2 Stick '54 Freightliner PIE Tanker

[@chrisjohnson667]

Great respect from a current trucker to the old school truckers. Beautiful old rig.

[@truckr74]

Back when men were men, trucks were trucks, and Cummings know how to build a damn engine. Those days are long gone. Thanks for the video and thanks for bringing back the good memories.

[@MrShobar]

Cummins.

[@paulfisher6142]

How right you are ! Now they are ' 'Mex liners ' and automatics. Roll stability, anti-lock brakes, collision avoidance, power steering, boat ride cabs, traction control , 12 inch steering wheel and the 'cruise' set wide open . .. ... and some nut who seems to forget he is in an 18 wheeler . . ... . No pride any more. They dress like they are basketball players . .. . ... Lord ..., have Mercy .

[@tieroneactual2228]

@@paulfisher6142 Yea I know you’re right! Back in the day the running joke was : Why do Cowboys wear sneakers? Answer: so people don’t think they’re Truck Drivers! Yea these days it looks like a Walmart in the truck stop the way some of these hands are dressed anymore, come on!

[@yodelersparadise]

I learned in 64 on an IH 190 5 speed with two speed rear axle. Within maybe 5 years I was driving B model Macks with duplex, triplex, quad box. I loved learning to shift those transmissions. Soon I learned how to float the gears and I never used the clutch again shifting for the next 40 years mostly in my own trucks. Didn't seem to harm the clutch or trannie at all I wouldn't do that because I would have had to pay the repairs. I got so I could shift both sticks at once w/o clutch in fact I thought it was easier w/o the clutch, but some trucks just wouldn't do it, most would though. The real trick, that separated the men from the boys, was when you slowed down suddenly from say 60 to 25 and you had to pick the right gear(s) to downshift into without grinding when you had 15 gears to choose from. I could do it . I prided my self on that. But nobody cared, I didn't earn me a penny more, nobody was interested in watching me do it. I just wanted to be the best driver I could be for my own satisfaction.

[@plumbingstuffinoregon2471]

This is amazing. Those old PIE trucks are so cool! And damn that guy can drive! He didn't even grind once!

[@thomascarnagie6153]

That driver could have been my uncle. He started on a twin stick at 16. Best driver I ever saw, he taught me how to walk the sticks. Boy do I miss him.

[@allyn788]

Trucks don't sound like that anymore....thanks for the memories!

[@Steve2488L]

the kid in me smiled the whole video. Beautiful truck and awesome driver.

[@nofaceking1968]

Same here

[@longroadpro]

I'm the only camera man. It's three different trips edited together. The road is one going to a mine outside Raton, New Mexico. Very little traffic, but crazy old buddy of mine behind the wheel of the pickup none the less. Inside the cab shots are with small wide angle on Steadicam Jr. Outside shots are with big camera mounted in the back of the pickup and stationary shots are same big camera mounted on a tripod. Some shots are actually about 4 feet away from the subject truck in action.

[@tonywolton]

Total respect, what a driver, what a truck. Amazing work with the gears.

[@gsd4me00]

***** Exactly, and more professional as the lever slips into gear as the revs rise, instead of revving the engine too high and catching the the gear on the way down.

[@chrismurnane6389]

Yes I am always impressed with videos of good twin stick shifting as I was not what I considered good at it.But I have never seen any videos showing serious down shifting in winding, hills in a heavy loaded truck. Always on mild grades with shallow curves and very little or no load. I saw (in the early 1970s) a man driving a single drive B 61 Mack (unladen I admit) in city traffic in Melbourne Australia, do a left turn at a cross road intersection do a duble stick, two hand upshift putting one arm through the steering wheel and continuing to turn it with his arm as he grabbed the second lever with that hand and completed the shift without the steering wheel hesitating as he turned the corner. I was impressed!!!

[@bluefj-wc3vz]

Fantastic unit! Love the fact it still has the Alcoa 5 hole tube tires.

[@buixrule]

A thing of beauty. The sound, the truck, the shifting, everything. Thanks for posting.

[@double_overdrive2203]

That was one of the most satisfying videos ever

[@williamcreel624]

FINALLY! !!!!!! A REAL TRUCKER HAS SHOWN YALL HOW TO RUN A TWO STICK TRANSMISSION THE CORRECT WAY!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR A FINE JOB AND BEAUTIFUL TRUCK!!!!

