COVER FEATURE - JUNE 2009
NEVER GOT OLD
CLASSIC PETE NEVER NEEDED TO BE RESTORED
By Daniel J. Linss - Editor
People are always asking Ron Kelsey if he’s done a full frame-up restoration on his classic Peterbilt 359, to which he answers, “No, it never got old!” But, this truck is so clean, it is a valid question. And once people hear that the truck works every day and has over 3.2 million miles on the odometer, they are absolutely astonished. We were so impressed with Ron’s truck back in 1998 that we put it on our cover. And 11 years later, here we are again. In 10-4 Magazine’s 16-year history, we have never repeated the same truck twice on our cover – until now.
Simply put, Ron (50) and his truck exemplify everything that is good in trucking. Not only is Ron a smart businessman who represents the trucking industry well, but his truck is super clean and an American classic. Ron is not only a good friend of ours, but for the last five years he has also delivered magazines to our distribution locations in Arizona and, from time to time, does some advertising sales for us, too. So, when he recently repainted his truck and did some other new things to it, we thought it was ready to hit the cover (and now centerfold) once again.
If you have ever driven on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Los Angeles, than you have probably seen Ron’s “Sunrise Express” out there on the road. Ron has been running this route two or three times a week, with this truck, for 15 years now, hauling water pipe, coils of steel, doors and other items on his matching Ravens spread-axle flatbed. Ron purchased this 1981 Peterbilt 359 Short Hood back in 1984 – it was the first (and only) truck he ever bought. And although it has had a few makeovers, it has stayed relatively the same for most of those 25 years.
Ron grew up in Arizona, but after graduating from high school in 1976, he decided to head up to Wyoming with a friend in search of work on an oil rig. He ended up swamping for a trucker who hauled pipe. This trucker had been up all night with his wife who was having a baby. He had to deliver a load the next morning but was understandably tired from the long night at the hospital. He looked at Ron and said, “Ever drive a truck before?” Ron answered, “No.” The driver replied, “You’re about to learn!” At 17 years of age, Ron white-knuckled that big rig 100 miles down the road, and hasn’t let go of the steering wheel ever since.
After a year in Wyoming, Ron moved back to Arizona and got a job hauling local freight. At 21 years old, he went over-the-road full time for C & H Transportation. Running east to west for 14 years, Ron met a lot of people on the road. At one stop, he met a woman who gave him a new job, and then later sold him the Peterbilt for what he calls a “smokin’ deal!” About 15 years ago, a girlfriend convinced Ron to give up driving OTR to be home more. That relationship did not last, but his decision to change routes did – he’s been running between Phoenix and L.A. ever since.
After purchasing the two-stick Peterbilt in 1984, Ron spent three years working hard to pay it off. Back then, the truck, which has a 254-inch wheelbase, was cream-colored with orange and brown old school stripes. Ron called the truck “Country Swinger” because he was known to cut-a-rug from time to time. In 1990, Ron was driving through a rainstorm in Louisiana and reached over to grab a cassette tape. As he reached, he inadvertently jerked the steering wheel a bit and put two wheels in the mud. He calmly corrected his action and got his truck back on the pavement, but it was too late for the trailer, which was already sliding in the mud. As the trailer slid down the embankment, it pulled Ron’s truck over on its side. By the time he finally came to a stop, the truck and trailer were sprawled across all lanes of the highway – from shoulder to shoulder. Ron was okay but his truck was a mess. A wrecker got the rig back on its wheels, and Ron was able to limp it home. He had always wanted to repaint his truck, but he never could find the time. Well, now he was forced to do it.
