JIM’S BIG UGLY
THE LATEST PROJECT FROM CLINT MOORE
This months “creation” was built for one of Clint’s closest friends, Jimmy Crain of Anchor Trucking in Kansas City, Kansas. If that name sounds familiar it is because Clint featured a heavy-haul Peterbilt owned by Jim’s son Eric back in August of 2007. Well, this time, the old man and his 15-truck fleet will get all the attention.
Jim has been driving his entire life. Back in the day, his father Charlie Crain had a heck of a reputation for hauling heavy machinery. There wasn’t anything Charlie couldn’t (or wouldn’t) haul. When Jim was 17 years old, he went into business with his dad. In 1976, the two started Anchor Construction, and in 1986, they changed the name to Anchor Trucking Service.
Jim hauled his first big load when he was still a teenager. His father sent him to Pennsylvania to pick up a machine, but when he got there he ran into some problems. Jim called his dad and told him that the folks there were not going to load the machine because it looked like it was too wide for the trailer. His father said, “I didn’t send them to pick it up, you load it!” Jim brought the machine back with only two inches of track sitting on each side of the trailer’s floor! And that was just the beginning. Jim eventually took over the business and built it up to what it is today.
Jim bought his first truck in 1973 - it was a 352 Peterbilt cabover. Since then it has been, for the most part, all Peterbilts. Except for one Mack and one 1977 Kenworth with a V-8, all of the trucks in the Anchor fleet are Peterbilts, and all of them are blue. The only one that isn’t blue is old #107 - Jim’s pride and joy - a 1980 Pete 359 painted silver with blue and gold stripes. This is Jim’s personal truck, and it only has 380,000 miles on it. Many would agree that it is one of the nicest Pete 359s in the country. But that truck is not this month’s creation.
This month’s creation goes by the name “Big Ugly” for obvious reasons. When the truck came in, everyone agreed that it was big and it was ugly, but Clint worked his “magic” and now the truck has a personality all its own. The truck was ordered for Jim’s longtime driver Chuck Jones, who needed a new daycab for running around town in. It needed to have a lot of power, but it also needed to be maneuverable, so they ordered a short hood 357 Pete with a set-back front axle and a 625 horsepower Caterpillar.
When the truck arrived, Clint went to work, knowing he had his work cut out for him on this one. Clint and his crew painted the tanks, added a visor, and had a set of custom Fisher fenders made and installed. From there, “Big Ugly” was sent to Brunner’s in Joplin, MO for a headache rack and tons of stainless and lights, including a bumper drop extension. In the end, “Big Ugly” wasn’t so ugly after all. After looking at long and low trucks all day, Clint likes the fresh and exciting look of this rig and all its oversized splendor.
Jim and his wife Charlene have two children (Eric and Melissa) and three grandchildren, with a fourth one on the way. Clint says that he is blessed to have such good friends and even more blessed that they’re also great customers, adding, “Jimmy and Char are some of the nicest people you could ever meet.” And having spent some time with them at a truck show or two over the years, we’d have to agree. So if you ever get the chance to meet them, don’t pass it up.