If there’s one thing Red Johnstone knows how to do, it’s preserving a vintage rig the right way. And boy does his collection make a truck lovers’ head turn.
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Red didn’t restore these trucks to win trophies, but rather to preserve some Aussie trucking history for the people who remember these rigs working, sweating and earning their keep.
“It’s a look back into the past, but it’s also for personal reasons,” he says.
“I have this collection of old trucks so people can also come and have a look, when and if they want to.”
So, Deals on Wheels sat down with Red to hear how he transformed two red 1964 Internationals from a rat’s home, into a truckie’s dream.
1964 AB International
Red had been hunting for an AB International – specifically with a Cummins engine – when he phoned a mate who knew a guy.
For 15 years it had sat idle in an open shed. Rats had claimed it too and the cylinder head was no good. But Red saw what it could be.
“The owner at the time said if it was worth 500 bucks it could stay in that shed. I said I’d give him a thousand and I ended up taking it home,” he says.
“It must have had an accident at some stage because it had a C line grill in it, which is the later model of this version of truck, but I wanted to take it back to its original appearance, so that’s what we did.”
This one was a full ground-up rebuild, cab off, brakes fully refurbished, and seat reupholstered.
“My uncle used to own a 1942 Jailbar Ford, which I would have loved to restore, but I was too busy working on the International. I ended up swapping it for a complete engine that I fitted to the truck,” he says.
“I got parts for the door trims of a fella in St George who used to have a lot of International trucks out there.
“The door trims were brand new, still sitting in the International packaging they originally came in for probably 40 to 50 odd years. I gave him 100 bucks, and he sold them to me.”
Then the step tanks came off, dents were fixed, and the cab was painted.
But what sits behind the AB might be the most interesting part of the story. The red trailer it hauls was part of Red’s life 50 years ago and was behind a truck similar to what it is now.
“I actually towed that trailer around in 1975, it was bought by my cousin in Brisbane, and it was delivered to Englewood on the 11th of June 1963,” he says.
A full circle moment for Red – how funny life can be sometimes.
1964 Lodestar F1800
Red had been sniffing around Pittsworth when he caught wind of it. A mate of his mentioned that his next door neighbour owned an old International, possibly a Transtar.
But Red knew better.
“He said the bonnet opens from the side, and I knew straight away it was a Lodestar,” he says.
And he was right.
It didn’t take much of a look to realise it was in very bad form and what followed was nothing short of a resurrection.
This truck has had a few previous owners, but before life with Red, it used to cart mainly gravel – and wheat when it was quiet – for the council.
“The body was completely shagged, so I bought it off the bloke and took it home,” he says.
“Originally it had a 345 V8 petrol in it and a bloke from Goondiwindi retrofitted it with a 6354 Perkins engine.
“It was covered in rat shit, behind the dash and all over the floor, so initially there was lots of cleaning up that needed to be done.”
The doors were pulled off, the Hendrickson suspension was remade, and the body was completely rebuilt.
“The body that was on it, was a similar style to what I have on it now, but I made it so you can unbolt the sides and use it for a flat top as well.
“I got the cab painted for me, but overall, I spent a lot of money on it. I think about $19,000 in parts and paint alone.
“The bumper bar is a bit of a standout feature. I got it cut down to how I wanted, folded, bent the ends and polished up for me.”
Red told Deals on Wheels that he was off to an airshow that coming weekend and was getting ready to whip the Internationals out to get them cleaned up.
“I was asked to bring them along, so people got something else to look at rather than airplanes,” he laughs.
And let’s just say, the crowds will definitely be looking.
Red’s restorations brought back two red, roaring reminders of Australia’s hard-working past. Trucks that hold decades of history and miles of memories within them.
Read more:
- The transformation of the 1960 ‘Purple Petrol Eater’
- Truckin’ round bees in a 1974 International Acco
- Join the fun at the 37th Castlemaine Rotary Truck Show
- One man’s yard full of rigs
- Transport company purchase its first Kenworth in 100 years
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