1976- The Humble Beginning

The cabs were diecast metal- a zinc mixture, including other inexpensive metals. The first year saw four cabs-

a) Peterbilt cabover painted dark orange

b) Kenworth conventional painted green

c) Peterbilt conventional painted red

d) Kenworth cabover painted light orange

The cabs advertised on the package back were prototypes. They were quite rickety in appearance, with poor diecasting. Once production started, the dies were cleaned up a bit, retooled, and the final product looked much better than advertised. Early cabs had the wheel rims pressed onto the axle shafts. They are easy to spot, as the wheel center exhibits a much smaller opening, usually with the axle end visible.

Sometime during the 1976 production run, Universal changed the wheel / axle configuration to a 'floating wheel' design. The center of the rims was opened up a bit, and the tire and rim assembly simply slid onto the axle shaft. Once installed, the ends of the axle shafts were swedged downward to create a 'mushroom' effect. This held the wheels in place, and allowed them to turn freely and independently, instead of being frozen to the shaft.

Around the same time Universal also had to alter the wheel openings on the Peterbilt cabover. It seems that the front axle had been placed too far back to fit the original rounded Peterbilt style wheel openings. Instead of changing the mold for the plastic chassis to move the axle forward, they just made the wheel opening longer, and quite oblong in appearance. There were not very many of these older Peterbilts cast, as this seems to be a mid-year retooling.

The first two rigs were the orange Peterbilt cabover pulling an Exxon tanker trailer, and the green Kenworth conventional pulling an Allied Van Lines trailer.

(Note how the front wheel on the Peterbilt seems to be too far back. This is one of the earlier Peterbilts. It was cast before the retooling to open up the wheelwell.)

About mid-year, the back of the box changed for it's first time. It was altered to show the lineup as a green Kenworth conventional pulling a Consolidated Freightways refrigerated trailer, and a red Peterbilt conventional pulling the Allied Van Lines trailer. The series now seemed to exclude the Peterbilt / Exxon truck, but it was still avalilable.

This particular package back was from later in 1976. It now shows all four cabs, and all four trailers offered. But does it?

Not really. In 1976 Universal also offered 3 Watkins rigs- a green Kenworth conventional, a light orange Kenworth cabover, or a red Peterbilt pulling a sky blue "Watkins Refrigerated Lines" trailer. The Watkins trailer was also available seperately, but (like the rig combos) was never mentioned on any promotional material.