With Kenworth’s often dominating the aisles of truck shows around the country, it’s always a refreshing sight to set your eyes upon something different.
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From Atkinsons to Diamond T’s and everything in between, there’s nothing quite like a blast from the past to get your motor running.
John Zannikos knows the feeling all too well, prompting him to start bringing out his collection of vintage Scania’s.
“My first introduction to Scania’s was through my dad,” John told Deals on Wheels.
“Back in the 70’s, that was his favourite brand to take on the road and I suppose it rubbed off on me.”
When the time came for John to finally get behind the wheel himself, there was no question to which brand his eyes began to roam to.
“All through my apprenticeship and qualifications, I drove Scania’s,” he says.
“Then when I started up a transport company, we put 13 Scania tippers on the road. We just loved them.”
His fondness for the trucks only continued to increase, and so when the transport company chapter closed, the logical answer was to start up a Scania wrecker.
As you would expect from a man with a Scania obsession, John has spent a chunk of his life collecting models for his own personal collection. Some of his favourites include a 1978 LKT141, 1982 R142 and a 1975 L110.
“We bought the LKT141 in great condition,” he says.
“It had been parked undercover for the better part of 34 years and despite its age, only had racked up 278,000kms.
“We only had to give her a bit of a clean and she was ready to go.”
John found similar luck with his L110, stumbling across it at a farm in Beaufort. It had spent around 14 years undercover but was in need of a bit more love.
“We went to go and have a sticky beak because the farmer had a big paddock of trucks,” John says.
“As soon as we saw the Scania, we knew we had to take her home.”
The rig needed some desperate TLC, the mechanical work and interior in shambles.
Working at restoring it back to its former glory, the one requirement John had was to keep the patina and vintage look.
“We simply sprayed a little of matte clear over the original cab and let it look the way we found it,” he says.
The third Scania amongst his favourites is the 1982 R142, a truck that belonged to him over 20 years ago.
Using it as tip up back in the early 2000’s, John eventually sold it off in a moment he later regretted.
“I’m surrounded by Scania’s every day and so I try and sell off the things I no longer need,” he says.
“But then later on, I always end up looking back and wishing I just kept it. That’s why now, if I see them come up, I always try and buy them back.”
Still at the beginning of its restoration journey, the R142, while mechanically sound, is expected to receive a beautiful exterior makeover.
“I was apprentice when the truck was brand new, so I’ve known it all its life,” he says.
“It was a bit of an iconic truck back in the day, everyone knew it.”
John’s dazzling trio now accompanies him to truck shows around the country, showing that sometimes the old can outshine the new.
“Not many people bring out the old Scania’s anymore, so I try and bring as many as I can,” he says.
“Wherever we take them, they always stand out.”
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