There’s a part of fixing up a truck that every restorer tries not to think about. The cost.
And restoring a 1972 CO4070A International Transtar, isn’t cheap.
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“Want to hear the scariest part about this restoration?” Garry Mayer asks Deals on Wheels.
“Including everything within the cost, like fuel and tolls, I spent $190,000. And would I do it again? No! Although I do love the truck.”
That’s the thing about expensive passion projects. They hurt, then they reward, they hurt again, and you keep going anyway.
But let’s start at the beginning.
The old Transtar had already lived a few lives before it rolled into Garry’s.
“As far as I can go back, the truck was owned by Kevin Maguire from Coo-ee Station in Forbes,” he says.
“He put it up for auction, and then Mark Goodwin bought it from him. I got the Transtar off Mark in June 2022.”
Garry still remembers the feeling of crawling up the road in a truck so tired.
“I drove it up home and it miraculously made it back to Minden, Queensland,” he says.
“Which was a surprise because everything was worn out.”
It arrived with an NTC 335 Cummins, a 15-speed Roadranger gearbox and Rockwell diffs.
The truck was weary, even the block, so Garry went hunting for a new one until he got one from Wayne Hill who Garry says has been a big help to him.
Then, the Transtar’s rebirth truly began.
Shayne Parnell handled the custom motor rebuild, turning a tired 335 into an NTA 400 Magnum Cummins now punching out around 500 horsepower, yet to go on the dyno.
The gearbox was rebuilt and cleverly reconfigured, transforming it into an RTO915. Engine mounts were modified as were many other parts, and the alternator and starter motor were rebuilt.
after restoration
The front end was rebushed, and brake cams modified. Garry’s son-in-law, Adam Shaw crafted the stainless air intake and welded countless bits and pieces.
Inside, the engine cowling and bottom of the grille were re-fibreglassed by Garry’s mate, Geoff Pemberton, along with various parts of the dashboard.
Piece by piece, the Transtar was finally coming together.
Still, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.
“We still have to rebush the back end and a few seals in the diff,” Garry says.
“I also want to make a few changes to the bull bar, but it can wait.”
Three-and-a-half years in, and this truck is very much still a work in progress, but it’s getting closer to the finish line.
“The bride says if she sees a trailer on, she’ll burn it,” he laughs.
Not that Garry doesn’t have plans – he intends on doing a few hay runs between shows – but I think he’ll be picking his timing carefully.
Although this project has its challenges, like the cost, duration and never ending list of tasks to complete, the truck life runs in Garry’s blood.
“I was born into it,” he says. “My dad was a driver, and my brother – who’s 10 years older – is in the industry as well.”
“He’s 74 and still doing Clybucca changeovers five nights a week. I didn’t stand a chance. As hard as trucking is, I would do it all over again.”
His family shaped his childhood, carved out his adulthood and ultimately led him to the Transtar.
More than five decades after it first hit the road, the Transtar stands tall again – still with work to be done – but closer to the end than ever before.
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