'Very unique' 1969 Mack Flintstone hits Harden

[kscarbel2]

Trade Trucks.com.au  /  May 23, 2016

With an Atkinson on the back, Mark and Elaine Abbott’s Mack made a splash at the Harden Truck and Tractor Show

It’s just over an hour’s drive from Cowra to Harden, which proved no problem for Mark and Elaine Abbott’s 1969 Mack Flintstone for its third Harden Truck and Tractor Show.

With a trailer on the back, it also hauled a mate’s Atkinson to the event. Mark says he bought the Mack three years ago as a "play toy".

"It’s got Hendrickson suspension, it’s powered by a VT 903, and I’ve just put a 15-speed Roadranger in it," he explains. "It’s very unique".

Mark explains that the Flintstone has had 10 owners, and he’s tracked down most of them. "But we don’t know who put the 903 in it."

What he does know is that it started off as a 711 with a duplex box in Newcastle, later sold at auction in 1975. At one time it ran Sydney to Melbourne for Border Express.

The Flintstone had been sitting idle in a paddock for six years when Mark bought it: "I fell in love with it, of course."

Getting the Mack mobile proved no issue.

"We just washed it," Elaine smiles, although Mark had to make some minor adjustments to get it on the road.

"We pressurised the start tank, put a battery on it, turned the key, hit the button and it started, and we drove it home," he explains.

"I put a different rear end in it to get better road speed, because it was sitting on 2500 revs doing 97km/h."

The Flintstone is not the only Mack in the Abbott’s collection. There’s a recently retired CH model which Mark bought nearly 10 years ago, and a new Super-Liner.

"We’ve got a ’79 model Dodge," Mark says. "It’s a work in progress, but the Flintstone takes priority."

Mark has, for the most part, been a Mack man since he started working for Aztec — now Boral — 25 years ago.

"I started in a 285 Mack, an S-Line after that, then I got a Valueliner. I was in love when I got that," he says.

"Then I ended up with a 650, then I bought an Eagle — I didn’t have that for very long — then I bought the CH and hardly spent a cent on it.

"It’s done 1.5 million kilometres and still has the original injectors and the original compressor."

 

[kscarbel2]

A family affair at Harden

Trade Trucks.com.au  /  May 24, 2016

A third-generation owner-driver, his son, and the family’s long-serving mechanic take a day out at the Harden Truck and Tractor Show

Adam Webb, a third generation transport operator, brought his 1974 Kenworth – as well as his son Jack and long-time mechanic Gary Sherman – down from Cowra to Harden for the Classic Truck and Tractor Show.

In fact, Gary has been the mechanic for Adam’s father, and his grandfather for 47 years while also holding down a job with Ford.

Adam’s Kenworth is an S2. "A W925 SR they called them, a shorter model that an ordinary W model," he says.

The Kenworth was previously owned by Ampol, hauling fuel tanks.

Adam bought it four years ago, and last year made the trip to Alice Springs for the Road Transport Reunion.

More recently, it was one of around 50 trucks that were on show at the Gnooblas Classic Car Show in Orange.

"My father had three cab-overs in the late ’80s, painted up the same as this," Adam explains. "I’ve spent a fair bit of money on it, painting it up and new brakes."

"It looked good with a brand new stock crate on the back the other day," Gary laughs.

While the S2 is confined to truck shows, Adam recently bought a new rig for his own business Webb Transport, subbing for Thompsons Livestock Transport in Cowra.

Photo gallery - http://www.tradetrucks.com.au/events/1605/a-family-affair-at-harden/

 

[kscarbel2]

The 2016 Harden Truck and Tractor Show

Trade Trucks.com.au  /  May 18, 2016

Although the Harden Truck and Tractor Show is one of the newest events on the trucking calendar, its laid-back country style attracts visitors from far and wide 

Now in its third official year, it was inevitable that the twin New South Wales towns of Harden-Murrumburrah would host an annual truck show.

After all, Harden is the birthplace of Ken Thomas, founder of TNT.

Indeed, it was the Harden Historical Society’s commemoration of Thomas’ 100th birthday in 2013, including the launch of David Wilcox’ biography on Thomas — The Truckie Who Loved Trains — that was the catalyst for the first official Harden Truck and Tractor Show in 2014.

In conjunction with the celebrations, the Harden Historical Society invited the newly-formed Harden Historic Truck and Tractor Club to organise a truck show.

"We did that, and that was such a success we decided we’d have a truck show annually," club president Kevin Sharp says.

The Harden Historic Truck and Tractor Club was formed in 2011 with 10 members.

"We’re up to about 26 members now, so we’ve grown steadily," Kevin says.

The 2016 event, held on March 20 at the Harden-Murrumburrah showgrounds, attracted an impressively diverse array of trucks, tractors, coaches and stationary engines.

The trucks, many bearing historic club plates, came not only from the Harden-Murrumburrah area, but also from Coonabarabran, Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst, Queanbeyan, Bega, Sydney and the NSW Central Coast.

