Crawlers I photo'd recently.

[1693TA]

I purchase a new Rand-McNally road atlas each year to carry along.

 

[Truck Shop]

When i think of all the ‘good’ stuff that gets scrapped it really annoys me.

Imagine if cavemen were around when the dino's went through mass extinction,
they ate pretty good for a few days--then the thousands of rotting carcasses started
stinking up the place, there was no dino recycling! It got pretty ripe I suppose.

 

[Pops52]

Sometimes I just enjoy laying out a map and looking at all the places I havn't been......

 

[Truck Shop]

Soooo true, (but I still keep some maps just in case)

Not talking about driving the highway--the construction site only--got rid of the grade shooter
in the trench.

 

[Truck Shop]

Won't be long with banning books--maps will go by the wayside too.

 

[sled dog]

Sometimes I just enjoy laying out a map and looking at all the places I havn't been......

Pops, look around antique stores and find old state highway maps. See the roads that were just gravel and the towns that no longer exist...

 

[sled dog]

As a matter of fact, I can reach out and touch a road map of Indiana from where I am sitting now. 1936, framed and hanging on the wall. Whoa.....the world was different then. Interstates weren't even thought about, improved roads were gravel, mains MIGHT be bituminus macadam. You can bet your a$$ the world moved slower then !!!

 

[Truck Shop]

Anyone who has driven the stretch of I-82 from mile post 1 to mile post 30 over the ridges
between Ellensburg and Yakima knows what I'm talking about. A kid I went to high school
with-his dad worked for {engineer} the state highway dept-Quote {that road bed with the
corners supered the way they are was designed for 175 mph}. What the thought behind it
was I have no idea. But I can attest to because a friend had a 1968 Dodge Charger with a
426, it took us 14 minutes to cover 28 miles. And it was finished/opened in 1972 IIRC------
Skyking would remember the year. Freeways have done allot for the advancement of the
nation and did it in a short period of time, without the super highways progress would have
been at a snails pace. Probably the biggest advancement that started in the 50's.

 

[sled dog]

We take so much for granted Truck Shop. The interstates weren't always here...

 

[Truck Shop]

I remember watching A.J. Jones finish a stretch of I-50 near Rancho Cordova. Most all
of the equipment used was Euclid, some of those twin engine dozers pushing the
biggest scrappers at the time, smoke rolling.

 

[56wrench]

I’m not saying keep everything. All stuff needs to be recycled eventually but i see a lot of stuff going in landfills that is still working just because someone has got tired of it and refuses to recycle it or pass it on to someone who can use it. Some equipment was junk even the day it rolled off the assembly line and i don’t have a problem with melting it down to make re-bar. The mobile scrap operators here are like vultures and take a lot of stuff they are not supposed to. They have to be supervised closely. I’ve been looking for one part in particular for 40+ years and i know damn well lots went for scrap so, ya I’m somewhat bitter

 

[Truck Shop]

I have no ties to anything or feelings for it--rather cold I guess. I look at most things like
a tube of toothpaste once it's used up it's toast. I got that way early on in life, after living
through losing the dairy. And from that I learned {don't get too sentimental about anything
because there's some son of a b!tch just around the corner about to or planning on taking
what ever you have}. Yes I look at old machinery, know somethings about it, but it's a
inanimate object to me nothing more or less, and everything can be scrapped including a
Duesenberg in my world.

 

[Truck Shop]

I see the thought of scrapping a duesenburg---is beyond the pale for some. Like I've said
before/many times, anything with tires or tracks-it's hard to find a frying pan or stove
big enough to cook it. Pretty tough to eat an inanimate object and lousy taste to go along
with it.

 

[Oxbow]

I have no ties to anything or feelings for it--rather cold I guess. I look at most things like
a tube of toothpaste once it's used up it's toast. I got that way early on in life, after living
through losing the dairy. And from that I learned {don't get too sentimental about anything
because there's some son of a b!tch just around the corner about to or planning on taking
what ever you have}. Yes I look at old machinery, know somethings about it, but it's a
inanimate object to me nothing more or less, and everything can be scrapped including a
Duesenberg in my world.

Seems to be an odd perspective from someone who has spent so much time and talent memorializing old trucks in drawings.

