Here’s a slightly different series of images from the usual; trucks, cars, and other service vehicles, all in period livery from the ’50s and ’60s. Understandably, it is a rather colorful gallery, as it can only be when livery and advertising are involved.
On these, you’ll also find quite a variety of environments and subjects. I suspect the images will not only give insights into the people and cars of the time, but also the trades and businesses of the period (Dune rides?). Details that make for a more amusing series of images.
We start with the second-gen Chevy C10 Panel delivery above, bringing Washer & Dryer Service to any home that needs it.
A ’54 Nash, as the Official Car for Miss America.
A ’54 Chevy Delivery Sedan; and I would think most should recognize that logo.
A ’50 Nash at the Castle Air Force, CA, in 1963.
A 1950s Ford F-Series truck, belonging to Willard’s Ready Mixed Concrete, at Wright Road in Lynwood, CA.
Not an Oldsmobile, but a ’56 “Dunesmobile”, providing scenic Dune Rides in Glen Haven, Michigan.
Now, for something more subtle, color-wise. A ’55 Chevy wagon serving as Airport Motel transport.
A ’58 Edsel for Dearborn’s Fire Department.
A mid-’50s Chevrolet truck, for J. Hughes Light Hauling. It’s hard to make out, but I believe I see a New Jersey (NJ) address on the door.
One very bluesy ’62 Plymouth wagon, dutifully serving the US Air Force.
No need to introduce U-Haul, this time on a 1960s Ford Econoline.
And let’s close with this neat International Travelall, shot in 1967 in New Hampshire. Door reads “Stage to Mt. Washington Summit.”
Probably the only picture of a truckload of pews.
I bet there were some interesting conversations when they booked that.
“Who have you booked to take away the pews?”
“Hughes.”
“Yes, the pews. Who have you booked to take them away?”
And so on.
That Edsel is wonderful. It would make a nice toy.
Proof that we don’t need a 4×4 for slightly more difficult tasks like today where you absolutely need a sophisticated 4×4 system to fetch your pint of milk
lololol.. Soo true.
I get your snarky meaning, but in reality true fleet vehicles are not 4×4, at least not here in the Los Angeles area.
I’m simply referring to the ”OldsDunesmobile” & the ”Stage to Mt. Washington Summit.” photos
“It’s hard to make out, but I believe I see a New Jersey (NJ) address on the door.”
The plates are a dead giveaway. It’s New Jersey. Other than a brief dalliance with aqua-blue with yellow letters a while ago, as far as I can remember, Jersey plates have always been that color, including now.
The address on the side is 1401 Mattison Ave., Asbury Park. That’s a residential address, and some digging reveals that folks named Jackson and Cora Hughes lived at that address.
I’d love to know the church – it doesn’t seem to be any existing church building in Asbury Park, though I’m sure it was nearby.
It’s probably safe to say that that church is gone. The front windows are boarded up and the pews are being hauled off. I can’t imagine oak pews wore out. I hope some woodworkers made good use of them.
Shouldn’t someone who repairs Philco appliances drive a Ford?
The Miller High Life logo was designed by Brooks Stevens, unfortunately not on a Jeep Station Wagon here…
Love these working vehicle pics. In that last picture they must have some strong wind gusts because they have that roof/building pretty well chained down!
Yes, the summit of Mt. Washington (6288 feet in elevation) gets some dramatic weather, with a record wind gust of 231 mph in 1934, which stood for over 60 years until it was exceeded in Australia.
They still have those “snowcoach” vehicles for tourists in the wintertime, using Chevy Express vans fitted with treads replacing the wheels.
The “Nash” @ the air force base is quite the picture.
That one’s my favorite. The matching squadron colors/insignia with the F-106s was a nice touch.
I’m a sucker for Convair deltas. F-106A 56-0453 was the third F-106 built. Survived until ’95.
Nash, what Nash!
Vintage.es has pics of 1920s Mack logging trucks equipped to ride a log railroad.
https://www.vintag.es/2024/07/mack-logging-trucks.html
Now it is complete!
Seeing the photo of the ’54 Nash with Miss America reminded me that she proudly represented Ephrata, PA, a town in Lancaster County. Her name was Evelyn Ay. She also introduced the Nash Metropolitan at the Chicago Auto Show in ’54.
I’ll admit it; I noticed Evelyn first.
I guess the Dearborn fire car met un untimely demise…
I’m a huge fan of second-gen C/K panel trucks, as seen in the first photo. Part of the reason is their rarity. In some regard, panel trucks should have died off with the introduction of cargo vans in the early 60s – and Ford and Chrysler indeed killed their panels. GM, because they were still building Suburbans, could continue building panels at essentially no additional cost.
This particular 1967 is Model CS10905, a half-ton 2WD – which was most common of all the panels, but that only means it was 1 of about 4800 produced for that year. Total panel production for 1967 was 4,805, of which 3,827 were 1/2 ton 2WD.
My love of old vehicles begins and ends will commercials .
That 67 C/10 was an amazingly modern looking vehicle when released .
The L.A.P.D. bought several ’67 Suburbans and they remained in service until 2010 or so, tree door models, all were C/10 and *one* was a 250D.I.D. i6 powered, all had th350 automatics, no AC .
I was considering buying the 6 banger one but the older Mechanics all said they were going to buy and hot rod it so I didn’t go to the auction , none of them did and it sold for a song, original paint & upholstery etc. 100% rust free, garaged since new….
