1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

[Jeff Lakaszcyck]

This past July I bought the Federal C2 wrecker at the Jeff Chester auction in Ohio. and it was delivered a few weeks ago. The truck is a great old survivor. It was bought by a house moving company in New Jersey after the war, and was kept inside while they had it. It was saved from a scrap yard by a man in New Jersey around 2007-2008, and was driven home. Jeff Chester bought it in 2009 with thoughts of building a World War Two museum, but those plans didn't pan out and most of Jeff's stuff was sold at auction in July. The truck is very well preserved, and the sheet metal is pretty straight with very little rust. The cab is wood frame, and although the wood is old and weathered, it is not rotten and fairly solid for now. The driver's door is the worst part of the cab, it is separating and is difficult to open and close, but is not falling off yet like many others. Unfortunately the years of being stored outside have locked the engine; water has accumulated around the spark plugs, and two have rusted off and let water into those cylinders. I'm working on getting the heads off and assessing the damage. But despite the engine woes I am pretty happy with the truck. Restoration is not going to happen for a few years, I have some other projects to do first, so for now I would like to get the truck running and operating. A crane truck would be pretty handy to have around the shop !

 

[fsearls92]

That sure is a cool old truck! I hope you are able to bring it back to its former glory!

 

[NDT]

When you are ready for the matching trailer for that truck, PM me, have two C-2s.

 

[Jeff Lakaszcyck]

I'll have to get a 5th wheel first LOL ! Do you have the 25 or 40 footers ?

 

[NDT]

25 footers. Ex-NASA. I have some M series fifth wheels I can throw in.

 

[zebedee]

Nice truck Jeff! Need help getting that block un-stuck!!! (aka Sterling!!)

Howard

 

[Jericho]

Fantastic find! Glad your thinking preservation, Too many cut up trucks these days , Best of luck !

 

[Robo McDuff]

Why you can never find those things in Europe, dang.

 

[bigmike]

Nice truck. It'll be a great project.

 

[tankdriver]

Thanks, another old Vet saved......

 

[Jeff Lakaszcyck]

25 footers. Ex-NASA. I have some M series fifth wheels I can throw in.

Ex NASA, that's pretty cool. I work at the Kennedy Space Center. Did they come from Houston ? No funds right now but I may be interested later.

You can probably tell from my garage that I used to work Space Shuttle.

 

[Jeff Lakaszcyck]

Nice truck Jeff! Need help getting that block un-stuck!!! (aka Sterling!!)

Howard

Howard, I may have to have you and Chris come over for an un-sticking party ! You won't have to lie in the dirt though so it won't be as much fun as Chris's Sterling LOL.

 

[Jeff Lakaszcyck]

Why you can never find those things in Europe, dang.

It's funny, I think there are more of these restored in Europe than here in the U.S. I can think of maybe 4 to 6 restored C2's overseas, perhaps 1 or 2 here. But it seems like there are more unrestored C2's here in the U.S.

 

[NDT]

Ex NASA, that's pretty cool. I work at the Kennedy Space Center. Did they come from Houston ? No funds right now but I may be interested later.

You can probably tell from my garage that I used to work Space Shuttle.

View attachment 642027

Yes, both came from NASA Johnson Space Center. I believe they came here from New Mexico from the NACA days. They were used extensively to move test articles right up through the early Space Station days.

So glad to see you have a shop building for that wrecker. As you have seen, they do not do well in the rain.

 

[chevy43]

I have a spare HXD if you end up finding out that yours isn't fixable.

 

[Jeff Lakaszcyck]

Thanks, I will keep that in mind if I can't fix this one. What kind of shape is yours in ?

 

[Jeff Lakaszcyck]

I had the C2 out of the garage for a little sunshine this weekend. Pay no attention to all the engine parts piled on the rear.

 

[Another Ahab]

She's a real beauty.

 

[Tracer]

Federal 606 C2, one of my favorite WW2 trucks, along with the Mack NO.

 

[Robo McDuff]

It's funny, I think there are more of these restored in Europe than here in the U.S. I can think of maybe 4 to 6 restored C2's overseas, perhaps 1 or 2 here. But it seems like there are more unrestored C2's here in the U.S.

That's what I mean, I need an unrestored one. First, restoring is fun, second, I never would ahve the funds for a restored one, and just buying a completely ready restored truck somehow takes away the magic.