[@rasalas2x]

What a beautiful restoration and great video. And you sir, handle the rig so well. Some of the new guys on the road should spend a week or two in the mountains with a 190 or 220 Cummins and a 5x4, no power steering, no A/C, drafty door seals, red hot firewall and a sometimes heater. No room for mistakes climbing a 6% grade and a full load - but then again, one in the basement, you could pull out the hand throttle and climb out on the fender to wash the windshield.

[@fredmcjones3076]

Reminds me of a time long ago we all looked forward too. Nice trucks and nice exhaust sounds doing deliveries. Miss that a lot!

[@nickjcal2819]

MId 60's drove a Mack TT for Post office with a 5x2 trans in NYC, N. NJ and on Long Island. I was one shifting fool out there in traffic. One time at night on L.I.E I hit a bump so hard, both sticks jumped out of gear. No matter how hard I tried, couldn't get back in gear. Had to come to a complete stop and start all over again. I was freaking out hoping I didn't get rear ended. Wpew!!!

[@brucew44guns]

I thought the driver was doing a pretty god job of things regardless as to double clutching or just floating them in. I'm confident he could load 8700 gallons of gas on that dude, and take it over the Rockies with no problems at all.

[@NipkowDisk]

In my opinion, it's trucks like this one that separate the men from the boys.

[@byronprovencial7712]

I enjoy shifting the twin stick trans. I own 5 trucks all have twin sticks 1996 too 2018

[@jbj27406]

You were definitely holding your ass right there in your two hands, that's for sure.

[@johnsingleton393]

That’s your opinion

[@kevinbrady2863]

That driver was a dentist who put himself through college in the 50's or 60's hauling meat across the Rockies. I never met him, but got to sit in his W-model Mack at the ATHS show about 25 years ago. Another beautiful restoration, and the 275 Cummins had a sweet sound. I would've liked to meet Dr. Bill, he's gone now but seemed like a great guy to know.

[@kevinbrady2863]

I believe that Freightliner was his second restoration project, but obviously it's owned by someone else now. Saw it at the ATHS York show this year.

[@kevinbrady2863]

Can't tell for sure, but it does look like him.

[@kevinbrady2863]

hard to believe it was 25 years ago. I had my son with me at the time, who is now 26 (and flies Blackhawks for the NJ National Guard). But he was a handful at the time, obviously. Dr. Comcowich was already something of a legend and I had hoped to meet him, but didn't find him until he had fired it up and was getting ready to leave the show. With a 19-month old on my hip and all the noise, it wasn't going to happen then. But I did leave him a note thanking him for the generosity of letting all us admirers actually sit in the cab. Hope he found it. I can tell you that that his two-six-bits was as sweet sounding as any Cummins I ever heard. And the video of that truck in action out in Colorado somewhere actually does it justice.

[@brucewerner3459]

Kevin Brady I don't think that was a 275. In 54 it could have been--but this one lacks the barki of a 275.

[@kevinbrady2863]

Bruce Werner The 275 was in the Mack W-model. I definitely remember it being referred to as a "two-six-bits". Not sure what was in the Freightliner.

[@ToyzNWheelz]

Beautiful truck, and some slick shifting. Thanks for showing.

[@jimstrinden2043]

I drove those PIE Tankers for years.

[@357bullfrog9]

Good looking old truck. Wish more like it was in the road and more drivers like him behind the wheel. Theyr be less accidents I garantee that

[@georgerenton965]

Anyone notice the “ wig wag “ mounted at the top of the drivers windshield? That predates low air buzzers, and warning lights. It’s an air operated semaphore device. Looks like a little stop sign mounted horizontally at the top of the windshield. When or if the truck looses air, the little stop sign drops down in front of the drivers field of vision. It’s powered by an air cylinder with a rod the pushes out of the cylinder. The air pressure pushes the rod ( piston ) that has to overcome an integral return spring, the little semaphore stop sign has what looks like a curved ramp that is affected by the position of the piston rod. Works similar to a cam. Air up. Wig Wag is up. Low air return spring over comes the piston and it retracts into the cylinder, and the Wig Wag drops down with the red stop sign, “ Warning Low Air Pressure “. How sweet is that. Another feature old Freighliners had that I liked is the high beam indicator light was mounted facing the inside of the windshield. You could see the reflection on the bottom of the windshield at night. I like the cab dark inside when I’m driving at night, especially when the roads are quiet. Oldest truck I had to drive was a long wheelbase 59 cab over Freightliner with a 250 Cummins, and a 10 speed. No power steering, concrete block suspension ( Hendrickson solid rubber block “ very popular back in the day. Truck was originally built at an truck pup just like the one here. Had the exhaust and air intake pipes recessed into the corners of the cab. Pulled tanks with it. Pack a lunch. It’s going to be a long day. I was 6 years old when this truck was built. I was 24 years old when I drove it, and was a full fledged truck mechanic before I started driving for a living. Served my time a Cummins Ontario ( Canada ). I had my whole life ahead of me. Like an idiot I bought a cab over Kenworth, owned a couple of those over a 35 year period. ( I know how to make a truck last ) All those old trucks needed was fuel, water, and air, and they’d run for ever. Turn the fuel pump on manual, and you didn’t need electricity. All you needed was enough air to release the brakes, and a down hill road, and you where outta there. Once I pushed on the drive tires of a 76 Pete 352 Cabover, got the truck a trailer rolling, jumped in and pumped the clutch and that rental 8V 92 came to life. All in a days work. Stopped at the port of entry in Kansas and when I went to get back into the truck as I walked up to open the door handle, it had fallen off ! Passenger side was locked. Had to jack up the cab, reach up through the gear shift tower hole in the bottom of the cab and pull on the inside door handle with the fifth wheel pin puller. Hey ! Nobody said life was perfect.

