MacDONALD

MacDonald Truck & Tractor Co.                                             )
Union Construction Co.                                                          )
MacDonald Truck & Manufacturing Co.                                )   (1920-c1952)
San Francisco, California                                                       )
MacDonald Truck & Mfg. Co., Div. Peterbilt Motors Co.      )
Oakland, California                                                                 )

This is a MacDonald radiator emblem (1920-late 1930s)    mjs
Size: 290mm wide 76mm high    MM: None

The MacDonald was a low-bed truck mainly intended for dockside and warehouse work, although highway models were also offered. There were two models, the 5-ton Model O with front-wheel-drive and the 7-1/2-ton Model AB. Both used four-cylinder Buda engines and hydraulic power steering. The Model O was particularly used for carrying plate glass, flour, cement and newspapers. The higher Model AB was more appropriate for use in furniture removal and with tipper bodies. 

In later years, MacDonald production was intermittent. After World War II a handful of MacDonalds were made by Peterbilt.

Emblems

The MacDonald truck carried a cast metal radiator emblem, see examples shown below:

This is a MacDonald truck showing radiator emblem (1920) atj

This is a MacDonald truck showing radiator emblem (1922)  hatm

MacDonald radiator emblem (1922)   hatm

This is the cast metal, painted MacDonald  radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post. This MacDonald radiator emblem is very rare.

On most MacDonald truck models, the same MacDonald emblem was also used as a nameplate attached to the side of the body in front of the driver's compartment, see photo shown below:

MacDonald truck showing body side nameplate (1920)  worthpoint

There are very few illustrations available showing later MacDonald trucks but the following photos show a MacDonald truck from 1947 with a close view of the emblem mounted on the radiator grille:

MacDonald truck with rad emblem & hood side plate (1947)
justoldtrucks

Radiator close-up showing the radiator emblem (1947)

The following MacDonald nameplate is believed to be the hood side nameplate used on the truck shown above and, possibly on later models, although I cannot confirm this. This MacDonald hood side nameplate is rare.

MacDonald hood side nameplate (c1940's dates uncertain) lktec
Size: 237mm wide 32mm high