In this month’s flashback I thought I would post some of the GMC Generals I took pictures of in the 80’s. Talk about a lot of different bunk makes, Double Eagle, Livlab, Weldon, All American and one that I have no idea who made are all represented here.

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Photo and story by Bryan Wright.

On a trip to California, While waiting to get washed at Calivas Truckwash “Vince” of San Pedro, California. Came over to admire the truck I was in. While chatting, Vince mentioned the he had a trucking tattoo. This elaborate art piece was inked by Nick Rodin of CA and represents Vince’s Mexican heritage and trucking background! Thank you Vince, for allowing us to show your tattoo!

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Nine year old Caleb Baertschi drew this awesome doodle.  Great work Caleb, we sure love this one!

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This years Mid America Trucking Show was held March 22-24^th. As we pulled in Tuesday night, before checking into the hotel we HAD to check out the trucks that were in the prep lot where we ran into lots of friends and what was supposed to be a quick drive through the prep lot turned into a lengthy stop catching up with old friends. Once we got set up (with the help of Larry Olsen, thanks Larry!) we noticed the crowds seemed to be way up this year. As I walked through all the vendors inside I was pleased to see Peterbilt had a very nice 389 on display and they also debuted their new 579. Kenworth on the other hand had a 900L tucked in the back in the form of a day cab tri axle, otherwise it was all aero trucks. Roadworks had their new show truck on display and it was standing tall!  Freightliner had a very nice display celebrating their 70^th anniversary. Western Star went with a very retro theme reminiscent of the themes all the manufacturers used to do. Outside there was a record number of show trucks and a few were even turned away once there was no more room left on the lot. As usual Louisville is always a show we meet some new and very cool people, it was sure nice to meet all those that stopped by the booth. The final count for vendors was 1,070, for the attendees it was a whopping 80,972. We would like to thank all those who lent us a hand throughout the show, you all know who you are!

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Back in the June 2009 print issue we featured Wayne Baker’s 2002 Peterbilt 379. Wayne purchased that truck from Jeff England of Pride Transport. Over the years that Wayne owned it Wayne made lots of changes to make it his own. Although Wayne loved that truck, he wanted to build one using his own ideas. To achieve this goal Wayne went to Clint Moore at Kansas City Peterbilt. Wayne speced out the 2011 Peterbilt 389 you see here. For the paint Clint came up with a classic Peterbilt paint design in black and red paint , Wayne not being a huge fan of red was a little apprehensive but once he saw the classic design in these colors he fell in love with it. With the colors and design chosen, it was time to get the rest of the specs figured out. For power a 550 Cat was chosen with an 18 speed transmission backing it up and a nice long set of rails was speced out, 294” of wheelbase to be exact. Once Wayne took delivery he added 12 Gauge cab and sleeper skirts, a Clint Moore visor, 7” Lincoln Chrome pipes, a 20” Valley Chrome bumper, WTI fenders and it rides on Continental tires. A full custom interior by Rockwood was being made when we shot these pictures and we will have pictures when we run this feature in our online issue. The 2007 Great Dane spread axle reefer features an extra fuel tank and WTI fenders and also rides on Continental tires. Great job Wayne, this is one impressive combo!

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Adrian Calzadias from Fabens Texas built this months model he call “Terminator”. Adrian says he likes hot rods so he wanted to make this model look like a hot rod/ rat rod. Adrian started by stretching the frame to make it a 300” wheelbase. Adrian custom made the frame to sit lower than a standard 1/32nd scale and the rear of the frame is rounded off and molded. The bottom of the frame has a fiberglass cover that runs from front to back. The wheels have been custom painted to match the theme of the truck. Both the front and rear fenders were custom made by Adrian. The engine is painted to match the truck and the exhaust are made from bullets with the tips painted. Adrian then made the cab into a convertible with a custom visor made by Adrian himself. Adrian custom made the mirror brackets with custom lights made into them. The left door is a suicide door while the right remains a stock opening door because Adrian likes his stuff to be different. On the interior Adrian painted everything to match, cut the steering wheel and the shifter is custom made and bent from a duplex nail. The sleeper is fiberglass and took hours to fabricate. The tanks are clear, made from a drill bit holder, this idea was inspired by the tanks CSM did. The trailer is painted to match the truck and custom fenders and light bars have been added. Great work Adrian, thanks for sharing!

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As always the April issue’s riding around is all the largecars found surrounding the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center at the Mid America Trucking Show as well as the trucks parked at the papa johns stadium parking lot. This year Josh Riccio handled the job of capturing all the trucks in the parking lots and did a great job.

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Leo Nizynski of Burbank Illinois owns this 2007 Kenworth W900L. Leo added a Jones hood with 389 headlights and 8” Dynaflex pipes. Hooked to Leo’s Kenworth is a 2007 Great Dane stainless spread axle reefer. A 550 Cat backed up by a 13 spped transmission powers the 900L and a 265” wheelbase smooths out the bumps. Leo hauls LTL freight between the mid west and Los Angeles weekly and has done so to the tune of almost one
million miles!

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Unfortunately we never got information on Billy Bakers incredible 1949 Kenworth Bull nose you see here. But this truck is just too cool not to share with the LCM community. I do know Billy has sold this truck since we shot this feature and we have met the new owner who seems to love the truck!

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The April 2012 online issue of LargeCarMag.com is now available.  We hope you are enjoying the new layout! Please don’t forget to stop by and visit our advertisers and tell them where you saw them!  Our 2012 shirts, mousepads and new hats are available in our online store for purchase.

Take care and be safe!

The crew at LCM