Everyone likes a good story, and i think you will like this one. In Dec 09 I received an email from a person I had not spoken to before. To my suprise Ray Grima from Victoria, a truck driver and restorer of the beloved WHITE truck brand led him to purchase an old White Road Commander, and as it has turned out it happens to be an Ex Clutha Test truck. Ray over many years has collected and sourced information on this truck and is fascinated with the history of the Blue Trucks. Written by Ray himself, his story is below:
Ray's Story
TEST TRUCK PROGRAM
A "Test truck replacement program commenced in late 1976 to find a replacement for the Mercedes Benz. The company acquired three Scania Series III (released in 1975), all powered by the Scania DSII turbo diesel (which produced 224 kW at 2200 rpm), and fitted with GR 860 gearboxes. The cost was $75,000 per unit. Fleet number 113 went to Robert Hoy, number 114 went to Kasomir 'Jan' Nowakowski and number 115 to Lance Baxter, later passing onto Bert McNamarra. Also acquired were three White Road Commanders. Fleet number 116 was allocated to Kevin Dryden, then passed onto Billy 'Shotgun' Smith who came off the Glen Lee loaders in 1976, to become a driver, fleet number 117 went to Leslie Green and number 118 to Kevin Sharpe. Three MR series Macks (released November 1978) were acquired, and fleet number 119 went to Geoffrey Martin, who kept the truck until 1984. Number 120 went to 'Chicka' Mulley. These two were of 237-horsepower fitted with five-speed gearboxes. The third number 121 was a
274-horsepower turbocharged M.I.R. 700 model, with five-speed gearbox which preoved to be troublesome. Mack later changed this, to a ten-speed splitter box. This truck had a na abundance of power and was fitted with a tri-axle trailer as opposed to the bogie trailers on the other two. Three Kenworths were delivered in 1980. Fleet number 122 fitted with a V6 82 T.T.A. motor and nine-speed gearbox went to Graham 'Ferret' Clarke, number 123 was a T.T slimline cab-over and went to Allan Cook. Number 124 was a Formula 290 Cummins engine with a fiteen-speed Road Ranger gearbox which went to Herbert 'Skeeta' Nichol. After four months of operation, figures revealed that the number 123 truck was not an economical proposition and was returned to Kenworth. It was replaced by a 1981 model S2, fitted with a Cummins turbocharged 230 motor and thirteen-speed gearbox.
A "Test truck replacement program commenced in late 1976 to find a replacement for the Mercedes Benz. The company acquired three Scania Series III (released in 1975), all powered by the Scania DSII turbo diesel (which produced 224 kW at 2200 rpm), and fitted with GR 860 gearboxes. The cost was $75,000 per unit. Fleet number 113 went to Robert Hoy, number 114 went to Kasomir 'Jan' Nowakowski and number 115 to Lance Baxter, later passing onto Bert McNamarra. Also acquired were three White Road Commanders. Fleet number 116 was allocated to Kevin Dryden, then passed onto Billy 'Shotgun' Smith who came off the Glen Lee loaders in 1976, to become a driver, fleet number 117 went to Leslie Green and number 118 to Kevin Sharpe. Three MR series Macks (released November 1978) were acquired, and fleet number 119 went to Geoffrey Martin, who kept the truck until 1984. Number 120 went to 'Chicka' Mulley. These two were of 237-horsepower fitted with five-speed gearboxes. The third number 121 was a
274-horsepower turbocharged M.I.R. 700 model, with five-speed gearbox which preoved to be troublesome. Mack later changed this, to a ten-speed splitter box. This truck had a na abundance of power and was fitted with a tri-axle trailer as opposed to the bogie trailers on the other two. Three Kenworths were delivered in 1980. Fleet number 122 fitted with a V6 82 T.T.A. motor and nine-speed gearbox went to Graham 'Ferret' Clarke, number 123 was a T.T slimline cab-over and went to Allan Cook. Number 124 was a Formula 290 Cummins engine with a fiteen-speed Road Ranger gearbox which went to Herbert 'Skeeta' Nichol. After four months of operation, figures revealed that the number 123 truck was not an economical proposition and was returned to Kenworth. It was replaced by a 1981 model S2, fitted with a Cummins turbocharged 230 motor and thirteen-speed gearbox.
Working History of Chassis No. TE3220
Clutha Fleet No. 117
Hi Garry,
My name is Ray Grima and I live in Kyabram, Victoria and I have watched a DVD called “The Coal Carters”. I tried to send you this letter some time ago using your email details from the DVD but with no luck. But then I came across your website so I thought I’d try to make contact again as you may be interested to know that I own one of Clutha’s test trucks.
The truck I’m referring to is a White Road Commander; chassis number TE3220, fleet number 117. The original driver was Les Greene.
I bought this truck at a deceased estate sale in Undera, Victoria on 23rd June 2006. I went to the sale with the intention to buy White truck parts as my hobby is collecting and restoring White trucks. Whilst walking around checking the items I spotted a White Road Commander hooked up to a tandem axle aluminum bodied tipper (perhaps a panther trailer?). The whole outfit was pretty sad, but I thought the truck had plenty of potential for my collection. The truck had a rat’s nest in the console with rat droppings everywhere, the roof lining was down, the passenger side floor was covered in rubbish and the smell inside was awful.
