The Classic Machinery Network

I came across this picture in a old Truck and Bus magazine some time ago and wrongly assumed it was a KW Dart but a fella who knows more than me put me right
I new this truck was rebuilt by Ross Todd motors in New Zealand but that was all I new



anyway the truck is a Dart that was used by the NZ State Coal Mines and you can see the a original one bellow before been modified
and the other two pictures show it in its finished and working clothes
I am told it was always known as the Titan Dart because Titan Plant Services had it rebuilt
One very tough looking ride I reckon
full Ccredit to Hamish the bloke that posted the other three photos and provided the correct information





Paul

The wide cab on that dumptruck looks very familiar Paul - USAAF Federal C2 wrecker? No air springs on the dumper, so maybe a Federal but not a wartime chassis? Bit odd as that wide cab was to accommodate the wrecker crew - a dumper chassis cab would be narrower.

Maybe a classic New Zealand 'bitsa' ?

Tony

Tony I did some googling around and found a few different cabs
Dart on their larger dump trucks etc from the late 30's thru to the 40's had that style of cab shown and even found one on a smaller truck






even into the 50's Dart still made a wide cab but it lost what I would think would have been the fold windscreens that were very common back then on a lot of US trucks



as with all of this I have no answers about Dart trucks but it sure looks like it may have the original cab at first glance I thought it looked more like a Russian KRAZ that was a very rough copy of a Diamond T tank transporter

And NZ was the Bitsa capital of the world I reckon and I dont say that in a bad way they customized a lot of impressive trucks over the and Im not just talking a but of bling and extra lights

Paul

Thanks Paul - I had not imagined it might be a bought in cab that Federal used, but certainly looks that way.

Cheers,
Tony

Tony I have no idea and hadnt even thought about Federal using a bought in cab till you mentioned it I know Federal later on used a bought in cab that was called a Comfort Vision or some such thing and IH, Ford and no doubt a whole heap of others shared the same cab including Federal so what you suggest very well may be right

They were some great looking jiggers back then

As a side note I Federal and Reo built trucks during the war that looked the same and all parts were interchangeable so it makes think that either Federal used Dart cabs or maybe the other way around or maybe they both just used a bought in cab for some models

Wasnt it motor bodies or motor panels in the UK that made a lot of truck cabs for different makes

In Australia Chrysler and IH trucks shared the same cabs for years as did Atkinson and Foden


Paul

'Ey 'up,

I've finished reading a book called "mighty moves" by Bee Dawson and it's about how heavy haulage took of in NZ, very interesting to read indeed!

Now, after reading all that, I did a little wee search and I found the following, some might have been posted before, and maybe Paul knows a thing or two about the unit's pictured...

Cheers, Patrick

Few more...about a special spec'd ERF...don't reckon such a chassis was on the Sandbach option list...

Last ones...

theres some pretty impressive old jiggers Pat

the top Picture looks like the Titan and thats Dales trailer and dolly behind known a ""Big George" and was the biggest low loader in NZ when built

A few photos down you can see Big George again with a drag line on the back that was working in the coal mines in the north island

A couple of Federals there looks like one has got anew cab along the way

The big Scamell in the last photo is Dales as well

Thanks for sharing the pictures Patrick

Paul

Talking of Sandbach options has anyone seen ERF dump trucks before.