Postwar busses ex-military Holland

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Bill Murray

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Edit: I think the answer may be in the type of front wheel and I am just now going to eat dinner so cannot look further. That is the major distinguishing characteristic that I can see.

Bill,

It was the front wheel hub and wings that made me think Mack.

[Paul Hazen]

Originally Posted by Richard Farrant

Bill,

It was the front wheel hub and wings that made me think Mack.

I think that it is based on a Scoutcar or White halftrack. Just compare the front mudguards and axle. They are the same.

Paul

[Bill Murray]

Hi Paul:

Good eyes you have. It is spot on for at least the scout car.
And...they would have had to get rid of the armour in the front of the radiator so that is why we have a new "nose".

Even if not a Mack, that must have been one thirsty beast and indicates the huge demand for replacement vehicles in countries that had small vehicle manufacturing capabilities.

As you know, such vehicle conversions of CMPs and others were still running in Burma and I believe Cambodia as recently as a few years ago.

Bill

[cliff]

Excellent Photos Bill thanks for sharing. I especially like the Dodge bus in the first photo. It would make a nice camper van for me LOL

[Paul Hazen]

Not only in in those countries. There is a company in the Netherlands which is still using 12 halftrack's. There was recently a big refurbish program for these old soldiers. Just look at the pictures on the following link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skitmeister/4802197100/

The pictures aren't taken by me.
The reason that they are still using them is, that the owners can't find replacements with the same qualities. They are used for building high voltage pylons.

Ofcourse they aren't used as a bus.

Paul

[Bill Murray]

Well I'll be damned!!!!!

Hard to imagine those vehicles "soldiering on" after so many years and other than a few bumps here and there, they look almost new.

I know from visiting some of them in the 1970s and 1980s that Holland was/is famous for their "AutoDumps". In the mid 1980s, I and some fellow managers at SAAB's US headquarters purchased a number of vehicles from AutoDump Sindorf with which our dear friend Bart Vanderveen was then associated.

A NEKAF Jeep, a Land Rover, a Taunus ambulance on the military side and a Mercedes 220, two Citroens, a 2CV and an 11. As far as I know, all of them are still running up in the Connecticut area of the US.

I must think based on your half track story that such AutoDumps still exist and still cater to not only collectors but also those companies that still find such vehicles useful.

Thanks so much for the link.

Bill