[@SuperDave01965]

My Dad had a ‘58 B61 with the 673-180 hp and a Quadraplex 5x4, no power steering and a fixed tag axle. He shifted the auxiliary first through all four gears and then shifted the main with both hands as the shifters were 2” apart. He was good at it.

[@carlnapp8673]

That particular Cummins sound is most addictive from the outside. It reminds me always of the Peterbilt from Duel.

[@dalekrueger1175]

@James Michael it was a 1955 281 peterbilt with 1674 cat and a 13 sp

[@waukesha398]

This truck has a 220 Cummins, (which has the same displacement as a 275), in it. The man driving is Gene Blackmore, a friend of Dr. Bill.

[@garyamerson8799]

I thought so! Love the sound of those 220's and the wine of a 275.

[@daveb9370]

I remember watching my dad shift twin sticks in the early 70’s in a Peterbilt cabover. Hand thru the wheel too. I was 5 or 6 and thought it was the coolest thing, though I liked the air shifter too. Still love cabovers.

[@garyamerson8799]

My grandfather used to drive them ol trucks! Love too watch it!

[@longroadpro]

The gear boxes in these trucks were pretty durable. The trucks didn't have the kind of power they do today either. The worst thing for these transmissions would be a bad connection between the seat and the steering wheel.

[@TheMrbluegrass]

This Driver is like the rest of us OLDTIMERS The Skill was in shifting all these new so called Steering Wheel Holders Don't have a clue what real trucking is about they have to rely on Automatics. I started out on an H Model Mack

[@thomasdaniels6824]

Not all of us are like that. There isn't a truck transmission or gear box produced that I couldn't shift but why is it such a bad thing to enjoy the nice things we have today thanks to the men like the man in this video? I could drive a 50 mph truck with a 5 *2, no air conditioning or air ride across the USA if I wanted too but why would I? I'm pretty sure the man in this video would agree

[@chris1422]

Sweet! I used to drive a 62 Pete with a 5x3. Once you know what gears work and which are redundant they are pretty easy to shift. You don't use every gear. If you have the main in 1st and shift the brownie through 1,2,3 then you shift the main to 2nd, but you don't bring the brownie back to 1st as 2nd and 1st was geared lower that 1st and 3rd. Hope that makes sense .Of course there were many transmissions with different ratios.

[@danielperry3008]

What you see here is a real trucker,l started on a two stick in 68, nothin like it 🇺🇲

[@tracylemme1375]

Before turbos I used to watch the trucks on Hi way 99 in SoCal at night and see the fire from the stacks. It was amazing.

[@doxyonr]

That is so cool! I love that old truck sound!

[@uncleenore]

I'm happily retired, now...but, god, how I miss driving big trucks...

[@jd450lh]

I had the chance to drive one twin stick in all of my 31 yrs of driving truch. It was a U-Model Mack (no turbo), with a quad box and when I was just getting the hang of shifting it, they put me on a 5spd 237hp Maxidyne, which I had lots of experience driving, but I missed the thrill of learning to shift the quad box...did pretty good upshifting, but downshifting was a different story, LOL! Love watching these old videos, thanks for posting! God Bless, Jeff :)

[@joequillun7790]

Great shots from inside, and out. A real quality video showing the pioneers of trucking. A cool truck, that could only be improved upon is if it were a B-61. :)

[@joehickey8229]

A true artist at shifting

[@longroadpro]

You're welcome Jason. I had a '69 911E. First one with fuel injection. (many years ago) And I must say, the B61 Mack with a quad box I drove as a kid was easier to shift.

