Identify this old crane?

[panshark]

I found an old crane that the guy says I can rip the wheels off of for my duece, the tires on it right now are 14x20's. Says insley on the back, but couldn't find anything comparable on a web search.

 

[73m819]

the rims are 10 hole combat (5t) not deuce rims

 

[NDT]

Never ceases to amaze me what turns up on Steel Soldiers. The wheel you have pictured is the combat wheel from a 1951 M41 5 ton cargo truck, super rare, I have one and never thought I would see more. The M41 had wheel wells in the cargo bed like the M34 deuce. The truck pictured is a WWII Diamond T 4 ton 968A, would most likely been a cargo truck. The Insley crane is a post war civilian addition. Yes you can take the wheels, they would not have belonged on the Diamond T. But they do not fit the 6 hole Budd pattern, someone with a 5 ton would be better off with them.

 

[spitfire_pilot]

I used to run and old track mounted insley 30 years ago. It was a dinosaur then. Would be a cool resto though.

 

[porkysplace]

Iinsley's were a good machine in their day . The military liked the Bay City cranes back in that era , they could pick up a crane the same size and load it on a ship then use the one on the ship to load the other one off the dock none of the rest of them could do that.

 

[KsM715]

I believe NDT answered your question. If you can get them cheap (or even better, free) save them. Someone may need them for a restore job someday.

 

[Flyingvan911]

That truck would look nice in OD green.

 

[Jimma]

See if you can get them for a bargain and save them from the crusher. Someone, somewhere will want to buy them from you.

 

[hndrsonj]

Wheels don't fit, restore it.

 

[schwenk industries]

I would not mind owning that one! but i think my neighbors would

 

[panshark]

well, the guy that has it has retained it mostly intact, the front cab is kinda trashed though. He said the front winch was torched off last month, but is still lying around. If anyone wants more pics etc let me know.

 

[Danger Ranger]

Save the crane!

Save the crane! That may be a civilian addition, but in restoration you could save the wheels for something else, and save the crane/truck with them. Its a piece of Americana, to put it in a corny way.
Plus, it would be awesome.

 

[73m819]

My thought on the restore, there is a good chance that there is MAJOR rust damage to the boom and bridle, a good chance that the drums are egg shaped from heat over years of use, the inside clutch surface most likely rust and pitted, the outer brake surface the same, guess the center bearing has a LOT of play and wobble, hook rollers, I can go on .

Not saying that a restore is not possible, BUT if done right and SAFELY, will be a VERY EXPENSE, I think the cost of the restore far out weighs what it is worth as something to save.

 

[Danger Ranger]

My thought on the restore, there is a good chance that there is MAJOR rust damage to the boom and bridle, a good chance that the drums are egg shaped from heat over years of use, the inside clutch surface most likely rust and pitted, the outer brake surface the same, guess the center bearing has a LOT of play and wobble, hook rollers, I can go on .

Not saying that a restore is not possible, BUT if done right and SAFELY, will be a VERY EXPENSE, I think the cost of the restore fa[r] out weighs what it is worth as something to save.

I agree with you on the expensive part, but I am not sure saving somthing isn't worth it. See my signiture. It could be useful too, once done.

 

[EMD567]

I would ditch the crane part, and save the truck. How many 1941 Diamond T Reos are out there?

 

[sirmrtow]

trash the truck keep the wheels

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Oh yeah? well I'd ditch the truck and restore the crane! lol

John, we could put it to work at the museum if it was in decent shape.

 

[73m819]

Never ceases to amaze me what turns up on Steel Soldiers. The wheel you have pictured is the combat wheel from a 1951 M41 5 ton cargo truck, super rare, I have one and never thought I would see more. The M41 had wheel wells in the cargo bed like the M34 deuce. But they do not fit the 6 hole Budd pattern, someone with a 5 ton would be better off with them.

Added info, the m41 ran single 1400x20 tires on fliped hubs.

Are ALL 10 rims the same ?????

 

[panshark]

update: this crane looks like it has some outrigger points fabbed up on the frame between front axle and forward tandem, also looks like it has the left shaft pulled on the front tandem. the shaft could be lying 5 feet away, or it could be permanently MIA. On the back of the crane is a faded spot from a decal identifying as "Idaho Highway Department." It looks like life in this high desert region might have been good to the metal on the crane, but the wood is definitely rotted. I was looking at the sheet metal on the right side of the truck cab, it doesn't look like a field-expedient fab job, It's making me think that it wasn't designed for a 2-3 person cab. Looks like it might have been a factory 1-person cab, even if the crane was an add-on. I'll post pics of that part ASAP.

 

[panshark]

more pictures