Truck & Driver UK – August 2019

(^32) Summer 2019 Truck & Driver
SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT
T
he Kenworth W900A is
one of the most famous
and celebrated trucks of
all time. First produced
in 1961, the model range
is still sold today. An American
icon, the W900’s legendary
status was sealed when it was
cast a starring role in the 1977
car-chase epic Smokey and the
Bandit. There are a few replicas
of the famous rig over in the
USA, and there’s plenty of
debate to be had on the fate and
whereabouts of the original three
trucks used in the film.
There are a number of W900s
in the UK, the truck being one of
the most popular choices for
American truck enthusiasts.
Nobody had attempted building a
replica of the film truck this side of
the Atlantic. Until, that is, George
Matthews decided to make his
dream a reality. Three years of
hard work have gone into
converting this 1976 W900A into
a fully operational tribute to one
of the two best films ever made.
George is a former showman.
Today he runs a metal fabrication
business, but over the years he’s
owned and driven many a British
truck with an American driveline.
Like so many of us, George has
watched Smokey so often he’s
memorised the entire script.
Pretty ugly
“I always wanted a Kenworth like
in the film,” he tells us, “and three
years ago I found this one. It was
black and red, had a body on the
back like a camper van and no
fifth wheel. It was pretty ugly but
exactly what I was looking for!”
The truck had been imported
to the UK in 2011. George has
been able to trace the history of
two previous owners. Mark-One
Trucking owned it as far back as
2000, while the other owner was
Tri-Star Enterprises of Florida.
First registered in 1976 by
Bridgewater Kenworth of New
Jersey (a dealership that has
long since closed) to a Mr John F
Hoehne, the truck is known to
have spent some time hauling a
dump trailer. It’s certainly not had
a hard life as it’s racked up only
300,000 miles in 42 years.
Having worked on Fodens
and ERFs, the Kenworth didn’t
hold any fears for George. As it
was, the truck was in very good
condition mechanically.
Cosmetically it was okay too,
suffering only from general wear
and tear. George immediately set
to work. “As soon as I got it
home, I cut the camper off the
back. I didn’t want anyone to see
it like that!” he says.
A sleeper pod was sourced
from the Netherlands thanks to a
‘wanted’ advert on Facebook.
The origins of the sleeper are
unclear; all that’s known is that it
was once fitted to a Peterbilt.
George decided that, while he
was to build a replica, he
wouldn’t go down the route of
100% period accuracy, as
practicality had to be the key
focus. Originally, the sleeper
would be accessed through a
small hole at the back of the cab;
George opened up the cab rear
and fabricated a suspended
sub-frame for the sleeper to sit
on. It can now be used for
passengers. He then returned
the fuel tanks to their correct
position below the sleeper and
built a set of steps under the
doors. Anything not available,
George fabricated.
A family holiday to Florida
proved especially useful as he
was able to visit a ‘chrome shop’
and buy lots of useful parts off
the shelf. “There were six of us,
so I was able to squeeze quite a
lot of Kenworth bits into all the
suitcases!” George
fabricated the exhaust
stacks from scratch –
George had a special Coors cover fabricated to hang inside the back doors