JUNE 2008 OLD TIME TRUCKS
THE ORIGINAL
CANNONBALL EXPRESS
By John & Shirley Sponholtz
Joe and Ruth Cumberland of West Virginia own this 1950 GMC Model 860. In 1978, Todd Kelly drove this “Cannonball” from Oklahoma to West Virginia, then removed the 32-inch aftermarket sleeper and parked it for 20 years. When Joe bought the truck it was in sad shape. Joe spent 2,900 hours over four years on the restoration and bought another Cannonball for parts. He used the doors, fenders, head light buckets and a few other pieces from the parts truck. Joe started out with just a Freightliner cutoff frame, which he stretched four feet and added air-ride suspension (originally it was a tandem with a tag axle and it rode really rough). Joe made all of the body parts, including the rocker panels, and extended the back of the cab six inches for more room between the seat and the steering wheel. When he installed the new sleeper, he removed the bunk bed and added a bench seat that makes into a 48-inch bed. The bench seat in the sleeper was equipped with seat belts so that the grandkids can ride along in parades. For some much-needed steering parts, Joe bought and salvaged parts from a 1978 International and then added air conditioning for comfort. Lastly, he replaced the Detroit Diesel with a 400 Cummins Big Cam 3 engine and added a 13-speed double-overdrive transmission. He had to lean the engine about 12 degrees to make everything fit. Joe says he’s not sure how fast the old truck will go – the speedometer only goes to 80 mph, but at that point he’s still got two more gears! To see more weird and wonderful old trucks, visit www.oldtimetrucks.org today.