1940 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

[Triple C]

Beautiful truck, thanks for keeping it from the scrap yard. I love those old body styles and that trucks is a beast, who cares about practical, make a daily driver out of it and have fun

 

[73m819]

Years ago I had a 3 axle, LWB 1948 Mack tractor that was my daily driver for 9 monthe, was starting to build my 31 3 axle Autocar as a daily driver.

 

[Goncalo Mendes]

Congratulations and thanks for saving this truck!
About the crane, its a 10 Ton Garwood Lifitng System with a 180 degree field of operation.
This system was installed on a variety of chassis for used by the US Navy and Us Air Corps, including the Sterling DDS 235, HC 530, M1 A1s and Autocar U-7144t.
The Reo/Federal 605 F1 tractor had a 193'9/16 inch wheelbase, the 606 wrecker version wheelbase being 189'1/2 inch (5 inch difference, not 5 foot lol!). Unless you could find a already parted out crane (no truck attached ), the cosmetic conversion to a tractor seems to be a nice choice.
More photos would be great!

By the way, could you mesure the width of the cab (at the rear).

Thanks!

G_Mendes

 

[sbshafer2]

I am from Indiana, sorry haven't gotten to filling everything out yet. I sadly don't really have the means or resources to transport something so big so far. I love this truck and it very well may be something I keep my whole life. I have a few toys none of them practical but I can't think of any reasons to get rid of them and not being practical definitely isn't good enough lol. Thank you all for the support! And thank you Goncalo for the great information. I have found very little. Is there anywhere that has blueprints to these lifting systems? Lol I meant five inches! I don't know what I was thinking! The first thing my dad did when I got it home was measure the cab because he couldn't believe how wide it was. If I remember right he said it was 6' 8" wide.

 

[91W350]

Thanks for saving the truck and I totally understand your passion for the thing. When I saw photos of the Federal here in Kansas, I wanted to go drag it home. I still may have to do that, what a killer looking truck!

 

[Goncalo Mendes]

Hi,

Glad to help/share information! After all, its the reason why this space exists!

Thanks for the mesurement. I intend to build a model, and all the info is welcome! Photos of the bed chassis, cab rear, transmission, axles, good side/front/rear views, etc etc etc.

Not sure about this, but it sems to be what you are looking for, however the boom was cutt ... Maybe you could scratch one??

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sellers_choice/6314900173/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sellers_choice/6314896159/in/photostream/

For more details about the Federal C2 Wrecker, check this page, and contact them. They should be able to help/guide you... (I forgot to post it in my previous post, sorry!)

http://www.twinbeech.com/federalc2wrecker.htm

Cheers,

G_Mendes

 

[sbshafer2]

Wow! Great pictures! Thanks! If you are planning a model I can take lots of pictures. I have an extra transmission and transfer case for full detail. Most of the truck is complete. I'm not sure if it has the original mirror or not and it's missing the black out drive lights as well as some brush guards I believe but I can't say for sure because I have found no pictures of a 1940 and it seems the models changed in small ways through the years.

 

[sbshafer2]

Today's Project: Fix my Aviation Inertia Starter! Wish me luck! Still have the original hand crank for starters!

 

[tamangel]

would this be the same wrecker rear body? from this museum: http://www.mvtf.org/

Mike W

*******

 

[tamangel]

XXXXX attempting to delete this post.. hmmm..just read that you can't anymore..sorry guys..MODS feel free to delete this with your supreme power..

 

[sbshafer2]

Ahhh from the pictures I've seen I I am going to say no. Definitely a lot of similarities but one of the things I noticed first are the supports that go over the spare wheels extend up past the rest of the wrecker frame whilst the Federals supports run up leaving the top of the wrecker frame flat. Also seems that the crane rail is much wider than the Federal's but I could be wrong. That looks like a **** of a heavy Sterling though with the big front winch and flatbed under the lifting system. I like it! Great pictures!

 

[tamangel]

I'm sure those folks at the museum (or some local SS member) could get you any measurements you needed for a donation to the cause..great place to visit....

Mike W

*****

 

[zout]

I know nothing about them either - but I went looking:
http://www.twinbeech.com/c2survivors.htm

 

[clinto]

I know nothing about them either - but I went looking:
http://www.twinbeech.com/c2survivors.htm

Nice find Z!

 

[m26a1tom]

The yellow truck pictured is a Sterling HCS 330. Although similar in appearance to the C2 wrecking gear used on the smaller Sterlings and Federal 606 trucks, the boom on the 330 is nearly twice the size and considerably heavier.

 

[m26a1tom]

On a side note, would any of you gentlemen happen to know if the internal components of the rear axles on a Federal 606 will interchange with those on a 604? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NDT]

Most of these trucks use the Timken SD 353 axles.

 

[Jeff Lakaszcyck]

What a great find your C-2 is. It looks to be in really good condition, and it is amazing that you could drive it home. How is the wood in the cab ? Usually that is the first thing to go. If the wood is in good condition you are already way ahead of the game. Don't give up on finding the correct wrecking equipment, while these trucks are scarce they are still out there with the booms intact but they often have junk cabs due to the bad wood, so you might luck out and find a parts truck in your area. The Twinbeech site that has been linked probably has the best photos and info on these trucks. You might also check out the G503 at http://g503.com/forums/index.php , there are many knowledgable folks there about the big WW2 trucks in the 2-1/2 ton+ section. IIRC there was a man on the G503 who was selling a C2 wrecker boom last year, he may still have it. He is in Massachusetts.

Your truck is actually newer than 1940, most likely a '42-45. The early Federal 606's had a different grille and brushguard. The eggcrate grille like yours didn't come along until '42 or so. Biederman and Corbitt also built C-2 wreckers.

Attached are a couple photos of a C-2 in a museum in Europe, and a survivor in New York. You can get a good look at the wrecker equipment.

 

[Goncalo Mendes]

would this be the same wrecker rear body? from this museum: http://www.mvtf.org/

Mike W

*******View attachment 426387 View attachment 426388 View attachment 426389 View attachment 426390 View attachment 426391 View attachment 426392 View attachment 426393 View attachment 426395

Wow!
Great photos! Never seen them before! Thanks!

G_Mendes

 

[sbshafer2]

The TwinBeech site does have lot's of information and lot's of pictures in one spot instead of scattered around the internet. I haven't gotten around to contacting them for more information yet but I will get there. The cab isn't in horrible condition. There is a good bit of wood that needs replaced but I was planning on going through and replacing it all anyway. The driver's door is currently taken off because of the poor wood holding it together.

I hate to disagree since I am the one after information. I still have the original title from 1953 when it was released from duty to Matt's Garage. I would imagine that the information is correct unless they made a mistake so long ago. I also have an updated title stating that it is a 1940 with 6500 actual miles. Also the more pictures I look through the more small differences I notice. The trim seems to be slightly different than most models I see on the hood and around the cab. The windshield wipers also appear to be different but there's no telling how original they are. I also notice that the rear fenders are different and may be incomplete. The fire extinguisher mounts are also shorter and more narrow than many of the ones I see in other pictures and I notice that the front end housing is quite a bit different too with the filler plug coming away from the housing so that it comes out and fills horizontally. I'll do some digging and see if I can't find a date tag somewhere on it.