What began as a simple refresh turned into more than Mike Burkholder, the pilot of this truck, could have dreamed of. The W900L gracing these pages received a full makeover in mid to late 2023. “I have always loved the 007 scheme, and I was thrilled to do it in brown,” explained Mike. For those who don’t know, the 007 scheme is named for the 1989 James Bond Movie “License to Kill” in which four Kenworth W900B rigs appear, painted in a certain scheme for the movie. Kenworth went on to release a limited number of W900Ls to the consumer market with this paint scheme, but it was always white with black and gold stripes.
Driving this truck and trailer for his boss, Mike Hostetler, based in Plain City, OH, driver Mike Burkholder lives in East Earl, PA. Mike runs the Midwest with this truck every week, hauling ag supplies, in a 53-foot Mac conestoga trailer. When I asked Mike what got him started in trucking, he told me it has always been a dream of his, going back to his childhood. Growing up, Mike had a neighbor who drove a 1986 Autocar which he parked it at home – right where Mike could see it! This Autocar began his affinity for trucks.
When Mike was around 14 years old, he would go out to the barn and fire up his uncle’s 362 Peterbilt cabover and drive it back and forth along their fairly long driveway. After Mike made a few passes, he would put it back in barn. When Mike was 25, he got his CDL, and the day after he was legally licensed, he was moving a 12-foot wide shed down the road. Not a bad way to break in a brand-new CDL! Mike ended up working in construction for nearly 20 years before he started driving truck again.
The 1993 Kenworth W900L in this story received a full treatment, from front to back. The truck was originally from South Carolina before Lavern Cross, an Indiana resident, purchased it. Lavern was working on his W900A, so he needed something to run while it was in the shop. During his ownership, Lavern changed some things around, most noticeably the paint. The truck was brown and yellow when Lavern got his hands on it, and he had the rig repainted a two-tone brown. However, this was the extent of the work Lavern did.
Piloting a white and red Peterbilt 379 around this time, Mike had always expressed interest in acquiring the W900L from Lavern (Mike loves the Aero-1 sleeper and always dreamed of having a KW with one). In April of 2018, Lavern gave Mike a call to let him know the L was on the market. Not long after that call ended, the truck made its way from Indiana to Ohio.
Once it came to Ohio, Mike and his boss started working on the truck to make it a little cooler. A wide track disc brake front axle was used to replace the factory axle. After the axle conversion was complete, the air ride kit was built and installed by Shane Kurtz, a 717 area local fella. The truck began its life with a 265” wheelbase before a Freightliner airliner cutoff was added, bringing the wheelbase to 292 inches. A new Jones Performance hood replaced the original. Mike ran the Kenworth like this up until mid-2023, as mentioned before.
The current brown is a one off custom mix of Sikkens paint, mixed by Duane Hoover at L&S Truck Painting. “I shot nearly 20 different browns before we got the exact color Mike was looking for,” said Duane. The brown is almost a bronze color in the right light, and it has tons of flake to make it pop even more! Like the brown, the gold and black in the stripes are also custom one off mixes of Sikkens paint. The gold and black were chosen fairly fast, and Duane didn’t need to shoot nearly as many!
The level of detail in the stripes and globe is insane considering it is paint, and not vinyl. The frame also received a full blast and paint with a beautiful gloss black to make the rest of the truck pop. The fuel tanks, which are from 4 State Trucks, also received a coat of the brown color to pull the entire look of the truck together. The Kenworth logo on the front of the truck was hand painted by Duane in the same gold and black that was applied to the stripes and globe.
Charlie Klopp did all new sheet metal on the bunk, which was much needed. Charlie also shaved the air vents on the bunk, which keeps the clean and smooth look going across the truck. At this time, the cab was also converted to an air ride system. Adorning the outside of the truck are 5” Dynaflex pipes with mufflers, which help keep that old school vibe. DirtyDiesels fabricated the rear fender brackets and also supplied many of the lights for both the exterior and interior of the truck.
Goods Services provided most of the Kenworth parts needed for the build, while 717 Fab Shop fabricated multiple custom stainless parts for the truck. Horse & Buggy provided many of the grille parts and other miscellaneous parts for the build, as well. One of the coolest things about the truck is that it retains the original “Grille-Denser” from the factory! The bottom piece of the grille had been damaged previously, and since these parts are no longer available and extremely rare to find, Mike turned to 717 Fab Shop to custom fabricate the new piece for it.
Powering this beautiful truck is a Cummins N-14 Celect Plus, backed by an 18-speed, which sends power out to 3.55 rear gears. During the truck’s first makeover, the motor was pulled, freshened up, and painted before being dropped back between the frame rails.
Moving to the interior, the truck has very minimal additions to it, besides some lights (from DirtyDiesels) and some miscellaneous interior panels from Spare Time Fab. The craziest part of the bunk is the fact that the top bunk that folds down has never been used and the mattress is still in the original plastic wrap from Kenworth! One of the other cool things about the bunk is the AC and fridge conversion, which were also done by Charlie Klopp.
Mike would like to thank his boss, Mike Hostetler, for letting him drive this truck and letting him customize it to his liking. Mike says he feels more like an owner operator than an employee! He would also like to thank DirtyDiesels, 717 Chrome Polishing (who maintain the shine on the truck), Horse & Buggy for the grill and other parts, 717 Fab Shop for all the custom stainless parts, Trans Equipment, Goods Services, and last but not least, Lynn Martin, Duane Hoover, and the rest of the crew at L&S Truck Painting.
I met Mike through Duane at L&S back in 2023. In 2023, Duane hired me to shoot the annual company image and project images. While on site shooting those photos, Duane mentioned this rig and asked if I would be interested in shooting it. There was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity! In mid-September of 2023, the truck was finished up and ready to roll out. We scheduled the shoot for the day the truck was completely finished, and I was able to get some behind the scenes images of the guys working on it.
The first location we shot the truck was a bed and breakfast in beautiful Lancaster County (the truck just fit in so well with the house and landscaping). I can’t take credit for the location – Duane found it and got permission from the owner. The second shoot was a mix of backroads (the rollers were shot in the back of Duane’s pickup) and Weaver’s Toasted Grains. Weaver’s is a grain elevator, and the silver of the grain bins provided a nice contrast against the paint of the truck. Once the sunlight faded, we took to some other backroads to shoot just the tractor. It’s a very simple light package, but it looks so good.
I’d like to thank Mike for allowing me to shoot the truck multiple times to get everything I needed. I’d also like to thank Duane and the guys at L&S for welcoming me in and for the photo business. These business relationships have turned into friendships, and that is always my goal. It may have taken 20 attempts to get that brown color right, but the final product is perfect!