[@Nacho66]

You've got those synchros cornered Pops!

[@georgewilson1184]

that rig and driver are awesome they empress me make me feel good not some flunky running a vacuum cleaner looking monstrosity with Idiot shift technology down the highway

[@ianisaacs2340]

SOUNDS LIKE DUEL!!! I don’t think I have heard a better sounding truck ever.

[@longroadpro]

@allshallperish84 The main transmissions were commonly 5 spds. Some were only 4 spds. The auxiliary or splitter box would normally be either 2,3 or 4 spds. A company called Brown Lipe was the most popular manufacturer of auxiliary transmissions. They were often referred to as "Brownies". So if you had a 5 spd main box and a 4 spd "brownie" you had 20 forward speeds. Depending on gear ratios, some combinations weren't used.

[@M28443]

AWESOME video! This fellow really does a SMOOTh job shifting those sticks!

[@longroadpro]

Thanks! I want to put both the interview and action segments from 1997 and the footage from "Trucks with 2 Sticks" in 2004. I edit these down a little for KZbin.

[@NcalBiker]

My mistake, a 220. Add a turbo, and you have a 262. My apologies. This is one of the BEST truck videos on KZbin!

[@johnstull9029]

That's called a real truck driver double clutching, drivers nowadays ain't Town enough to do too many things at once lol, thanks for the video

[@JamesWilliams-jn6hk]

My dad drove for PIE when the 2sticks were popular with them we lived in Denver so drove all the mountains he could shift as good or better than this guy he was only 5 ft. 5 in. 155 lbs. All truck driver he taught me also he retired as a teamster when PIE went under l also retired as a teamster after 36 years thanks to his teaching only wished I was as good a driver as him. 5:55

[@danallan1563]

Great video we don't have drivers and iron like that anymore I've always been a Detroit fan but Cummins did know how to build a bombproof mill at one time my favorites are the 290 and 350 seen lots of those in different units and never seen seen one in pieces burnt out but never broken

[@BaldDogM71]

Thanks for the video!!That's an old school truck driver I learned to drive in a 68 Pete with a 5X4 I like driving those mixing sticks

[@ohiopower]

Makes it look effortless.

[@umpchief14]

This would have been an excellent truck for Spielberg's "Duel" movie, if he had set it in the late '50's, or early '60's. They wrestled with using cabover or conventional, and decided that the Pete conventional was the most menacing-looking, but this old W/F would look scarier in my mirror!

[@dazzarules2010]

massive respect for these old timers and the gear they use back in the day all these cow boys these days with there 18 speed eaton's and auto boxes pftt what a joke they are

[@longroadpro]

Thanks Jeff, Merry Christmas!!

[@davidnazario6646]

Nice old Trucks 👍

[@LeandroMuntendam]

thats some oldschool drivin right there. aint no school like the goddamn oldschool

[@thomasdaniels6824]

What I would give to have the opportunity to spend a week crossing the country in that truck so that I could gain a better understanding of how the men and women before us shaped the industry and made it better for us.

[@carlnapp8673]

When I'll be that old, I hope I'll still be that capable.

[@mr_get_wastedmrgetwasted]

That ride would of wore me out, with all dat shifting😩

[@phillipjames2775]

The rough ride in this truck will kill you over time

[@tieroneactual2228]

The closed captioning at the beginning read B-61 Mack, ect, obviously a error at editing time, or was the Mack originally part of the video before the Freightliner? It was an excellent video of the old Freight Shaker all the way around with the interior & of it going down the road!

[@Rangirua]

what a beauty. l really do love these old trucks, but they would have never looked the part without there driver.

[@samuelegbert2199]

"Separates the truck drivers from the housewives " - David McNeil..

[@EKJ22]

No time for coffee drinking at the wheel, just shifting and shifting...

[@calebmanuel17]

Yep

[@longroadpro]

@ebuliavac Thanks! The interior shots are with a Panasonic AG EZ1 with wide angle on a small steadicam. The moving and tripod exterior shots are with a Panasonic AJ D210 (DVC Pro format).

[@Joelittle_]

Thanks for the the up load.

[@infrareddreamz]

that old girl is singin right along.. great old truck..

[@pachuco3088]

awesome vídeo love it that freightliner

[@mikeservais888]

Same here he does a good job with that 2stick

[@longroadpro]

These guys were not "steering wheel holders", that's for sure!

