Hendrickson started about a hundred years ago and I remember their plant on old Rt. 66 in Lyons ,IL. In the ‘70’s when I first became aware of them they were modifying Diamond T, International and probably other trucks by adding heavier suspension systems, tandem rear axles, and even front wheel drive axles to some. They assembled a lot of specialty trucks but later moved to Caton Farm Rd. north of Joliet where they now only manufacture heavy duty suspension, axles and steering.
Hello, One of the coolest things we still have are some Pacific Theater accessories from 1959-62 time period. No, we did not cut the wires and steal them. It was a funny story that created our stereo speaker system in 1960 for our backyard garage workspace during our Impala build days and our 1940 Willys Coupe build days. In the open rafters of the small “Rumpus Room” we ran some wires across and attached the two speakers in line. The wires dropped to a connection we hooked up to a small portable AM radio speaker connection sitting on the workbench. So, when we turned on the small AM radio, the sound came from the overhead two metal speakers we had from our drive-in theater days. Jnaki One of the most coveted items was those metal speakers we always put on our rolled up glass door windows. It gave some sound inside of the enclosed interior space. But, one had to park fairly near the white painted poles with two speakers each, to allow some flex in opening the doors. So, how did we get the metal speakers in such pristine condition? My brother came home one day and showed me the metal speaker with the random wires split in a funny angle. He told me that when he pulled away in his 58 Impala, the passenger accidently left the speaker wire on the floor with the door closed. Unknowingly, my brother did not see the speaker hanging from the window, so he drove off for the exit. Yes, a loud noise and snap happened as he pulled away. Not wanting to go back to be totally embarrassed, he headed for the exit and away from the “accident.” But, the metal speaker was larger than the original small portable speaker we had in the radio, so the sound was better. Then jump up several years late when I was now the owner of the 1958 Impala and again, our drive-in movie showings were popular. So, again it happened, but I have to blame the person sitting in the passenger seat for the incident. As we got out to go to the snack bar, the speaker and wire was left on the floor of the rear seat opening. The passenger door shut well and no one noticed the wire sticking out of the bottom of the door. When we got back, the passenger entered the through my door and we enjoyed the movie to the end. When it was time to go, we just started up the motor and drove away, as I also did not see the speaker hanging on the window. But this time, the Impala power just yanked the wire and split it close to the door’s edge. When I looked back, nothing was wrong, so I just kept going to the exit, as usual. 58 Impala cruising days/nights Memories by @themoose Thanks… By the time I dropped off the passenger, while walking back to the car, I noticed a short wire hanging out of that side door bottom area. Just a couple of wires dangling. So, I opened the door and in the floor behind the passenger side seatback was a nice metal speaker sitting there wondering how it got where it was found. Now, after many years of acting as a “stereo” speaker in the backyard garage, my brother took his home to Santa Barbara when he moved out of our family house. I kept mine as a book end and it was a reminder of those “days gone past…” YRMV It is still sitting on a bookcase shelf preserved for eternity. Note: For those that like to tinker around, the inside space has a lot of room for one of the modern speakers and can be set up for Bluetooth usage, wirelessly. So, if you have the speaker sitting on your desk or garage, one could add it to the wireless circuit and play some music...
The Jalopy Journal
