I remember seeing Big Red as a kid at the 64 World's Fair. Big Red's air cab system did find its way into production trucks, and I drove a Ford 9000 cab over in the 70's and it was the most comfortable truck I ever drove.
I read about this truck in a Popular Mechanics issue back around 1963, one of the interesting facts about the 705 is that half the engine could be shut down during extended idle, while the other half produced 120V for cab electrics and A/C for both the cab and trailers. The engine halfs could be alternated to even out idle engine hours. Even in 1964 2 cabs were used to haul both trailers to various locations, due to state road restrictions. Sadly, the 100 mph super highways never will be built. Nor gas turbines for road use either, due to very high initial and maintenance costs. But it's fascinating 60 yr old technology, designed and built when America really was on top. It was a great time to be young!
Living in Charlotte in 1978 I went to the Holman & Moody garage sale. After picking up 4 H&M NASCAR steel wheels for $5 each I did a walk around of Big Red. I was amazed at the size. I'd seen photos in magazines but did not show how big it was. The turbine was gone as it was dead. I asked how much??? $5,000........a DEAL!!! But it took all I had to pay for my wheels......oh well....glad someone saved it.
The truck was designed for the ideal interstate highway, which although we planned to build, never did. The interstate design specifications called for running safely at a constant 90 mph, carrying heavy loads, minimum 13 foot clearance, with additional clearance available if necessary. As such, most set near 13 foot clearance had straight off and on ramps so that a taller load could continue by taking an off ramp and returning on the other side. All of this was part of the National Interstate and DEFENSE Highway System, with emphasis on Defense. However, many states didn't fully comply, often taking existing four-lane US highways and converting to interstate by center guard rails and removing crossovers to create controlled access. Often curves and grades required much slower running. In some locations, the straight off, straight on ramps weren't used, so that loads taller than the overpasses could not get through. And states never got too keen on high speeds, keeping speed limits to 70 or less in most states until the National 55 mph speed limit. As such, a 100 foot long truck weighing 170,000 pounds was never going to make it. Great video!
@@RedStateFilms - One of the things I found interesting in England was the much higher clearance on the overpasses on the motorways. It has been a long time ago, but it seems to me they were at 20 feet. Correct me if I am wrong about that. I imagine it was because there were so many RAF bases all over that may need to move an aircraft if one was forced down on a highway.
My thoughts exactly, somewhere it can be kept well maintained and safe but also for everyone to see and enjoy. ive never had chance to go the Henry Ford museum but would love to!
The trouble with that idea is with the management of that museum. Today the museum is more of a theme park operation. Management has, over the years, sold off many artifacts that Henry Ford himself put in the collection. Every time directors change, so does the theme. So, putting something as important as Big Red there would put it at risk of disappearing again or even worse, sold off to who knows? End up under some scrappers torch or a rat rod project! The big museum at St. Louis had several traction engines that were donated for the preservation the museum promised. They got left outside to disintegrate for years, then sold off as unwanted junk! When the families learned of the disposal of their artifacts, it wasn't good PR. Museums aren't a guaranteed way to save all things, it always is under the whim of management.
Doubtful that will ever happen. Trailers lead a rough life. I do wonder though, if Fruehauf could be commissioned to build a couple of clones, and that tandem axle dolly.
the resto was in fact finished in just 2 years! will probably need doing again by the time he wheels it out to the public. but i think the Drive are trying to arrange a look at it so if they do ill make a video on it.
Glad to see there are still people who want to save our history of progress. This is similar to the work of saving old airplanes in fully restored and flyable condition. Sadly Ford Motor Company is a fraction of what it was of the 60's. It was a very exciting time to experience.
I never even knew this existed! Very cool story! I can understand keeping it safe, but what's the point if nobody ever sees it? Someone who doesn't care could inherit this and it would be gone forever. I hope it can be displayed soon!
Thank you sir I've known about this truck for a few years I figured it would have been scrapped I am so glad to hear that someone bought it and it's still around and to hear that is still running order makes me happier then pig in poop God I hope I get to see this thing before I die
anytime Duane, all we ask for is a subscribe if you can and want to :) its one of my favorites too and hope i can see it aswell one day. i personally think itll end up at the ford Museum once the current owner passes.
Knight Rider historians was able to locate and purchase the Dorsey trailer that was used in the show. Against all odds. Many believed that the trailer didn't even exist anymore. They found it because they never gave up looking. And if they can do that, then effort needs to be made to find the two trailers that went with this truck. Get them back and restore them too. Get this truck looking the way it's supposed to. It's not worth very much if the only thing that you have to show is the tractor.
