MAN 735 L1 tipper truck

Centrally located in the old town of Frankfurt, a treasure trove of MAN classics was waiting for the employees of the “Veteranenhalle” in Selters. A rare MAN square-bonnet truck from the 50s, which was still completely unknown to even classic car expert Timo Pistorius at the time of discovery. Read the exciting story about a special discovery written by author Florian Dasenbrock for the magazine “Historischer Kraftverkehr”.

It seemed like a normal working day in the “Veteranenhalle” in Selters. As always, a brief meeting in the office to kick off the event, to discuss what is planned for the Tuesday that has just begun. But the phone put an end to the relaxed briefing with an obligatory cup of coffee in hand. At the other end of the line, a young woman offered an old truck for sale. In principle, this is not unusual, as the Veteranenhalle has been trading in classic commercial vehicles for many years. But this offer could actually only be a joke or a big misunderstanding.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the bonnet truck was then restored by a MAN subsidiary in the Rhein/Main region of Germany on behalf of its owner and was now used as a traditional vehicle. However, after the death of the senior director of the company Meuer, the MAN was forgotten and its existence put on hold in a narrow old coal shed in the backyard of the company’s Frankfurt headquarters.

This backyard continued to shrink in the following years: First, the former truck parking spaces were populated with multi-storey residential buildings, then all the other buildings and sheds were gradually demolished, to create parking spaces for the residents., with the exception of the MAN shed. Apart from the advertising on the façade of the house, at some point nothing was left to remind us of the once respectable fuel trade. The friendly salesperson led us to a small and inconspicuous shed. Yes – and in the middle between the workbench, lawn mower and leaf blower, it actually stood before us: the MAN 735 L1 K with beautiful Meiller coal tipper body, which was new to Meuer in 1957 and has barely left its parking space since its restoration almost 30 years ago. We quickly agreed with the salesperson that this MAN vehicle would have its new home in the Westerwald in the future – the recovery could be planned.

After a few strenuous manoeuvres and a short run around the block, the green-red tipper was already on the low loader trailer heading towards Westerwald. Once everything had been lashed, the salesperson waited with a kind gesture for us. She gave us some old signs from the company and a handful of framed black and white images, including photos of our newcomer. Another highlight was found in the company’s former office: a wooden sample display case in which, in addition to egg coals and briquettes, all the other coal types available at the time could also be viewed behind glass – the customer then completed their coal purchase and received their black gold delivered free of charge with our MAN! Since all this was too much luck for a single day, fate still came to us once we returned to the Veteranenhalle: the engine of the MAN vehicle lost coolant! Unfortunately, this was not only caused by a rusted-through water pipe, but also by almost completely rusted-up water ducts in the entire engine block. Apparently, no anti-freeze and anti-corrosion agent had been added after the restoration, so all water channels in the block were heavily degraded. Fortunately, a new reconditioned engine was still available in the Veteranenhalle’s pool, which has now taken its place under the square bonnet of the 735 L1 K. Apart from another major inspection and a set of new tyres, nothing stood in the way of the photo tour for this report.

Photos: Current images Florian Dasenbrock

Old photographs: Archive Kohlen Meuer, Frankfurt

From the “Historischer Kraftverkehr” magazine, 04/2022 edition, published by Klaus Rabe