Ray and Michele Grima instigated the White Truck Muster at Kyabram in Victoria 20 years ago. After 10 events Ray has had enough and feels that if it is to continue, others can step into the breach. No one can argue that Ray has not given his all to the event.
“That very first Muster was done in conjunction with ATHS [American Truck Historical Society] Australian Chapter, and was, in fact their first event and the first ATHS event anywhere in the world, outside the US,” said Ray.
“Now they have come to our aid again by effectively staging this year’s show which allowed us to go ahead under their public liability insurance umbrella, without which we could not have gone ahead.”
ATHS are seriously considering taking the White Muster into the future with a small sticking point being its timing – only three weeks after their Lancefield show. We shall wait with baited breath because the White Muster, held most recently on March 15-16, has become a staple on the truck show circuit.
Ray has done a wonderful job over the past 10 shows, drawing people from near and far.
“It brings people from all around Australia and around the world. We have two people from NZ. Cesare Colli has brought his Road Boss all the way from WA yet again and we even have a fella from Germany on his third visit here. There are a lot of White tragics out there.”
Mint 1980 Road Boss
One such tragic is Werribee-based Craig Collins who owns CRX – Collins Road Express and brought along his mint 1980 Road Boss which has an interesting background.
“It had a 290hp, 12.7 litre Rolls Royce engine in it – one of only nine, I’m told,” said Craig. “Apparently they may have had some in Road Commanders as well. Originally we think it was a Caltex fuel tanker.
“I was using it every day with that motor for four or five years but I couldn’t get parts for it. I’m a Caterpillar man so I repowered it with a 3406C PEEC. It’s a later model engine and I like the cruise control part which makes for easy driving with the super 10 overdrive.”
Craig’s had the truck for 30 years. “I bought it from John George’s at Campbellfield. He was selling up and moving his fleet on. It was pretty much a wreck and I just built it up over quite a few years. It had already been stretched by John George and had a tray on the back until I got the taught-liner built for it.”
Along with the Road Boss, Craig has two prime movers and CRX made a living delivering anything from clothes to toothpaste for K-Mart, Myer and Target to their country stores, with the prime movers hauling steel or anything else in between.
“This truck hasn’t done much for the last 3 or 4 years as I’ve slowed down a bit and become semi-retired. I like taking it to truck shows like this and Castlemaine and Alexandra where it has won Best Rigid – not bad for an old girl.”
Craig was joined at The Muster by his mate, Andrew Senkinc who owns a 30-year-old Sprint Car daubed with Craig’s business colours. “It’s a Buckley chassis, mid-bar and goes in vintage races,” said Andrew.
With a 360 cubic inch Chevy motor at 650Hp and weighing only 850 kilos, she has a pretty good power to weight ratio. And before you ask, no, it doesn’t travel in his taut liner. He’s too tight to buy ramps.”
Yes, we know you’re only joking, Andrew.
Sounding sweet as new
TJ featured in a recent story on the Koroit Truck Show, with his Mack Muncher, so it was a surprise to see him at the muster with not one, but two Whites. To be more specific, they belong to dad, John, or Spud as he’s known to friends.
“We wanted a farm truck,” said Spud. “And we found this old girl (a 1966, 2300 model) at a wreckers for $5000. Like TJ I’m a KW fan, but Kenworths are too good to be paddock wagons! Seriously though, this had been sitting for 12 months, we hopped in and she fired right up. We’ve had her for 20 years now. Flick the isolator and she just goes. The poor thing gets flogged to death moving cattle, hay or silage.”
Spud fires the truck up and the 653V motor is as sweet as new. He points me to the pedals in the cab and the brake pedal is bent at a 45 degree angle at the retaining pin.
“That’s because it’s the accelerator, not the brake,” he tells me. The brake pedal in on the right hand side. So people get in it for a drive, forget it’s in the middle, go to brake and speed up instead. There they are standing on the ‘brake’ and going faster and faster. It’s a great laugh!”
Their other White is an ex K&S that also came from a wreckers – this time for the princely sum of a semi load of hay. A late 60’s model, TJ and Spud cleaned it up and she sits in the shed beside The Mack Muncher.
Spud went on to tell me a story of driving a Kenworth B-double from Campsie way, through Sydney and on to Warrnambool without a clutch. There’s a man who can drive a truck!
New look for Frenchy
Rob French or Frenchy is well known for his old Peterbilt but turned up at the Muster in his 1988 Western Star with his Diamond T on a trailer. Both trucks are related to the White brand.
“I’ve had the Western Star for six months. I saw a photo of it and fell in love. After driving around in a 1964 Peterbilt I thought I would step into the modern age.
“It’s nice to drive something with 400hp, an 18-speed box, an arm rest. You can hear yourself think and your phone and stuff doesn’t jump out of the sleeper box when you hit a bump. I still love the Pete still though.
“The Diamond T is about 1947 and belonged to Merv Brunt down in Colac. I bought it back and put the turntable back on and made it back into a semi like it was originally when it worked for BP up in New South Wales.
“I got the trailer in Goondiwindi, bought it back and restored it and put it all together. Then I realised it was too hard for an old bloke like me to drive so I’ve got it and the trailer for sale – $60,000 and you can drive it home people!”
Big plans for beloved Road Boss
Damian Menz comes from a farming background at Ballarat. At 18 he started driving a Road Boss off-road, hauling logs and fell in love with the White brand.
He moved to WA carting livestock for a few years before returning home, working at a stockfeed mill and now does farm fencing. He never forgot that White though and when a mate mentioned a 1982 Road Boss Tipper, 15-speed with a Cummins 350 Big Cam for sale he was interested. The mate went and had a look at the truck and bought it for himself. Good one, Ollie!
“He gazumped me,” said Damian. “Then, a few months back his plans changed and he was selling it. I told him to bring it to me. He said I hadn’t asked him the price to which I replied that I’d known him for 20 years and knew what he’d paid so it was done and dusted as far as I was concerned. Ollie took my offer.”
Damian’s plan – when he wins Lotto – is to extend the chassis and put an integrated bunk on with wheelchair access to enable his son, Harry to enjoy the truck with him.
“There’s also old truckies out there who’d love to relive the experience but can’t climb up into the cab. The idea is to have seats in the bunk area as well so multiple people can enjoy a ride,” said Damian.
“My old boss in WA can do the chassis and another over there can do the bunk. The problem is certification. Wheelchair assessable car/van modifiers won’t touch it and the bus people want like $200,000 to do the lifter. On a $5000 truck? Anyway, we’ll get there.”
We wish you good luck Damian.
Labour of love
As well as the trucks, there were 72 models on display at Kyabram. Luke Camilleri showed me his 1974 White 9000 which took him three years to build.
“A lot of heartbreak and a lot of sweat and tears,” Luke said.
“There’s lots of things you can’t buy off the shelf. The grill for example is 3D printed as is the hoist with the inbuilt oil reservoir. The tipping frame and bin frame I built from scratch and everything works, from the tiny clips on the corners and the legs folding down. Everything works.”
The bypass filter is from a Coke can, the cross braces for the side mirrors are paperclips, as is the brace for the sun visor onto the cowl. You would not want a five-year-old get hold of this model work of art.
Luke has built the model for his father-in-law who drove the real thing.
The White Muster will hopefully ‘muster’ on under the auspices of ATHS into the future. Meanwhile, we can only give heartfelt thanks to Ray and Michele Grima for their effort in presenting the event for 20 years.