When it comes to interesting projects, this 1939 Ford has to be up there with the best of them. With Winter fast approaching, it might also be a practical vehicle to get up and running. This 1939 Ford Military Truck, complete with snow blower, is listed for sale here on Craigslist. Located in Swanville, Maine, it is being sold with the title listed as missing. The seller has set a price of $4,500 for this beauty. Barn Finder AMXBrian located this interesting project vehicle, so I have to thank him for that.
Marmon-Herrington is a company that specialized in performing 4-wheel drive conversions to vehicles during the 1930s. Their focus was on commercial and military vehicles, and they were the company who converted this former military Ford. The vehicle itself appears to be quite a solid vehicle with no obvious major rust issues, with only some minor rust visible in the bottom of, and just in front of, the door. We can get glimpses of the frame in the photos, and it all looks pretty good. It would be interesting to know the condition of the floors, as these would be the area that would be most rust-prone when the vehicle is being used for its designed purpose.
The truck is powered by the Ford flat-head V8, and if it is the original engine, then it should be the 221ci unit, as that was the preferred engine fitted to military vehicles by Ford into World War II. The seller states that the engine ran when the vehicle was stored. However, that was more that 15 years ago, so it is an unknown quantity. Likewise, the engine that powers the snow blower last ran at the same time. It is a GM 3-71 diesel unit. This 3-cylinder engine produces 113hp and would have powered the snow blower quite adequately.
This is the business end of the vehicle, and it’s certainly not something that I’d want to tangle with. With those screws and fan being powered by that GM engine, it certainly should be capable of shifting some snow, along with just about anything else that got in its way. These aren’t a particularly complex piece of equipment, so getting this end of the vehicle up and running shouldn’t be a difficult task.
As project vehicles go, this is an interesting one. Quite what you would do with it would be up to you. I think that if it was made to run and operate again, it could certainly shift some snow. Whether it would be capable of keeping pace with modern snow blowers is an open question. However, when restored, it would certainly be an interesting vehicle to display at truck shows.
I believe these snow blowers were made by a company called “Sno-Go” ( duh) and came in a bunch of sizes, this looking like the smaller one. While visiting the Houghton Co. Historical Society, Lake Linden , Mi. one of their displays is a late 40’s Oshkosh with a giant sized blower, ran by a huge 4 cylinder Buda motor on the back, that was HAND CRANKED!! Mighty impressive. Due to global warming( or whatever) it doesn’t snow like it used to, so these are rarely needed anymore. We got 3 inches of snow last winter, locals are baffled.
http://oldcarandtruckpictures.com/Oshkosh/1951-52_Oshkosh_W-700-15_Snowblower-dec7a.jpg
I remember a movie where the villain ended up getting swallowed up by one of those blowers…Ouch !!
“On Her Majesties Secret Service.”
With that jailbar grille that’s a ’46 or ’47.
Nonetheless, we had a nasty ice/snow mess here in New Jersey a while back and the only thing that could function was the local cousin to that omnivore.
When the going gets tough THAT’S the guy you’re going to call.
A pretty crazy vehicle but I’d think you’d want some mad fabrication skills to own it. You’d be making your own parts for that blower assembly especially.
Parts are readily available.
http://wausauequipment.com/parts-service
I think someone in Buffalo N.Y. should snag this!
His or her neighbors would live them!
Just driving it to truck shows would be interesting, could you just imagine the people in front of you when you pull up behind them at a traffic light.
What Jimmie said….hell I want it to scare my on-coming over the line neighbors !
1939? Looks more like a ’42 to me. ’39 would’ve had the old barrel nose. Anyways, I looked at this truck and can’t help but wonder what the truck itself could be used for. Out west you could use the snow blower maybe twice during the winter then the chinooks would take over and keep everything dry.
Good catch, you da’ man,, could it be a post-war? I don’t think they changed much until ’48. Tell you what, my friend, that 3 banger Detroit gives me the heebie-jeebies,,, :0
Actualy I think it’s prewar because the hoods had a Ford script emblem down on the sides at the rear. Postwar they were stamped into the sheet metal; prewar they were pot metal and held in place with screws. Many of the pot metal ones vibrated the screws out and were hopelessly lost. Detroit engine bothering you? Hell, just wear earmuffs. That’s what I used when I had to haul equipment with that old GMC 9500, and happened to have a hangover too. The good ol’ days, when we thought we were indestructible…
Just what Scotty G. needs to get through another Minnesota winter! Could also come in handy where I am in the Northeast (Massachusetts) but I am hoping that we might get an unlikely break this winter?
A 2 stroke GM that hasn’t run for 15 years. Be prepared for it to go into full revs, and not being able to turn off, because it will suck air from every conceivable place, and even with the fuel shut off, it will suck sump oil and disintergrate. Best check the rack and injectors first. Awesome sound from all 2stroke GMs
Yes, Wayne, you know the ‘2-stroke jokes’ for sure. But you gotta admit that they did a lot of work in their day. But they’re also why I’m half deaf today…
I made up some of those jokes, with the help of my truckin’ cronies. Cummins was the most popular motor, no question, but close behind was Detroit. The advantage there, was you could blow up the Detroit in the afternoon, and be at the gravel pile 1st thing in the morning, with a half axxed rebuild. Never cared for them. You had to drive a Detroit like you were mad at it. I did learn recently, the blower is not a supercharger, it’s a blower, and helps blow exhaust gases out of the crankcase, making the engine more efficient (cough)
There was this old German fellow in our neighborhood. During the war he was a mechanic for the Luftwaffe (Long story in itself). He came over and decided to make his fortune in the oil patch and worked almost exclusively on Detroits. He had a lengthy procedure to follow so you were in the proper mood to run a Detroit: began by stubbing your toe, getting out of bed; getting into a fight with the wife; spilling boiling hot coffee down you chest and onto the ‘twins;’ having the dog bite you on the way out; having to boost your batteries, then slamming your finger in the door. Now your’e ready! I asked him if that’s the way the pilots treated their Messerschmidts…
Two strokes don’t have sumps do they?
That’s a good question. 2 stroke diesels do indeed have an oil sump, I should know, I put enough oil in them. Why it doesn’t blow it out the exhaust is a mystery to me.
They are just like any other engine in that respect. From reading some of the posts here, I’m amazed at the ignorance (no insult intended). The Detroit two-stroke engine, from the 51 series (valveless) through the 149 series had an “airbox” that surrounded the cylinders and was pressurized with intake air supplied by the Roots blower. This is the only engine that is considered naturally aspirated having a blower because they won’t run without it. The airbox is fitted with 1/4″ NPT oil drains at each end fitted with 1/4″ tubing referred to as “slobber tubes”, and sometimes these tubes drained into a containment device (optional equipment) that allowed the reclaimed oil and vapor to be disposed of instead of dispersing all over. It’s true of any compression-ignition engine that they will run away even on paint fumes. What would happen to the Detroit’s is that the blower seals would fail on worn engines and allow lube oil to atomize and enter the airbox as a source of fuel and cause a run away, which was easily stopped by the air dam located in the blower housing, which was activated by the overspeed governor.
The ignorance here is, most of these people never dealt with 2 cycle Detroits. They were obsolete by the late 80’s. Btw, ever see one run backwards? I have, we laughed at the smoke pouring out the air cleaner.
Luki, I don’t think I’ve seen a 2-stroke diesel that didn’t have a sump. I’m not sure about some of the gas 2-stroke cars, like the DKW.
I agree with BR. I might add that I’ve had some serious runaways when a turbocharger lets go in a 4-stroke diesel. I even had a Ford with a 6.9 take off from vaporized oil in the pulse valve of the crankcase breather. That thing ran away in the shop when we were checking out an overspeed condition. ZERO visibility, the shop looked like LA on a clear day. I got it shut down safely. The other guys started laughing when the first thing they saw of me emerging from the smoke was my Zippo flaring up to light my cigarette.
Yes Howard. When I was a test driver for PACCAR we were testing brakes on the test track one time, and the 8V-71 350 did in fact run in reverse when the braking action was so violent my foot came off the clutch.
Pictures are 10 years old……..
10 years + 2 months lol. Nice feature, but you have to wonder if it looks the same now as it did in 2008….(?)
Call Mr. Plow,
That’s my name,
That name again,
Is Mr. Plow.
I wonder how the blower section is powered?
Don’t see a driveshaft or a hydraulic unit.
How was the blower assembly raised/lowered?
Pretty cool, though! Coulda used this in 1967 when I lived in Chicago!
The blower was powered by a power take off unit at the rear engine, A driveshaft did transmit power to the front unit. The connection at the front was made so that 3 , 1/2″ soft steel bolts were used as shear pins ! The drivers always carried a coffee can of bolts and nuts with them. My Dad spent many years operating Snogos in Upper Michigan. At times when they would have a break in the weather , they would go to neighborhoods to widen the high snow banks. At times, they would help a home owner by moving snow next to their garage or driveway. He said that once as he was cutting back a bank near a guy’s garage, he picked up a Model A engine block that was hidden under the snow ! It went out the chute, and didn’t snap the shear pins ! Raising and lowering the unit, as well as turning the chute was all hydraulics.
“…. he picked up a Model A engine block that was hidden under the snow ! It went out the chute ……” I call BS on that one!
@Jim Z, I hear you as I grew up in Aurora west of Chicago and was 14 at that time ,I had to shovel 4′ of snow by hand out of our drive way twice. Then there was the winter of 77/78 but I had a big boy 4×4 and lived on my own in a apartment.
Jimmy, I grew up in Brookfield, and was about same age as you during the ’67 blizzard.
By the time the ’77/’78 blizzard came, I was relocated to FL!
(When we were heading south, I GAVE my 8hp John Deere snowblower to next door neighbor!)
Jim Z, I moved to Florida in 1999 but we got hit by a drunk driver the first day we were there at a traffic light in Port Charlotte, that turned the wife off so we moved to Missouri and been here ever since. We are lucky to get 4 inches of snow all winter.
Jimmy, I lived in Englewood (near Pt Charlotte) from 75-90, and now live near Daytona Beach on the other coast. Gonna die here!
This is meant for the comment from BR, who doesn’t believe that a Snogo can toss out a model A block. I’m the 3rd generation in a family of heavy equipment snow removal units, and I’ve seen plenty that you would probably call BS . When I was in the Air Force, they sent me to an air base in Upper Michigan, and because of my background I was the only G I on base allowed to get a license to drive the huge Snogos they had there. Many times I picked up solid pieces of ice as large as a model A block, and sent them out the chute. Now to be clear – I did state it was a model A block – not a complete engine. Have you ever looked at a bare model A block without the head, pistons, crank, oil pan , or any other parts ? It’s not that much to look at. So before you are so quick to write a negative comment, why not question a topic first ? By the way, in towns and villages, the most frequent thing that gets chewed-up and tossed out the chute is neighborhood dogs! It’s just a flash of red snow . For some reason, dogs seem to be drawn to want to run into those spinning augers. You probably don’t believe that either.
Poor dogs…
My Grandfather became an Oshkosh truck dealer in Houghton, MI in 1919, and added the Snogo units in 1928. They were made by the Klauer Mfg. Co. in DuBuque, IA. There is plenty of good history about the company on the internet. Oddly enough, their main business was metal roofing, siding , and gutters ! Anyway, when I was a kid in highschool, I operated a used trade-in unit that was serial # 64.We used in to clear snow at my Grandpa’s airport in Houghton. For many years, Klauer made the entire truck. It had wooden spoke wheels, and brakes on only the rear wheels. It was only 2 wheel drive also. The discharge chute was swung from side to side by a large cast iron wheel , cranked by hand from inside the cab. Raising and lowering the front “box” was done with another crank. I remember that our unit had one gas engine in the rear that drove the truck and powered the blower unit. It was a huge Climax engine, 6 cylinder, with the cylinders cast in 3 pairs. I do remember that at the time of a repair, the mechanic commented that the engine had a 6″ bore and a 7 1/8″ stroke ! But once a person learned how to use it, the thing could move a lot of snow in a hurry.
That’s pretty cool, Ben. Are you familiar with the unit at the Houghton Co. Hist. Society? I’ve seen pictures where they had some mombo snows. So much so, the city streets were impassible with snow. They had to haul it away in dump trucks loaded with these blowers.
I have not seen that one. My Dad drove the Snogo for the Village of Houghton for years. Then, all the parking meters were places right up against the store fronts. Starting at midnight, plows would push snow off the sidewalks onto the street, then keep pushing it until the had a huge wind row in the middle of the main street. My Dad would show up at 3 AM with the Snogo, and start loading dump trucks that the Village hired from local contractors. They would haul the snow to various sites, we called snow dumps. By 8AM, when the local merchants were starting to open up, the street was cleared ! Then my Dad came home, had breakfast, and went to work at my Grandfather’s garage. Interesting note here – as kids, none of us ever got an “allowance”. We always rode our bikes to the snow dumps to pick up change that showed up as snow melted. You see, if a person was “feeding a meter” in the winter, and dropped a dime or quarter, they seldom poked around in the snow looking for it. Those snow dumps didn’t melt away until mid August, so we had a good source of pocket change all summer long !
I happened to see a picture of this Sno Go doing that street cleanup. Here’s the one in Lake Linden. It’s hard to gauge the size, but the tires were as tall as me, and like I say, hand cranked Buda motor on the back. I bet when all the hardware was spinning, this thing shook like a leaf on a tree.
http://www.railroadmichigan.com/lakelinden05.jpg
How is this an ex-military vehicle?
That’s a beast Howard, nice pic.
Interesting old unit I have worked with the OshKosh version of this truck and I have always had a very soft spot for anything OshKosh! The reality of trucks like this is their worth is generally based on the price of scrap steel. I am not just picking on this Ford because OshKosh Sno Go trucks are in the same boat. There was a very nice OshKosh 2206 in another state and the truck had a CAT up front and a V12 CAT to run the blower. The whole unit was very nice and the owner was asking 25k for the truck, I offered 9k and the guy who got the truck paid 10k. It’s sad but even one 10 yes old is an obsolete dinosaur!
Back in the 1990’s when I lived in northern Illinois out in the country the state highway in front of my house would get snow packed every winter, well one time it got so bad people got stranded and we invited them in to get warm and fed them and sleep until the crews got it cleaned up. Well a state plow truck got stuck and a farmer north of me with his 4 wheel drive tractor pulled him out then a state truck showed up with a blower much newer than the one featured and cleared a path so I could use my 4×4 to pull each one of the guests vehicles out so they could finish clearing the highway. That blower threw snow 50 yards out in to the fields, it was a amazing site to see. I refused pay for helping these people but when they left we found a envelope with a couple hundred dollars in it with a note saying we would have froze to death if it wasn’t for your good heart so take the money and take your family out to dinner and a movie. It pays to be a good person even in todays world.
Here’s a close up view of the unit.
Great memory for you and your family ! I’ll bet the Snogo looked something like this when operating. This was taken at Houghton , MI while testing a new unit .
@Ben, yes it looked just like that.
Happy that it added to you memories ! I’ve spent many hours behind the wheel of these. These cabs have a separate heater for the windshield, and a different one for the floor – that’s due to the fact that so much snow is usually blowing around all the time, especially during a really hard snowstorm. Good thing the operator didn’t have to pay the fuel bill !! I actually loved the Snogo duty, because I could open and lay out my lunch bucket on the passengers seat, sit back, and travel along at about 2 MPH and I was nice and warm, comfortable, and no hassles by anyone !
I could have bought one from the city of Fargo for under 4k it was a 48 Oshkosh it had a Cummins to run the truck and a straight 8 CAT to run the blower the only thing that was not functioning was the rear steer, but the front steered fine and both engines ran very well. While I was looking the unit over I noticed that it held about 600 gallons of fuel then I read where they were designed to run a full 10 hour shift before needing MORE fuel! Holy crap I would have to get paid for running this beast, I did not buy the truck!
I have never heard of a straight eight Cat engine. Please enlighten me.
BR it would have been from 48 and it was supposed to be original with the truck was rated at 225 how and it was very long and seemed to burn a whole lot of fuel at 1800 RPM. That’s what I know about it BR