Bill Elliott transporter questions

[Sam I Am]

A couple of questions regarding the Bill Elliott transporter.

1) what tractor towed the trailer? I googled the race team/transporter/ tractor and really could not tell exactly what it was....other than a Ford I presume. 

2) is there room in the transporter for two cars, stacked I would presume...

You notice I do not say "assume"....

 

Thanks!

Edited March 14, 2019 by Sam I Am

[Force]

The teams Bill Elliott raced for used several tractors and trailers so it depends on team and year, Ford, Freightliner, Peterbilt and Kenworth are some of the tractors I have seen used for Elliott's haulers.
The trailers they have used in racing the last 25 years has two stories,  the rear door is a lift gate so the cars are on the upper floor and you can have two cars there, the bottom floor is the "shop" where they have all parts and tools, work benches, storage cabinets and such, and in front goose neck of the trailer there is a lounge or office.
Most racing teams use Featherlite trailers specially built for racing, but there are other manufacturers out there.

The old AMT racing transporter model from 1990 is not really correct for time period, it's the old Trailmobile moving van with some new parts to make it to a race car transporter and only holds one car, back in the late 70's when racing teams started to use 18 wheel haulers they often used moving vans but by late 80's and early 90's the purpose built racing transporter trailers was widely in use and they are very sophisticated today.
The tractor AMT had in mind to haul their racing transporters was the Kenworth T600A Canepa but you can use whatever tractor you want.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Force

[Dave Van]

Elliott....btw

[DrKerry]

Looks to be Ford

 

This looks like a Ford Aeromax but not sure...

 

Ford here, LT series??

 

 

[Sam I Am]

3 hours ago, Dave Van said:

Elliott....btw

Auto fill and in a hurry are not a good combination.  Thanks for catching that.  

Kerry, I am glad to see the Aeromax since I have one in the stash. 

Even with the discrepancies in design with the AMT trailer, I am sure I will be pleased with the  overall effect.

Thanks everyone! 

[DrKerry]

1 hour ago, Sam I Am said:

Auto fill and in a hurry are not a good combination.  Thanks for catching that.  

Kerry, I am glad to see the Aeromax since I have one in the stash. 

Even with the discrepancies in design with the AMT trailer, I am sure I will be pleased with the  overall effect.

Thanks everyone! 

Welcome Sam, can't wait to see whatcha build!!!! I've got the Coors racing trailer and a Canepa KW at home that I've been thinking of doing a salt flat race team with,, Not sure on the idea as of yet though....

[Dave Van]

3 hours ago, Sam I Am said:

Auto fill and in a hurry are not a good combination.  Thanks for catching that.  

Kerry, I am glad to see the Aeromax since I have one in the stash. 

Even with the discrepancies in design with the AMT trailer, I am sure I will be pleased with the  overall effect.

Thanks everyone! 

I WAS a HUGE Elliott fan back in the day. I met him when hr was driving the powder blue Torino at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A new guy driving a Ford was rare so I had to go talk to him and his brothers. 

Then a neighbor were I lived in Mint Hill NC, landed the job as show car driver for the Elliott's....I can say it was a F-350 and enclosed 24 ft trailer.....be cool to build too. That neighborhood was a great place........NASCAR flagman Harold Kinder lived a few houses over and Ms Tim Flock near me too....I even did some work for her. Talk about NASCAR famous folk!! 

 

 

[Force]

5 hours ago, DrKerry said:

Looks to be Ford

 

I don't think this hauler is Bill Elliott's, if you look closely at the rear of the trailer you see the "Mongoose" logo, so this looks to be Tom "The Mongoo$e" McEwen's transporter, and Tom was sponsored by Coors for a while...but the truck is a Ford allright, CL9000.
Bill drove Fords for a long time so some of the trucks would be Ford CL9000, L9000 and Aeromax, later towards the end of his carieer when he drove Dodge the transport trailer was hauled by a Freightliner Century and Coronado.

Here are some of Bill's haulers from different years I had in my files.

Freightliner Coronado

Ford CL9000 and Aeromax and a C series.

Ford Aeromax

Freightliner Century

Peterbilt 359

Kenworth K100

Ford CL9000

 

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by Force

[DrKerry]

1 hour ago, Force said:

I don't think this hauler is Bill Elliott's, if you look closely at the rear of the trailer you see the "Mongoose" logo, so this looks to be Tom "The Mongoo$e" McEwen's transporter, and Tom was sponsored by Coors for a while...but the truck is a Ford allright, CL9000.
Bill drove Fords for a long time so some of the trucks would be Ford CL9000, L9000 and Aeromax, later towards the end of his carieer when he drove Dodge the transport trailer was hauled by a Freightliner Century and Coronado.

