A Reason to Smile

G’Day From…

10 Apr

You can take the boy out of Kenworth (on the weekends at least)….

But you can’t take Kenworth out of the boy.

Phil Spencer, better known as Smiley, spends his weekdays working at the Kenworth factory at Bayswater, Vic. With the company for 17 years, Smiley works in Engineering Design. If you look at your bonnet, cab or sleeper in your post-2004 KW, there’s a chance Smiley had something to do with it.

One could be forgiven for walking away from anything to do with work on the weekends, but Smiley is happy to wander out into his yard and see a product of his employer sitting there – in this case a 1978 K124CR, which I suspect is a good deal older than he is.

**Can’t wipe the smile from Smiley’s face**

“If you’re going to own a truck and you work for Kenworth then it had better be a Kenworth,” says Phil, happily displaying his nickname.

The truck has been in Smiley’s possession for three years with Phil having bought it from Tim Tyler who’d owned it for the previous eight. In a twist of fate, Tim had known Rick ‘Chocs’ Hayman since the age of three and had Chocs sign write the truck way back when – fitting, as the Crawlin the Hume run where I ran into Smiley was dedicated to the memory of Chocs who had passed away the week before.

**Some of Chocs Hayman’s old handiwork**

Originally from Kempsey, NSW, the truck started out in life hauling timber from there to Sydney and returning with a load of Clark Bricks, which, if you think about it, is sort of complimentary. From there the Kenny spent many years as a carnival truck, benefitting at some stage from its original Mission Brown livery being converted to white.

Smiley is happy at this stage to leave the exterior of the truck as is. “It’s warts and all and tells a story.”

The interior though has seen some work with Phil re-trimming the bunk, swapping out the original dark red for parchment. The ability of Kenworth to supply any part of any truck ever produced made the job a simple one. As time and money permits the interior will gain further makeovers.

Smiley’s parting comment: “It’s awesome! But I’m biased.”