Holmes 440 wrecker Info?

[AJC894]

Anyone have a Holmes 440 wrecker pictures or info? I picked one up this spring that has had an interesting life. I'm trying to figure out what is part of the Holmes conversion. As its had a lot added over the years. I have already found 7 different types of horns. I'm also trying to get photos to rebuild the pto/switch panel. Any info is good.

And of course a photo of it.

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AJC

 

[shiftpro]

What's better than 6 horns?? 7 horns!
Seriously now...
welcome to the site Drew,
need more pics and more specific questions and we will try our best to help ya out.

Looks like the truck needs a little more than a paint job. Fortunately they are easy to work on and millions of parts are available.

 

[AJC894]

I looking for anything about Holmes 440 wrecker. I have been searching for pictures, brochures, tech specs, stories of running one, how to use a sling or anything else related to a wrecker of this era. There dose not seem to be much out there in terms of info on it. I can find stuff on a Holmes 440 hi-power.

The truck is a 1976 c30 with a Holmes 440 wrecker. The truck was ordered as a chassis cab, with ether Holmes doing the conversion or one of there dealers. My guess is it was owned by a police determent base on the city of Robbinsdale, MN properties sticker. It runs and drives now. I picked it up for $600 after it had been sitting since 1995. floors are gone with the road signs used to repair it also most gone too. Even in its state the wrecker part works great. It gets more and more useful as I find things to use it for.

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AJC

 

[shiftpro]

I see major cab/frame/box misalignment... hopefully just rotted out cab mount rubbers..

I wish I could share Holmes info... but I don't really have any. I want a tow buddy too, but with the twin boom Holmes for 4x4 recovery.
With a twin boom you can 'steer' a wreck up the embankment (mountains where I live).

Nowadays it's hard to find a an actual skilled tow truck driver, as most tow trucks (cities anyway) are used to steal cars for the incorporated city it's working for... or the cops the tow companies sleep with.

Anyway for starters it looks like it needs a complete breakdown, then a sandblasting party, rust converter, primer and paint. But you may want to inspect the truck further to see if it's actually worth it. Perhaps find another cab in better shape if the floor is gone like you say, chances are the body mount supports underneath are rotten gone too.

 

[shiftpro]

And we also need photos of the orange 60's truck too!

 

[Honky Kong jr]

@HotRodPC would more then likely be of some help or @towjoe

 

[AJC894]

It's more then just cab bushings, try the floor behind the seat doesn't connect to the rear of the cab. So the floor is in the normal spot on the bushing and the cab is farther down. Doors don't even shut properly due to no structure. I have a new cab I'm prepping. Would love to make it 4 wheel drive, but I need to find a k30 for the axles and cross members. As I already have the sm465/np205 with pto for the transmission.

The orange truck is my daily driver, a 72 k10. A little rusty but it puts a smile on your face every day. You also get to here a lot of stories when pumping gas. Like my dad had one when I was a kid to I had one back in the 80's or 70's.

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[Craig 85]

Here's a source to try.

http://internationaltowingmuseum.org/

 

[k-5]

I have a Holmes 440 but I don't know if I will be any help to you The only thing I see on yours that isn't stock to my knowledge is the boxes that have your high taillights

 

[k-5]

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[shiftpro]

It's more then just cab bushings, try the floor behind the seat doesn't connect to the rear of the cab. So the floor is in the normal spot on the bushing and the cab is farther down. Doors don't even shut properly due to no structure. I have a new cab I'm prepping. Would love to make it 4 wheel drive, but I need to find a k30 for the axles and cross members. As I already have the sm465/np205 with pto for the transmission.

The orange truck is my daily driver, a 72 k10. A little rusty but it puts a smile on your face every day. You also get to here a lot of stories when pumping gas. Like my dad had one when I was a kid to I had one back in the 80's or 70's.

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Yeah sorry you can't just hang axles on a 2x frame and it becomes 4x4. Where the frame sweeps up into the engine bay, the 2x sweep is less and there is no room for the shackle. Unless you want to GO BIG, then DIY4x has the B52 kit which works wonders on a 2x frame. IMO best you find another K30 and put your wrecker on it.... maybe rebuild your 465 which I assume has the PTO box on it to power the winch.

And nice to hear you daily drive the '72. Last year of that body style..

 

[CSFJ]

Yeah sorry you can't just hang axles on a 2x frame and it becomes 4x4. Where the frame sweeps up into the engine bay, the 2x sweep is less and there is no room for the shackle. Unless you want to GO BIG, then DIY4x has the B52 kit which works wonders on a 2x frame. IMO best you find another K30 and put your wrecker on it.... maybe rebuild your 465 which I assume has the PTO box on it to power the winch.

And nice to hear you daily drive the '72. Last year of that body style..

Are you sure about the upward frame sweep? I'd never heard of that being different before. The reason I ask, is how different could it be when the body mounts under the core support, and cab have to be in the same place, along with the engine mounts to locate the driveline? Not asking to be argumentative, just trying to picture how much difference there can be on 2 sets of arcs with fixed points in the same locations along them.

 

[HotRodPC]

Way back in the day I operated a Holmes 440 unit on a Ford Chassis. I too don't really understand the questions. As far as outfitting you can customize things like horns and lights any way you see fit. LED's is the way to go these days. Did it come with Dollies? Back then we used what's called Pan Dollies which required lifting the vehicle 2 times. Once to set it in the dollies, then hook the other end and tow it away. Back then dollies weren't needed very often 4x4's could be towed with the Tcase in N, and AWD didn't really exist yet and FWD was rare. Usually it was severely damaged cars since roll backs were just starting to come out to replace ramps trucks.

Back to dollies, now there is In The Ditch aka ITD that you can lift the vehicle it's design without having to hook up to your truck 2x to lift and roll the dollies under the vehicle. Collins is the other brand. ITD or Collins are the only ones I'm aware of on the market these days.

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[HotRodPC]

I did drop pan dollies on an OLD POS truck about 3 years ago. Never thought I'd see them again. What a PITA compared to today's technology.

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[AJC894]

I have the dollies but not the pipe that connect the two halves.