My very own type step dad drove one of the turbines GM had in the fleet in the 60-70.They had 3-4 that ran out of the Fisher 1 garage. In Flint Michigan Home of the sit down strike. None of the drivers liked em. He ran Flint to Ft.Wayne Indiana. He was live unloaded and back loaded with racks.
Fifty years ago, along with an engineer friend who had designed and built the lowest emission engine in the world , we were invited by the E.P.A. to see the Ford gas turbine powered truck at the Wildwood Inn, Ann Arbor, Michigan. From memory it used to go to I think to Louisville in Kentucky or Tenessee. They were very secretive on fuel consumption so we knew it was a commercial failure. The driver told us any problems and back to Dearborn it went. The fuel tank was locked at all times and he had no idea what the consumption was. To us it should have been put in a museum of modern art or sent to the scrap yard . For a while the dreamers kept it alive but this is the first I've heard of it in all those years. My friend took his steamer[external controlled combustion engine] in an old Ford Falcon over to CA, It was demonstrated to Senators from Wash, and all the vehicle builders.They didn't want to know about it. A state with the most polluted cities in the world,. Work that out.
thankyou for your comment David, i learn hearing stories such as yours! So many people have an interesting connection with big red, its a shame its still in this state of the unknown. since making this video ive been having my doubts to if itll never show up again.
This big Red was not the only car with a gasturbine. Ford also made a gasturbine powered family car as a prototype. Also that car never came further then a prototype. I even had a plastic model building kit of it in the 60' .
Thanks John! Thought we’d make a few documentary type videos while we haven’t been able to get out and do the cool stuff. Good mix of it all on its way though. You never know what’s round the corner mate, least you can say you were here from the early days if we do get a load of subscribers and all that!
@@RedStateFilms I'll see what I can do to spread the word. It's all good. Keep up the variety and the views will come - at least I think that's how it works!
Thank you to this owner hopefully you see this I love any history on all vehicles and please one day put it in that Ford museum so I can see it so we can all see it
I can see they were got more futuristic with that truck. The door opens automatically and a ladder comes down. I wouldn't mind operating a rig like that.
seemed so nice for the driver everything they had for them! its why i like it so much they seem to have thought about whos driving it not just whats powering it.
Great video! The big red, don't know if it's just me but it reminds me of British trucks and vans of the 50s and 60s. Some went bankrupt, some were part Leyland!
Thanks for the comment auto. I can see some of that for sure. We actually have an old 50s comer truck. If you look at our other videos we made a video of us picking it up! Huge thing it is 🤣😭
you could just imagine going down the highway or motorway as a kid in the back of the family car and seeing trucks like that go past. dam it would of done the future generations wonders
certainly would of made a different way of life back then if they had released them publicly. this is why i like making videos, showing things to folks they may not of seen that they would enjoy. thanks for watching mike.
would be great to see one every now and then at shows! or even just out on the road. its weird to think how the lorry/truck world would have been if these had gotten into production along with the turbo titan.
@06:53 its interesting Ford used UK built Cortinas for a publicity shot. Maybe because they were half the size of the gas tanks Dearborn were building and it made it look longer. Ford also went against accepted US truck engineering and built a layout that was very European with close coupled tractor / trailer, set back front axle and cabover layout. Go see Peterbilt or Kenworth conventionals to show how trucks never really moved forward in the USA.
I hadn't thought about then when editing but thats a really good point, like you say put it next to a cortina for an American shoot and its bound to look even bigger than its ment to. ill have a look into that cheers 1chish, euro/usa trucks are worlds apart from the looks of things!
I hope one day soon a full walkthrough of the thing gets posted on an anonymous account that doesn't give it's location away before it finds it's way to a museum. Though what I'd give to have the privilege to put it's hammer down just one time.
This truck appears to be ahead of its time. It had everything a motorhome had, though more compact, today's trucks don't have some of these. Imagine a truck being fitted with all of the same features, excluding the turbine engine. Alternatively it could be fitted with the same turbine engine in an Abrams Tank. A new version of the old truck should be possible with the right design and parts.
i think thats why i always loved it, such attention to detail for the driver. as you say a mini motorhome in there. and the map was a lovely touch too. a modern day version would be a beautiful site. hey if we ever get big enough to make that kinda money we will build one!
