OCTOBER 2006 OLD TIME TRUCKS
Dick Best’s Rare 1975 Paymaster
By Photographer & Old Truck Nut John Sponholtz

Dick Best of New Waterford, Ohio has a collection of more than 40 antique trucks of all shapes and sizes. Shown here is a rare 1975 Hendrickson Paymaster restored to resemble one of the Paymasters built for Ryder System of Miami, Florida. Designed by Dean Hobbensiefken to be very aerodynamic, the Paymaster was a truck ahead of its time. Major truck manufacturers told Dean his design would be impossible to build, so he did it himself. After building the first two, Dean granted a license agreement to Hendrickson International of Chicago, Illinois, who produced ten Paymasters in the 1970s. In 1980 Dean built the last two Paymasters in his shop in Lyons, Oregon. We aren’t sure how many Paymasters still exist today besides the one here belonging to Dick Best. The American Truck Historical Society owns one that is on display at the National Automotive and Truck Museum in Auburn, Indiana, and another is owned by Wilkens Manufacturing of Stockton, Kansas. The Paymaster had no V belts and no fuses, except in the factory supplied AC Delco anti-skid brake system and the AM/FM radio. In place of fuses, there was a row of pop-up manual circuit breakers on the dash. The brakes and clutch were self-adjusting, however, there were no brake cams, bushings or slack adjusters, and the batteries were maintenance free. Another interesting feature is that the entire power module can be replaced in about two hours. Dick Best enjoys owning this rare vehicle and has driven it to Gerhart’s Truck Show in Lititz, Pennsylvania. For more weird and wonderful old trucks, visit www.oldtimetrucks.org today.