“IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FUEL”
THE LATEST PROJECT FROM CLINT MOORE
This month’s “creation” was built for Dave Abdo (56) of Morocco, Indiana. A plaque on the truck’s dash boldly exclaims Dave’s feelings about his new truck: “It’s All About the Fuel!” And after only a week, Dave has already recorded mileage nearing 7 MPG. Knowing it will only get better as the engine breaks in, Dave is excited to see just how high it can get. But as important as fuel mileage was when ordering and building this truck, Dave still wanted to have a cool rig.
Dave was born and raised in Minnesota and grew up around trucks. His dad hauled and ran heavy equipment, so it was only natural for Dave to follow in his footsteps. After graduating high school, Dave started hauling grain locally and then went to work for Nordass American Homes, where he stayed for eight years, until he earned enough money to buy a truck.
Dave’s first truck was a 1979 Freightliner 9664 COE with a 3406PCTA Cat engine. Dave then leased on to E.L. Murphy out of Eagan, MN and began hauling heavy equipment. He worked there until the day they closed in December of 1985. On January 1, 1986, he hooked up with DCI in Rochester, MN and began hauling swinging meat to the East Coast. He eventually began to add trucks until he had five of them. Then one day he realized that all he was doing was giving a few folks a job - he wasn’t making any extra money - so he sold them all except for one.
Over the years, Dave has owned a lot of trucks (11) and all of them except for one were bought new, and all of them but one, this latest Pete featured here, had Cat engines. But after a bad experience with a 625 Cat, Dave swore he would never buy another truck with a Cat engine. Cummins was the only other choice, but it was a big adjustment to make for a guy who had driven Cat-powered trucks for almost 30 years.
With fuel prices going through the roof, Dave decided it was time to buy a fuel efficient truck. Clint ordered this 2009 Peterbilt 386 for Dave with a factory two-color paint scheme. Dave’s previous truck was black and cream, and so was his trailer, so he decided to go with the same colors. Powered by a 525 ISX Cummins, hooked to an 18-speed transmission, the truck was spec’d with dual exhaust, full farings (including a factory roof bubble), and even an aerodynamic sunvisor. This truck was made to be efficient.
When it came in, Clint really wanted to go crazy, but Dave kept a tight reign on him. Clint decided to focus on small details like matching emblems, painted screens, custom half-fenders made out of one full fender cut in half, and a few extra switches inside on the dash. Basically, the end product looks rich, but it’s rather simple. But for such a simple truck, Dave is already getting a ton of compliments out there on the road.
Running for Budreck Truck Lines for the last 15 years, Dave currently runs Chicago to Nebraska every week pulling LTL reefer freight. A long, square hood may look cool, but right now, 7 MPG looks pretty cool, too. And if you can look good and still be efficient, why wouldn’t you? In today’s trucking world, it’s all about the fuel!
~ If you would like Clint Moore to order and/or build you a new custom truck, contact him at Kansas City Peterbilt via e-mail at clintmoore@kcpete.com or call him at (913) 441-2888. You can also visit his website at www.custombuiltfor.com and check out pictures of other custom trucks he has built.