Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/580471
October 2015 | Overdrive | 39 A SPECIAL MACK IS BACK mecca for purveyors and fans of extreme sports. The "Big Red" Mack led an introductory parade, former Knievel driver Mike Draper at the wheel, and was positioned prominently next to ramps that carried Glenn Godfrey in a Freightliner to a world-record-length jump, among other jumps. From there, its many stops included showing at the mammoth motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D., and later at the premiere of the Being Evel documentary film in Hollywood. Next was Dallas, where thousands of truckers saw it in August at the Great American Trucking Show. At a New Mexico scale house en route to Dallas, an inspection ended up with officers touring the coach's interior on the trailer behind Pennsylvania-based Spiff Services driver Ricky Grubbs' Pinnacle day- cab. "I've had five grown men cry on me," says Austin, Texas-based "Killer" Bramer, who hauls the trailer. The emotion onlookers bring to their encounters with the piece of history is "the best part of this job," she says. Its next event is Oct. 15, says Mike Patterson, Historic Harley-Davidson owner and one of the truck's primary restorers. Westfall-O'Dell Truck Sales in Kansas City, Mo., will host the truck for the day. The dealership was one of the nearly 100 individuals and businesses that contributed to the truck and trailer's full restoration, managed by Patterson's shop over a year and a half. Patterson says he was drawn into the project after the truck's owner – ex- pro skateboarder, actor and Knievel memorabilia collector Lathan McKay – "called simply for advice for some- body who could restore the truck." Patterson "blurted out that we restore Mack trucks," he recalls, and McKay "believed me." "We teamed with Kansas Powertrain in Topeka," which rebuilt both the chassis and motor in the tractor, and "Topeka Trailer for the trailer portion of it," Patterson says. "Todd Williams, nationally known for restoration of all kinds of vehicles, did the restoration of the cab." The 295-inch-wheelbase Mack is outfitted with a custom box that served as a rolling office for Knievel, originally built by then-Pa.- based Post Coach. The rig likely will sit idle through the winter, given concerns for the deteriorating effect of road salt, says Patterson. The 2016 schedule will include Mack Trucks hosting the rig at its customer center in Allentown, Pa., for up to a month, Walsh says. Start Your Own Start Your Own Company? Trucking Let Apex take the stress out of getting your business started, so you can focus on your future. We make it simple! www.apexcapitalcorp.com/overdrive Get Started Today! 855-347-2739