Ah, there is nothing quite as much fun as the state fair. Not only can one find nearly any supposedly unhealthy food pickled and/or deep-fried, there are often a goodly number of automotive finds to satisfy one’s ongoing four-wheeled (or more) hunger.
One of the many displays was this Ford Crown Victoria show car. Don’t believe it’s a show car? I saw it set on fire twice. As part of a demonstration of how to extinguish a car fire, this Panther still looks great for being used as a fire-pit in its retirement. How many other cars with a propane tank attached to them can still look so good after countless barbecues? That is a testament to the all around versatility of a Crown Vic, a car that scoffs at what some people would call punishment.
On the other end of the retirement spectrum was this 1962 Mack truck, a heavy hauler that no longer has to earn its living. This truck has been a staple at the fair for at least the past three years.
Incidentally, some of these pictures have been collected over the past three years; however, like me they are there every year.
Another heavy hauler was this 1967 International D-2000. It is still having to work a bit in retirement, as it appears to have pulled something to the fair. That was a cake walk for this old girl.
It had not towed this International flatbed as it was on a different trailer.
Nor had it pulled this Mack. This 1959 Mack is still hooked to a trailer, doing a good job.
Give that dog a bone for his hard work.
Don’t like such full-figured trucks? Do you prefer something a bit more maneuverable? If so, here is a 1965 International C-900 pickup. Paul covered one of these caught in the wild here.
If you are fond of small vehicles, but don’t need a truck, here’s a smart little number for you. Who says all new cars are painted in dull colors? Sadly, this does give credibility to the terrible, age old euphemism of small cars not being much bigger than a golf cart, as evidenced by the Club Car parked next to the General Whee.
Being in the Midwest, where kangaroos are considered exotic (I bet their steaks taste great when deep-fried on a stick),
And nobody gets terribly irate about tractors that cost well over a quarter-million dollars,
we definitely have a love affair with our 3/4 ton pickups. This one is a fancier version, but the Dig Rite folks need to be comfortable to pull their trailer.
There are some of us who could survive just dandily with the base model version.
Is it me or have poverty cap wheel covers been replaced with poverty spec, black plastic grilles?
Yet there are times when a 3/4 ton pickup isn’t quite enough. Hauling livestock will quickly generate a heavy load and if you have a family, it is more efficient to take one vehicle instead of multiple. If that is the case, let me show you this nice F-350. It even has a moonroof!
While it costs more than what I paid for my first house, this pickup isn’t completely loaded as I could not find the optional heated and thermostatically controlled posterior cleanser on the window sticker.
For the skinflints, there is still the poverty-spec version of the F-350. A single rear wheel version, it’s a relative bargain at only $50,000.
Yes, going to the state fair provides great variety. Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge Ram – it’s all there!
The fair is about more than just screaming deals on new rides. It is a celebration of history, as evidenced by this Dodge one-ton owned by the Ralls County Electric Cooperative. With this truck being 150 miles from home, I would imagine it was hauled here.
About two years ago, I saw this truck parked on the lawn in front of the electric cooperative and snagged a full set of pictures. Despite its age, it is still getting around.
Another old Dodge on display was this one, owned by the Cuivre River Electric Cooperative. Both of these trucks come and go all day from the Missouri Electric Cooperative building on the fairgrounds, so both are highly mobile.
This 1949 Willys Jeep is too good to not mention.
Before we bring the fair to a close for another year, the Department of Conservation had this Chevrolet panel truck on display. Sadly, there was no relevant information to go along with it.
I hope you enjoyed this little slice of Midwestern Americana. There is even a bit more state fair related reading to enjoy:
Mmmmm! Deep-fried Panther!
Love the old trucks…
You just gave me an idea. Combine the kangaroo exhibit with the car fire safety exhibit.
You just topped me. 🙂 Wow, combine animals, fire, cars and food, and you will have pretty much combined the entire fair into a single exhibit.
A lot of folks might be upset by a burning roo. Maybe they could substitute a police package Falcon or Commodore for the P71.
Better yet, that most quintessentially Australian of police vehicles, the divvy van….
I had wondered about the kangaroo consumption but only used I after recently seeing a Travel Channel show detailing kangaroo tail soup. Thus I speculated it wasn’t an endangered species.
It’s quite gamey, but works very well with a beetroot jus. Just need to find someone who can prepare it well; it can be tough to chew.
68 Merc Police car for me.
Speaking of “burning roo”, I should mention that a firefighter who our daughter dated for a while gave us a good piece of advice: Never pet a burning dog.
An enjoyable trip to the fair. I missed the Indiana State Fair again, despite living about 10 minutes from the state fairgrounds. There are always some interesting truck, tractor and machinery displays, both modern and obsolete.
Sorry, but the deep fried kangaroo steak on a stick doesn’t do it for me. Maybe if they incorporated a Twinkie or a donut into the recipe. For we simple Hoosiers, a big old grilled ear of sweet corn dipped in a vat of butter takes care of us just fine.
As for the Crown Vic, I have always said that these featured a great combustion chamber design.
> As for the Crown Vic, I have always said that these featured a great combustion chamber design.