They started to auction other trucks at the sale and they weren’t bringing high prices so I began to think that I could pick up this truck for next-to-nicks. They decided to sell the trailer separately. It sold for $15,000. So then the White came up to be auctioned with the starting bid of $500. Two guys were bidding on the truck, when the price reached $2000 a third person began and raised the bid by $100. At $2100 it stalled so the auctioneer began, “Once, twice…” and that’s when I jumped in with my bid of $2200. So the third guy and myself went bid to bid in $100 lots until it was mine at $2600. I was quite happy.
The day after the auction, a friend and myself went to pick up my latest purchase. I’m not sure how long it had sat there, but equipped with two brand new batteries and a priming pump we proceeded to get the White to start. We put water in the radiator, hooked up the two batteries, primed the fuel system, then with a turn of the key and hit the starter button the old girl fired back into life. The 6V92T Detroit diesel sounded sweet and it didn’t sound like there where any mechanical problems whatsoever! With the gauges indicating the air and oil pressure was building, we were confident we could drive the 15kms back to my home.
Since being home, I have given it a thorough clean inside and out, put six brand new tyres on her, re-rolled the bumper bar, put on two brand new rear brake chambers, replaced both exhaust pipes (from the exhaust manifolds to the turbo) due to rust. Replaced the right hand side cab mount, replaced the whole engine tunnel including the passenger side floor, rewired part of the wiring harness (rats had chewed through most), re-conditioned the radiator, replaced the universal joints in the steering column, rebuilt the throttle linkages (as they were worn due to lack of grease), also the gear stick remote was completely worn so I had that rebuilt and re-bushed. The original cab steps were missing and only home-made ones remained which looked awful, so I tried to chase up original ones and found one at Wagga Truck Wreckers. It was bent so we used it as a template to make two new steps.
An interesting observation by the radiator repairer was that this vehicle had either worked or been in close proximity to salt air or coal dust, due to the radiator’s poor condition. When I replaced the j-brackets that support the fuel tank I found three pieces of coal wedged in-between the brackets and chassis.
The reason why I know my truck was originally built for Clutha, was because I checked it’s chassis number against some literature I have that lists many chassis numbers of White Trucks and who bought them. TE3220 was on my list as having been sold to Clutha by HW Crouch in Chipping Norton (it still has the original White key with the HW Crouch fob attached). It was delivered to Clutha on the 15th of September 1978. I also found the other two Clutha Road Commander’s on this list. There chassis numbers were TE3074 and TE3219.
Using my detective skills I rang a friend; a truck historian from Picton who told me of a guy who worked for Clutha and who could possibly assist me. His name is Ian Welsh. No doubt you would have heard of him.
Ian sent me a photo of a Clutha Road Boss that he used to drive. He also gave me the names of the White Road Commander Drivers as well as one of Clutha’s mechanics; Ken Langdon.
Ian informed me that my truck was fleet number 117 because of its engine specifications. 117 had a 6V92T Detroit Diesel. 118 had an 8V92T Detroit while 116 I believe had a 350
Cummins engine.
Ian informed me the driver of fleet number 117 was Les Greene. So, determined to find out
more of my truck’s history I tracked down Les and his wife Cathy who at the time resided in Gosford. I even drove up there to meet them. Les and I enjoyed talking about the old White over a weekend. I am still in contact with Les and Cathy today.
During the search of the history on my truck I have found two photographs (see following pages). One is of the three Road Commanders at Clutha (my truck is on the far left). The other is its second owner (I believe), JW English from Swan Hill (Vic).
The other photos show the progress of her restoration since purchasing the truck. I have still got a lot of work to do. I’m hoping to drive her to Alice Springs in 2010 for the Transport Hall of Fame reunion.
I was surprised and delighted to see one of the Road Commanders in Chapter three of your DVD. I believe it is fleet number 116 by the registration number. I have pressed pause many times and got out the magnifying glass!! Thanks for putting this DVD together. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and have watched it several times.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Ray Grima.
Clutha Fleet No. 117
Hi Garry,
My name is Ray Grima and I live in Kyabram, Victoria and I have watched a DVD called “The Coal Carters”. I tried to send you this letter some time ago using your email details from the DVD but with no luck. But then I came across your website so I thought I’d try to make contact again as you may be interested to know that I own one of Clutha’s test trucks.
The truck I’m referring to is a White Road Commander; chassis number TE3220, fleet number 117. The original driver was Les Greene.
I bought this truck at a deceased estate sale in Undera, Victoria on 23rd June 2006. I went to the sale with the intention to buy White truck parts as my hobby is collecting and restoring White trucks. Whilst walking around checking the items I spotted a White Road Commander hooked up to a tandem axle aluminum bodied tipper (perhaps a panther trailer?). The whole outfit was pretty sad, but I thought the truck had plenty of potential for my collection. The truck had a rat’s nest in the console with rat droppings everywhere, the roof lining was down, the passenger side floor was covered in rubbish and the smell inside was awful.
