SEPTEMBER 2008 OLD TIME TRUCKS
GMC’S FAST & LOUD MODEL 860
By John & Shirley Sponholtz
The original owner of this 1959 GMC 860 was Mc-Mor-Han Trucking. The company was formed in 1954 by Robert McCoy, Bill Morrissey and Raymond Hanna in Shullsburg, WI. Originally, the company hauled livestock, feed and fertilizer, so they used this truck to haul livestock to stock yards in Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and Detroit. The truck had a 6-71 Detroit, 5+2 speed with overdrive, a tag axle and hydraulic power steering. In 1962 Mc-Mor-Han began hauling bulk milk so the company converted the truck. The GMC 860 was a fast truck for its day but its Detroit engine, with a single straight exhaust pipe, was very loud. In fact, it was so loud that the entire exhaust system was replaced after the noise shattered the barbershop window in Shullsburg! Over the years, the GMC had lots of drivers, got lots of dents, and once got laid on its side – but it survived. In 1982, Jim Francis, the truck’s current owner, saw a Lo-Boy trailer that could haul a bulldozer he owned. The owner said that Jim could have the trailer if he bought the truck (the old GMC) that came with it. Jim decided to buy both the truck and the trailer. Jim used the GMC to haul the bulldozer and grain for many years. In 2000, Jim rebuilt the truck to its current configuration in honor of Mc-Mor-Han Trucking, which discontinued business in 1990. The trailer is a 1947 Heil tanker similar to the one this truck pulled back in the 1960s.