Kenworth K-100 Grey Ghosts

Somebody put up some photos of the KW grey ghosts quite a while ago, tried doing a search for them, but, the search engine here is kinda like stuck in Grandma, so any chance of putting them up again, this time I'll swipe 'em and save 'em.

regards greenie [smiley=vrolijk_1.gif]

GuddayM8

Would/could B here

hcvc.com.au/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1241316583
OR
hcvc.com.au/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1216776351/0

Cya

[ch9787]

Thanks Swishy ----

regards greenie [smiley=vrolijk_1.gif]

GuddayM8

Q:? for the Kenworth buffs
Bayswater Australia Kenworth was set up with chassis numbers starting @ #400000
the 1st gray ghost (COMET) twaz # 400008
Wot B cum of # 400001 - 7
(May B F.U.'z in the production line, Mighta B cum Lemons n Shippd off to NZ)

InQuiring Minds ..................................................U No

Cya

[ch9787]

G'Day all,

Pic of an Aussie one here :

www.aussiebigbangers.4t.com/about_4.html

aussiebigbangers.4t.com/slide_show.html?...picture=picture2.jpg

What sort of speed did these things use to run? When I was in Oz I heard all sort of stories with 120-130Ks being mentioned which, fully loaded with 318 hp (?) sounds a bit optimistic...

Cheers,

T

120-130Ks---sounds a bit optimistic...

NOPE, that was just cruisin', he aint even got 'angry' at that pace.

Well, they could knock off Sydney to Melbourne, on the OLD Hume Highway when it was mostly single lane each way, in about 8 to 9 hrs on a real good night. That 8 hrs mark, was a target that a lot of drivers tried to break, quite a few came close, but I dont think anybody actually cracked it.
Now on the OLD Hume Highway that was a distance of about 600 MILES, so they were no sloach, eh.
Adelaide to Melbourne was regularly cracked in the 6 to 7hrs and that was about 450 miles.
If you were driving your car and tried to catch one out on the open road, well, all you saw was taillights dissapearing away into the distance. Even the coppers had one hell of a time trying to bag them up, and they used to have the 'good stuff' for the highway patrol.
No CB radios either in them days, you had to keep your eyes peeled, or they frightened the bejesus out of you when they bagged you up. They used to come up that fast, you reckoned the bastard just jumped out of your exhaust pipe.
Now the blokes who used to drive them had a death wish and bugger all brains, mad mob of D!^# HEADS, that's all you could call them.

regards greenie [smiley=vrolijk_1.gif]

Those things were never loaded to full capacity,quite often 15 tonnes was a big load.

Those things were never loaded to full capacity,quite often 15 tonnes was a big load.

Some times it was only a couple of ton payload, the fashion dresses took up a hell of a lot of room, followed by lots of what felt like empty boxes and then the company letters weighed stuff all.

If you managed to get the freight any higher than about 2/3rds of the way up the wall, you had one hell of a load.

The only time they ever struggled, was when they were packed to the hilt in Sydney, with the AVON cosmetics products, then they were right up on the weights, but that only ever happened to 2 trucks once a month heading for Melbourne. All others were lucky to have 5 to 10 ton on board. Was just enough to make the crowbars work and stop the arse end from bouncing all over the place on the rough roads.

regards greenie [smiley=vrolijk_1.gif]

Tatra
GuddayM8

They had a fleet of these tandem drive beasts th@ were lightly loaded @ times
75-80 MPH with 318HP Screemin V8-71 GM
as one driver lost his liecence a nother new driver would soon quikly learn the art of speed
as time rolled on a few ran off the Rd n badly damaged
then the bosses relized wots the point of record time B tween the capital cities when on arrival @ unloadin point the truck had to wait a few hours B 4 they opened up for th@ day so me thinks they did gear m back a bit to save life n trucks
also in keen oposition twaz the Dodge V8 petrol powered single drive trucks to compete with the Gray Ghosts

(AzEyeRemeberWayBackWhen)

Cya

[ch9787]

Greenie, Swishy,

Thanks for the info - that explains a bit! They must have had some unusually high diffs and from what my senile memory retains of the roads (was in Oz in 1986) you'd have to be a real nutcase to maintain this sort of speed for 6-8 hours...

Any info on the Dodges? What was the biggest V8 petrol you had on Aussie Dodges anyway - I though you never got the Yank 440 and such like. I suppose they also carted light parcels

Cheers,

T