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Trucks on Display

 

Below is a sampling of the many trucks on display in our Trucking Hall of Fame® Exhibit Hall. Check out our app for more information, photos, and an audio recording for each truck.  Click here to download.

1916 Mack AC


Engine Type:
4-Cylinder

Transmission Type:
3-Speed

Truck Information:
This 1916 Mack AC - serial number 7000 - is something special; built on January 9, 1916, it was the very first Mack AC to be made. Over its span of production, the size of the truck got bigger, solid rubber tires were traded for pneumatic tires, and wood-spoke wheels were swapped out for modern-style wheels, but the overall design stayed the same. Mack made over 40,000 of the AC model from 1916 to 1938. That was a lot of trucks back then. In New York City you would still see these trucks running around until the 1950s. This truck has the radiator in back, which is known as Renault style. It was originally sold off the floor at the Boston Auto Show to the Boston Ice & Coal Company for $3,400. They hauled ice or coal, depending on the season. Later it was traded back to the dealer who used it for running parts, plowing snow, and other work around the dealership. From there it went to the Zimmerman Auto Museum in Harrisburg, PA and then Harrah's Casinos. Iowa 80 purchased the Mack from Harrah's in 1981 and had it professionally restored in 2002. On the fender is a carbide canister which powers the lights. They didn't have an electrical system on these trucks so other power sources were necessary. Chain drive was very popular at that time, and Mack made chain drive trucks into the 1940s. Chain drive was very simple to work on; most people could do it. Anybody could replace a chain or sprocket by loosening a few bolts. With this truck, the transmission and rear axle are in the same housing, a transaxle. Mack stuck with this design for a long time; there wasn't much that could go wrong and it was fairly easy to fix. *This truck is currently on display in the Iowa 80 Headquarters building.



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