Here are some of Bill's haulers from different years I had in my files.

Freightliner Coronado

Ford CL9000 and Aeromax and a C series.

Ford Aeromax

Freightliner Century

Peterbilt 359

Kenworth K100

Ford CL9000

 

 

Oh yeah! You’d be correct on that! It is McEwen’s! Oops ? 

[Dave Van]

The Pete 359 is Junior Johnson team too BTW....DW & Bonnet era not Elliott

Edited March 14, 2019 by Dave Van

[gotnitro?]

The red Aeromax was the tractor I saw pulling Bill Elliott's transporter for the Bud at the Glen race here at Watkins Glen . They were staying over at a local hotel, funny cause the entire Hendricks team was there also. I only remember it since it's the first time I saw Jeff Gordon in person 

[Force]

30 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

The Pete 359 is Junior Johnson team too BTW....DW & Bonnet era not Elliott

As far as I know Bill Elliott drove the No 11 car for Junior Johnson 1992-94 before starting his own team in 1995.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Force

[Dave Van]

17 minutes ago, Force said:

As far as I know Bill Elliott drove the No 11 car for Junior Johnson 1992-94 before starting his own team in 1995.

He sure did......but KFC was only during the DW and Bonnet era and not during the Elliott years. Also Valvoline was not on any Elliott Johnson era car. BUD changed their logo when Bill went to JJ team. I worked in Cup during that era and Dad was Valvoline racing director for many years......I'm that old!! .thx

[Force]

Okay.
It might not be that exact hauler but I know Junior Johnson used Peterbilts many years.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Force

[Sam I Am]

10 hours ago, DrKerry said:

This looks like a Ford Aeromax but not sure...

I think this is what I will shoot for since I have an Aeromax kit and the trailer and car. 

All I know is I must not have been entering the correct info when I searched years ago, all I found were pics of the trailer. 

Kerry, this is one in a long list of projects.

Dave, heck of a neighborhood to grow up in, for sure!

Force, thanks for all those great pics and info.

[Dave Van]

17 minutes ago, Sam I Am said:

 

Dave, heck of a neighborhood to grow up in, for sure!

Force, thanks for all those great pics and info.

Sadly a few minutes ago on FB it was posted Ms Tim Flock passed just today.....not heard from family but a reliable source that lives in the area still. RIP....

[Force]

Sad indeed.

[highway]

On 3/14/2019 at 7:22 AM, Force said:

The old AMT racing transporter model from 1990 is not really correct for time period, it's the old Trailmobile moving van with some new parts to make it to a race car transporter and only holds one car, back in the late 70's when racing teams started to use 18 wheel haulers they often used moving vans but by late 80's and early 90's the purpose built racing transporter trailers was widely in use and they are very sophisticated today.
The tractor AMT had in mind to haul their racing transporters was the Kenworth T600A Canepa but you can use whatever tractor you want.

I'm sorry, but you would be wrong in this information because the AMT Elliott transporter is correct for the time period. 

 

Sam, to answer your question, here is a pic of the real transporter that matches or is at least the closest match to the AMT kit and to replicate the Ford LTL9000 as it is in the pic you would need the cab assembly from Italeri's US Wrecker Truck kit #3825 and the sleeper from the Italeri or Revell US rebox of the Ford Aeromax 120. 

As for how many cars it hauled, that I'm not sure of, but I'm converting mine to be a two car hauler.  

[Force]

It depends on what you mean with correct, the trailers used might be modified moving vans and the look is close to the AMT kit, but the AMT Trailmobile Moving Van dates back to 1972 and I don't think the trailers they used in the late 80's and early 90's had the same four side door layout (two on each side) and leaf spring suspension the old AMT kit has, so it's kind of outdated in that department.
I would guess the trailers they used by then had side door/doors on the right side, none on the left as they are not needed, and a lift gate in the back and not the long ramps that are in the kits, they also most likely had air ride suspension for a smoother ride.

Featherlite Trailers delivered the first specially built race car transport trailer to Richard Childress racing in the early 90's for the #3 Earnhardt car and after that many teams left the old moving van trailers and changed over to them, now there are a couple manufacturers on the market but I think Featherlite is the most common in the pits among the more established teams in NASCAR as it's the "NASCAR Official Trailer", and they are widely used in NHRA and other racing series.

Another adjucated guess is that they hauled two cars in the trailer back then as they do today, the teams have a spare car to use if you crash the primary car beyond repair in training and qualifying, otherwise you wouldn't have a car to race on race day...but that's a guess.