12 10-4 Magazine / November 2025 entire country, but eventually he settled into a great somewhat local gig in Texas, that gets him home almost every night. That story sounds good and simple, but running old cabovers like Kevin does, the road has not always been smooth. In 2020, the Silver 92 threw a rod out the side of the block, so he swapped that engine for a 12V-71. Just a few weeks later, in early 2021, the crank broke in that 12V-71, so he parked the yellow and white Freightliner, got his old KOT cabover running again (overhauled the engine himself) after it sat for almost seven years, and then drove that truck for a couple more years. Unfortunately, in 2023, the head cracked, water got in the pan, and it spun three main bearings. At this point, Kevin turned to his dad, who had recently bought a 1972 Peterbilt 352A COE from Shawn McCord with no engine, transmission or radiator. A few years prior, Kevin’s “uncle” Bert Lyde, who was fighting cancer at the time, gave his old 1975 W900A (AKA Big Black) to him. This was the same long hood A-model Kevin drove when he was 18 years old, so it was special to him. Kevin’s dad wanted to sell his 1972 Peterbilt 352A, which had been sitting since 1980 before he acquired it, but Kevin didn’t want to see it go, so he swapped titles with his dad – the W900A for the 352A – in order to keep them both in the family. Kevin later got the W900A back from his dad, and today it sits in his driveway in Texas, waiting to be restored. For the next six months or so, Kevin worked tirelessly at his dad’s yard in Long Beach, CA, putting the 352A back together to its original specs. Installing a 425-hp 1693 CAT and a 13-speed, he kept the rig’s spring suspension, roof-mounted A/C unit, and air-assist steering. Painted brown and yellow, with a drom and a long wheelbase, this rig really turned heads. Kevin put it on the road in November 2023 and ran it full-time until he sold it to Gus Hulstein in May of 2025. Gus lives in Central Oregon and is another past cover trucker (November 2021). Once the Peterbilt was gone, it was time for Kevin to refurbish and rebuild his yellow and white 1981 Freightliner cabover and get it back on the road. Rebuilding and tuning the 12V-71 with twin turbos himself with help, advice and parts from Detroit Diesel legend Johnny Wong and Kevin’s friends Danny Woosley and Wayne Talkington, he got that V12 running (and sounding) amazing. When he first fires it up, it roars to life and sounds like a 1969 Chevelle with a 396 Big Block, but when it idles and runs, it sounds as smooth as silk – surprisingly, it is not as obnoxious sounding as most V12 Detroits. Kevin started working on the truck on May 1st and then it hauled its first load on June 24, 2025, and he’s been running it all over Texas, every day, ever since. Featuring a spacious 104” cab (we always like that number), most of the black and brown interior is stock, except for the seats, the 22” steering wheel (it came with a 20-incher), and, of course, the two sticks. The exterior features an 18” Valley Chrome bumper, 5” stacks, 8” dual air intakes with polished bonnets, long Hogebuilt quarter-fenders, polished toolboxes on each side, and the original visor. Kevin opted for a “White Freightliner” emblem on the front, even though, technically, the company stopped using that badging in the United States in 1977. He also had to have those West Coast style “Hustler” antennas with the tall stainless shafts! At one point, Kevin’s goal was to paint this truck in the Keep On Trucking brown and white company paint scheme, but after much thought, he decided the 3-Way colors were pretty iconic, too, so he opted to keep them. George Brown originally ordered this truck new in plain white with a maroon frame in 1981, but three months later, he signed on with 3-Way Van Lines. Back in those days, they would pay to paint your truck in the company’s colors, so that is what George did. This paint job is almost 45 years old, and it certainly isn’t perfect by any means, but Kevin loves it. And if you notice the #308 on each side of the front of the truck, that is because the overall look and specs of this truck were done to imitate the look of KOT truck #308, a Freightliner cabover his dad drove for many years, before purchasing it from them. Seeing that this truck was inspired by #308, it only seemed fitting to put that number on the front of it.
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