Steven Della Bona has always had a soft spot for Bulldogs.
His dad Michael founded WA Limestone with his brother Renzo and their brother-in-law Peter Zamboni back in 1973, and Mack trucks have played a big part in their family’s story.
“We ran Macks back in the ’80s and ’90s,” Steven said.
“There was something special about that era, when Macks had the V8 engines.”
Fast-forward to 2024, and WA Limestone has grown to become one of the biggest suppliers of road construction materials in Western Australia, with Steven and his cousin/business partner David Della Bona at the helm.
They have over 50 trucks in their fleet, and despite Steven lamenting the loss of the V8 engine, many of their rigs are brand-new Macks.
To indulge their passion for “real trucks”, as Steven calls them, the cousins have also built up a collection of older Bulldogs, including a classic Value-Liner, a Super-Liner Series 2, a couple of B61s, and a Mack Titan.
The Mack Titan, which is a fully restored 1997 model, is one of Steven’s favourites.
He purchased it in a bid to replicate a truck that WA Limestone had in the ’90s.
“I tried to track down the original truck that we had, but I couldn’t find it,” he said.
“So I bought this one, which was very similar to it, off a bloke in Adelaide during Covid times.”
Steven rebuilt parts of the interior and exterior of the truck, painting it to replicate the old WA Limestone colours.
“We put new brakes on it, rebuilt the suspension, rebuilt the front axle, put a new exhaust on it, gutted and rebuilt all the interior, and did some work to the engine,” he said.
“We put a new bullbar on it, a new grill, new tyres, rims, guards, toolboxes…We cleaned it all up.”
He keeps the truck as clean as possible, and only he and his cousin are allowed to drive it.
“It’s not a truck that goes to work every day,” he said. “We keep it immaculate.”
Steven’s love for restoring Bulldogs led to him meet fellow Mack fanatic CTS Low Loaders Director Jason Clatworthy – and the two men went on to set up the WA Mack Muster and Truck Show.
“I was in the process of restoring my Value-Liner, and Jason had a truck that I went to go look at, to do a bit of a comparison,” Steve said.
“We were brought together by having a common interest, so we came up with the idea of getting some other Mack enthusiasts together and having a beer on a Saturday afternoon.
“We formed a committee and got a few people involved, like Matt Lawrence from bp – I knew him because I bought my fuel off him.”
Steven and Jason organised the first WA Mack Muster and Truck Show in 2020, and it’s taken place biannually since then.
It’s grown massively since it started with just 120 trucks that first year, registering 360 rigs at the 2024 show.
“It’s a three-day event – on the Friday night we have an auction, the Saturday night is a drivers’ night and then on the Sunday we open it up to the public,” Steven said.
“We like to showcase our industry and what we do.
“It’s picking up a lot of momentum, and personally I think it’s Australia’s best truck show.”
The show raises money for the Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research, a cause close to Steven’s heart.
“Cancer got my father last year, and that’s part of the reason I started this journey,” he said.
“I had been involved with different bike rides and that kind of thing, over the years, to fundraise for cancer research.
“So I said I would do my own show and try to raise $20,000 in donations.”
The first year of the Mack Muster raised $100,000 for the Perkins Institute, and the second year rustled up $250,000 – but 2024 took things up a notch, pulling in an incredible $500,000.
“The WA Mack Muster committee is so overwhelmed by the support that we have received from the local WA transport industry and its suppliers,” Steven said.
“The trucking industry has a lot of good people who are happy to donate to the cause, and hopefully we can help to one day find a cure for cancer.”
This story originally appeared in Issue 508 of Deals on Wheels magazine.