Today’s obscure dead brand truck comes to us from Chicago, where from sometime in the 1910’s through the last one in 1957 a small “assembler” of available truck components—including cabs—called Available Trucks existed. These were hardly ever seen outside the Chicago region. Dick Copello has a total of eight Availables in his collection, and almost every one has a different cab! Cabs were scrounged from wherever possible, including WW2 surplus trucks as well as truck cab builders, of which there were a number of them.
The source of this cab was not identified. Here’s a couple more.
The comments are now available for you to make your pithy remarks about this company’s rather unusual name.
Availables sound adequate.
“Is that an Available truck?”
“No, it’s mine and I have a job to do.”
“No – I mean, is that truck an Available?”
“I already told you no, it is not?”
“What kind of truck is it?”
“It’s Available”
“So, it is Available?”
“No – for the last time, it is not. It is my truck and it is not available.”
“But you just told me that it is an Available truck!”
“When did I tell you that?”
“When I asked you if your truck is an Available – what kind of truck is your truck?”
“It’s Available”
“That’s what I thought you said before. Your truck is Available!”
“And that is where you are wrong! – It is my truck and it isn’t available to you or anyone else!”
“Ok – OK – If I wanted an Available truck, where do I go to get one?”
“You’ll need to go to where they have an Available”
“Is that where you bought your truck?”
“No – when I went to buy it, I found out that the truck they sold me wasn’t Available”
“So, what did you get instead?”
“I got the first Available”
“So – your truck is an Available?”
“Not today.”
. . . Third base!
I donno.
Abbottttttttt!
Sort of like the “White” branded trucks, towing “Yellow Freight”, that are painted orange in color.
Funny, I never thought about what an Available was, but for YEARS it was near the top of the list when scrolling the index of a parts catalog. LOL
From about the 1950s to the mid-1970s, we had a guy here in Tucson who was a pipe organ builder. In fact, he was often an assembler, recycling pipes, windchests, blowers, and sometimes consoles from organs from all over the place. He could greatly undercut established, big-name builders in price, but the results weren’t always the best. Sometimes, if he had a bigger budget, he could show what he actually could do; the organs could come out sounding pretty good and work reliably. And it was a way for our city to have some pipe organs rather than electronic imitations. In the years since, we have had some very fine instruments put in by big-name builders. (Full disclosure: we have in our house one of the assembler’s organs, a little instrument he put together in the mid-1960s for a small Episcopal church. When the church closed in early 2002, we were in just the right place at the right time to acquire the organ. It’s a bit cranky and quirky, but it has personality, and I like practicing at home.)
David in Tucson,
Just last night, after watching a video on YouTube for the Wintergatan marble machine, the next video to come up was a full tour of Chicago’s 3rd Presbyterian church’s incredible organ, where they went from the basement blower system, all the way up to the top of some 32′ pipes. They also explained all the operating systems. You might want to watch it.
I have never heard of this marque. I like the creativeness, all different cabs scrounged. Does anyone have info on the drivelines? Diesels, Gas, transmissions, axles?
“I’m on my way to Skokie today.”
“Take a spare axle, the IH dealer down there doesn’t know about my trucks.”
Does anyone have info on the drivelines? Diesels, Gas, transmissions, axles?
Whatever was available.
What could possibly lurk under the hood of the one in the first shot, an inline 16?
A big six, undoubtedly. Just about all truck engines were sixes during this period, with a few exceptions (Ford being the main one).
Now they’re NLA
Scrounged and surplus parts can sometimes work well together. Allard, another A-word, did it successfully.
Same with the Powell Brothers in So California, with their pickups and station wagons.
Yes. I equate what the Powell Brothers were doing with Available’s business model.
Also let’s not forget the long history of assembled automobiles. One of the more well known companies was Moon.
A “No Lot Lizards” sticker in the window of an Available sends a conflicting message.
Also:
“Available”
“No Riders”
“Act Now. Supplies limited. Price guaranteed only where Available.”
Okay, fellas and ladies, if you are reading this. Paul whetted my appetite. One by one I am attaching files of Available trucks that I found on http://www.justoldtrucks.com. I cannot add more than one each time.
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
and finally, #8
From a Oklahoma newspaper in 1957.
I guess there is always more to the story…. From 1955:
This building at 2501 N. Elston in Chicago appears to have been the Available plant (advertising lists their address as 2501 Elston Avenue). The building was demolished in 2013-14 and is now the site of a Ford dealership.
I found something on Flickr.
This was a very wellknown producer, and they tailor-made nearly every kind of truck. I think it is incredible that they have no Wikipedia entry yet. Please see here:
https://www.flickriver.com/photos/14024074@N05/sets/72157625824713176/
That’s even more obscure than Hendrickson, who mostly used IH cabs with propietary parts along with their own rear suspension.
Component built vehicles can actually be easier to restore and maintain, as long as you know what the components are. In the case of US built heavy truck, te only truly unique parts may be the nameplates and trim. Engines, transmissions, axles, suspension, cab, seats, electrics are all off the shelf parts often shared by multiple brands and sometimes still made.
The first photo of the big stake truck and the third photo of the dump truck look like they have late 40s-early 50s Sterling cabs and fenders with Corbitt noses.
The Smith Cartage snub-nose looks like a Federal 94×43 or less likely an Autocar U7144.
Paul, I really like these old truck features. Keep them coming.
https://www.artpal.com/rwjenkins63?i=1388-213
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-1940s-Antique-Vintage-Sterling-Trucks-/264066787480
http://ftp.olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_federal_94x43.php
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carhaul/5235419253
Available only gets one image of a ’46 COE in the miscellaneous section (page 393) in the back of my American Truck & Bus Spotters Guide. The line-drawn image looks close to the Farquhar Trucking tractor in Paul’s 4th image. Caption says “Graham-Doane similar.” Graham-Doane only gets one even smaller photo and no text. Obviously obscure. Almost every other weird old truck Paul has found has a larger article with multiple pics and usually multiple pages.
On second thought, although the leading edge of the fenders looks right, the big pontoon at the rear probably means they aren’t Sterling fenders. They look very familiar though.
No need to make a pithy remark about the companies unusual name. Farquhar has plenty of pith all by itself.
Are there any survivors? Production must have been pretty low, and I would guess most of the trucks were used up and gone by the time anyone might have thought of saving one.
Component trucks arent quite dead yet CAT was another several series of them we have 3 MK1s on our fleet Navistar cab and chassis unique tilt front CAT C15 engines road ranger box hendrickson rear suspension, nit bad to drive either just too small in the cab.