What was the oldest UPS vehicle you have ever driven?

[rod]

Originally Posted by old brown shoe

Think we had one of those 1946 Dodge's that Rod and Traveler are talking about. Felt like you were sitting in the back seat when you drove it because it had such a long nose on it. We called it the armadillo and some drivers would fight over who got to drive it. Some loved it others would not be seen dead driving it. Kinda like driving a classic 57 Chevy hardtop.

That's the one! Armadillo fits it to a T

[mattwtrs]

Originally Posted by IWorkAsDirected

I drive an old p400 when I first started in 1987 it had a manual choke and a wooden bulkhead door.

I did not shed any tears when the P4's & P6's with the wooden bulkheads and fold up wooden shelves were sent to the bone yard. The splinters under the finger nails were nasty!

[pkgdriver]

Originally Posted by IWorkAsDirected

I drive an old p400 when I first started in 1987 it had a manual choke and a wooden bulkhead door.

Same here. I think the oldest one we had was a 66.

[mattwtrs]

Does anyone remember the P300 & P350s from the 1960's. The cab area was almost as big the cargo area and they had manual choke & micro brakes. Big dash area and low step. No seat belts unless you complained then they put them in! No dual brake system which was ugly if you blew a brake line or cylinder.

[fairday]

I Started Out In A Old 1966 P-400. It Was Great. It Was Peppy And You Could Load Half Your Day On The Dashboard And Engine Cover. However It Was A Adventure In The Rain Because Only One Wheel Would Brake So You Could Slide Forever. A Grown Up Go- Kart Was All It Was...

I started out in an old P600. Old wooden bulkhead door,choke on the dash, and micro-brake. One of the top seniority drivers wanted a bigger car so the cm gave him mine and I got a old 1960's P400. Old wooden bulkhead door,choke on the dash. Used to put a piece of cardboard behind the front grill to try to get the engine warm enough in the winter to get heat. And then you used to stuff newspaper in the holes in the floor around the pedals. Still spent a lot of days seeing my breath in the cab all day.
When I got the 400, I complained I didn't have enough room to work. The cm gave me a wonderful piece of advice I took to heart and carried with me my entire 32 year driving career. "Son, you can only get so many packages in a 400." I made it a point to always try to have the smallest car possible in the center. Hey boss, like to help you out but I got no room. But those old 400's were great. You could set up 20 stops on the dash and that little car with that little wheel base could go anywhere. And in the snow with a full set of chains it was like driving a jeep. I had the last one in a 250 car center until the mid 80's. Coming back to the building one night the engine just let go. Had a over 200,000 miles on it.Poor little guy just had enough.

[dannyboy]

Poor little guy just had enough

You or the package car?

d

I've laughed at all this for a few days: Oldest PC was a P400(circa 1966,#67074);used to get spanked for leaving the radiator cap access flap open( with the car # on it) when i returned to the building. Thought I was getting a promotion when I went to feeder and for the next 5 years I drove a '66 F Model flat-top with no air and air start and a uni-shift trans.! Not many understand when, on a Monday morning in the winter,you had to ask for a can of starting fluid and a BJ to get it fired up!

I lasted a little longer Danny. Retired last June with my 32 years. And as I've said before, I'm so happy I can't stand it.

[Big Babooba]

Originally Posted by Slack Adjuster

Not many understand when, on a Monday morning in the winter,you had to ask for a can of starting fluid and a BJ to get it fired up!

That brings back memories. The intake stack was always on the passenger side as well. Spray and run -lots of fun. Of course it couldn't be easier. When the darn thing started, it sounded like it was going to blow!

[dannyboy]

I'm so happy I can't stand it

Congrats from me! Nothing worse to see a driver leave UPS and not be able to enjoy life in retirement.

d

[scratch]

The oldest thing I ever drove was a P400 back in 1975. I worked Irregulars on the Midnight Sort and they had an old Dodge, I think, and it was painted yellow. It was great driving it around the Atlanta Hub yard with the busted out windshield in the middle of winter. When I went full-time, I did run a route in a P600. I don't miss those one bit. I drive a P5 doing EAMs on my first trip now, I actually enjoy them. They are starting to scrap them now, and not replacing them with anything that size. They really fly with 5-6 stops on them!

