From: David Ball (vought@msn.com)
Date: Sun Apr 06 2003 - 21:51:25 PDT
I think the Navy Chevy wreckers were built by a GMC company called Yellow
Coach using parts provided by Holmes and was probably built on trucks
ordered as chassis only I think some of the Navy dump trucks were built this
way as well. The pictures I refer too are Seabees from camp Lewis in
Washington on march to somewhere north maybe Adak.
You are right Steve as far as I know I have never seen a Chevy factory built
Chevy Wrecker. Until just a month ago I had never seen a Chevy School bus
made from a Yellow model 733 I have now it is at Yellowstone park there were
8 there in the late forties custom ordered from yellow in 1939 by the Navy
all 4X4's with winches. I found the bus while looking through an auction
flyer I bid on it and will not know for two weeks if I won or not there was
not much interest in it the hot items was the three 8 door Whites.
Just recently I won a book on ebay from the sixties on the history of Yellow
coachworks and Yellow was the custom build house for GMC as well as being
there Bus division during WW2 there was many strange things built by them
including many altered CCKW's and the later streamliner and ultraliner
buses.
My Holmes book shows them building Ward la France and GMC's as well as many
other wreckers in there factory during WW2 so it would have been easy to
order a few Chevy's. One of the strangest things in the Holmes book is the
hundreds of Chevy's and GMC's built with huge winch gear and a special
platforms for the British to use for Barrage balloons.
Anything was possible back then.
Dave
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve & Jeanne Keith" <cckw@attbi.com>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>; "David Ball"
<vought@msn.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2003 6:41 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] WWII Chevy wrecker?
> I can tell you fron experience that the closest thing to a production
Chevy
> wrecker,
> an M6 Bomb Truck is semi-useless as a wrecker compared to a CCKW.
>
> There is a picture of a WW2 Chevy with a twin-Holmes bombs like a
> Diamond-T in Crismons book but I believe that it say that it was the only
> one made.
>
>
> Steve AKA Dr Deuce
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Ball" <vought@msn.com>
> To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
> Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2003 8:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [MV] WWII Chevy wrecker?
>
>
> > I have pictures of Chevy 1 1/2 ton wreckers and pole setters on the
Alcan
> > highway in 1942 following a long line of other Chevy's and GMC's and US6
> > Studes so just how far is far...
> > Ever been to Alaska?
> > Also what is a slow mover? The Chevy is just as fast as anything else
> going
> > over rough terrain maybe you mean slow when going to the grange hall on
> > Friday night two blocks from your house. To me speed is relative when
> > enjoying a ride in a WW2 Vet and listening to her work. Also I have a
1942
> > Holmes manual from the Military and it shows the Chevy with a split boom
> and
> > recovery gear with a 20,000lb Garwood winch in the bed. I believe the
> > wrecker being auctioned is a put together from a shortened truck or a
bomb
> > truck chassis with a military closed cab and late model tow truck
> equipment.
> > its a nice looking truck but not original sorry. ;-)
> > As a side note most WW2 trucks were geared low and slow and the can
travel
> > long distances just fine. My Dodge WC 52 has taken me on several 600
mile
> > round trips up highway 5 in 110 degree heat at 45 MPH with out a problem
> > sure I watched the same cow walk for several minutes but you got to love
> > these old trucks they do what they were designed for and as simple to
fix
> as
> > a cheese burger.
> > Dave
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "m35products" <m35prod@optonline.net>
> > To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
> > Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2003 1:49 PM
> > Subject: Re: [MV] WWII Chevy wrecker?
> >
> >
> > > Home-made wrecker, from commercial parts. Mileage is probably correct,
> > > assuming that the speedo is still working. Remember, wreckers,
> especially
> > > slow movers like this old girl, didn't go far to hook up to the
victim,
> > nor
> > > too for to bring 'em home.
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Ronzo" <rojoha@attbi.com>
> > > To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
> > > Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2003 4:43 PM
> > > Subject: [MV] WWII Chevy wrecker?
> > >
> > >
> > > > eBay Item # 2409772766
> > > >
> > > > Did the Army make wreckers on the Chevy 11/2 ton chassis? Could
> this
> > > be
> > > > a real army wrecker, with only 29K miles versus what they assume is
> > 129k?
> > > > Chevy experts, chime in please....
> > > >
> > > >
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> > >
> > >
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> > >
> >
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> >
>
>
>
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