Owner/Driver #339
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Above: The evergreen Kenworth<br />
boasts thermostatically-controlled<br />
pneumatic grille shutters<br />
Below: ‘Lizzy’ the White Road<br />
Commander is another Charlie<br />
Borg project<br />
Opposite from top: Charlie takes<br />
the ’58 for a spin near the site of<br />
western Sydney’s new airport;<br />
The 13-speed gear knob is a red<br />
herring; The Kenworth originally<br />
worked in Lebanon. Oregon, USA<br />
that is, not the Middle Eastern<br />
country<br />
or so when the truck (and an assortment of other Kenworth parts)<br />
were imported into Australia by Adam Lovell.<br />
The truck was then on-sold to Bernie Learson of Premier One<br />
Cleaning Products. This is how Charlie, a friend of Bernie’s through<br />
their love of historical trucks, came to first see the 1958 Kenworth.<br />
According to Charlie, at the time, Bernie was also restoring<br />
a Ford LTL model truck and reluctantly decided to let the ’58<br />
Kenworth go, to divert funds into his other project.<br />
A deal was brokered and the Kenworth found its way to Charlie’s<br />
place on Sydney’s western fringe, near to the fast emerging second<br />
airport site.<br />
Original character<br />
A vehicle bodybuilder/boilermaker by trade, Charlie was well<br />
placed to carry out the considerable task of customising and<br />
rejuvenating the 63-year-old Kenworth classic.<br />
Much of the original characteristics of the truck remain.<br />
The power plant under the hood (in this instance I am<br />
comfortable using the word hood instead of bonnet) is still<br />
the original Cummins 220 horsepower (164kW) in-line sixcylinder<br />
turbocharged engine, complete with in-cab operated<br />
decompression lever for those cold winter mornings. The engine<br />
delivers power to the wheels via a five-speed Spicer crash gearbox<br />
(the 13-speed gear knob has been added to confuse the unfamiliar)<br />
and a three-speed joey box.<br />
To better cater for the sub-zero operating conditions, louvered<br />
grille shutters controlled by an air solenoid and thermostat<br />
probe in the cooling system, control the amount of available air<br />
passing through the grille. This design would be of great benefit<br />
preventing the engine running too cold when operating in<br />
ridiculously cold climates.<br />
After a lot of time and effort, cleaning and re-riveting the<br />
louvres in place, Charlie set about trying to repair the air solenoid<br />
valve, which didn’t seem to be working properly, when he broke<br />
the housing in the process. Panic set in for a moment when<br />
Charlie questioned, where was he going to find a new one of<br />
those? After some research, he found they were still available new<br />
from the ’States. A new valve was soon in place, restoring the whole<br />
unique system to working order.<br />
Destined to become further customised to suit its new owner’s<br />
needs, the ’58 had already seen some modification prior to<br />
Charlie taking ownership. Originally a bogie drive on torsion bar<br />
suspension, the truck had been shortened to a single drive on leaf<br />
spring suspension back in Oregon prior to starting its new life<br />
‘Down Under’.<br />
Once in Australia, the suspension was once again upgraded to<br />
something a little more ‘back-friendly’, with AirLiner suspension<br />
from a Freightliner fitted to the rear. To the best of Charlie’s<br />
knowledge, this was done by Adam Lovell.<br />
Not content with the truck in its configuration when he bought<br />
it, Charlie set about modifying the truck for his own needs and<br />
taste, with the end goal being to finish up with a vehicle suited to<br />
indulging his other hobby, race cars. The truck was to be modified<br />
to transport his beloved Mini Cooper to race meetings.<br />
While the suspension set up was a far cry from the original<br />
torsion bar design of old, Charlie believed he could improve things<br />
even further and set about re-engineering the truck to more<br />
modern levels of comfort.<br />
Drawing from his experience in fine-tuning the handling<br />
performance of race cars, Charlie added dual ride height valves<br />
to the rear suspension, which sees the truck sit much flatter in<br />
corners. The front suspension was not overlooked either. In a<br />
system of Charlie’s own design, the leaf spring packs were reduced<br />
to just two leaves to maintain front axle positioning. It was then<br />
fitted with a set of Kenworth air bags, added to bear the load. These<br />
26 APRIL 2021 ownerdriver.com.au