Est. 1920 · Springfield, Ohio
Kelly Springfield The Bumble Bee.
Our family is pleased to share with you, the Bumble Bee — a 1920 Kelly Springfield 2.5-ton truck, fully restored from a pile of rust by E.F. Wagner of Lewiston, Idaho.
1920
Year of Origin
2.5T
Payload Capacity
10 yrs
Restoration Time
#1
ATHS Show Truck 1995
Our Story
From Rust to the Road.
"It was a bunch of rust and broken parts; it was sitting outside."
- Ed Wagner
Our family is pleased to share with you, the Bumble Bee. Actually, a 1920 Kelly Springfield 2.5 ton truck fully restored from a pile of rust by E.F. (Ed) Wagner of Lewiston, Idaho. Wagner was a machinist who then owned Wagner Machine Shop on Lewiston's Main Street and bought the remains in 1975 in Waitsburg, Washington. An acquaintance told Wagner about the "truck" because of his interest in antique automobiles, particularly farm machinery.
Wagner recalled, "It was a bunch of rust and broken parts; it was sitting outside," after the owner had bought it from a farmer when the truck had been in the "boneyard" for 40 years or so. Its wheels were gone, the solid rubber tires were no more, there was no bed on it, the floorboards, seat and radiator were missing, and even the steering wheel had vanished. Parts for the truck were not available, so Wagner had to build everything referring to drawings and photographs from old magazines and catalogs.
Most of the radiator, for instance, had to be built painstakingly from photographs and the measurements for the radiator core came from an old radiator shop in California. Wagner made new connecting rods, brake drums, all the universal joints and much more. Part of the information he used to restore the Kelly Springfield came from a 1914 owner's manual provided by the transportation curator at the Smithsonian Museum at Washington, D.C. The curator had seen Ed's call for a radiator in "Hemmings Motor News", a trade magazine for vintage car owners. He sent off a letter to Wagner saying he couldn't get him a radiator but he did have a copy of the 1914 Kelly operator's manual and for 10 cents a page, Wagner could have a copy of it.
One Decade. One Man. One Truck.
10 years of weekend work got the Kelly running again long after it had first rolled out of the Springfield, Ohio factory in 1920. The factory, which went bankrupt in 1926, used to turn the trucks out in a neutral gray color and it was up to the owners to splash their favorite colors on them. Ed chose the gleaming black and sunshine yellow and the nickname, the Bumble Bee. “Wagner Dray” is painted in black letters on a wooden plaque hanging from a black chain strung around the bed. No one knew what a dray was Wagner said, but noted that was the proper term for a low wagon, without permanent sides, used to haul heavy loads. The Kelly would have been used as a logging truck as it’s original intention.
1920
Springfield, Ohio
The Kelly Springfield rolls off the factory floor, painted neutral gray. Intended as a logging truck. The factory closes just 6 years later in 1926.
1975
The Discovery
Ed Wagner purchases the rusted hulk in Waitsburg, WA. No wheels, no bed, no radiator, no steering wheel — just a frame and a machinist's dream.
1975–85
Built By Hand
Every single part fabricated from scratch. A 1914 Smithsonian manual. California radiator measurements. 10 years of Sundays in the machine shop.
1995
Show Truck of the Year
Named Show Truck at the ATHS national convention in Spokane, WA. Ed beams like a proud Papa, starting it up for doubters.
A Century of Character.
Wagner not only got the truck running again but it became a fixture on Sunday car tours with the Lewiston Crankers Club, a group of old car and truck aficionados and in regional parades. The feather in Ed’s cap was when the Kelly was chosen as the Show Truck of the 1995 American Truck Historical Society’s annual convention in Spokane, Washington. He loved talking about the Bumble Bee, showing it off and starting it up for doubters all the while beaming like a proud Papa.
"The Bumble Bee still runs like a charm."
- E.F. Wagner · Lewiston Crankers Club
