When the New York skyline was reaching every closer to the clouds during the 1970s, there was a constant and insatiable need in the city. Steel. The metal that enabled structures that the world would later see as iconic had to get to the city somehow and when the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were being built, a few special trucks carried more of it than others. One of those was a 1969 Brockway U459 cab over and that truck is the subject of this video. Called “The Beast” because of the fact it was powered by a massive 12V71 turbocharged Detroit Diesel, this truck is as bad ass as they come.
One of the most interesting things about the truck business, even to this day, is that they’re kind of coach built. Much in the way old-timey cars were built, trucks kind of followed the same bath, especially in 1969. Customers had a massive range of options for the cab, the chassis, the suspension, the engine the transmission, etc. These things were built to the specific needs of the buyer and if you don’t believe us, just look at the calliope stack exhaust on this rig.
Because the truck was to be spending so much time in the city, the four mufflers were an apparent attempt to quiet the thing down. As you will see and hear in this video, it still barks and roars as a proper Detroit Diesel is want to do. We get to see the truck outside and then take a ride in the cab.
To say that this thing has some guts Nisan understatement. The acceleration is effortless and the sounds are freaking amazing. The guy who drove this thing in the day must have felt like the king of the world.
Detroit’s have a very unique sound. After you have driven them, worked on them, loved and cussed at them, you do not even need to see it to tell it is a De Troit! The sound alone takes me back many years,
The V12 in this truck isn’t turbocharged.
They all have blowers, but could be fitted with turbos too
To this day, trucks are still custom built to the owners specifications. While the trucks on the outside look identical, they can do very different.
I had a 71 k125 for many years,smooth running engine, fired every 30 degrees
Look up truck in the dictionary and you will see brockway, auto car, white, diamond reo, mack and some I can’t remember. These trucks were built to Work.
Where is the truck located i worked for aj ross in the body shop i painted it years ago holy cow i been searching for it