MARCH 2008 OLD TIME TRUCKS
THE LITTLE AUTOCAR THAT COULD
By John & Shirley Sponholtz
This 1972 Autocar A-64B was purchased new by George Stillwell. George, along with his dad and brothers, ran a construction business called Stillwell Brothers, in Sylva, NC. When George purchased the truck it had a Cummins NTC 335 engine and a RTO 9513 transmission. They used the truck to haul heavy equipment from job to job in the area. Some of the heaviest loads this old truck hauled back in the 70s and 80s were a Euclid/Terex TS24 scraper and an Allis-Chalmers HD-21A dozer grossing over 130,000 pounds. One time George was asked to haul a large crane. The owner did not think the Autocar could pull it. After getting it loaded, as he started out, the front end of the truck came off the ground but then settled back down when it began to roll. In 1980, George’s wife (Madge) gave birth to two boys. These twins grew up with the Autocar and were driving it around the company yard before they were 10 years old. In 1998, George and his brothers changed their company name to Stillwell Enterprises and the twins (Luke and Jeff), at age 18, started their own construction business under the old Stillwell Brothers name. The Autocar was their first piece of equipment. After having it repainted, they had the frame stretched, replaced the worn out engine with a rebuilt Cummins 350 and then installed dual straight stacks. Since then, the twins have taken the old truck to numerous shows and events, but they still work it from time to time.