1941 Autocar U-80-T tractor

[RoninUtah]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Northern Utah Transportation Museum is pleased to announce its most recent acquisition: a 1941 Autocar U-80-T tractor. Recently restored, this truck is an example of Autocar’s “Engine-Under-the-Seat” U-series, which was manufactured from the mid-thirties through the early 1950s, except during WWII, when a variation (the U-7144/8144) was manufactured for the U.S. military; over 11,000 of the military versions were manufactured. Our example has a GVW of 45,000 Lbs, and is powered by a 130 HP six-cylinder Autocar "Blue Streak" gasoline engine. It joins our 1940 Autocar diesel conventional tractor to showcase the late 1930s- early 1940s range of this important American manufacturer of heavy duty trucks.

Cab is an AITM conversion on an AMT Ford C-series tractor chassis. Rear wheels are AITM; front wheels are Mack from the parts box. 3D printed resin parts include the fuel tank and the rear tires. The cab fit right onto the AMT chassis with a minimum of adjustment; the biggest hassle (as described in the WIP thread) was painting. But it turned out the way I hoped, so I’m happy
 

Edited December 16, 2024 by RoninUtah

[TarheelRick]

Couple of very nice looking rigs. A man had to have Popeye forearms to hog one of these through those mountains depicted in the photos. Beautiful paint work.

[ChrisR]

Very nice.

[PappyD340]

Very nice build!

[Jim B]

Great looking old Autocar.  Very well done.

[The Brush]

Great job on the autocar, I'm liking the trailer as well.

[BK9300]

Colourful build, Lee, and an interesting introduction of this hard working truck!

[yh70]

nice build..

[RoninUtah]

Thanks for all the positive comments! One minor correction: these were referred to as “Engine under the seat,” not “cab beneath the seat” which makes no sense. The “U” in U-series supposedly stands for “under.”

[Biggu]

Love the ‘ for immediate release’ very cool way to present a very sharp well executed build . The truck looks spot on , the color choice is perfect and combined with the period correct trailer , finishes this build perfectly. Beautiful job, Ron ! I love it. 

[RoninUtah]

1 hour ago, Biggu said:

Love the ‘ for immediate release’ very cool way to present a very sharp well executed build . The truck looks spot on , the color choice is perfect and combined with the period correct trailer , finishes this build perfectly. Beautiful job, Ron ! I love it. 

Thanks, Jeff, I appreciate it! Yeah, the more I look at my collection of model trucks the more it seemed to me that it looked like a miniature museum. So, I decided to go with that- why not issue a press release!

[Bronzekeg]

very well done and nice pictures!!

[leafsprings]

Really like the paint scheme and grill detail work, nice job. Just curious, does it have an engine under the seat?

[RoninUtah]

1 hour ago, leafsprings said:

Really like the paint scheme and grill detail work, nice job. Just curious, does it have an engine under the seat?

Thanks! It has half an engine - the bottom and rear of the kit engine. Since this was not a tilt cab COE, I just built the parts that could possibly be seen.

[slusher]

Very nice build!

[DRIPTROIT 71]

That is a real beauty! The colors are great! Very nice work!