Owner/Driver #339

Above: The evergreen Kenworth
boasts thermostatically-controlled
pneumatic grille shutters
Below: ‘Lizzy’ the White Road
Commander is another Charlie
Borg project
Opposite from top: Charlie takes
the ’58 for a spin near the site of
western Sydney’s new airport;
The 13-speed gear knob is a red
herring; The Kenworth originally
worked in Lebanon. Oregon, USA
that is, not the Middle Eastern
country
or so when the truck (and an assortment of other Kenworth parts)
were imported into Australia by Adam Lovell.
The truck was then on-sold to Bernie Learson of Premier One
Cleaning Products. This is how Charlie, a friend of Bernie’s through
their love of historical trucks, came to first see the 1958 Kenworth.
According to Charlie, at the time, Bernie was also restoring
a Ford LTL model truck and reluctantly decided to let the ’58
Kenworth go, to divert funds into his other project.
A deal was brokered and the Kenworth found its way to Charlie’s
place on Sydney’s western fringe, near to the fast emerging second
airport site.
Original character
A vehicle bodybuilder/boilermaker by trade, Charlie was well
placed to carry out the considerable task of customising and
rejuvenating the 63-year-old Kenworth classic.
Much of the original characteristics of the truck remain.
The power plant under the hood (in this instance I am
comfortable using the word hood instead of bonnet) is still
the original Cummins 220 horsepower (164kW) in-line sixcylinder
turbocharged engine, complete with in-cab operated
decompression lever for those cold winter mornings. The engine
delivers power to the wheels via a five-speed Spicer crash gearbox
(the 13-speed gear knob has been added to confuse the unfamiliar)
and a three-speed joey box.
To better cater for the sub-zero operating conditions, louvered
grille shutters controlled by an air solenoid and thermostat
probe in the cooling system, control the amount of available air
passing through the grille. This design would be of great benefit
preventing the engine running too cold when operating in
ridiculously cold climates.
After a lot of time and effort, cleaning and re-riveting the
louvres in place, Charlie set about trying to repair the air solenoid
valve, which didn’t seem to be working properly, when he broke
the housing in the process. Panic set in for a moment when
Charlie questioned, where was he going to find a new one of
those? After some research, he found they were still available new
from the ’States. A new valve was soon in place, restoring the whole
unique system to working order.
Destined to become further customised to suit its new owner’s
needs, the ’58 had already seen some modification prior to
Charlie taking ownership. Originally a bogie drive on torsion bar
suspension, the truck had been shortened to a single drive on leaf
spring suspension back in Oregon prior to starting its new life
‘Down Under’.
Once in Australia, the suspension was once again upgraded to
something a little more ‘back-friendly’, with AirLiner suspension
from a Freightliner fitted to the rear. To the best of Charlie’s
knowledge, this was done by Adam Lovell.
Not content with the truck in its configuration when he bought
it, Charlie set about modifying the truck for his own needs and
taste, with the end goal being to finish up with a vehicle suited to
indulging his other hobby, race cars. The truck was to be modified
to transport his beloved Mini Cooper to race meetings.
While the suspension set up was a far cry from the original
torsion bar design of old, Charlie believed he could improve things
even further and set about re-engineering the truck to more
modern levels of comfort.
Drawing from his experience in fine-tuning the handling
performance of race cars, Charlie added dual ride height valves
to the rear suspension, which sees the truck sit much flatter in
corners. The front suspension was not overlooked either. In a
system of Charlie’s own design, the leaf spring packs were reduced
to just two leaves to maintain front axle positioning. It was then
fitted with a set of Kenworth air bags, added to bear the load. These
26 APRIL 2021 ownerdriver.com.au