New era for the ‘E’ Cab

BY DAVID VILE

DECEMBER 1986 was a pivotal time for Kenworth in Australia, which saw the release of a variety of new models onto the Australian transport scene. With the legendary W Model and SAR bonneted variants being retired in favour of the new T600 and T650 models, the long-serving K-series cabover line also received a revamp, with the new K100E taking its place in the model range.

To display the model range to its customer base, the ‘Kenworth Cavalcade of Trucks’ made its way around Australia to Kenworth dealers with the trucks all presented in an eye-catching gold, yellow and green ‘boomerang’ paint scheme. Fast forward some 37 years and one of the three K100E cabovers that was part of the Cavalcade has been fully restored and is now having its third lease on life, based out of Darwin under the ownership of Russell Brown. He had the Kenworth on display at the Rocklea Heritage Truck Show in May, where it had literally just rolled out of the workshop after a three-year restoration.

“Well it was for sale, and it was cheap…anyone will tell you the cheapest part of these things is buying them – it became a bit of a money pit! There are plenty of K100E trucks around, but I realised that it was one of only eight in the ‘launch fleet’ so it is pretty rare in that respect. It’s not the first ‘E’ Cab as a few snuck out of the factory before the official launch but it’s the one that featured in all the Kenworth brochures and so on. It’s travelled the country – this was probably the first time they [Kenworth] did something like this around the country, and they have done a few more since then,” Brown explained.

Upon the completion of the Cavalcade, the truck’s proper working life began, with Brown becoming the vehicles’ third owner in the intervening years. “It was owned by a guy in Albury who was running for Refrigerated Roadways and then Richie Beaumont at Ipswich had it, and then it got parked up for about 10 years before I got it,” he said.

As such, the Kenworth carries a 1986 build plate and under the square cab, with its original roof kit is a Cummins NTC444 with a 13-speed Roadranger sending the power through to the rear end. “It did have a torsion bar suspension, but it had a sixrod put under it to take a bit more weight, as they did back then,” he said.

Originally from Bendigo in Victoria and now based in the Northern Territory, Brown had been on the lookout for a project truck. He found the Kenworth at Burpengary and thought the truck’s history helped set it apart from other trucks to restore, as he explained, “I was looking around for something to do, I used to drive my father’s White Road Commander so I was hunting around for a White as a ‘maybe’ to restore for sentimental reasons. I’d always liked the COE Kenworths, and this came up. I thought it looked alright for not a lot of money; which I found out there was a good reason for, but it was pretty original and a bit unique so I thought I would keep going with it.”

The Kenworth has had a full overhaul including new wiring and hoses. The bulk of the work was undertaken by PJ’s Custom Spray Painting and Truck Mechanical, with the restoration interrupted firstly by Covid and then the floods in Queensland last year, which saw over a metre of water though the PJ’s Custom Rocklea workshop. Prior to its show debut, the Kenworth had only virtually just rolled out of the PJ’s yard making it in time for the Heritage Show. “I picked it up this morning! Put 150 litres of fuel in it, then went across to Brown and Hurley to get the mattress and put it in the sleeper and then here. It will be off to the sparkie on Monday for a few bits and pieces and then home,” Brown said.

Back home in Darwin, Brown operates two Camera House photographic outlets and has converted a dropdeck trailer to operate as a mobile photographic store with accommodation up the front and a retail/sales area in the back. With the restoration complete on the K100E he was looking forward to getting the unit connected up and hitting the highway, “It’s a bit of a semi-retirement plan, the trailer has bunks, a stove, toilet and shower so it will be good to get it all hooked up and go for a bit of a drive about.”

With the Kenworth again looking sharp and ready to roll, the only thing Brown was lamenting was the absence of a trailer in Brisbane to hook on to for the trip home, grimacing at the thought of bobtailing the E-Cab over 3000 kilometres back to Darwin. “As long as I am home by next weekend I will be right, I’m thinking it will be a fairly steady trip back – might just let the tyres down a bit and take it easy home across some of those Queensland bumps!” he concluded with a smile.

PACCAR factory tour is icing on the cake for birthday boy

FOR truck fan Glen Lewis, his epic 60th birthday celebrations were made even better, thanks to a story published by Big Rigs.

In late June, Lewis set off on a six-week adventure right around the country with his 1993 model Kenworth T950 and a shipping container he’s converted into a mobile home. He was on the road for 41 days, arriving home as planned on Saturday August 5, at about 12.45pm, after completing 15,558km without a single hitch.

But before his journey was over, Lewis made one very special stop.

After Big Rigs shared his story online, PACCAR Australia got in touch to offer Lewis an exclusive tour of the factory, located in Baywater, Victoria –which he was more than happy to take up.

When Lewis mapped out his trip, a stop at the home of Kenworth and DAF in Australia was already on the cards. The plan was to get a photo of his truck parked outside the factory. But PACCAR Australia took it one step further, by offering him an invitation to tour the facility and see what goes into the making of each Kenworth truck.

Ryan Hooper, marketing manager at PACCAR Australia, personally extended the invitation to Lewis. “It turns out he was already planning to stop here in Bayswater to have a look over the fence, so we were definitely able to give him a better experience!” he said.

On Wednesday August 2, Hooper took Lewis on a personal tour behind the scenes.

“My plan was to stop in front of the factory to take a photo – I was hoping there’d be room to pull up out at the front,” revealed Lewis. “But to actually go through and see how they make these trucks is amazing. The attention to detail is incredible, you can see why Kenworth is still number one.

“Watching the way the cabs are put together was incredible, it’s still very hands on. I was surprised by just how many people are involved in the process. And the majority of it is done by people, because every single truck is different – unless you order identical trucks for your fleet. The focus their people have to have is incredible, because every truck is so unique.”

Over the years, Lewis has owned four different trucks but the T950 is his first ever Kenworth, which he purchased in 2014. When he’s not exploring the country with it, the T950 is now a show truck, visiting numerous events as well as being used when Lewis volunteers to take part in hay runs.

In one word, Lewis described the trip as “brilliant”.

“I completed it without any mechanical or electrical issues, not even a flat tyre. It’s a testament to Kenworth. They’re a great product. A 30-year-old truck, it’s just done this without any issues at all, it’s been perfect. And the container provided terrific accommodation too – I’m really happy and proud of that.

“The whole trip exceeded my expectations. I always dreamt it would be fantastic, but it was even better – especially to get home all in one piece without any issues.”

Along with the PACCAR factory tour being a major highlight, so too was travelling WA’s coastline and the Nullarbor. “I hadn’t been along the west coast before, it was just magnificent,” Lewis said.

“There’s also been such a great response from people who have read the article, it’s amazing how wide it’s gone. I’ve had so many people call me up on the radio or come up to me at roadhouses too.”

As his 60th birthday celebrations come to a close, Lewis already has his sights set on his next trip. “I’ve got a bit of a bug now. The map has a bit in the middle that needs scratching –up through Broken Hill then up through Alice. It won’t be as big a trip as this one but hopefully in 2024.”