That was despite competition from truck events in Oaklands, Penrith and Kyabram in Victoria the same weekend, not to mention other community events held nearby.

"We’ve got the Stockinbingal Fair near Cootamundra, they’re reopening Temora railway station with steam trains there, there’s a fair on over at Boorowa, and we had the Chinese festival in Young yesterday," Kevin says.

"But we’re happy with the roll-up we’ve got here."

Photo gallery - http://www.tradetrucks.com.au/events/1605/the-2016-harden-truck-and-tractor-show/

[kscarbel2]

Pride and joy: Rudd's Kenworth classics

Owner/Driver  /  May 27, 2016

With one Kenworth on top of another, retired truck driver Ian Rudd arrived at the Harden Truck and Tractor Show

Ian Rudd arrived in Harden with two old Kenworths, notably a 1986 K120 hauling a trailer laden with a ’78 K121.

Ian, aged 77 and now retired, refers to himself as "an old truckie".

He’s also quick to point out that he’s no relation to the former Australian Prime Minister.

The words ‘Classic 92’ feature on the rear of the K120’s cab, with Ian explaining that it still has the old Detroit 8-92 silver series engine.

"It’s a two-stroke engine, the original engine that came with the truck," Ian enthuses. "It was sold to Roadmaster Haulage in 1986 and it’s still all original, even with the torsion bar suspension, just as it came out of the factory."

Ian brought the K120 four years ago, already in a restored state. As per the age of his pride and joy, his liking for the Kenworth brand stretches back to 1986 when he bought his first.

That was in Queanbeyan, when he would haul fuel tankers to Sydney, trading as Rudd Haul.

"We used to run on two shifts, and kept going like most of them do these days," he recalls.

"We started off in a Diamond Reo, then White Road Commanders, then a Mack Cruiseliner. Then we got into Kenworths, and that was it."

His K121 has an even more interesting history, being one of three slimline cab Kenworth test trucks that Camden-based company Clutha trialled in 1978.

"This one’s got a 692 GM two-stroke, one had an 871, and the other had a 250 Cummins in it," Ian says. "All the test trucks were single drives, but Clutha didn’t buy any of them. They ended up buying 80 Road Bosses."

Ian says he’s put a halt to buying any more classic trucks, although he’s keen to continue on the show circuit.

He’s attended three of the previous Haulin’ The Hume convoys out of Sydney and, like a few others at the Harden Truck & Tractor Show, his next stop was Crawlin’ The Hume in Victoria.

Photo gallery - http://www.ownerdriver.com.au/events-news/1605/pride-and-joy-rudds-kenworth-classics/

[kscarbel2]

The pitfalls of importing a Peterbilt

Owner/Driver  /  May 28, 2016

A truck show regular, Ron Kirk explains how his 1964 281 Peterbilt come to Australia

From a young age, Ron Kirk was into old cars and classic car shows.

These days he’d much prefer truck shows, such as the Harden Truck and Tractor Show, especially with his 1964 281 Peterbilt he bought nearly 10 years ago.

"I’ve been in the old car movement since I was about 12 or 13, and it was probably 15 or 16 years ago when I got involved in the trucks," Ron recalls.

"I found I was having more fun with them than I ever was with the cars. It just became too competitive and too ego driven."

Ron bought the old Pete direct from the United States.

He’d been across around five times, and he had a good mate who knew all there was to know about shipping vehicles back to Australia.

However, just as Ron was boarding the plane, tragedy struck. His friend’s wife had passed away and Ron was left to his own devices.

"So I made some hasty phone calls to mates, and then rang Lynch’s in Newcastle," he says.

"They’d bought a fair few Petes in and basically they talked me through it and gave me some phone numbers, right at the 11th hour.

"I didn’t realise what was involved — it was an absolute nightmare. It’s not something I would recommend for the faint hearted.

"There’s a fair bit of work getting one of these into a container."

The Peterbilt is right-hand drive, but as it’s more than 30 years old, it’s able to registered in Australia as is.

Ron is happy to have it on club rego only, especially now that the NSW Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Duncan Gay brought in a conditional registration trial.

"We get to go to an event like this without having to fill out any paperwork as long as it’s a sanctioned event," he says.

"With this truck now I can fill out a logbook sheet and drive it anywhere and do anything I want for 60 days. The standard conditions still apply, you can’t use it for commercial purposes."

Since its arrival in Australia, Ron has taken the Peterbilt on tour to a number of historic truck events, including the first Haulin’ The Hume, where he was one of the organisers.

It has also appeared at the American Truck Historic Society’s show in Echuca. And it’s the casual atmosphere, such as at Harden, which he enjoys.

"That’s what I like about the old trucks compared to the cars; there’s no competition," he smiles.

"You can get as many looks with something you’ve spent a fortune on as you can with something you’ve just pulled out of the barn that you’ve made mechanically right."

Photo gallery - http://www.ownerdriver.com.au/events-news/1605/the-pitfalls-of-importing-a-peterbilt/

[mrsmackpaul]

Crikey Kirky's famous LOL good on ya Kirky hope you enjoy your Pete 

 

Paul