Some EX Kwikasair / Comet 8 wheelers

G day Tec & Werk,
Dont know how or why with the cab bit , but that extra bit of room over

the slimline was really welcome.

i suppose really no need for a rear window with a pan jammed up against

the cab back.how ever we complained enough to have rear windows fitted

Good to have an occasional look look over the load as well when backing into sites

you could check on the crane clearance from trees elec wires etc

Even though i had a back curtain, ( very homely )i could still pull it down with a finger

& have a bo peep...................Billy..............

About 79/80 Kenworth introduced the the bigger slimline same as the bigger sleeper - about 62" instead of 52" and about 86" instead of 76".

At the same time they started describing them in metric - 1.6m day cab and 2.2m sleeper.

There are two 8- wheelers running around Western Sydney as tippers. One is cab forward, the other not. Both painted green and white. The cab forward one I'm pretty sure has a Detroit, the other not so sure- been a while since I've seen them.

Just wondering?

Grant.

Wilweld,
I too have seen a suspect 8 wheeler tipper, but it was about 9 years ago

on the Cumberland H/Way Wentworthville.

The cab was all very light green ( didnt look real good at all)
..............Billy...............

I've seen it within the last year, couple of times on the m7, once at Denham Court. Like you said, looks a bit sad

Grant.

Great stuff Billy . I used to work for Benedict sand and Gravel and one of the subbies from Marsden Park had a cab forward 8 wheeler truck and dog with a Cummins, he used to drive the snot out of it. Wonder if it was the same truck, red and white and immaculate...

Cunning... Charlie Grima's 8 wheeler was a K100E and the T650 ended up on a boat to Malta of all places. KW-guy.

Heres 845,




initally set up with this side loader crane, it wasnt too long before they fitted a rear crane same as 844.

When we came into the yard, we would drop the gates & lift the crane up ready for loading,

mostly i would jump up onto the body & sweep of any brick crumbs ( so the new load would

sit right on the deck & not shuffle around)

One day i jumps up onto the deck & theres an almightly crash behind me.

Looking around heres the grab on the deck.

The rotator had came adrift & there i was , standing along side where the thing

had landed. While i was working at Zacuba i had 4 grabs fall off , 2 with bricks aboard .

& walked away ok from it all.
.................................................



A little bit of outer hours operating.

On XMas eve we would do a load or so in the mornin,then wash the trucks & choof off home


or to some turnout etc. I was last in this time & was washing the truck when the yard manager

drove in pretty quick (he was always complainin about trucks & forks goin too quick.

Any way a while later he rockets up the yard, past me , & the Falcon gets the death

wobbles & goes head first into the 4 foot bank.

Out he staggers & sez , oh no , look at me new foggies,

Didnt seem to notice the bonnet was about 6 inches shorter than usual......merry xmas.



another xmas , another driver Tom was last in & the chief tells Tom to make sure he

washes the truck before he goes, So a while later he fronts in the office & sez , jobs done boss,

looking out the window, boss sees the truck looks ok , so Tom shoots through.

As the boss drives out later , sees the r/h cab side & the front are clean , (all he could

see from the office), & the rest is not too good at all. ( That dam Tom has got me again !!!!!!!!!! )

he thinks no doubt.
.................................................

Another XMas i caused a bit of strife.

I had not long started there & it was xmas truck washing time

I parks my truck on the wash pad with the crane & grab along side on the ground.

Lloyd Glasby had just bought a new wash machine & it sat in a 6 foot sq shed up against

a light pole along side the pad. Every body is running around , all helping, some one yells Billy

hurry up get that thing outa here.

SO i dives in & moves off, next thing theres a hellava noise, oh no , the crane is still out the

side & Lloyds new wash machine & shed is lying on its side on top of the light pole.

So i thinks ,(after we all straightened things up with the other blokes laughing a fair bit )

I had better let Lloyd know about the situation & prepare for the worst.

So....i explains what happened ,

Lloyd just looked at me for a coupla minutes, didnt say a thing , then turned around &

walked off.

I think i would have felt better if he had given me a good mouthful

Yeah, that episode used to crop up every so often in conversations

.........................Billy.................

Not my photo but thanks to who ever took it .

I suppose some of the Zacuba fleet would have looked like this ..............................
...........................Billy...........................

One time another bloke & me were going out to a re sited house with a load each.

One of the Alltrans chiefs was at the brick yard at the time, so, he decides to drive

out to the site & give us the benefit of his experience

The house is a few hundred yards off the road through a grassy paddock that looks a bit

suspect. So, Norm & me decides on a path that might be ok, but the chief says no ,

i want you to go through here , we say that looks a bit ordinary, but he says GO.

So away goes Norm & gets bogged. At this point the chief sez , well, ive gotta

go now. Yeah right................

3 hours later the truck is back to where we started.

Taken our preffered track we both made it in & out with a minium of fuss.

Guess who wasnt interested in how we got on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
......................Billy.................

Not my photo but thanks to who ever took it .



At least one of the Zacuba trucks could have looked like this going by the chipped paint

around the cab front.

That one is from the wonderful Jim Duffield collection, originally taken by Colin Southwell ex TNT driver.

I believe that from about KT817 upwards they all got painted peaches & cream while still on linehaul duties so it could have been any of the Zacuba ones ..... 815 got P&C colours too