Another survivor found - Max Keough's K125CR

Well, it's been a long time coming..........34 years in fact. A few of you have heard bits and pieces but after the weekend just gone I figured it was time to come clean.

When I was a young kid I grew up backing onto an oval in suburban Sydney and was truck obsessed (I'm simply older now ) and during cricket season, more often than not one of the cricketers would turn up driving one of his prime movers. It was Max Keough and he would normally be driving his 8/53 powered Crackerbox Dodge or his early (111 I think) Scania with 8/71 power. I'd always ride up on my push bike and do a few laps around them, waiting for them to fire up and leave.



Max's Dodge, imported and sold by CMV in Adelaide and donated by him to the RTHOF about 10 years ago

In 1978 he appeared with a new truck, a K125CR Kenworth with an 8/92 and 13 speed and I was smitten. I didn't know much about it at the time (I was but I would ride to the oval every Saturday during cricket season to see if he was there over the next few years and would hang there most of the day waiting for him to pull up stumps and head to the esky so I could assume my position at the end of the driveway. Once he fired up he would stop next to me and have a quick chat, blow the airhorn at my request and then pluck every gear as he took off up the hill into the distance.

Being a Movin On and B.J & The Bear fan I realised that the early Alcoa rims were different and the distinct airfoil with 'MAX (picture of a key) O' looked brilliant. I was given a copy of Jim Johnstone's 'Big Rigs Down Under' for my ninth birthday and lo and behold, there was a black and white picture of it............



Photo by Jim Johnstone 'Big Rigs Down Under'

I always used to see the truck and dreamt daily of life as a truckie steering that cabover on the highway, something that my parents , especially my truck driving old man, dreaded as they watched my obsession grow. Once I got my car licence I would drive up to Thornleigh where he lived and see if it was stopped overnight, I simply thought it was a great looking old truck. I learnt later on that Max originally carted for Kelloggs along with a bit of general and would often have a driver running around Sydney loading a trailer with the Dodge so that he could swap over trailers and keep going. He ended up subbying to Don Turner for years carting pipes all over the place.



Swishy threw this shot on the forum a while back, not sure where from


In the early nineties Max decided to rebuild the truck and sent it to Detroit's (I think it was Clae back then) where they replaced the 8/92 with a brand new Silver 92 DDec along with a brand new radiator system and new 18 speed double overdrive box, still retaining the torsion bar suspension. As work ramped up, Max purchased a K100E Aerodyne extended cab with a Series 60 and painted it up the same. Max's nephew Reg (dec) had been driving with him for years at that stage and they would often drive the K125 and the E up to Dubbo where they'd hook the trailers together and run two-up to darwin etc delivering pipes for Turner's. His E is still running and is in it's original paint but with a 600 Signature now pushing it along





As time went on I had a career as a Motor Trimmer, spending most of my working years on Richmond Road near Flemington Markets, where I'd get excited over the Ianelli's Kenworths that came past the workshop much to the amusement of the guys I worked with. I learnt along time ago that if you need to explain to someone why you like trucks, it's simply not worth the effort because they wouldn't get the answer, right? The flame always burnt fairly bright and as time went on I got into transport, and still wondering what had happened to the truck decided to try and contact Max, this was about seven years ago. He answered the phone which was lucky as it turned out that he had been living in America driving trucks all over the 48 states (still does)and had gone from being a 'truckie' to a 'trucker'. He was simply out on a visit and once I explained who I was he came over to see me. He is a true gentleman, at one time being voted 'Australian Driver of the Year' and it was great to catch up and find out a bit more history of the old cabover. I suppose deep down that I was hoping he may of still owned it and it was sitting in a paddock but not to be. Anyhow we kept in touch and I kept thinking that I would find it one day........

Then in late 2009 I was working with an employer whose Uncle did some driving with us. He was an old interstater and had owned a few nice trucks (I posted pics up a while back) including the first Aerodyne sold out here (not the GM powered one, it had a Cat) and it turned out that he used to drive with Max and they knew each other well. I mentioned that I'd love to find the old cabover oneday and he told me that Don Turner had bought it from Max which I knew but that he had sold it two months earlier at auction and it was somewhere on the Gold Coast and although I was in no position to by it was relieved that it was still running. I left there soon afterwards and went to my current job. I soon had the Commer restored and also owned a D2F Dodge with a GM (curently for sale ) which I couldn't fit at home. While negotiating with my boss on a new role I threw in that I needed somewhere to house the Dodge and restore it which he agreed to then I thought, if I can fit the Dodge there, I can fit a Kenworth.....things began to heat up!

I started researching it, turned out it was a special order after Max had been to the States in the mid 70's, alloy wheels, hubs, rails etc and paint design. It tared just over 7.5 ton on the road. It was in a bad accident around 1980 and had one of the rails replaced after they tried straightening it and it broke. It was around this time that we bought four new SAR's and the dealer gave my boss a new book on Kenworth that they'd put out for their 40th Anniversary and I near wet myself when I was flicking through when I saw the legendary K-Whopper W model at the Yennora Wool Sheds 1978 truck show with Max's Kenworth parked alongside . I didn't know that one!



Out of the book................

