the Terraplane name was dropped altogether. One of an extremely small number of survivors, this pickup was painstakingly restored to as-new condition by the current owner, Press Kale.

1938 American Bantam Pickup
In 1937, the American Bantam Car Company of Butler, Pennsylvania, took over construction of compact pickups and panel vans formerly manufactured by the American Austin Company. While the Bantam shared many of the basic elements that made its Austin-branded predecessor so distinctive, improvements to the design included a sturdier frame, more powerful 20hp four-cylinder engine, and more streamlined body styling. The truck remained virtually unchanged during its brief production run, which ended in 1941 due to slow sales.? This truck is on loan to the Petersen from the collection of Colin and Patricia Hughes.

1941 Chevrolet Series AK Half-Ton Pickup
For 1941, Chevrolet designers pulled out all of the Art Deco design cues and rolled out a beautifully restyled truck line. Brightly polished vertical and horizontal slats in the grille, combined with bullet-shaped headlamp housings that blended into the fenders, all helped to freshen up sheetmetal carried over from the 1939-1940 trucks. The new touches dramatically transformed the Art Deco series haulers, giving them a look that has become iconic and increasingly popular among Chevrolet truck enthusiasts. With America?s entrance into World War II, civilian truck production was severely curtailed early in 1942 and very few non-military models were built through the end of the war. When production resumed, the trucks were outfitted with painted trim until the late series 1946 trucks. This truck is on loan from the collection of Larry Smith.

1941 Studebaker Champion Coupe Delivery
Intended to combine the stylishness of a passenger car with the utility of a truck, the Studebaker Coupe Delivery was supplied with a removable cargo bed that could be inserted into the otherwise standard trunk compartment after removal of the deck lid. The trunk-mounted pickup bed was manufactured by Edwards Iron Works of South Bend, Indiana, and was available factory-installed for $33. This expertly restored example is the only known surviving Studebaker Coupe Delivery from the 1941 model year and is on loan from the collection of Richard Quinn.

1942 Crosley pickup
In 1939, industrialist Powel Crosley formed his own automobile company to build economical two-cylinder vehicles for personal transportation. His first commercial vehicle, a panel van, debuted in 1940 while a pickup was released one year later. Priced at a mere $500, the trucks were equipped with fuel sipping 12hp 35-cu.in. engines that made them a practical alternative to delivery bikes and full-size trucks for small businesses. Current owners Dave and Lois Potts discovered the ultra-rare Crosley in the state of Washington and completed a total restoration in 2012.

1952 Ford F-1 Half-Ton Pickup with Marmon-Herrington Four-Wheel Drive
Because Ford did not build four-wheel-drive vehicles in-house until 1959, this 1952 Ford F-1 was converted to four-wheel drive by the Marmon-Herrington Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. This rare truck was equipped with a radio, heater, and windshield washer, making it unusually civilized for the day. The conversion of a light-duty, half-ton truck was unusual during the 1950s because most 4?4 pickups were intended for medium- and heavy-duty uses. This excellent example is on loan to the museum from the collection of Jim Welch.

1953 Dodge Power Wagon equipped with Willock Swivel Frame
The Willock Swivel Frame was created by the owner of the Willock Truck Equipment Company, a manufacturer of specialty equipment for on- and off-road trucks. Willock?s invention separated the front and rear halves of the chassis, allowing the two sections to move independently and minimizing the likelihood that the frame and cab would crack or break during heavy use or when navigating extremely uneven road surfaces. Priced at $350, the Swivel Frame was designed for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, but was also appreciated by buyers of lighter duty one-ton trucks who lived in areas with rugged terrain. This Power Wagon is on loan to the museum from the collection of Jonas M. Smith.

1955 Powell Pickup
The Powell Manufacturing Company was based in the Los Angeles suburb of Compton and built small pickup trucks primarily on 1941 Plymouth car chassis salvaged from wrecking yards. Appealing to buyers on a budget, the steel-bodied Powell was formed with sheetmetal that was shaped with basic metal-bending equipment instead of expensive dies, which gave it an unusually boxy appearance, but kept prices low. Unusual for the time, Powell incorporated the pickup box into the body of the truck rather than attaching the cab and box assemblies to the chassis separately. Powell produced slightly more than 1,000 trucks between 1954 and 1957 and this example is owned by
the Hays Antique Truck Museum.

1963 Ford Falcon Ranchero
In 1934 Ford of Australia introduced the concept of a car-pickup hybrid called the Utility, a name later shortened to Ute. The Ute?s success inspired the development of a car-based Ford truck for the American market that was introduced as the Ranchero in 1957. While the first Rancheros were based on a full-size Ford platform, by 1960 the Ranchero was repositioned as a compact and built on the Falcon platform. The standard engine for the Falcon Ranchero was an inline six-cylinder, but the original owner replaced it with a Ford V-8. This Falcon belongs to the Petersen and was donated by Robert S. Clark.

