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'59 B-61 Saved From Torch.


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post-61-0-65822900-1301236160_thumb.jpgOne of the first B models I remember from my childhood was this '59 B-61 grain truck owned by a farmer in a neighboring town.When I was old enough to start thinking about getting one of my own,musta been 11 or 12,I asked about buying the truck from him,but he wouldn't sell it yet."Sorry kid,best truck I've ever had,but I'll keep you in mind if I ever do sell it".Every year come harvest I'd see it ,thought I had my chance when he bought a new DM600 in '81,but he never would part with it.He kept using it up until his death,his sons had bought a couple semi's by now,but still used the old B for odd jobs up till about 5 years ago,but they still wouldn't sell it.Unfortunatly it fell victim to the flood of '08,along with alot of their other equipment.A friend of mine rents their farm now,and he called me and said now would be a good time to make another offer as stuff was going to get cleaned up soon.So after 32 years of trying,the old girl is now mine.
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  • 11 months later...

Finally got around to getting this one home today.Only been a year,guess that's not too bad for me.Been waiting on the people thats farming the former owners place to move stuff around and get it moved out to solid ground for me.Could not get the box to come down,both cylinders were stuck tight,so we decided we better flat tow it so we wouldn't take down any overhead wires.I was a little doubtful the Mikey's Dodge would pull it home,especially since only 3 of the rear tires would take air,but we took it slow and everything went smooth.It was kind of a long 12 miles for me steering as you can see the interior was still pretty gross from the flood.post-61-0-98864400-1332736985_thumb.jpgpost-61-0-21692700-1332737042_thumb.jpgpost-61-0-62959900-1332737091_thumb.jpg

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Good looking farm truck! I bought a Ford that was in 12 feet of water in the flood of '93 and when I got it home the transmission was cracked from freezing. Does it have a wood or steel floor?

so far,all I can see that's cracked from freezing is the exhaust manifold.transmission and rears look good.When I drained the cylinders trying to get the box down,no water came out,just oil and it looked decent,not all milky.I'm hoping I can get it unstuck,if not I have other 673's lying around.The box has a wood floor,and its not the best,rest of it is good shape,sides nics and straight,crossmembers good.

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Hey Mike,

Good save and brings your memories back home.

The sheetmetal and fenders in particular look fantastic!

Was the truck a tandem, long wb since day one or was it stretched out at some point?

Jim

This truck is probably the most unmolested B model I have,as far as the body.It has no bondo or any evidence of ever being repaired.It does have rust above the windshield and a little at the bottom back.It was a tractor,stretched and made into a grain truck in the early '60's.I'd estimate it has less than 250k on it.The factory tubeless budd wheels is the most unique feature,budd whels were basically unheard of in these parts,let alone tubeless.

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I liked seeing your tow bar peeking out under the bumper - at least you could stop the thing. I made one out of a tounge from a horse drawn road grader - good to have around for brakeless trucks

That old towbar has drug home alot of trucks over the years.I don't know(or want to find out)how DOT legal that is but it sure has worked for me on these close to home rescues.

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