As for Jetto’s truck…

So while researching the Highwayman TV series, I kept coming across references to the high-tech, futuristic truck of another character, Jetto: low-slung, with the cab all the way forward of the front wheels and a flat top. The references called it a Steinwinter.

But Steinwinter isn’t exactly in the nearest reference book. In fact, there’s little about it on English-language websites; thank Google for its Translate service.

It appears an engineer from Stuttgart, Manfred Steinwinter, wrestled for quite some time with maximizing the load-handling ability of over-the-road truck and, inspired by German truck builder Büssing, designed a cab-under-load truck.

Steinwinter thus formed an eponymous company and apparently engaged Daimler-Benz for some technical assistance. (The prancing horse logo he chose for the company has nothing to do with Ferrari – it’s a tribute to the Stuttgart coat of arms.) The truck wouldn’t just enable larger loads; Steinwinter envisioned it as a modular platform, able to pull cargo trailers, double-decker bus-type trailers, or even run sans trailer as a family vehicle. Steinwinter envisioned about half a dozen total variants to start with. The cantilevered cab included two seats, with a wardrobe and bed in between. The engine (a 280 PS Mercedes OM422 V-8, backed with a ZF Ecosplit 16-speed transmission) was placed behind the front axle, under the fifth-wheel-type hitch, but could apparently be easily swapped out for other engines, depending on the envisioned use for the day. Wheelbase measured three meters (118 inches), though total length was more than twice that, at 6.5 meters (256 inches). Height measured 1.17 meters (46 inches).

Steinwinter succeeded in building at least one prototype (references indicate Drogmöller built it for him) and debuted it in 1987 at the International Automobile Exhibition (though there’s some scuttlebutt that it appeared in a European trucking magazine in 1984). The truck apparently seemed promising, and Steinwinter’s business plan sound, but from what we can gather, handling still needed to be sorted and Mercedes-Benz refused to provide backing, dooming the project.

How it became Jetto’s truck in the TV series – and who converted it – we’re not sure. We’re also wondering whether there’s a direct connection with a company called American Steinwinter, which apparently intended to market the Steinwinter (or, at least, another experimental German truck called the Steinwinter) in the United States and was involved in a series of lawsuits in the 1990s.

Rumor has it the truck still exists, though I’ve yet to determine where and in what condition.

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Treasures at Saratoga

From time to time, besides showing you all things automotive, we try to use this medium to demonstrate how Hemmings editors work. We’re just coming off the Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car Show that we presented last Saturday in conjunction with the Saratoga Automobile Museum in New York.

Here is Associate Editor Daniel Strohl working the shutter release and f-stop as he “Canon-izes” our Best in Show recipient, the kazowie-great 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale, owned by Don Schwarzkopf of Rumson, New Jersey.

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Bill Burke bellytank re-creation headed to Bonneville

Progress on the Bill Burke bellytank re-creation ran at a rapid pace the last couple weeks, and for good reason – owner Geoff Hacker wanted to display the racer on the salt at Bonneville for this year’s Speedweek, which starts Saturday. The first fire for the engine took place July 24, then by the 29th, Ted Kempgens and Tom Bambard finalized the paint and got it out on the street for a shakedown run. Geoff packed up the bellytank and all related materials Sunday, then hit the road Monday, so if you’re headed out to Bonneville, make sure to see him and the bellytank. Plans also call for Bill Burke to join Geoff on the salt this weekend. Then once Geoff’s done there, he’ll head out to California to drop the bellytank off at the NHRA Museum, where it’ll join two other Bill Burke bellytanks. Good luck, Geoff!

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American history read in dealership nameplates, part 3: cruise-in edition

At our recent cruise-in, both Jim O’Clair and I noticed an unusually high number of dealership nameplates still on cars, so we assembled our photos and tried to find out more about the dealerships behind the badges.

First, on a ‘64 Rambler Classic 770, we spotted this sticker for Pearson Motors of Briarcliff Manor, New York. No mention of Pearson in the 1983 dealership list, but Havekost does list them as a Nash dealer starting in 1956. No address, though.

On the same Rambler, a front license plate from Clearwater Rambler. Havekost lists a Dan Iley Nash dealership in Clearwater starting in 1951 (again, no address), but the 1983 list shows the dealership name as Clearwater AMC/Jeep/Renault, located at 2430 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd. The location now seems to be an Enterprise Rent-A-Car lot.

