We’ve been harping on the race car stuff with the last couple of Parting Shift blog items so I wanted to go back to my truckin’ roots here. This video is pure perfection because we not only have the multiple stick shifts that the driver is operating but we also have the fact that the engine these transmissions are hooked to happens to be a 4-53T Detroit Diesel, the screamin-est of them all! The truck is an old 1948 Diamond T and the driver knows how to hustle these two gear levers because he’s working for a living in this cab for sure.
The little four cylinder engine sounds awesome as the guy takes this truck ripping down the road. Eagle eyed viewers will note the fact that the speedo doesn’t move out of view but judging by the amount of shifting and work this driver is putting in, the truck is certainly going the speed limit if not more. We wish we could see the outside of the truck because the dash has all kinds of awesome character to it. Something tells us that the rest of the truck is about as interesting as the dash! Hey, this isn’t a beauty contest, kids. The switch you see the driver throwing on and off is the Jake brake and you can really hear this old Diamond T make noise when he is out of the throttle and the Jake brake is turned on. The neighbors must love him. One last note. You can see the tach. Don’t be fooled by the sounds of the two stroke engine as it does not see more than 2,500 RPM at any point!
The buzzing four banger Detroit sounds great, the driver is primed up to jam gears, and all you have to do is crank the speakers and press play!
Hi,
very nice video. Thanks a lot for sharing this with us. i agree with you that this video is pure perfection.
Good Work!
Wow!
That Detroit Diesel sounds like a superbike engine!
At least the driver is changing gear with one hand on the wheel!
When I did a lot of hitch hiking in the early 70s I once got a lift in an ancient Leyland truck. The gear change was so bad the driver regularly took both hands of the steering wheel to make a shift. This was on the motor way at night with headlamps like two candles and in the middle of a torrential downpour.
Was I glad to be out of that cab!
I wish I had video of the time our 8V92 Silver ran away in the parking lot. Talk about exciting, that’s a howling sound I’ll never forget!
If you go to @glentuckytrucking, you can see the outside of this truck…pretty awesome! He’s got some other cool toys too!
Started out on ’62 B Model Mack with 5X3. I was in HEAVEN. That didn’t last long, though, not driving in town all day with a dump box on it.
aaaaaand 50 mph
What a great sound. I have no earthy idea of how the driver keeps up with what gear he is in. Props on the skills.
More than once I would have sworn a high winding small block was taking off from the stop light and jamming gears….. only to see an old Studebaker Diesel beer truck creeping down the street.
Had the pleasure of riding shotgun in an old International with an 8-71 Detroit up through a gorge with a load behind her (1924 Linn tractor on a Lycoming single-axle trailer). I was deaf after all was said and done, but damn, what a sound. And that truck, with an unloaded trailer behind it, got 15mpg, which isn’t too shabby
heres the link to the truck in the video.
https://instagram.com/p/wDP59NHZ32/?taken-by=glentuckytrucking
Sorry for being a Noob, but does anyone know what trans/xfer case this is or where I can find the shift patterns here so I can tell what I’m looking at???
the left side stick is a 4 speed spicer trans. the right hand is a 3sp brownlite (brownie) aux trans behind the spicer connected by a very short drive shaft. all big trucks used to be this way.
the rear trans simply provides3 times the number of gears. the sweet spot for torque is only 4-500rpms. pulling a full load the gear is selected that keeps the rpms at peak torque while under load. flat road or downhill rpms are dropped down.
the guy in vid does ok as an amateur but he needs a lot of practice.
the old 2 cycle detroit desels were a nasty lot and the little 4-53 the real slug but ok for garbage trucks and small dump trucks.
I learned to drive in 1961 in a KW with a 300hp Cummins and a set of sticks.