Tag Archives: trucks

Samson Truck

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1922 Samson Model 15

Offered by Mecum | Davenport, Iowa | November 19-21, 2020

Photo – Mecum

I agree that the title of this post is lame. “Samson Truck.” I could’ve called it “Samson Model 15,” but the likelihood of ever featuring another Samson truck is so low that I don’t think it’s getting confused with a different one. Why so unlikely? Well, Samson was a tractor manufacturer originally based out of Stockton, California…

Founded in 1900, the company eventually caught the eye of one Billy Durant in 1917. He shifted the company’s headquarters to Janesville, Wisconsin. Between 1920 and 1923, the brand turned out trucks in addition to tractors (along with a prototype passenger car). GM shuttered the brand in 1923 and shifted Chevrolet/GMC production to Janesville, which continued to operate until 2008.

Samson trucks were powered by a Chevy-sourced 26-horsepower inline-four. It’s unknown if this is the original body, but the radiator/cowl area certainly looks correct. The rest of the body could’ve been changed over the years. No windshield is present. This is a cool piece of forgotten GM history, and it’s selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $11,000.

Bedford TK Box Truck

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1973 Bedford TK 220D Box Truck

Offered by Brightwells | Online | November 5, 2020

Photo – Brightwells

The BK was a heavy truck produced by Bedford for an eternity. It debuted in 1960, and the final versions rolled off the line in 1992, although the last Bedford-branded truck was built in 1986. Bedford was essentially the commercial vehicle arm of Vauxhall, which was a GM subsidiary since 1925. GM shed itself of Bedford‘s heavy-truck division in 1987, and the final BKs were badged “AWD”s until 1992.

What I like about this truck is the fact that, like all classic commercial vehicles, it has defied the odds and survived well past the end of its useful life. It’s a moving truck, and who saves a moving truck? The original owner, that’s who. Whoever was using this in the 1970s eventually placed it into storage and still owns it today.

Power is from a diesel inline-four. It’s probably excruciatingly slow, but speed isn’t the point. If you get it, you get it. And if you want to get it, it’ll probably run you between $7,750 and $10,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $10,761.

Wilcox 1.5-Ton Truck

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1925 Wilcox 1.5-Ton Delivery

Offered by The Vault | Online | October 1-14, 2020

Photo – The Vault

The HE Wilcox Motor Car Company was founded in Minneapolis in 1906, and they started producing passenger cars the next year under the Wolfe brand. They changed the brand name to Wilcox in 1909, and in the following year came commercial vehicles.

It must’ve been a successful endeavor because they stopped producing passenger vehicles in 1910 as well. In 1921, the company name was changed to Wilcox Trux, which strikes me as very forward-thinking looking through the lens of today’s world of slang-influenced company names. Production continued until 1928.

Not much is known about this truck, but the auction catalog states that it may be the only such example extant (though there are other Wilcox trucks in existence). And there are Wolfe automobiles around too. This truck is selling at no reserve, and you can find out more about it here. Click here for more from this sale.

Hummer H1

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2004 Hummer H1 Wagon

Offered by Mecum | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 12-14, 2020

Photo – Mecum

This is, potentially, the manliest passenger vehicle ever made. It helps that it started out as a military vehicle (in 1983!) that AM General started selling to civilians in 1992. Those were called “Am General Hummer”s. In 1999, General Motors purchased the Hummer name and launched the former Hummer model as the Hummer H1.

The original H1 lasted through 2004 (2006’s H1 Alpha was an updated version for one year only). Up until 2004, there were four engine/gearbox combos offered through the years. This wagon is powered by a 6.5-liter diesel V8 that made a wimpy 205 horsepower and a more significant 440 lb-ft of torque.

Different body styles of the civilian Hummer/H1 were sold, and this wagon version is the best-looking for those of you who like to drive through brick walls. These are big. They are spacious. They are slow. And they are just so damned cool. Not inexpensive to own or drive, they will continue to turn heads everywhere they go for as long as those of us are still around who remember what big-boy, big-money SUVs looked like before the year 2000 (yeah, this may be an ’04… but this is a 90s truck). Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $90,000.

1950s Leyland Tanker

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1958 Leyland Super Comet Tanker

Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | September 20, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

The Comet was a model of heavy truck produced by Leyland Trucks over a series of generations between 1947 and 2015. That’s quite the nameplate heritage. They were produced in every conceivable truck variant: flatbeds, box trucks, tankers, and more.

The third generation Comet was available between 1958 and 1963. During this run, the Super Comet was introduced, which was of an even heavier-duty variety. This particular truck is finished in a bright yellow National Benzole livery. This very truck was used to produce a toy version, which is kind of cool.

The 6.2-liter diesel inline-six makes 110 horsepower. The truck has been offered by Bonhams before, and it’s now back with an estimate of $13,000-$20,000. That’s a lot of vehicle for the money. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $24,412.

Lil Red Express

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1979 Dodge Lil Red Express

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | July 10-18, 2020

Photo – Mecum

The D-Series Dodge pickup was built in three generations from 1960 through 1980 before being replaced by the Ram (although some Rams still used the “D” nomenclature through the early 1990s). The Lil Red Express was an option package on the D150 Adventurer pickup that was available in 1978 and 1979.

