New on the site is this page dedicated to Marmon Harrington four wheel drive conversion trucks. M/H has been around for a long time, starting to build 4x4 conversions in 1931. Below are a few of my photos of converted trucks. Please feel free to add any pictures you have to the collection!

New-Check the buy/sell /trade page for some M-H parts available!!











Before I bought my first truck, I was out collecting photos. The truck above was a working unit at the time, inspected and well serviced. I spotted it off I-90 in Erie County. It would have made a nice restoration project, but I have since lost track of it.



This one is from Warren County, Pa. Without many details, it is an older Autocar with the MH conversion.


This one is from Union Township in Erie County, Pa. It has an Allison automatic transmission and is reported a dream to plow with!

The next photos are of a Dodge truck with a Marmon-Herrington conversion sitting in a salvage yard near
Edinboro, Pa







Check out Albrecht's MH Ford, former snow blower chassis

There are several nice photos of MH's on this website

http://www.specialtycontrolpanels.com/picturepage.html

Here is a link to the factory website

http://www.marmon-herrington.com/

Here's a link to some great pics of a nice, low mileage Marmon-Harrington, I'm guessing out in Colorado.
Thanks to chtucker!

http://www.letstalksnow.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20042

PennDoT got to be a fair customer of Howe-Coleman conversions toward the end of their purchasing four wheel drive units (late sixties and early seventies). Prior to this it was predominantly Walters early on and later FWD's and some Oshkosh. The Howe-Colemans came in all truck varieties- Ford, I-H and Chevy/GMC to be sure. My memories of their reliability and performance are not that complimentary. It seems like they were down for a time every winter season for some driveline problem. Following are a few photos of Howe-Coleman conversions, generally recognizable by the stepped front frame to allow for the transfer case and front drive.





This truck is located north of I-80 at Clearfield, Pa.



This truck was wing-equipped, many were not.



Stepped frame is evident by the front fender/tire clearance in the above photos.

Here are a couple pictures of the Howe-Coleman facility located in Troy NY








As stated in the ad, the conversion uses standard manufacturers differentials front and rear. The front cases are cut and H-C weldments put on to accomodate the steering knuckle assemblies.



This part of the ad mentions the use of more standard Ford parts in the conversion. The same would be true for other makes (Dodge, I-H, GMC and Mack). It also mentions the Rockwell transfer case. All the ones I have ever seen have the frame cut off and the front stepped up to provide clearance for all this hardware.




This shows the steering knuckle, with only four wear points (that wear out real fast). In all fairness the trucks we had we geared to run 60-65 MPH and were used all summer hauling gravel or other maintenance stuff. They did not sit in reserve waiting for snow so I quess they might wear out sooner. In 1972 I was part of an Mobile Emergency Team sent to Renova, Pa to help with the cleanup after Hurricane Agnes. We ran that truck down I-79 and over I-80 wide open (flats and downhills) at 65mph to keep up with the caravan. Uphill grades were quite another story however. Plowing contractor Albert Conn had a Marmon Harrington Ford conversion that he plowed for PennDoT with. That truck was geared very low (unlike the PennDoT trucks) and he wouldn't go much faster than 35 mph when in transit. A whole lot slower when plowing but he sure got a lot of work done with that truck. This page notes that two-speed rear differentials available. That leads me to suspect that the Rockwell transfer cases T226 and T228D had 2WD and 4WD in high range and 4WD in low with the two-speed available for the 2WD high range. I found a few notes about the transfer cases and it sounds like a number of low range ratios were available, 2.25 to 2.55 being mentioned.



The sales brochure above is a recent purchase from Walter Miller and I'd like to add a little note about the vast amount of material he has and the nice service he provides.

http://www.autolit.com/

The bottom corner here notes that this ad is from1977. That is very close to the time we had this exact truck brand new fighting snow in Edinboro, Pa.



This picture of John Doyle's Coleman shows the "full moon" cover on the front hub. This is much the same as the Howe-Coleman conversions and made me wonder if they weren't related somehow, which is why I asked the question in the first place. The I-H conversion shown above would make for a nice save if someone wanted to include a Howe-Coleman conversion in their collection.

So much for any questions about Howe-Coleman longevity! The following photos are from a 1970 Chevy conversion still earning it's keep at a marina along the Alleghany River near Pittsburgh. Enjoy!



This Chevy ia a 1970 model, 478 V-6, air brakes, 2 speed transfer, Howe-Coleman conversion



This truck was a former PDT truck they purchased from Herb Hovis in Emlenton, Pa. Herb had quite a collection of PennDoT relics available until a few years ago when they cleaned house. The photo at the top of this page is one of Herb's trucks, much poorer condition than this one.