[Big Babooba]

Originally Posted by scratch

The oldest thing I ever drove was a P400 back in 1975. I worked Irregulars on the Midnight Sort and they had an old Dodge, I think, and it was painted yellow. It was great driving it around the Atlanta Hub yard with the busted out windshield in the middle of winter. When I went full-time, I did run a route in a P600. I don't miss those one bit. I drive a P5 doing EAMs on my first trip now, I actually enjoy them. They are starting to scrap them now, and not replacing them with anything that size. They really fly with 5-6 stops on them!

Winter in Atlanta must be pure hell. Gotta go now, we just got another 12 inches of snow to take care of.

[scratch]

Originally Posted by Big Babooba

Winter in Atlanta must be pure hell.

It can be like hell. The snow will actually stick to the ground sometimes, about once every other year. Sorry to you guys up north.............

[queenupser]

Oldest package car I drove was a 1964 P400 with wooden door. One of my co-workers locked his keys in the back and took a chain saw and cut out a 3 foot hole in it. Mechanic cussed like a sailor when he had to replace the door.

[AlaskaMike]

Mine was a 1970's P400 with the wooden bulkhead door. Will never forget the joy of being stuck in a perfectly plowed parking lot in winter. The one rear wheel that drove the thing spinning like crazy. Got pulled over for speeding one time and when the cop asked me if I knew how fast I was going, I just showed him how hitting the gas pedal caused the speedometer to spin like it was possessed. Didn't write me a ticket at least.

[Hoaxster]

A Grumman P-350 in 1978. Last time I saw it, it was painted yellow and was being used to haul irregs around the Atlanta hub.

[scratch]

Originally Posted by 0544535

A Grumman P-350 in 1978. Last time I saw it, it was painted yellow and was being used to haul irregs around the Atlanta hub.

I drove this same one hauling Irregulars around the Atlanta Hub on the Midnight sort. It was great, winter time with no windshield in it. It had the loosest shifter in it I have ever seen. You could drive around and have a smoke, this was before the electric Irregular Trains came along. We also used to push Irregs around the building in carts, those mack truck leaf springs and bumpers from automotive were hell.

[thom1842]

I drove a P-50 from 1967 (could've been 68) as a crew van on the Air Ramp before I started as a driver, it had over 800,000 miles on it and I suspected the odometer might have flipped once . It was painted bright white with the brandmark on the side.

All my sup asked was, "Can you drive a stick?" I said yes. I felt bad for the poor crew that rode with me to their plane, the P-50s don't shift like a 2000 Plymouth Neon!

[IDoLessWorkThanMost]

'70 Ford P700 I believe. It was not an easy ride..and glad not to be dealing with it anymore.

[25yrvet]

Truck # 14301, I believe it was an early 60's model. As stated above, the wooden bulkhead door and shelves were hell with splinters--not many mechanics have sanders in their toolboxes. The side doors were hard to open, hard to turn, shift, ETC. I had the key medalion up until a couple years ago. They crushed it in the early 90's--when the military needed heavy metal for the Abrahms tank

[trplnkl]

The truck I drove this past week was a 1986 GMC P500, 22 years old with 961000+ miles showing and I am pretty certain the odometer has been changed more than once. With the adapted V6 fuel injected engine it runs pretty good, hard to shift, has power steering (takes all the power in your upper body to steer it) and has no turning radius. The shocks have been shot to hell since 1988, run over a pebble in the road and you can feel it. Of the 350 mile daily average for the week 100-150 on unimproved roads. The decibel level is so high that it is deafening , literally. The real joy is making it to Friday night.

[PASinterference]

My oldest was a 69 Ford P400 I think.It had a 302 and a 4 speed.It was basically a mustang disguised as a pkg car.It ran like a scalded dog. That was way back when GPS meant "great planning supervisor".I guess those are extinct,too.