They started to auction other trucks at the sale and they weren’t bringing high prices so I began to think that I could pick up this truck for next-to-nicks. They decided to sell the trailer separately. It sold for $15,000. So then the White came up to be auctioned with the starting bid of $500. Two guys were bidding on the truck, when the price reached $2000 a third person began and raised the bid by $100. At $2100 it stalled so the auctioneer began, “Once, twice…” and that’s when I jumped in with my bid of $2200. So the third guy and myself went bid to bid in $100 lots until it was mine at $2600. I was quite happy.
The day after the auction, a friend and myself went to pick up my latest purchase. I’m not sure how long it had sat there, but equipped with two brand new batteries and a priming pump we proceeded to get the White to start. We put water in the radiator, hooked up the two batteries, primed the fuel system, then with a turn of the key and hit the starter button the old girl fired back into life. The 6V92T Detroit diesel sounded sweet and it didn’t sound like there where any mechanical problems whatsoever! With the gauges indicating the air and oil pressure was building, we were confident we could drive the 15kms back to my home.
Since being home, I have given it a thorough clean inside and out, put six brand new tyres on her, re-rolled the bumper bar, put on two brand new rear brake chambers, replaced both exhaust pipes (from the exhaust manifolds to the turbo) due to rust. Replaced the right hand side cab mount, replaced the whole engine tunnel including the passenger side floor, rewired part of the wiring harness (rats had chewed through most), re-conditioned the radiator, replaced the universal joints in the steering column, rebuilt the throttle linkages (as they were worn due to lack of grease), also the gear stick remote was completely worn so I had that rebuilt and re-bushed. The original cab steps were missing and only home-made ones remained which looked awful, so I tried to chase up original ones and found one at Wagga Truck Wreckers. It was bent so we used it as a template to make two new steps.
An interesting observation by the radiator repairer was that this vehicle had either worked or been in close proximity to salt air or coal dust, due to the radiator’s poor condition. When I replaced the j-brackets that support the fuel tank I found three pieces of coal wedged in-between the brackets and chassis.
The reason why I know my truck was originally built for Clutha, was because I checked it’s chassis number against some literature I have that lists many chassis numbers of White Trucks and who bought them. TE3220 was on my list as having been sold to Clutha by HW Crouch in Chipping Norton (it still has the original White key with the HW Crouch fob attached). It was delivered to Clutha on the 15th of September 1978. I also found the other two Clutha Road Commander’s on this list. There chassis numbers were TE3074 and TE3219.
Using my detective skills I rang a friend; a truck historian from Picton who told me of a guy who worked for Clutha and who could possibly assist me. His name is Ian Welsh. No doubt you would have heard of him.
Ian sent me a photo of a Clutha Road Boss that he used to drive. He also gave me the names of the White Road Commander Drivers as well as one of Clutha’s mechanics; Ken Langdon.
Ian informed me that my truck was fleet number 117 because of its engine specifications. 117 had a 6V92T Detroit Diesel. 118 had an 8V92T Detroit while 116 I believe had a 350
Cummins engine.
Ian informed me the driver of fleet number 117 was Les Greene. So, determined to find out
more of my truck’s history I tracked down Les and his wife Cathy who at the time resided in Gosford. I even drove up there to meet them. Les and I enjoyed talking about the old White over a weekend. I am still in contact with Les and Cathy today.
During the search of the history on my truck I have found two photographs (see following pages). One is of the three Road Commanders at Clutha (my truck is on the far left). The other is its second owner (I believe), JW English from Swan Hill (Vic).
The other photos show the progress of her restoration since purchasing the truck. I have still got a lot of work to do. I’m hoping to drive her to Alice Springs in 2010 for the Transport Hall of Fame reunion.
I was surprised and delighted to see one of the Road Commanders in Chapter three of your DVD. I believe it is fleet number 116 by the registration number. I have pressed pause many times and got out the magnifying glass!! Thanks for putting this DVD together. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and have watched it several times.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Ray Grima.
Fleet #117 Fleet #116 Fleet #118
This trio of White Road Commanders were purchased from White Dealer HW Crouch, (Chipping Norton, Sydney) on the 15th September 1978 by Clutha Transport (Picton).
Les Greene the original driver from Clutha
An extract from "Valley of Wealth" - A Burragorang Coal Story by Ian Frederick Welsh.
Chassis Number TE3220 after it's life at Clutha and with new owners
J.W. English and Sons, Kerang (Victoria).
J.W. English and Sons, Kerang (Victoria).
Chassis Number TE3220 as purchased from the deceased estate of Kevin Tyndall on the 23rd June, 2006. Purchase price was $2600. I drove it home.
On the road to its former glory with repairs to the bumper, new tyres, mudflaps and various other jobs. The old girl has started to come back to life! Sometime during 2007.
Chassis TE3220 loaded for Murray Langford's on the back of Graeme Joiner's Volvo. Friday 14th August, 2009.
Ready for the trip to Mt Gambier for final restoration and paint job.
Ray, Jacob and the "brrmm brrmm".
Click play to see her now:
