I had come to assume that the somewhat odd grill guard on old Brockways from the 1940s or so were standard equipment, and that they only came that way. But then I stumbled into this handsome beast, and it looks so much like a Mercedes. What a fine grille, and rather a pity to hide it behind a mask, like these three below:
This is what I mean. I had always wondered about that, because grille guards on American trucks back then were not at all common. But almost all of these old Brockways seem to sport them.
Why were they so common, but obviously not an integral part of the grille? No other manufacturer did this. Curious.
Here’s another naked one I found. So much better, and I wouldn’t have recognized it at first glance, other than to note the similarities to a Mercedes from that era.
The juxtaposition of the old tanker rig and the newer “Exxon” regalia is kind of cool.
I can’t speak for the era of this truck, but in modern times, it seems like a localized thing, perhaps having something to do with regional critter populations. It wasn’t until I moved to the West that I saw so many semi tractors with “bull bars”. East of the Mississippi (or maybe the Rockies) I don’t see them very often.
2 of the 3 trucks have signs from Pennsylvania companies, so maybe as Evan Reisner supposes these are protection from deer damage? Another, admittedly remote possibility? These trucks had the same regional distributors who added these grille guards to all the trucks they sold.
I don’t remember seeing a Brockway in decades, even in pictures. Like REO, I assumed they were a fairly small manufacturer.
Distributor or dealer makes sense. Many dealers were small-scale manufacturers who added their special accessories to trucks or cars.
Another idea – maybe an attempt to make them look more modern? Going into the forties’ horizontal grille theme without any panel changes. Though I agree it’s a shame to hide that beautiful grille design, it does say 1935.
I grew up a little north of Cortland, NY, home to Brockway. Many of the trucks in upstate NY and northern PA had grille guards, deer whistles and even extended bumpers. During the fall the area is alive with whitetails, many dead on the road. Often the state troopers would give them to orphanages or nursing homes if they weren’t too run over. They let me keep the one I got outside of Watkins Glen. Didn’t want to be bothered with it. Limits on hunting led to overpopulation, much of western NY is still very rural.
“Ours” in Israel were almost always fitted with the guard but in light of road conditions in the 30s-50s this was a sensible option! Here is one somewhere in the Dead Sea plains, most likely on the way to Eilat on the shores of the Red Sea. Desoto cabs are ex-NY and were used inter-city as an alternative for the bus services.
I am especially interested in the 2 DeSoto limo’s in your photo.
As a teenager, I spent time in Israel in the late 1960’s, and these “sherutim” were the typical multi-passenger taxi, all over the place.
They seemed to have been re-fitted with diesel engines.
I’ve always wondered, what business deal was made, to import all those 1953 DeSoto limousines? Maybe they were left-overs that no one wanted in the US?
Three identical grille guards points at someone out the making them commercially as an accessory for Brockway they look great with or without the guard.
Does anyone know where the green and black 154w brockway sleeper is? I’ve been trying to locate it for a while now.