 

[Truck Shop]

Seems to be an odd perspective from someone who has spent so much time and talent memorializing old trucks in drawings.

You can like a inanimate item-{truck, car, motorcycle and so on}, you can't love it, it has
no feelings it's dead. All that can be said is it is pleasing to look at. With manufacturing
technology in 2024--anything can be mapped and reproduced in nothing flat, and it's
been going on for awhile now, take the tri-5 chevy's, every part/piece can be bought to
reassemble a brand new 1957 chevy, same could be done with a duesenburg. Because
of that nothing is really rare anymore.
*
There is a outfit that makes all the cab panels for a Kenworth W900 {vintage 1964 to 1982}.
That old crawler being scrapped---it just looks bad to some peoples eyes, can't stand seeing
it snipped--truth is they know why it's getting snipped-it's no longer useful and about 100%
sure the cost of repairs exceeds the it's true value, otherwise it wouldn't be getting cut up.
*
Folks get way too attached to items and loose sight of what really has value. That old mack
I built I felt bad for about two minutes after it went out of sight, just another hunk of cold
steel. Every time there is some natural disaster, I feel bad for those evolved, but when I
think some so called rare Corvette went airborne in a tornado--nah that piece of overated
plastic can be replicated, so what. And with the amount of millionaires and billionaires this
day and age anything can be bought/reproduced to fit narcissistic/ ego behaviors.
*
Back when I started drawing and rebuilding old stuff/well times have changed. One reason
I don't draw or haven't or decided not to at this point is everything I do on paper really has
no value except to me {and damn few others}. Living in the age of instant gratification no
one wants what I do--they have a I phone that will capture any image no matter where
they are anytime of the day. For the hours it takes to draw there is no value other than the
satisfaction I might gain---because that goes back to everything has a price and monetary
gain--which leads to--people can't take a breath without thinking about a dollar bill.
Just knowing I have that talent is enough for me.

 

[56wrench]

I suspect my(and a lot of other people’s) interest in older stuff is that it takes my mind back to a time when i could fix whatever I wanted to with the training i have, with the exception of a couple of specialized skills. And of course i was younger and my body allowed me to do it. Now, the world seems to be going to hell faster and a lot of people’s attitudes with it. Some days my happy place is just repairing or tinkering with something old and maybe broken and ignoring the day to day bs. I like to know whats going on in the world but most days it’s pretty damn depressing. Its just one of the ways i cope

 

[Truck Shop]

I like to know whats going on in the world but most days it’s pretty damn depressing. Its just one of the ways i cope

Same reason I rebuild the 80's engines, some people want them still and something to do.

 

[Dom]

I'm with Truck Shop, best to have memories than material. Material is fine as long as it's still useable and doesn't require more wrench time, part searching than usage. I had a fast car in my 20's that I thought a few times that would be fun to be have again. I drove in a similar car and it wasn't as good as I remembered. Rather the memories, and newer gear that is better in almost every aspect.

 

[1693TA]

I'm one of those that could be called sentimental to older equipment. I have both the memories, and the material. To me it's more than just "cold iron" as it's part of what made me. If it's important to me, I'll make room to keep it. I've not driven my old Barracuda since mid 1996 when I rebuilt the engine but never reinstalled it, yet the car sets in the shop. Given to me once I garnered a driver's license by the original owner in 1976, it has personal meaning. I'm better than 90% positive my son was conceived in that car too, (is that personal enough)? Haven't driven my old Mack B-61 since 1999, yet it too sets in the shop. I purchased this from the original owner but knew the truck well in 1979. WTF do I need a 32,000# Allis-Chalmers bulldozer for; I'm not a dirt worker but did operate this tractor when brand new from the manufacturing plant storage area to the loading area. Running across it many years later, (and needing some expense) it was acquired without much thought. I actually will have use/need of this machine next year. There is all kinds of crap around here I personally favor, but nobody else does and it's long paid for.

Some hold down a bar stool. Some play on a lake drowning worms. Some sail the oceans blue. Many tell/boast of their grandiose travels; I do none of that. I hobby and play in my shop when I want. Selfish? no, not really as I don't ask, impede, or implore anyone to join me if they don't want to.

Still have that same girl too; but never have considered her "old equipment".

 

[sled dog]

1693TA, WELL SAID !!!!