I love the Edsel, is it a Ranger or Citation ? my monitor’s too fuzzy to make out .
Pops bought several ihc Travelalls in the late 50’s ~ mid 60’s, all were pretty good trucks if thirsty buggers .
-Nate
I think the Edsel is a Corsair, base trim of the big Mercury-based model. Almost certainly supplied to the city of Dearborn by Fomoco itself, to move it from stock somehow.
Always a treat to see working commercial vehicles with hand-painted signage. There is a human touch to them that enhances the image of a tradesman/woman or company.. I prefer the style. presented over today’s full-wrap billboard vehicles.
Thanks for sharing.
Try this one for a working truck. I talked to the owner and he does indeed use this for the Heat and Air Conditioning business he works for. The other two employees drive new vans while he uses this 1946. Two weeks later I saw him driving this truck in Concord where I live. Original flat head engine and all.
The “Dunesmobile” was seen in a video recently released by Hagerty. It seems this tour company had these until 1966, when they were replaced by Ford F-100s. The F-100s were all stretched 18″ behind the cab to better allow ingress for passengers. One of these F-100s turned up in somebody’s yard and it was purchased for resurrection.
Top Photo:
I understand Whirlpool built most of the Sears Kenmore appliances.
However, had no idea Philco built appliances as well. Just like Norge, Hamilton Beach, Westinghouse, International Harvester, etc. All these major appliance brands were absorbed and re-absorbed into the final four.
Mom had a Hamilton Beach gas dryer with the lint tray at the very bottom of the unit. The machine would do 4 to 5 batches a day (6 kids plus my parents). She didn’t like to bend down to clean the tray. Since I was the youngest for the longest, it was my duty to clean it every so often. Thinking back, I’m surprised the house didn’t burn down for there would be so much lint, I’d have to use a brush on a pole to get it all out per cleaning. Each time I run a batch in my dryer, I think back to that Polar White Hamilton Beach chugging away….
Lets not forget Kelvinator, Nash (later AMC) appliance brand. My brother’s first house included a Kelvinator fridge. The interior light lens looked like it came right out of the Rambler parts bin.
My family’s first color tv in 1968 was a Philco. I’ve seen a few of those around over the years, but even fewer Philco major appliances. Ford definitely didn’t do as strong a job in the appliance field than did GM (Frigidaire) or American Motors (Kelvinator) or even Chrysler (Airtemp).
Ferrying no less than a 2 star general. Pretty prestigious passenger for a lowly Nash Rambler.
That 1954 Chevy Delivery Sedan is certainly eye-catching. I could imagine that being a prized possession to take to car shows nowadays, particularly done up in the Miller logo theme.
On the other hand, the little 1950 Nash just looks ridiculous in that paint job carrying those guys. I’d imagine that both passengers had considerably more dignified photos of themselves that they’d prefer sharing.
Neat to see all these commercial vehicles. Of course I love the GM trucks the best but they’re all cool. And I totally agree about hand painted graphics having a human, more artistic feel and look than today’s “modern” wraps.
The truck hauling the pews is a ’54 or early ’55 Chevy. The wraparound windshield and different grille are the tells. GM was refreshing their trucks to compete with the all new Fords, out in ’53.
I’ve actually seen one of those ’67-68 Chevy panels, at a swap meet a few years ago. Was a resto mod, not completely stock, but very nice indeed. Had a wood floor in the cargo area, similar to the pickup of that vintage. GM offered the wood cargo area flooring into the square body trucks series, through ’75 I believe. Seen a few of those but they are as rare as the previous generation panel trucks.
Just curious:
In Missouri trucks, including private light trucks like pickups, were required to have the owners name and city displayed on the side.
In addition, either “LOCAL” or “BL” (for Beyond Local) had to be displayed.
This went away by the 1970s.
Did any other states require this?
Yes, Illinois did also; this went away by 1980.
Notice the anchor chains that are affixed over the top of the Summit House on Mt. Washington! They were put there for a reason. Wind has even blown away a Snowcat in the past.
I have stood exactly where that Travelall is pictured, many times! So many cool old pictures here!
Yep, me too 🙂
Here I am with one of my kids some years ago. I think he was a bit over concerned about the possibility of 231 mph winds. Then again, it was also about 50 degrees in the middle of the summer so that may have played a factor in the experience as well.
Notice the more modern version of the “Snow coach” (versus the IH in the 1960s photo) to the left.
Where I grew up in Southern California, from time to time I would see a vehicle towing a motorcycle. Didn’t fully understand what that was all about. Then one afternoon my grandparents’ ‘50 Buick Riviera was driven into the driveway by someone other than my grandfather. The car had a motorcycle attached. The driver was one of the young mechanics from the Buick dealer and was delivering the car back to my grandparents. After my granddad signed off on the paperwork, the young man got on the motorcycle and rode off. Pretty cool service. A long gone courtesy.
Growing up, my neighbor had that 1967 International Travelall. It was a light green color and I can still remember the distinctive whiring sound of that engine and its gears as he turned the corner to our block. Great memories!
Let’s not forget Crosley, in the auto/appliance crossover dance. Btw, I like seeing the vintage U-haul pix. I remember when U-haul rented Scamp-type RV trailers for a brief time in the mid-eighties. Saw a rare U-haul horse trailer once, in the ’70s (on Long Island no less!). There were a few rival trailer rental companies back then (JarTran; EZ Haul; Nationwide) but they couldn’t outlast the giant!