Old Ford Semi Tractors
- Thread starter BlackBart
- Start date
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Until they became Sterling.Hey!!
Ford's big trucks were damn good trucks
I hated those things. Everyone did.
The ones we had at Roadway were the biggest piles of shit I've ever driven. (in a class 8)
Well, except for the White/GMC garbage but at least those were fun because they didn't have power steering.
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
Yeah once they started looking like a Ford Van inside, I lost interest.
There were some cheaper trucks out there I could have had but if I'm gonna sink money into something, I need it to be something I actually like.
Duck
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The whole dash would wiggle and shake. You could not float the gears. I mean you couldn't pull it out of gear half the time without stepping on the clutch. When you let off the fuel, the positive/negative engine load would change from pulling to engine braking instantly, without giving you that split second to pull it out of gear and drop it in the next one. They'd constantly piss me off that way.
And the damn things would bounce all over the place. It felt like I was riding in Homer Simpson's electric hammer. The handle was the trailer and the head was the Sterling I was pulling it with. It's like the steer tires were oval shaped like watermelons.
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
WTF drivetrain was in that thing?
Duck
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I don't know. We weren't allowed to open the hoods. Union bullshit.
All I know is they were standard ten speeds, single drive axle day cabs.
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
Was this for Roadway? There's an old L9000 around the corner from me in their livery. I don't think it's been moved in 20 years.
Duck
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Yeah.
Half their fleet at the time was Volvos. The rest were White/GMC and a small number were Sterling and very old Freightliner FLDs with air start, air wipers, air power windows (on the right. Hand crank on the left).
The freightliners and the White/GMC did not have power steering.
The local P&D guys had quite a few of those Sesame Street looking Ford cabovers where you're actually in front of the steer axle. I stole one of them for a joyride around the St Louis terminal once.
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
I forget the model of those cabovers but I know what you're talking about. It was like that forward steer pickup and van they made. Dodge had one too back in those days.Yeah.
Half their fleet at the time was Volvos. The rest were White/GMC and a small number were Sterling and very old Freightliner FLDs with air start, air wipers, air power windows (on the right. Hand crank on the left).
The freightliners and the White/GMC did not have power steering.
The local P&D guys had quite a few of those Sesame Street looking Ford cabovers where you're actually in front of the steer axle. I stole one of them for a joyride around the St Louis terminal once.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
I just realized that we've derailed a politics thread to talk about trucks. It's usually the other way around.
Duck
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C-series, like C-800 or something.
I think Roadway's had diesels in the pickup truck size range. Like 6 or 7 liters. I'd love to have one just to bobtail around, maybe pull a camper.
I took a picture of the door tag on one a long time ago.
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Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
Yep being in front of the steer axle creeps me out. Lol.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
There was a green/yellow colored fire truck for sale a couple years ago, right next door. Built on that Ford cabover platform.
Cabinfrontof.
It was a combination ladder/boom truck and pumper or something, "Wayzata, MN" on the door.
My dad wanted to buy it. I talked him out of it.
I should have let him buy it. I could be using it to fix the barn roof.
Humble pie
What we have is a failure to communicate.
I worked at a sterling dealership. They were some real fine machines. Freightliner had to close it down because peterbilt was sending death threats and kenworth mailed them a severed horse head.
BlackBart
Well-Known Member
Yeah that Sterling body style was hideous
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
That's newer than mine. Wait no it ain't. My pickup is the 86.
Bet they ride nice with that direct bolt on seat. My zero turn is prolly smoother.
Sinister
pari animositate
The same guy I moved storage containers for had one. Actually was fairly smooth. Sort of this weird see saw effect.
Shifting was hard because the stick came out if the back wall.
The one I messed with was a gasser I think.
Ultra maneuverable.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Power steering? Roadway's didn't.
Sinister
pari animositate
Nope.
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