I then put a request on the forum under a different thread to get a pic and cemeNTpede came through with this gem that he took in 1978. That was all I needed

So I put the feelers out big time, contacting Max in the States, his nephew Reg, numerous people who had worked at Turner's before I got onto Don himself. Spoke to Big Cam a number of times knowing that it was on his turf and thought that some of his customers may know the truck, he followed through with another teaser....



Someone gave Cam a pile of pics and this one was in there. He thought I was weird when I told him that I broke out in goose bumps when I saw it, the detail on the photo took me back to being an eight year old kid.

I pestered Cam a bit, knowing that Don had sold it at auction and that it was pulling a semi tipper around Brisbane area but had then disappeared. Cam was putting a few calls in to some contacts to shut me up when he decided to call up Dave Collard, a vintage truck guy from Yatala to see if he knew it's where abouts. He says g'day, what have you been up to, Dave replys that he'd just bought an old cabover kenworth to 'play' with and that it had an 8/92 in it. Cam asked if it was an old Turner's truck with alloy rims...............of course it was.

We have a match . He got it five weeks earlier so the big fella went out and had a looksy for Cunning, here's what he found



Notice the odd chassis rails at the rear, this was a tell tale that we had the right truck









Was I excited??? Understatement of the year! Dave wanted to use the truck for a while and have a bit of a play which kind of suited me so I kept in touch with him. I was itching to get it, telling my wife was the hard bit though , however she is fairly used to me now and thankfully agrees with my thoughts that life is too short . I finally heard from Dave a few weeks ago and arranged to fly up there on Friday afternoon. You couldn't find a nicer more accomodating bloke. He picked me up from the airport, drove me to his house to drop my gear off and then over to his mates house (also Dave) where they were servicing the truck so that I could drive it home to Sydney










Dave put ten litres of oil and 20 litres of water in drums for me, a funnel and watering can and also some safety triangles. It was the best transaction I have ever done, he is truly an awesome fella. He recognised the passion I had for this truck and actually replaced it with another truck so that I could live my dream. If he hadn't bought the truck from the previous owner I doubt it would still be here and if he hadn't been the type of guy he is it wouldn't be sitting in Sydney waiting to be restored! I'm indebted to his generousity

We had a great night out on Friday and Big Cam made the trek down (only because it was still on his side of the border) and there was a night with him and the 2 Dave's doing what we know best, drinking and talking!

So Saturday morning, I headed off and met Chappo who happened to be in Brisbane for the week and we drove home together





Chocs sent me a text and said that he'd had reports that I needed an Oversize sign on the truck as my smile was more than 2500mm wide





And Choc's comment on this pic........."it just doesn't get much better". Damn straight mate

This truck will be restored to its former glory and I can't wait to get it done. It is magic mechanically and will be mainly cosmetic. I'm in awe of the generousity of a few people with their efforts to help this happen, namely Dave Collard, Big Cam and Chappo (Aerodyne) along with Max Keough and Don Turner and Detective who managed to match the original blue paint for me (spot on mate ). All have contributed to make this come true. Most of all is Rachel for not being difficult about something that just ain't her thing. I'm a lucky boy.

I'm not the owner of this, simply the caretaker but hopefully, in time, I'll manage to do it justice

Bruce
the smile says it all , well done , i am glad i dont have to keep this a secret anymore
but why do these happenings make a bloke all tight in the chest and a bit watery eyed :'( it is a great journey we are on.


send Cam ,the big fella out for a looky looky , big fella

Cunning,

Congrats!

What an epic story. The ending! WOW! Now you are living the dream!

The inside picture shows that your skills with the trimmings will be put to good use! Look forward to many updates during the Resto!

So going to have it ready for the next Haulin?

Sweet story,have you told Max you have it.
That will be awsome to see restored back to original.
Congratulations

WELL DONE CUNNING,
Congratulations on the arrival to the Cunning Stable.
Can,t wait for more instalments from ya.

Stomper

Gday Cunning,
I've been away for a while and not seen the forum- but what a great story to get home to!
Well done mate, really pleased for you.
I reckon it's those sort of stories, and the history, that make the old truck thing worthwhile. Lets face it, trucks are just a heap of bits chucked together, that make a unit. It's the people BEHIND the truck that flesh it out, give it feeling, and tell you the story of where what and so on. Thats why old trucks are so good, because of the human element, the blokes that worked so hard, the good times, the bad, the kids like you, and so on.
So congratulations, this will be a special truck, for you, and all the rest of us you've shared the story with!
Good stuff mate.
Cheers
Richard

Bruce, well done mate & again well done to all those people who assisted you to attain your goal. I'm glad to see it still has the work lights as well. Can you tell us the reason behind the difference in the left & right chassis rails. Looking forward to seeing it in the flesh sometime. Cheers Tim

Well done Bruce. The smile says it all. Good things happen to good blokes.

g'day cunning and warmest regards and congratulations on your amazing story and ultimate purchase .. some things in life are meant to be...and this is right up there

...you will know that an event like this can put a real spring into a blokes step and that just washes down through to your family which ultimately means it's a big win-win for all

...this truck is also special as being one of the first of the cabovers that were fitted with 7 inch headlights and the corners on these ones were of an interim design which these days is pretty rare to see

...thank you for the great story and all the best with the new addition to the family ....cheers