Ford's answer to the GM Future liner. Not sure why you feel it was so great. Gas turbines were found to be too has hungry. The vehicle was too heavy to be useful. No one (at least in the USA) makes a cabover these days. Where the sleeper should be, it only has a kitchen and toilet. And what I've always found odd, was that it was always being manned by fellows with suits and ties. I think that even in the 1960s, no one wore a suit, white shirt and tie while driving a semi. No, the GM Futureliners were the 'future', not Big Red.
for me it was more the detail for the drivers than the engine itself i found remarkable. the chairs folded into the bed/sleeping area and i just found the design of the cab brilliant, from the kitchen and maps to the seating position and window span. not to mention it looks incredible in my opinion. Cabover trucks are pretty much all we have in the uk and Europe still. i think the reasoning for the suits and ties was more the statement as you say no one in these industries even today wears suits so it was a talking point and something that made there transport seem alittle classier, more like chauffeur. The GM futurliner was a great vehicle aswell.
@@RedStateFilms OK.. as a child in the 60s, I was captivated by it. But yes, a Rand McNally map stapled to a bulletin board to the back would have been more helpful. And have you seen the sleepers that many over the road haulers use these days? I suppose one could say 'innovative' and point toward the Ford, but I point elsewhere and say, 'reality NOW'. A smallish 'sleeper', ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4Bk7-L7ffiY.html.
Seems I remember seeing an article in Popular Mechanics, or some other publication, that showed GM also built a gas turbine truck in the early 1960's (called the "Bison", I believe) which had a futuristic aircraft inspired cab interior with a control yoke style steering wheel.
@@RedStateFilms Thanks! I forgot about the Chevrolet Titan. I did a little research & found that it was the Titan that had the "yoke" style steering wheel, & not the Bison, which had two small steering "wheel" controls. The concepts for vehicle design were so forward thinking in those days; I'm quite sure much of the concepts were inspired by rapid aerospace advancements in the 1950's & early 1960's. Everything seemed to have a science fiction theme, & this captured the public's imagination.
Ok, I may have gotten mixed up; apparently (from a RU-vid video about the Titan), it was the Titan that had the two steering "wheel" controls, & (I guess) the Bison had the yoke control for steering. Interesting that GM allowed Chevrolet (which was part of GM) to pursue their own turbine truck design, as GM pursued a separate design with the Bison turbine truck.
@@shadovanish7435 didn’t wanna give too much away as I’m currently doing a video on both of them aswell. But yeah the Titan had the strange belt wheel, the bison looked like a thunderbirds vehicle real low and flat with a big nose
@@RedStateFilms Well it’s just like if you remember the old GM bus of the future that was on Jack Barrett auction it’s sold for $5 million was actually supposed to sell for 8 million but there was a screwup during the bidding there were two people that were bidding on the bus and they mistakenly thought the other bidder wanted to bid more but he was actually telling the auctioneer he was out it took almost 45 minutes until they figured it out and I do imagine when they do roll the big red semi over the auction block which will be soon how much of that will fetch
The restoration was actually completed over 2 years in the 80s and is now fully restored and working although hasn’t been out of its unit since the 2000s. (The owner from what we understand is getting old now and big red is quite the task to get anywhere! But it sounds like they want to show the world it come summer
The reason you don't see Big Red is because the Martians repossessed this vehicle due to late payments. The truck was returned back to Mars and used just like the Rover.
10:19 Check out the harsh cabover ride & the steering inputs to keep it going in a straight line, with a wheel base that short it's not surprising. By the way, it's not Holland & Moody it's Holman & Moody!
The fact the owner is hesitant to even share a picture, makes me think the claims are BS, or that it's is in a terrible state of decay. I also have a hard time believing that Ford was so forthcoming, and assisted in sourcing and rebuilding a prototype turbine engine. Yes, I've been a part of the auto industry for too long. Can you tell 🥴
until we see it with our own eyes its all only hearsay isn't it! its a strange case for sure. if i had such a vehicle itll be at every local show for miles 😅
its why we hate to see so many collections where the cars don't get to move or even start up for years and years, sad because wed all love to see this and many others on the roads.
Ok so you filled in some blanks. Really just confirmed a lot of suspicions. I was really hoping for some new footage. I hope they do a shoot of it this year.
It’s from epidemic sounds mate but not sure what it’s called as I downloaded it Ages ago and change the titles for reference in my music library. I’ll see if I can find the details of it for you tho keep an eye on replies
❤❤❤i would like you the streamer to know I resent my comment because it may display dissatisfaction in your great presentation and being this my first viewing of an video from your channel, the only criticism I am hurdling to enjoy this historical masterpiece is the distraction cyrillic print gives me Be strong Be of good courage God Bless America & Long live The Republic
@@RedStateFilms it was a great video, I'm not sure what the hell I was talking about either lol, must've been some Russian letters somewhere in there 😂❤❤❤❤
Interesting but still seems sketchy. Why was it able drive everywhere on tour back in the sixties but it's too heavy now? Why is the owner afraid to drive it in case he damages the "irreplaceable" engine? The engine is already not the original one.