Each Lil Red Express came equipped with dual vertical stack exhaust pipes, wood bed trim, and an 8-track cassette of C.W. McCall’s #1 hit “Convoy.” Okay, I made that last part up, but you can obviously tell this was a pickup for serious over-the-road trucker cosplayers. “Lil Red Express” also doubles as a great name for a ginger rapper (you’re welcome).

This truck is powered by a 360ci/5.9-liter V8 that made 180 horsepower new. Dodge offered a number of special option package (or “lifestyle”) pickups during this era, but this is the most famous. Those exhaust stacks were illegal in some states, so you couldn’t get this truck everywhere. Only 2,188 were built in 1978, and 1979 saw 5,118 takers. Check out more about this truck here, and see more from this sale here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $24,000.

AMC Mighty Mite

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1963 AMC M422A1 Mighty Mite

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Elkhart, Indiana | October 23-24, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

A couple of companies have built Jeeps or Jeep-like vehicles. It started with American Bantam, then there was Willys, Ford, Jeep (of course), and more. American Motors produced the prototype for this tactical truck in 1946, and it was further refined by some of the engineers from the original Bantam Jeep project.

The 1/4-ton “Mighty Mite” was produced for the Marine Corps between 1959 and about 1962. It is powered by a 55 horsepower 1.8-liter V4. It has four-wheel drive and tops out at about 62 mph. This is the “long wheelbase” version, as the M422 variant was six inches shorter.

Just 2,672 examples of the M422A1 were produced. When compared to WWII-era Jeeps, that’s just a tiny, tiny percentage. This well-restored example is going to sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $47,600.

Puch 500 GE

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1993 Puch 500 GE

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | March 26-27, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The civilian version of the Mercedes-Benz Geländeagen was introduced in 1979 and remains in production today looking pretty much the same. Up until 2000, the trucks were sold in Austria (and a few select other European markets) under the Puch brand.

The G-Wagen was updated in 1990, and the first V8-powered variant was introduced in 1993. It was called the 500 GE. Only 446 were produced between 1993 and 1994. Power is from a 5.0-liter V8 good for 237 horsepower. The V8 wouldn’t reappear until 1998. And, of course, MB would drop much larger, more powerful engines in these later on.

Of those 446 500 GEs, only three were Puch-branded, with this being the first. It’s finished in a great color and features a very ostentatious Puch badge on the front grille. Sure, this truck may be a footnote in the world of Mercedes vehicles, but that’s kind of what makes it interesting. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Volkswagen’s WWII Effort

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1944 Volkswagen Type 166 Schwimmagen

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 5, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

The Volkswagen project kicked off in 1937 to build Germany a “people’s car.” Well, that plan sort of got derailed with Germany’s other big passion: taking over the world. So Volkswagen got repurposed to build military vehicles. And they produced three different kinds. Two of them are on offer at this sale.

The Schwimmwagen is the most mass-produced amphibious vehicle in history. In all, 14,265 of them were built between 1942 and 1944. They were used by the Germans throughout the war and could obviously be used on land or water. Power is from a 1.1-liter flat-four good for 25 horsepower. The Schwimmwagen even made an appearance in the Gran Turismo video game series. It was not fast.

The whole military history of this car shouldn’t really deter people from having one. They are probably tons of fun. This one was recently restored and is expected to bring between $100,000-$125,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $145,600.

1944 Volkswagen Type 82 Kubelwagen

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 5, 2020

Photo – Bonhams

We said that Volkswagen produced two other military vehicles for Germany during WWII, aside from the Schwimmwagen. This, the Kubelwagen, was another one (there was also a four-wheel-drive version of the Beetle). This is the one the bad guys always drove in WWII video games.

Produced between 1940 and 1945, the Type 82 is powered by a 25 horsepower, 1.1-liter flat-four. Earlier versions had smaller engines. It was the German version of the Jeep. But, unlike the Jeep, this thing is heavily based on Beetle designs and is rear-wheel drive.

That’s right! This thing will go anywhere with just two driven wheels. Part of the trick is that the car is very light, uses portal axles, and has a relatively smooth underside. They built 50,435 examples, and this one has been restored. It should bring between $30,000-$40,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $58,240.

Fordson E83W

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1951 Fordson E83W Pickup

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | March 4, 2020

Photo – Brightwells

The Fordson tractor brand was manufactured by various entities of the Ford Motor Company between 1917 and 1964. It was under Ford of Britain’s purview for the last few decades, and in that time, they built a 1/2-ton commercial vehicle called the E83W. It was available as a delivery van, a pickup, and other light-duty body styles.

The truck was available from 1938 through 1957 in the U.K. and was also offered under the Thames commercial brand. It retained its pre-war styling and 10 horsepower, 1.2-liter inline-four for the duration of production. Top speed was about 40 mph.

This tiny pickup has been restored and is now offered with a pre-sale estimate of $9,000-$12,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $11,835.