This restored beauty dates back to the early days of World War II.
The Freightliner brand started as an offshoot of the Consolidated Freightways Trucking Co. The company built its own trucks, and when other people wanted to buy them, they started selling. But, the government stepped in and said they couldn’t be in the trucking business while also selling rigs. So, they started Freightliner to keep selling trucks.
This Freightliner is actually a rebuilt Fageol. You can even see the Fageol front fenders and their distinctive headlight mounts. The rear ends are Timken worm drive.
This truck has a crane on the back that would have been used to load freight onto a flatbed trailer pulled behind it.
When Bill Moon noticed this truck for sale by Jerry Noordman, he commented it was a rare truck, and someone should buy it. A few years later, it was listed for sale again and was purchased by the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum.
On interesting detail of the truck is that the casting date on the block of the Cummins engine is Dec. 8, 1941 — the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Do you use the CAT Scale app and have a rig you’d like us to feature as the CAT Scale Rig of the Week? Send photos to [email protected].
A former military public affairs specialist, Cody Graves has a journalism career that has spanned radio, television and print. For the last ten years, he produced special sections for Arkansas’ only statewide newspaper. During his time in the U.S. Army Reserves, Cody served tours in El Salvador, Iraq and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his spare time, he plays guitar in a local band and spends time with his dogs, Lucy and Daisy.