Trucks are much more than just a vehicle with which to make a quid. More often than not they become inextricably entwined with their owners and often their family’s lives as well.
It’s not just the large monetary investment, which in many cases would have been daunting to a young person kicking off in the industry, but the pride of ownership, the personalisation of the truck to reflect that pride and most importantly the life stories that were created along the way
So it’s always a feel-good story when someone has moved their favourite truck on and then, years later, finds it – either by design or accident – and returns it to the fold. Such is the story of Robert Stevenson’s Kenworth K121AS.
In 1978 Kenworth produced the K121AS and in that year Telecom Australia, as it was then known, lodged a special order for 10 of the model in the company’s signature orange colour – mostly tandem drives with one or two singles, as far as is known.
Some nine years earlier down in Tasmania, a young Robert Stevenson left the family farm at Whitehills and went to work for the local shire council, driving a tipper truck.
Twelve months later he bought out the local carrier, Lee O’Doolan along with his J3 Bedford, following this up with the purchase of a J5 model. Another Bedford followed, this time a 20’ tray truck. Selling the two earlier models, Robert took the tray off, replacing it with a turntable replete with a 28’ trailer.
A second trailer was purchased and – in for a penny, in for a pound – in 1976 Robert bought his first new truck, a Ford Louisville 8000. In 1989 the need (or was it desire?) arose for another truck so Robert went looking and came across one of those Telecom K121s.
“It had carted plastic conduit and had only done 160,000km in all those years,” said Robert. “It had never done anything strenuous but it was in terrible condition. When I found this there were three in Melbourne and this was the best of a bad bunch, if you can believe that! It had been left outside to basically rot.”
Taking the truck back to Tassie, Robert stripped the truck down and had it painted in his chosen colours of green and white. An acquaintance, Kevin Brown did the signwriting and scrolling after which Robert took the truck to get registered. “They thought it was a new truck,” he quipped.
Robert kept the truck until the year 2000, putting nearly a million kilometres on the clock. The truck was then moved on, spending a couple of years at West Tamar followed by three and a half years at Scottsdale, before going to the mainland where he lost track of it.
Enter Robert’s son, James. “When I was young I drove this truck. I learned to drive in the Louisville and then this, which is a nine speed. When you’re going from Fingal Valley to Smithton on the potatoes you soon learn how to gear change.
“I got out of that and went driving log trucks before I gave it away. You never lose ‘the itch’ though.”
A boilermaker by trade, and now a builder, James had never forgotten the K121 and eight years ago decided to try and track it down.
“I jumped on Facebook and put it out there that I was looking for it. It had been in Victoria but had moved on to WA.
“It was there that it came up on a machinery show on Facebook which I happened to see. It spent the next eight years over there before it was put up for sale which I missed out on by, literally only hours. At the time I told dad what had happened and as far as he thought, that was the end of it.
“It ended up in Wagga and I approached the bloke who wasn’t interested in selling. I thought that would be it until two years later when he rang me and said it was mine if I wanted it.
“Of course I did, but kept it a secret from Dad. Sight unseen, I bought it on the strength of the photos. It was a trucking company that owned it and they said it was fine to drive and would get us back home.
“When the time came to go pick it up, I said to Dad, guess what? I’ve found your old truck and we’re going to Wagga to collect it. It’s the only time he’s never told me off.”
The K121 has been converted into a rigid but James intends to return it to a prime mover. Since Robert sold it, the truck has done some 750,000km according to the speedo.
“In all this time it has never changed colours,” said Robert. “It is the same bull bar, same seats, motor (300 Cummins), gearbox (9 speed Road Ranger) and 58,000lb diff, which was the heaviest available at the time. It’s the same everything – just in poorer condition. Nothing that a bit of TLC can’t fix.
“It even has the original pin in the bull bar that I made for it. The outer two driving lights are also original. There were two in the middle of the bull bar which now has three, but they’ve kept the green covers. There was also a bug screen for the grill which has gone missing but will be replaced.”
The K121 originally carried the moniker ‘Little Kenny’ above the grill which, along with the Stevenson Transport insignia has gone, but in a nice twist, Kevin Brown, who did the originals is still around and will replace them as they were.
“How full-circle is that?” said James. “Otherwise I’ll leave the paint alone as it’s still in surprisingly good condition.”
“We’ll have to remove that ‘Lou Lou’ name off the top of the cab,” adds Robert. “That bears no relationship to our history with the truck.”
Big Rigs met up with James and Robert at Shepparton, on their way back to Tassie – another surprise for Robert who had no idea he was about to be interviewed.
We asked what it was like to drive after all these years.
“I reckon its 98 per cent,” said Robert, who’d insisted that James drive the hire car, “because he knows the way back home.
“We had truckies giving us the thumbs up all the way here, so there’s many out there who know and appreciate the model and its heritage. We sat happily on 95, but I know she can do 120.”
James will fully register the truck and look for a float to cart a mates bulldozers around machinery shows. Otherwise the K121 will satisfy his itch to get back behind the wheel every now and then.
“And of course, dad’s too.”
We think the old Kenny is going to be kept pretty busy.