Last Saturday the Lake Cumberland Antique Car Show turned out to be a big success. Once again Doc Monin did a fantastic job setting things up and getting things in order.

I did the MC-ing and music for the show and was set up right where all the vehicles pulled in for the show so I got to see them all as they drove past. Beautiful vehicle after vehicle drove past, then I had to take a double take.

Coming in was a Green 1926 International Wrecker. It was all shined up and just putting along.

After the wrecker was parked, I went over to talk to John Banks from Monticello, Ky. the owner of the truck.

This truck was complete and original from the tow chain right down to the wooden spoke wheels all polished up. The wood wheels were all polished up and looked like they could be plastic as smooth as they were and the way they shined.

Even the links on the tow chain were sparkling in the sun light. Yes I said tow chain, I found out from talking to John that back then they used regular chain and not a cable for the towing as they do today.

John told me he bought the truck three years ago and has been working on it ever since. This is the first year he has had the truck out to show. He saw an ad in a magazine for the truck and bought it sight unseen. The truck was in Minnesota and he loaded up the trailer and drove 1,100 miles one way just to pick it up. He told me he spent more money on gas for the trip than he paid for the truck.

He did all the work on the vehicle himself. He took sheet metal and molded most of the cab and bed. He completely restored the truck himself. You could tell from talking to him that he was very proud of the truck and really, he had every reason to be proud.

The gears in the truck were from an old oil rig. I found that to be pretty cool.

I ask him to tell me about the truck and if there were any stories he would like to share about the truck itself. At first he said no,, there is no special stories. But the longer we talked the more information came out.

This 1926 International wrecker was rare because back during the war most of them were sold for scrap.

The truck is rated at 40 horse power and it has a top speed of 20 mph. It made me wonder how it had the power to even tow a vehicle.

John was telling me about driving his wrecker in a parade this past summer.

He decided he would drive it in low gear so he would not rush the marching bands and slow moving fire trucks. It didn’t take him long before he found the truck ran so slow in first gear that he ended up switching to 3rd gear just to keep up with the marching bands.

It was really a treat to see this vehicle and it was sure an attention getter at the show. I hope to see it at a lot more of the shows coming up. Those of you who didn’t get to see this truck missed out on a true look back in history.

A special thanks to Doc Monin again this year for putting on another GREAT car show. I know for a fact he puts a lot of time work and money into the show. Doc, it was another wonderful show, well done, and thank you!

If you know someone you would like to see featured in my article or your club has an upcoming event you like to let everyone know about send the information to —- djron47@yahoo.com —- and we’ll get it in here for you.

If your group or club is having an event and you would like to have some of the Classic Cars there for display any of the local clubs would be glad to bring their cars out to show, (weather permitting). All information needs to be in at least two weeks before the event. Until next time… Keep Cruisin’!