1958 Jeep Forward Control
Brooks Stevens?s Jeep Forward Control was a daring attempt to improve the versatility and space efficiency of lightweight pickups by placing the cab above and in front of the engine. Such a configuration provided more interior space and allowed the pickup bed to be longer without increasing the overall length of the vehicle. In production from 1956 through 1965, the Jeep Forward Control was available as a short wheelbase model, the FC-150, and beginning in 1957, the long-wheelbase FC-170. This 1958 FC-150 is on loan from the collection of the Malamut Auto Museum.

1959 Datsun 220 Pickup
Introduced to America at the Los Angeles Import Car Show in December 1958, this Datsun 220 was one of only 10 imported to test public reaction in California. The following year Nissan began marketing Datsun pickups nationwide, but Southern California was the company?s biggest market. The 220 was powered by a 37hp 1,000cc engine that wouldn?t win many drag races, but these trucks quickly earned a reputation for reliability. This truck is the only fully restored 1959 220 known to exist and is on loan to the Petersen from the Malamut Auto Museum.

1968 Chevrolet C-10 Custom
This hot-rod Chevrolet C-10 was a 2012 SEMA show truck and is equipped with aftermarket wheels, a specially tuned, supercharged Ramjet 502 engine, Mustang GT seats, diamond-stitched leather door panels, and a wood center console housing an Alpine touchscreen entertainment system. It also features a Classic Instruments gauge panel, Billet Specialties steering wheel, Lokar pedals, and a custom Creations n? Chrome paint job. The truck underwent a 10-year build leading up to its debut at SEMA and is on loan to the Petersen from the collection of Creations n? Chrome, Valencia in California.

1968 Volkswagen Single Cab
The Volkswagen pickup was completely restyled for the 1968 model year, doing away with the split windshield and V-front motif of its predecessor. Unlike virtually every other pickup on the American market, the VW was equipped with a rear-mounted engine and bed sides that could be hinged down for access to the load area. A lockable compartment under the forward half of the bed provided storage for smaller items. The big three and Willys, of course, offered pickups with a cab-forward design, but all except the Chevrolet Corvair Rampside were front engine. This VW is on loan to The Petersen from the Collection of Mark A. Lujan.

1978 Dodge Li?l Red Express
Dodge rolled out the Li?l Red Express Truck in 1978, and amazingly Car and Driver pointed out that the 6,000-pound hauler was the quickest American vehicle built that year (in a 0 to 100 MPH dash). Li?l Red was powered by a police car-spec 360 V-8 and was available only with an A-727 automatic. Its unfair advantage was due to a loophole in federal emission laws: As a light truck, it could slip through production without a catalytic converter choking off its twin stacks. Li?l Red was a two-year only deal and the 1979 version was reigned in with a standard 360 camshaft and catalytic converters. The 1978 truck is the more collectible today as only 2,188 were built compared to 5,118 in 1979. The Li?l Red on display at the Petersen is owned by Steve Stanley.

2000 Ford Ranger EV
In 1998, Ford introduced the Ranger EV (Electric Vehicle), which it made available for lease through 2002. Powered by a 90hp rear-mounted electric motor, the electric Ranger had an advertised top speed of 75 miles per hour and could travel between 35 to 50 miles on a single charge of its lead-acid batteries, although a NiMH (nickel metal hydride) battery version with a 65-mile range was available in California. While the EV shared its overall appearance and much of the same standard equipment with its gasoline-powered counterpart, it is easily distinguished by the charger plug door on the grille and de Dion rear suspension. The Ranger EV is part of the Petersen collection and was a gift from Battery M.D., Inc.

2002 Isuzu Axiom XST Sport Utility Truck Concept
One of three concept vehicles based on Isuzu?s Axiom SUV and built for the 2002 auto show season, the XST Sport Utility Truck was powered by an Isuzu 3-liter V-6 turbo diesel hooked to a four-speed automatic transmission. Part SUV, part pickup, the rear seats and rear window could be dropped for more hauling space and an aluminum bed extender could be folded out to cage off the dropped tail gate for additional hauling capacity. The XST never saw production, probably due to Isuzu?s fading fortunes as a light-truck retailer in the U.S and the Axiom was dropped in 2004 in favor of the Ascender, which was a rebadged Chevrolet Trailblazer/GMC Envoy/etc. The Axion XST concept is part of the Petersen collection and was a gift from Isuzu.

For more information about the exhibit, visit Petersen.org.

Source: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/07/12/petersen-honors-historic-haulers/

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