In service at RiverForest Yacht Club since 1986, depending on all that ballast to set and pull boats from the river.



Nice truck! David tells me they have done some creative machine work to keep this one running but well worth the effort. Thanks to new member white4406 for these pics and a few more yet to be posted.

Daryl Gushee Howe Coleman Fire Truck

Here is a sweet old truck that needs absolutely nothing. 6900 original, gentle, miles. First a photo of the truck when new. Original owner: Crystal Falls Michigan fire dept. Second owner: Alpha Mastodon fire dept.

!955 International Harvester RD 200
Coleman conversion all wheel drive
John Bean fire equipment
Owned by
Daryl Gushee
New Gloucester Maine

Here is what she looks like today
I do have the battery box cover.

Still straight and clean, just a light rub on the right front fender.

Coleman 4 wheel drive conversion

Coleman built them good and rugged.
PLOWMAN

colemanharringtonhowemarmon

Here's my 1947 KB-5 Coleman. Someday I'll have the time.....

1951 Ford F-7 Big Job Marmon Herrington.

It served as a pumper for the Richmond Fire Dept in MA.

Jim

Jim

*Always think for yourself. Don't trust the government.

Very nice! I have a 1948 KB-2 with the Knox grain box. Not4WD. Bshoesey

Here are a few pics of what I think is a 1941-1949 IH KB7 Coleman conversion which I recently purchased, there is a strong possibility the truck was a US army air corps snOgo truck. What is interesting is that the Howe Coleman name does not appear on anything and all components are riveted in place. I also found out Coleman had set up shop in Omaha, Nebraska at this time, the truck was found 30-40 miles from Omaha...

ancient thread but would like to know if someone can ID the conversion on this '53 Ford from the side hood badges.. California Forestry

click on the ebay pic and it will enlarge..

1953 Ford 4x4 CDF

Mike W

*****

Mike, it looks like a Marmon-Herrington front end. Badge may be from the fire equipment manufacturer.


Jeff

On the K series conversions, I have seen at least two the had the IH 3 diamond symbol stamped or cast into the differential housing. This was an IH rear axle that was sent to Coleman. Coleman cut off the ends of the rigid axle and grafted on Coleman steering knuckles to make it a front drive axle. The also did this for White and Mack. Cheaper than making a whole axle from scratch, and it worked well.

Jeff Lakaszcyck (8/8/2015)

---

Mike, it looks like a Marmon-Herrington front end. Badge may be from the fire equipment manufacturer.


Mike, If I understand correctly, we are talking about the rusted chassis loaded on the trailer...

That is very definately as "standard" Coleman front drive axle, hence the data plate indicating a Coleman model #20, serial 233.  Also note the distinctive Coleman heavy dome hub protectors. The axle was manufactured in Littleton, Colorado, and I assume that is perhaps where the conversion was installed.  Many were at about that time. 

"Howe-Coleman," the conversion offered by Howe Brothers, is a different company altogether and with a differrent patent application, and does not enter into the picture.  They had stopped doing "true" Coleman conversions in about 1950, or just before, when Coleman canceled their status as an authorized distributor, and then threatened legal action over disputed business practices.  Following the incident, Howe Brothers simply made a few changes, then repeatedly attempted (unsuccessfully) to patent their own axle, which are "usuallly" marked "Howe-Coleman" on the heavy dome hub protector. After several failed patent applications, they continued production without patent protection, with the last Howe-Coleman conversions being instatilled in about 2005-2006. 

"Omaha" does not really enter into the picture either.   That was simply the business address for the American Road Equipment Company that bought out Coleman Motors, hence doing business under the new "American Coleman" name, very brieifly listing a business address / distributorship at the WOW building in Omaha.  The Coleman / American Coleman factory was always in Littleton, Colorado.  

Hope that helps some...

Keep Calm and Coleman On!
Craig


Craig H. Trout
ATHS Life Member

Researching Holmes / Plains / Coleman / American Coleman Trucks
and selected production partners, such as Columbian Steel Tank, Quick Way Truck Shovel, Howe-Coleman, International Harvester, Marmon-Herrington, and SnowBlast

American ColemanAmerican Road Equipment CompanyColemanHowe-Coleman

Craig, my reply is concerning the picture of the 4x4 Ford fire truck Tamangel ( Mike W) posted, not the rusty IH chassis. sorry for the confusion.



Jeff