[@joshtaylor4249]

Beautiful truck. Exquisite driver.

[@longroadpro]

@multinjok Well that's for sure. Can you imagine these guys in their Hondas and Mitsubishis trying to shift two transmissions at the same time? That would be fun to watch.

[@jimratliff2753]

Man that is so cool.

[@dieseldoc855]

@SeaDollarsBertram with cummins it was refered as small cam or big cam...the engine used here is a NH 220 small cam 855 cummins..small cam engines were used until the late 70's when the formula big cam 290 NTC 855 cummins was introduced..both were 855 cubic inch blocks. the only other was the super 250 which was a small cam also but was a 792 cubic inch block.

[@georgerenton965]

I don’t think the 220 was a 855 block. It was smaller. 740 something? No piston cooling. Tapered nose crank like a 3335, but different animal. These things like the NH 250 where bulletproof. Worked on a few, but they where all in old Whites, and International Fleetstars, and Loadstars. Try torquing the heads 600 Ft lbs on the back head when it’s inside the cab. Driving in the summertime was hot and smelly.

[@BarronVonHopper]

I wish my co. would go back to manual transmission, I could be shifting gears instead of eating potato chips.

[@dennisheine8274]

Been there, done that. That was driving at it's finest.

[@longroadpro]

@titiajohnnie Thanks John, I tried several years ago to capture (on video) the fire coming out of the stack of my friend's 1955 LTL Mack. Unfortunately you can't really see it in the video, but it was there.

[@Thevacomaticvacuumcorner]

changing gears smooth as silk not a grind at all a true pro

[@jasoncarpp7742]

Awesome videos! Thanks for posting.

[@longroadpro]

@MegaZsolti It was Bill's truck, But our friend Gene Blackmore was driving it.

[@milwroad261]

This was when truckers where TRUCKERS!

[@the.porter.productions]

What a sound!

[@chrismurnane6389]

The exhaust noise wasn't loud enough for me liking, I hate fan noise. The only I like fan noise is when it comes on while Jake braking down hill.On one make of truck I drove you could feel the extra dag because of the power absorbed by fan and cooler air from the air to air intercooled air going into the engine.

[@the.porter.productions]

@@chrismurnane6389 🇺🇸 Some of the older trucks had a unique sound of their own, even without the jakes , etc. That’s part of the ambiance of old trucks I guess. Blessings my friend.🤩🥰✌️

[@EKJ22]

whit only 220 hp. it looks like a hard job to drive that rig all day.

[@HelloKittyFanMan.]

Whow, not only is this video interesting from the driving standpoint, but it's great from the production standpoint as well! What were you shooting Camera 2 from, and how did you drive in the wrong lane for an extended period of time without being in too much danger? Also, how did you make some of those Camera 2 shots look like you weren't just zoomed up to the truck but like you were holding the camera very close to it (it seemed to have a more 3D-ish look like the camera was actually close)?

[@joelabandeira9858]

my dad owned one of these in the late 1960's

[@longroadpro]

@MegaZsolti As I remember this truck had a 220.

[@georgewilson1184]

Yeah Real truck drivers & trucks

[@Strassenelefant]

WOW! Great video and truck. Had this gearboxes a high wearout? Greetings from Austria.

[@longroadpro]

If my memory serves, I believe you're right. I might have thought it was a 220, but the more I think about it... This was not my truck, I just shot and edited the video.

[@nicholasrussell3417]

Love that truck.

[@apocyldoomer]

AWESOME! I would have NO idea how to shift this grand old thing..WOW I'd be lost very good driving old timer..

[@mikeservais888]

Same here good driver uses the clutch

[@longroadpro]

@allshallperish84 The 2 stick transmissions pretty much fell out of favor by the late '60s and early '70s as the Road Ranger transmissions, which had been around since the '50s, became the most popular transmission for most manufacturers. Of course with the exception of Mack who put there own transmissions behind their own engines.

[@MrPoet67]

Well surely keeps ya busy on those mountain roads...

[@sabrinavidaurri5153]

so do you get bonuses to sign up to work and learn to drive with paid gas time and where ever you stay and your food tooo

[@mikemcclune1440]

What engine was in that truck? It sounds like an iron lung Cummins but I could be wrong

[@ppeteking8999]

MORE Please !!!!!!

[@longroadpro]

@SeaDollarsBertram As I recall this was a 220.

[@bruceschweigert6457]

This truck at the time was owned by dr. Bill Comcowich, who is probably the driver.

[@multinjok]

@longroadpro I mean all this gear shifting up and down...like races in those rice movies.