1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Military Trucks 2 1/2 ton and greater, Wanted, For Sale (NO AUCTION or EBAY), and Knowledge Base

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Jeff L
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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff L » Sun May 14, 2017 8:39 pm

My parts book says the part number for the correct rear winch on a C2 is a Gar Wood 22Y6359B. I'm not sure of the capacity. The original rear drag winch is located just forward of the rear bumper. In civilian life most C2's, like mine, had the original rear winch removed and a larger one installed in place of the 5th wheel. This added winch used the pto and winch drive from the original. If anyone has an original C2 rear winch, along with the 110 generator, spotlights, and 5th wheel, I'm interested.
Jeff

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff L » Sun Aug 13, 2017 6:01 pm

The "new" Federal 606 is here. It is a 606D, s/n 113278 which should make it a 1943, perhaps even a late 1942 model. There is no data plate, but it is 634 s/n's older than my other C2, 113912, which was delivered January 1944. All in all I am pretty pleased with the new Federal. It runs, drives, and stops, builds air rather quickly, and seems to be in overall good mechanical condition. Even the air assist steering works. It has a working inertia starter complete with crank, the original seat and seat tray, and the windshield opening hardware and brackets, all of which are missing on the other truck. On the bad side, the cab and sheet metal is pretty rough. The wood in the cab, particularly the door jambs, is either rotten or gone. The drivers door came off a long time ago, and the passenger door came off in my hand when I tried to open it. The ignition switch was a household light switch, and the wiring to it burned up 10 minutes after we unloaded. There were 3 ways to start the truck, but none of them could be done from inside the cab ! That has since been fixed. The inertia starter really came in handy as the truck arrived with a dead battery. We had to crank it up to get it off the trailer. Fortunately it starts in about 2 fan blades. Here are some pictures.
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Federal 1943 606 7a.jpg
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Federal 1943 606 2b.jpg
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Federal 1943 606 8a.jpg
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Federal 1943 606 dashboard 1.jpg
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Federal 1943 606 dashboard 2.jpg
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Federal 1943 606 9.jpg
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Federal 1943 606 ignition switch.jpg
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Federal 1943 606 good wood.jpg
Federal 1943 606 good wood.jpg (162.64 KiB) Viewed 2336 times
Federal 1943 606 Matt's Garage.jpg
Federal 1943 606 Matt's Garage.jpg (206.9 KiB) Viewed 2336 times
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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff L » Sun Sep 03, 2017 5:44 pm

I had the twins out yesterday for a couple of photos together.
Attachments
Federal 1943 & 1944 606 C2's JL 1.jpg
Federal 1943 & 1944 606 C2's JL 1.jpg (222.27 KiB) Viewed 2271 times
Federal 1943 & 1944 606 C2's JL 2.jpg
Federal 1943 & 1944 606 C2's JL 2.jpg (235.7 KiB) Viewed 2271 times
Federal 1943 & 1944 606 C2's JL 3.jpg
Federal 1943 & 1944 606 C2's JL 3.jpg (249.18 KiB) Viewed 2271 times
Jeff

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by 70th Division » Sun Sep 03, 2017 8:54 pm

Hello,

Nice save Jeff , on those Federals !!

They certainly are big !!!
Surely, Kings of the Road !!! :D :D :D

Best Regards,

Ray

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff L » Sat Nov 11, 2017 11:42 am

I made a video of the '43 606 inertia starter in use. It is the same type of starter used by some aircraft in the 1920's and 1930's. It was original equipment on the C2 wreckers and some of the other big WW2 trucks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LsVXPDUaCo
Jeff

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff Jensen » Sat Nov 11, 2017 5:17 pm

Down south Jeff Had my federal running today.
I need inertia starter for mine if you find one.
Up North Jeff

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff L » Sun Nov 12, 2017 11:00 am

Up North Jeff,

Most of these trucks had the inertia starters removed years ago, I got lucky that the Matt's garage truck still has one and the crank too. It's an Elipse Aviation Engine Starter. Eclipse was a division of Bendix. I think the model is B-9. It seems like something that might show up on ebay. I'll keep my eyes open.

How is that HXD running ? They are sweet when they are running right.

Down South Jeff
Attachments
Inertia Starter disengaged.jpg
Inertia Starter disengaged.jpg (198.99 KiB) Viewed 2147 times
Inertia Starter 2.jpg
Inertia Starter 2.jpg (231.66 KiB) Viewed 2147 times
Inertia Starter Data Plate.jpg
Inertia Starter Data Plate.jpg (219.25 KiB) Viewed 2147 times
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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff L » Fri May 22, 2020 10:11 am

It has been ages since this thread has been updated, coming up on 2-1/2 years. My original intention was to part out the red Matt's Garage Federal to help restore the orange Myroncuk House Movers wrecker. However the red Federal ran and drove pretty good, so I had it hauled to a truck show here in Florida in 2019. I was very surprised by the reaction it got. Most people had never seen a 7-1/2 6x6 before, and folks just loved the truck. They were even more amazed by the inertia starter, which I demonstrated several times during the show. A number of people told me I should keep the truck just the way it was and not part it out. So I decided to make it road worthy and preserve it in its current state, warts and all. A new old stock carburetor and a rebuilt fuel pump got the big Hercules HXD running smoothly. A new regulator, used generator and new wiring got the charging system up to speed. All the lights are rewired, including the ancient turn signal/flasher switch that was added sometime after the war, so all the lights are working. All the tires have been replaced with some nearly new 1100-20's. I also sandblasted, sealed, and painted the fuel tank (to match the patina). It's been to three shows this year before the Covid madness began, a local car show, the ATCA truck show in Leesburg, and the MVPA show in Mount Dora. I got a trophy for "Best Rat Rod" at the car show, go figure lol ! Here are a few photos.

