Restorer finds sentimental artefacts hidden in 1975 Kenworth SAR

If you have spent more than a few days in the transport industry, you’ll know that trucks do a lot more than simply moving things around the country. 

For many people, they are a way of retracing the past, holding on to memories or creating a future. 

David Beer found this out first-hand when restoring a 1975 Kenworth SAR.

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He has always had a passion for restoring old trucks, eager to fix them up like they were before. 

“All of our restorations are done as if they were working trucks,” David says. 

“We like to keep them as original as possible, and not go too over the top.”

Wanting to stay away from other restoration styles that boast expensive chrome and paintwork, David says there is something special about the trucks as they are. 

“Take for example a ’63 model Kenworth I am doing up now – it was the third ever Kenworth brought into Australia.
“I wouldn’t want to tarnish that history by adding new fuel tanks and lights. 

”I want to let the history shine.

“I’m a genuine collector and restorer, not a dealer. I find it hard to get rid of stuff!”

David says one of his favourite pastimes was going to clearing sales and checking out all the “junk” people were trying to get rid of. 

“You would see things there made by a blacksmith, that would have taken them half a day or more to make, and people would just pick it up and throw it straight in the rubbish.

“But I see under that. I see the work that went behind it, and I can appreciate it for what it is, flashy or not.”

When David noticed an old 1975 Kenworth SAR for sale in Berrigan, the old rig immediately stood out to him. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the spare cash ready to go, and was forced to watch it get sold to someone else.

“GRS Towing in Sydney bought it and had plans to restore it,” he says. 

“Luckily for me, he was going to have to pay other people to do it, so he decided he would be better off getting rid of it too.

“So, I jumped on it.”

Bringing it down to Maryborough for him, David was excited to get right into it. 

“It was definitely a bit rough around the collar. The cabin was rotted out, and it was all rusted out.”

The Kenworth received the full Beer experience, getting gutted and completely rebuilt from the ground up. 

Shortly after starting, David’s son Jeff received a message from the original owner’s daughter. 

She disclosed to the duo that the truck was originally done up for her brother, explaining the bright and whimsical colour choices.

“Unfortunately, her brother had died in a car accident and her father passed away shortly after.

“It was such a horrible story to hear and just very sad.”

Wanting to keep her updated as he worked on the truck, Jeff began sending her images and videos of the progress.

“She loved receiving them, it helped her feel closer to her family.”

While the Kenworth was stripped to pieces, David even discovered some of the woman’s brother’s items in the truck. 

“When we pulled everything apart, we found her brother’s driver license and a few other little artefacts.

“Jeff sent them up to her right away and she was so excited.

“It’s the little things like that, that mean a lot. That’s why I do restorations this way.”

As the rig had such a story behind it, David wanted to ensure it was restored to a high standard. 

When it came to the interior, he had to search high and low for the pleated upholstery that Kenworth used back in the ’70s .

“I had to order a whole roll of it from America. That’s what we used to do the entire interior.

“We even painted the dash and everything the original sort of colour. Everything is as close to the original as you can get.”

The only detail that David put his own spin on was the paint job, opting to splash out on a luscious purple colour. 

While most of his restored and work trucks are painted blue, David knew this one had to be different. 

“I have a worker that has worked with me for years, and when he asked me what colour I was going to paint it, I honestly had no idea.

“All my life I’ve been blue, blue, blue and more blue, but I recently restored a W model in red and was toying with doing something similar.”

Throwing a colour chart across the table to his worker, David ultimately handed the decision over to him. 

“I said ‘Pick whatever colour you want.’”

Thinking he was teasing him, the worker picked out purple, sure that David would never make that choice. 

“But here it is, purple,” he laughs. 

Darren Chamberlain was the one in charge of jazzing up the exterior with stickers and signwriting, David putting full trust in him. 

In keeping with his usual style, they decided to add a touch of his token colour , with blue lines running down the bonnet. 

“It’s the same thing I said earlier about appreciation. You have to trust that they know what they’re doing and walk away. Darren always does an amazing job.”

The thing David loves the most about restoring old trucks is reliving the era they were made in.

“There is nothing like it,” he says. “It’s great to transport yourself back to a time without mobile phones or internet.

“There’s also a lot of yourself and your self-expression that goes into it. Whether that be the colour or just the little things. It makes it all so special.”