Roger Byrne

Looks to be a late 1940's Diamond T.

That is a 1915 or early 1916 (NOT 1912) Ford Model T car with a aftermarket truck conversion kit. Ford didn't start to make the Model TT (Ton Truck) until 1917. Before that, there were several companies making kits to change your Model T car into a light truck. It was a framework with a heavy rear wheel drive unit that you just slipped over your car frame and connected the driveshaft to the transmission. I had an I-O-W-A conversion unit that I sold to a friend a year ago.

Before there are a bunch more posts, I figure I should explain what a "Cloverleaf" roadster is. They are a three seat car with two in front and just one in back . . . the seating was said to look like a "Cloverleaf" when viewed from above. A very odd arrangement that was NOT a popular design and were only built for a few years by a handful of different companies. The logic of that one narrow seat in the back escapes me as it did with most people back in the day. The Ames Company, which made accessory bodies for Fords, made one for a Model T.

As far as I can tell, the car in that Texas photo appears to be a 1917-1920 Marmon Model 34 Cloverleaf Roadster.

Gary, the Return Flue Minneapolis steamer is "SHREDDING" corn. It's the same idea as a hand-fed thrashing machine. Bundles of corn are placed on a side platform, the operator cuts the bundles and feeds them into the machine. The stalk,leaves and husks are chopped up in the process and blown into the barn to be used as bedding. The corn (still on the cob) goes into a wagon for future use. The small amount of shelled corn that is knock off the cob in the process is saved and discharged at the rear of the machine in a bagger. I'll tell you those corn bundles are a LOT heavier and harder to handle than grain bundles!

"few people understand how I (Gary) function."

I make this posting with great sadness, my good friend and a regular poster on this forum, Anson Sheldon Jr. "Delta Dirt" has died. I received the news from his wife Melinda today. I last spoke to him a few weeks ago and knew he was having a tough time of it. We only talked a short time do to his breathing issues . . . not even long enough to get into one of our enjoyable "Blue Smoke" sessions. We never met in person, but got to know each other first through Gary's forum, then from MANY phone conversions and E-mails. Rest in peace my friend, your "Northerner" buddy will miss you. When it is available, I'll post a link to his obit.

As to the photo acem posted above, that is a 1913 Munktell tractor which is the grandfather of todays Volvo farm equipment. It used a two cylinder, 2-cycle, semi-diesel engine that ran at 550rpm and was water cooled. It was rated as a 30-40 and ran on various low grade fuels plus water injection. The horsepower varied from 30 on very low grade fuel to 40 on the better stuff like kerosene. The photo below shows an existing example of the tractor.

Well Anson, at least Gary wears the correct cap once and a while. By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARY!! You don't look a day over 79.

I know some people dislike these big collections being broken up and I can understand that. But there is another side dealing with these really big collections and that is the care/maintenance issues. Jerred Ruble and my friendship with him, go back to when we were teenagers in the 60's. I assisted him with several of his restorations over the years and know the amount of work and $$$$$ it took to get them restored. I've also worked with three other major collections over the past 55 years. The problem is when collections grow too large, there isn't the qualified help to maintain them the way they should be. The equipment what will remain in the Ruble Foundation is rare and high quality plus with the reduction in size, it can be better preserved for future generations. I think it's great that the items being auctioned can go to new caretakers where they will be maintained and enjoyed. You noticed I used the term "caretakers". Many of us that restore this antique machinery know that there needs to be others after us, to care for this historical equipment.

Anson . . . get well ! ! How in heII am I supposed to keep Gary in line without your help? Hang in there my friend, I'm pulling for you.

I'd say they are Moreland trucks. They were built in California from 1911 to 1940. Their large 5-Ton model used a dual rear drive with cast wheels like in jeeper61's photo.

Anson, there are two thoughts on why they were built with the radiator back by the firewall. First is that your old buddy Wrangler's grandfathers didn't like the way trucks were starting to take over the freighting business. They convinced the teamster drivers that while standing in line to pick up their loads, that they should "accidentally" back up and crash the back of the wagon into the radiator of the truck behind them and put it out of commission. Remember that even many of the IHC Autowagons were also water cooled and had a radiator out front too. This trick was well know at some of freight terminals back in the early years. Now this may sound like a wild story but remember that in the early days of hauling freight, the competition between the various companies was very fierce. Horse powered wagons were the norm and this newfangled motor truck was looked upon as an unwanted competitor. How that being said, the other reason is that with the radiator behind the engine, it is easier to work on. Another thing that International did on the Shovel Nose trucks, is have the engine and transmission mounted in a sub-frame that can be removed from the main chassis to be worked on. Just remove the hood plus a few bolts and the whole unit can be taken out for repair. It was also common for large companies with a fleet of Shovel Noses would have engine/transmission units ready to exchange. If an engine started knocking or other serious problem, bring it into the shop, pull the unit out and install the a different one. The exchange could be done in less than an hour and the truck would be back on the road. You can take your pick of which version you like . . . both have credibility in history.

Thanks for the positive comment about the restoration hardtail. That variable opening you see on the exhaust manifold is not an exhaust bleed but the regulator for the preheater. The air is taken in that opening and across those fins on the manifold, through the engine block and into the carb by way off that black pipe you see on the carb. It's there to control the air temp going to the carb to prevent it from icing and to help to burn the low grade fuels of that period. That being said, with today's fuels, it does a great job of creating a vapor lock when you shut the engine down and then try to restart it! As far as the engine looking better than the rest of the truck, well there is a bit of a story to that. I originally help give a full restoration on that truck back in 1975 when it was owned by a friend of mine, Wes Foss. About 10 years later his age and health issues caused him to sell his home and his collection. At that time a guy offer to buy his whole collection including the Shovel Nose and his Autowagon (which I had rebuilt a few years earlier). At that time, I didn't have the $$$ to buy the Shovel Nose or the Autowagon, so they went with the rest of the collection. Over the years, the Shovel Nose sat neglected in a dirt floor shed sinking almost up to the axles and was never run. When that guy need to go to a Care Center it was sold to another guy that brought it home and never did anything with it other than wash it off. About 10 years ago, thinking about how much I liked that truck and the memories of time with my old friend Wes, I figured I wanted to find that truck and if possible, purchase it. After a few years I got lucky when a friend of mine (Troy Vetsch) found it for sale on FaceBook over in Wisconsin. I was able to buy the truck in May of 2015. The guy I got it from said they had tried to start it by pulling it around but it wouldn't start so they just parked it back in the shed. It was a damn good thing it didn't start because when I got it home and went to drain the oil, it wouldn't even come out. I pulled the oil pan off and found a mixture of oil and water that had turned into a semi-solid sludge. When I saw that mess, I decided to pull the engine and go through it. The engine itself was in pretty good shape having been rebuilt back in 1975 and not run a lot, but there was a little water damage in the crankcase that needed fixing. After going through the engine I figured I'd may as well repaint it so that is why it looks so nice. I did a number of other repairs to the truck to correct for all the years of neglect including a lot of rework on the wheels and some repainting. The photo below is from 1976 when Wes showed it at a Bi-Centennial celebration.

To the comment Gary made saying my shovel nose a Model 21 . . . well he is sorta right. My 1920 truck's serial number and the data plate indicates it is a Model H however during the later part of 1920, IHC up graded their trucks with a heavier rear spring system and changed from letter designations to numbers. At that time the Model H was changed to a Model 21 and was re-rated from a 3/4 to a 1 ton with those heavier springs. My truck has that heavier spring setup so while being badged as an H, I guess technically it's a 21?