10-4 Magazine November 2024

12 10-4 Magazine / November 2024 One of those “toys” is his wife’s 1954 Chevy pickup. Painted Lemon Ice Yellow, this little hot rod truck features a small block Chevy 327, an automatic transmission, air conditioning, a tilt steering wheel, electric windows, and a bunch of other custom modifications done by Ken. This project took four years to complete. Another one of his “toys” is a miniature version pickup truck of his Kenwor th W900A. Ken got the idea to build a mini big rig pickup back in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until about ten years ago that he actually star ted to build it. Star ting with a 1983 GMC 1-ton dually chassis, Ken found a cab just like his A-Model, and then extended the back of it eight extra inches for more leg room (he would love to do that to his log truck, as well, but doesn’t want to shut it down to make the change). He also re-purposed the original shor t hood off the W900A, which was highly modified, and then used on this pickup. Powered with a 5.9 Dodge Cummins with twin turbos, methanol injection, and a Dodge automatic transmission (which he does not like), the truck was also fitted with a 2000 Ford F350 bed. Painted Lamborghini Orange, it took about seven years to complete this project, and Ken did 98% of the work right there in his shop (everything but the paint). A few other “projects” he has lying around include a few “hit and miss” engines from 1917 and 1923 that he likes to play with, along with a 1961 Kenwor th S-Model 925 conventional, that he is in the early stages of rebuilding. Being a somewhat rare model, there aren’t many of these floating around, but they did build a lot of them in Australia, so Ken might need to look “down under” for the par ts he’ll need – or just make his own par ts! He bought a donor truck for some par ts, and he is currently rebuilding the truck’s original 335 Cummins engine, but he still needs a few other par ts and accessories. Not surprisingly, he plans to install an Allison 6-speed automatic in the truck. Ken estimates that this project will take between two and three years to complete, but he is in no hurry. I mentioned earlier that Ken had a history in racing, and that was a passionate hobby for him and Vicki from 1976 to about 1992. Star ting out on local dir t shor t tracks, they did that for a few years, and then began racing in the NASCAR Nor thwest Tour, racing on asphalt, in the Late Model class. They did this purely for fun, and built everything themselves, including the cars, motors, suspensions, and other par ts. Ken drove the race car, along with the hauler, and everything was self-funded. Racing against heavily sponsored opponents, they had some success, typically finishing in the top five, and winning a few championships along the way, as well. They had a lot of fun, met a lot of great