2019 at the truck show in Leesburg
Federal 606.jpg
New(er) tires
Federal 606 new tires 3.jpg
Refurbished fuel tank
Fuel Tank 3.jpg
Federal 1943 606 6x6 1.jpg
Federal 1943 606 6x6 2.jpg
At Leesburg this year. It draws a crowd.
Leesburg Federal 606 2020 1.jpg
Last month I made a video of a ride around the block.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3J5C5bHcd8&t=5s
Jeff

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by nhs275 » Mon May 25, 2020 5:00 pm

Good call not parting out the red one Jeff! Nice video too - top speed in the video is maybe 30 mph? Engine sounds great! Pretty interesting 5th gear is toward the driver and up - same spot as a post-war Timken 5000 series. I’m making extremely slow progress on my Navy DD115 Sterling - but any progress is better than no progress. I’m moving to a new place around the corner - found a house on 5 acres and now have enough room to finally build a shop. Dave Decker, Reno NV.
1944 Navy Sterling 115DD
1944 Converto T6, property tag ID CV38 Shangri-La

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Dozerman51 » Mon May 25, 2020 6:46 pm

That garage wrecker must have a been a thing of beauty when it was doing it’s thing. Looks like the garage took pride in keeping it looking good. It has a heater and defroster set up in it. Doubt the military had heaters in their vehicles other than the Ambulances and Big Shot staff cars. Boy it would be nice to see a photo of it when in Garage service. Matt Towing must have been really proud of that truck. I guess now it is just too cost prohibitive to restore it to it’s previous glory. Sad, sad.

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff L » Tue May 26, 2020 10:08 am

Dave, the transmission is a 5 speed Spicer 7851 with OD on 5th gear. I was running about 25 mph by my phone GPS. I'm keeping the speed down until I have an accurate tach as redline is 1800. I'm glad to hear you got a new place. 5 acres will keep you busy !

Dozerman, I still plan to do a full restoration on the orange Myroncuk House Movers C2. But now that my parts truck is no longer a parts truck, I need another parts truck ! However I am looking for a Gar Wood US6 boom for the Matt's garage truck, as all the PTO's work and it would not take much to make it an operational wrecker again. I would like to find the older curved boom if possible. The Matt's truck is by no means beyond restoration, but I'll leave that to the next owner, if I ever decide to sell it. I would love to find a photo of this truck When Matt's had it, but one has not turned up yet. I do have a photo taken sometime after the boom was removed when it was owned by Hamilton Towing in South Bend. I'm still in search of a photo of it with the boom.
Attachments
Federal 1943 606 Matt's Garage Matthew Thompsonhamilton FB 2 crop.jpg
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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Dozerman51 » Tue May 26, 2020 3:46 pm

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the photo of the truck. I’m sure when you get through with a full restoration of the house movers C2 it will be an awesome thing to see. Too bad I’m on the opposite coast or I would come and view your trucks. Keep us posted on the progress. Take care and stay healthy,
Joe G.

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by kw573 » Tue May 26, 2020 3:59 pm

Hi,
I'm a bit confused.

When you say 'boom', do you literally mean the boom, or are you referring to the entire wrecker crane assembly?
Or . . . ?

Sam.
1942 Script GPW (Daily driver).
MB-T trailer.
Diamond T 969. ('The Glorifier')
Diamond T 969, rusty, complete, for sale.
Kenworth M1A1 Heavy Wrecker x 2.
M2A1 white HT. ('Clarrie')
Light Recovery Trailer (Ford?).
3ton GS (Blitz) Trailer.
150gal water tanker trailer.
Air compressor trailer, 100c.f.m.

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff L » Wed May 27, 2020 6:02 pm

Sam, I need the entire crane assembly.
Jeff

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Re: 1944 Federal 606 C2 Wrecker

Post by Jeff L » Sat Mar 27, 2021 10:18 am

It seems like we are only doing annual updates, but there has been some progress. Last fall I found the correct Gar Wood US6 crane assembly for an early C2 wrecker with the curved "gooseneck" boom. Someone had posted a photo of it on Facebook and I knew right away what it was. It was mounted on a 1969 International Fleetstar and had been used as a yard crane at a junkyard in Bainbridge, Georgia. Bainbridge is only 5 hours from my home here in Florida so I went up to look at it. The carburetor was missing and it had not run in several years but the wrecker looked mostly unmolested other than the main PTO sprocket being moved to one side, so I made a deal on it.

I got the truck home in January courtesy of David Moore. The IH is powered by an RD450 six cylinder engine. This model engine actually goes back to WW2. With a new carburetor and a little time I was able to get it running and building enough air to actuate the air-shifted PTO to power up the crane. The boom up/down seems to work, the hook up/down works although it is a little sluggish, but the the boom side to side is not working at all. The problems seems to be in the selector box. The plan is to get the crane completely operational while it is still on the IH, and then do the swap. So there is plenty of work to do but unfortunately the troubleshooting is as far as I have had time to get to.

The Facebook pic
Facebook Picture (1).jpg

Data plate, built by Mead Morrison for Gar Wood
Gar Wood US6 5.jpg
Gar Wood US6 1.jpg
Gar Wood US6 4.jpg

The Fleetstar is pretty rough but running.
International 1969 1910A Fleetstar 1.jpg
International 1969 1910A Fleetstar 2.jpg
Federal 606 & Gar Wood US6 1.jpg

It will look something like this when it is mounted.
Federal 606 & Gar Wood US6 2.jpg
Jeff

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