Darrell Estes' pair of custom Peterbilt 359s -- a 1984 and '87 both with rich histories

Описание: Darrell Estes of Class Act Trucking out of Danville, Kentucky, showed these two beauties at the inaugural edition of the Large Cars and Guitars truck show in Kodak, Tennessee. Longtime owner-operator Estes, who hauled long-distance coal out of Eastern Kentucky north in 1990s, then rebooted his business in 2014 with a Peterbilt 359 he’s since retired, has put quite a lot of work into this pair the last several years, even as he’s operated a heavy coil-hauling business.

His soon-to-be-regular runner is the 1987 359, repowered with a mechanical Caterpillar 3406C Estes has put in the rig, both the motor and the truck itself purchased from prior owners Estes knew well from his area. He bided his time on the truck for 20 years as it sat in the previous owner’s shop after the original Cummins motor went down early this century.

For the mechanical Cat, too, Estes waited out the owner, who’d rebuilt the engine in total and had it sitting in his shop with intentions to put in another truck for upward a year. Estes came along with his plans at the right moment, getting an agreement with the owner to sell the 3406C to place in this rig, from the last year Peterbilt made the 359.

The '87 has been stretched from a 250-inch wheelbase to 292, and “big-holed” in the interior for more room between the seats and sleeper, as has the other 359 he was showing, a more fully complete build that Estes had originally intended to run. Getting it finalized in the custom shop of Jamestown, Tennessee-based hand Ronnie King, though, he weighed the pristine piece of history against the rugged nature of the work he does and decided against hauling with it. Today, as you can see in this video, it's a dedicated showpiece. It’s a beauty, that’s sure.

The Large Cars and Guitars show wrapped up Saturday, May 7. Catch scenes from set-up and the first full day of the show: https://www.overdriveonline.com/custo...