That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard/read today. 🙂
Perhaps they could try a roo version of what has in just a few years become a beloved State Fair tradition here in Illinois – the meat parfait.
Behold! Brisket and/or pulled pork, bbq sauce and garlic mashed potatoes topped with a cherry tomato. Good stuff!
Love the truck selection, especially the vintage heavy trucks. And is it me, or does that C-900 look like it has a peculiarly short bed?
I need to get to the VA state fair. Lived here almost two years now and I haven’t been, whereas I always looked forward to going to the North Carolina state fair when I lived there. Think it’s something of a bigger deal in NC though?
One of my favorite parts was the vintage tractor exhibit. I’ve never even driven a tractor, but I find them to be fascinating machines, and they always had a big tent full of them.
Yep–the smaller-than-half-ton C-900 had the 6-foot “Standard” (IH’s oh-so-imaginative name for what Ford called Flareside and Chevy called Stepside) bed taken from the Travelette crew cabs. A normal short bed for an IH was 7 feet, six inches (wow) longer than the Big Three but the same as Jeep’s short bed.
So to see this one with junior West Coast mirrors and clearance lights is a bit of a sight. Regular cab and a bed smaller than 6.5 feet? In 1963? It’s an American compact pickup 20 years before its time!
Thanks Jason for sharing. I’ve loved Macks going back to a toddler: butch and beautiful.
My lotto garage has a Mack based RV, accompanied by a original one for Sunday drives. There also would be broughams, exotics, and 90’s Japanese cars, too. I have a problem that I like everything. I’d need the lotto for some of those new rigs, 66k…that’s almost a Lexus LS 460!
I scanned the pictures before reading; with those kangaroos I thought Kiwi Bruce may have produced this for a second, and Mack’s existed in that parallel universe .Loved those corn binders, Willy’s &co.,too.
It’s been years since I’ve attended the “Great Minnesota Get-Together.” In fact, I don’t think I’ve been up there since my final year of 4-H. I can’t say there’s ever been much in the way of Curbside Classics, but thanks to a few dedicated 4-H’ers, vintage farm equipment lives on in restored glory.
The original Machinery Hill is, to my father’s chagrin, long gone, but one section of street is reserved for a couple of ageless iron pieces to putter away for the amusement of city slickers.
But it’s alright, because even though we don’t have Machinery Hill, we’ve got shows like the Half-Century of Progress.
Wow, a Kangaroo!! Looks a bit sad, but perhaps that is how they all look. Neat trucks too and I need to go to Oregon’s State Fair.
It’s sad because all the people are talking funny, and it can’t work out what they’re saying! 😉
Seriously, that’s a pretty normal looking young roo. You’d need a permit to keep one, but they can be quite friendly. Here they sometimes have to be culled because they’re in plague proportions. As food, you’d grill or BBQ it, not fry. And, as Don said, they’re a bit gamey, but the meat is lovely. It’s high-end restaurant stuff in the cities here. Either that or pet food. 🙁
Wow! Willys, Orange Dodge, ’46 panel and the C-900 are a 4 way of hot business!
The Willys is an interesting find. These were never common in ‘flyover country’, and the tinworm got most of them there and the northeast long ago. Here out west, its another story–these can be found in decent numbers. This one is special (for me, anyway) since it has the heavily CJ-inspired clean grille instead of the Jeepster-looking V-d out and cross-chromed version on later Willys trucks and wagons. This is more in line with these trucks’ indestructible ruggedness, as opposed to the bling.
Roo aint a bad feed if its done right, Have to like the old B61 Macks not many left alive now, but its a tossup between the cornbinder, the lendlease Dodge/Fargo and the Chevy van in the lighter stuff, nice spread off trucks though.
Nice article , it brings back fond memories .
Love that ‘Binder shortie stepper .
-Nate
The cabs on the older heavy trucks (like the red Mack) seem awfully small. Were these exclusively short-haul/construction trucks? What trailers did they usually pull? I can’t imagine being in one for the usual multi-day run of big rigs!
These were used in all manner of use, from construction/short haul to long haul. The Mack M was used extensively in long haul use, often with a sleeper cab attached to the rear as in the photo.
Most big trucks in the prewar and immediate post-war era used cabs that were shared with pickups, and pickup cabs were decidedly small compared to more modern ones. Yes, these old trucks were brutal, and the drivers were punished with noise, heat, rough ride, etc. The good old days…
Driver comfort was an alien concept, which started to creep into trucks in the mid-late 60s, albeit very slowly. I remember riding in big trucks as a hitchhiker; no wonder I have tinnitus now 🙂
Things started to get better in the later 70s and into the 80s. Air conditioning! Power steering! Sound deadening! Large glass areas! Big sleepers! Decent upholstery! All unknown in the older era.
Okay, so the sleeper cab was an option—it seems to be a distinct cab model as opposed to a sleeper add-on to the small cab in the earlier truck. Did it have to be ordered specially? Were drivers ever forced to do long distance runs with the smaller “regular” cab?
Long-haul trucks in India are usually of the integrated cab+bed type, and generally have wooden cabs and beds. Also, a great number of them are COE type, with creature comforts as befit the underlings of a third-world society. The public here generally shares Mr. Clarkson’s opinion of truck drivers, unfortunately.