When you first lay eyes on Michael Jeffries’ 1993 K100E Kenworth, you’d swear it just rolled out of a Hot Wheels pack.
With bright flames licking down its black sides, it’s a truck that demands attention – but it wasn’t always this much of a head turner.
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“I found it for sale on Trade Me,” Michael says. “It was just a cab and chassis. It was painted blue, and it looked pretty rough – like one of those Terminator trucks.”
For some, it would have been too big of a job, but for Michael, it was a challenge he couldn’t resist. The K100 had history. Born green under Balle Brothers in Auckland, it then found its way down south to Doolans Transport where it turned blue.
And now, under Jeffries’ watch, it’s taken on a third life, representing his business, The Big Smoke Barbecue, with the K100 serving as the face of the brand.
Michael was a former truck driver before he started up his own mobile barbecue business, and the K100 is the only truck the business owns.
“Back in the day, I used to drive around a K100, and I had been looking for one for a while. This Kenworth came out of nowhere and I snapped it up. Now I only use the truck to head to the supermarket,” Michael jokes.
“It hauls around all the barbeques, but I admit that I use it as more of a show truck for the business.”
But again, this truck didn’t roll into Michael’s hands looking this good. Work needed to be done.
He got the chassis sandblasted and repainted the whole truck before adding a freshly built deck on it.
“The interior was pretty mint, I didn’t have to do much there, apart from putting all the gold badges and accessories on inside the cab,” he says.
“I really wanted a Hot Wheels reflective design with heaps of flames.
“I wanted it loud, cool and fun, that’s what I was going for.”
And it’s the perfect pairing.
American styled barbeques meet an American styled barbeque truck, and it’s not only hauling Michael’s products, but plenty of attention also.
But he’s not done yet. Plans are already in motion to fit 10-inch exhaust stacks, a new spoiler and eventually, turn the barbie hauler into a part-time motorhome.
And that’s the beauty of a truck. One minute it’s a workhorse running from A to B under time restraints, the next it’s a restored ad on wheels, and then it’s surprisingly turned into a place you call home.
But whatever’s next for Michael, the road ahead looks just as exciting as the one behind it.
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