For the next several, we don’t yet know of any similar historical dealership listings for other makes, so we weren’t able to track down addresses. This badge from Dick Winkler appeared on a 1961 Imperial Crown convertible, which won our Favorite Mopar award that night.

There is a Curry Chevrolet at 728 Central Park Avenue in Scarsdale, New York, which advertises that it’s been in business since 1919. So it’s likely the same Curry that sold this ‘52 Chevrolet new.

Royal Buick in New York City seems to no longer exist…

…nor does Hull and Sons Chrysler Plymouth in Cohoes, New York, which sold this Chrysler New Yorker new.

McAndrews-King, however, remains in business in Adams, Massachusetts, where it’s been since 1973, according to the dealership’s website. Jim and I both forgot exactly which car we spotted this badge on.

Finally, we did recall that we spotted this badge for Huegel in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, on the back of a ‘56 Plymouth. That dealership, however, appears to have disappeared.

Bikes, Studes, big trucks – good night at the cruise-in

So we finally had a good cruise-in last night, with well over 200 cars, trucks and motorcycles showing up. If ya missed it, our next one’s July 9!

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Rambler’s Amazing New Rotary Engine!

Add this to the many ways we already witnessed connections between Renault and Rambler/American Motors. Of course, the former bought the latter in the 1980s, and Rambler provided the bodies for the IKA venture between Kaiser and Renault in Argentina, and now, via the October 1964 issue of Mechanix Illustrated, we see that Rambler worked with Renault to develop a rotary engine. It appears the project never got very far, and we can almost infer that from the article, which speculates wildly that Rambler might use it in a front-drive application – or maybe a rear-engine, rear-drive – and doesn’t offer up any proof that AMC had even built a running prototype by that point. Of course, AMC’s flirtation with rotary engines flared up again during the development of the Pacer almost a decade later; one has to wonder whether those were isolated incidents, or whether some engineer at AMC really wanted to see a rotary in production.

Thanks, Paul Bellefeuille, for discovering and sending us the magazine!

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Remember Miss Belvedere, the ‘57 Plymouth that the fine folks of Tulsa ...

Remember Miss Belvedere, the ‘57 Plymouth that the fine folks of Tulsa buried when it was new, then unearthed two years ago? Yes, it emerged rusty and crusty, but the effort to preserve the car is ongoing, and for our latest episode of Hemmings Classic Car Radio, David LaChance spoke with Dwight Foster of Ultra One, the company that is working to get Miss Belvedere back into presentable shape.

Also in this episode, a brief overview of cash for clunkers and why it’s a sorry piece of wrongheaded legislation. Yes, familiar territory for constant readers of the Hemmings blog, but it’s worth repeating while the matter remains under consideration.

Click to listen to the latest episode of Hemmings Collector Car Radio now.

As an added bonus, we have exclusive photos of Miss Belvedere and the de-rusting process you may want to peruse while listening to the latest episode.

For its trip by flatbed back east, the Belvedere was shrink-wrapped. Thoughts of transferring the car to an enclosed trailer were abandoned when it was discovered just how badly the frame had deteriorated.

Here’s the reason the Plymouth is getting a donor frame. Decades of submersion left the original too weak to support the car.

Ultra One uses a pump, a hose and a kiddie pool to keep a continuous stream of Safest Rust Remover on one area at a time. The product leaves the 52-year-old paint unharmed.

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, this one must be worth 1,000 “ughs.” This is the before…

and this is the after.

There are a half-dozen or so types of material used in the car’s ashtray, and Safest Rust Remover is safe for every one. With the corrosion gone, it’s possible to see that this is a brand-new, unused part.

These are the surviving sisters of the late Ray Humbertson, whose 1957 guess of Tulsa’s 2007 population was the closest of all those who entered to win Miss Belvedere. Catherine, on the left, is 94, and Levita is 85.

The official documentary about the car, “Tulsa’s Buried Belvedere,” is available from AVCOM Productions.

If you haven’t heard an episode of Hemmings Collector Car Radio until now, then now’s a good time to listen to all the previous episodes of the podcast - all free, just like the current episode.

And if you have an RSS reader, make sure to subscribe to our RSS podcast feed for notification of future Hemmings Collector Car Radio episodes. You can also subscribe to our podcast feed directly through iTunes.