Pike's Peak or Bust - 1957 NAPCO promo film.

[Jim]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5LYTkRjdno

[dieseldoc]

nice to seecthat.
its the old eaton axels making the cwral to the top before the roads were made!

[Spieg]

Very cool video. Guess they didn't believe in "Stay the trail" back in those days.

Wish they had video footage of the Jeep "driving" to the top of Mt Elbert in '49.

[Chris]

The same thought crossed my mind along with the guys riding in the bed, handing on the sides, etc.

A cool story is in a book I have about a '42 Plymouth (I had one 30 years ago) driving from the Detroit factory to the southern tip of S. America. Totally stock driving the roads or lack thereof in 1942. It would have been a bigger story but the war overtook everything at the time. The book is Adventure South written by the primary driver.

[Brian]

Pretty cool!

[Jim]

`looked to be a PTO winch.

There are several other "NAPCO" vids - do a search for'm if you like it.

[Tom]

I find it interesting that it starts out with mountaineers climbing in the Alps.

[dieseldoc]

"stay the trail" there was none then. the roads were put down yet.

the NAPCO conversions were eary 4x4 for chevy, these trucks were not built this way from the factory.
Thus the divorced T-case and same length drive shafts, like the highboy fords.
That rear axel is way cool, drop out center section with a rear pan like we have now, Eaton built some good stuff back then, they want in the heavy duty durection to build the big stuff for much bigger trucks.
There is stiil support for these older axles if you come across them, the rear is much like the 9" ford but bigger and stronger!