After repairing everything that was broken, bent or smashed in the accident, Ron decided to go with a more exotic paint job. Mike Henry of Henry’s Rods & Restorations in Mesa, Arizona came up with the unique Tangelo Orange fading up to Wheatland Yellow paint scheme to emulate the look of a sunrise. From there, the new name “Sunrise Express” just came naturally. The painter who designed Ron’s logo took elements of Ron (like the Ray-Ban sunglasses he always wears, his big smile and his bald head) and incorporated them into the fun design. Ron says that this smiling sun logo exemplifies his “fun side” while a smaller logo on the side of his hood (a speeding tangerine, with wheels and stacks, and also wearing sunglasses) depicts the side of him that just wants to “get the job done” – and this little tangerine seems to have a bad attitude.
After the paint was completed, Ron’s friend Steve Ingram of Stitch’n by Steve did the interior in leather and tweed with wool carpeting. Steve built custom shelves and cabinets in the sleeper, installed a marble floor between the seats, added a sunroof and covered the dash with leather. He also made custom door panels with embroidery and billet aluminum pieces, installed custom knobs, and then hid all of the 1,500-watt stereo’s 14 speakers and four amps in various spaces throughout the cab and sleeper.
Once the rebuild was completed, Ron started taking the truck to shows and did very well because it was ahead of its time. Back then, not many people were building “hot rod” trucks with wild paint jobs. His last show was in 2002. After that, Ron decided to stop showing the truck. After years of competing, everybody else had not only caught up to Ron, but passed him. His truck still looked real good, but just wasn’t competitive anymore – after all, it had about 2.7 million miles on it at that point.
In 2004, due to the impending emission regulations, Ron decided to re-power the truck with a newer engine. The Big Cam II 400 Cummins he had in it was still a good motor (and it had about 750 hp), so he sold it to help pay for the new one – a 1998 model 3406E Caterpillar with 550 hp. Before installing the engine, he had it powder-coated orange and then everything else was either painted, chromed or polished. Elias Bustamonte of Arizona Truck Specialists in Phoenix, a well-known Cat guru in the area, did all of the work. The job went pretty smooth, but he did have to make his own motor mounts and cut a hole in the firewall to accommodate the rear fuel line. At that time, Ron also installed a FASS fuel system to improve the new engine’s performance and efficiency. He also had to change the gearing in his rear-ends from 3.90 to 3.36 because the newer Cat ran at a much lower RPM than the old Cummins. Elias got that engine running and looking so good, Ron started thinking that it was getting time to redo the truck’s now fourteen-year-old paint job. But having just shut down for a few weeks to do the engine, he figured that he had better get back to work.
The Holidays are always a slow time for Ron (and most truckers, for that matter), so in December of 2007 he decided to shut the truck down and do some work on his frame and sleeper. Wanting the newer-style unibilt design with a larger opening, Ron pulled the flattop sleeper off and took it back to Steve Ingram for some modifications. This process proved to be more difficult than first thought, because the inside of the sleeper had to be modified (cabinets needed to be moved) and the walls had to be shored up for more strength and stability. Steve basically re-did everything inside the sleeper. And while that was being done, Ron had the frame rails sandblasted and repainted, and then replaced all of his old air lines with the new-style plastic ones. Now, everything from the cab back was fresh.
A few months later, in April of 2008, he finally shut down to have it repainted. Not wanting to sandblast the aluminum in fear of damaging the metal, they opted instead to blast it with walnut shells. After stripping it all down, body man Mike Benard modified Ron’s original front steel fenders, adding a wide lip around the edge. Then, Mike Henry, the same guy who had painted it some 18 years prior sprayed the same “sunrise” scheme again, only this time he integrated ghost flames into the paint on the side of the hood and added pinstriped flames on top of the fenders. Ron also replaced his old stacks with new seven-inch pipes from Dynaflex, updated and painted his visor, added smooth stainless battery boxes, installed a new bumper, removed his spotlights and changed out all of his old lights to LEDs. At this point, he was ready to debut the truck (again) to the truck show world.
Not having competed in a show for six years, Ron was a little surprised at how much higher the bar had been raised. As hard as he tried and as good as his truck looked, he was still only able to muster a 3rd place in his class at the 2008 Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Truth is, it was hard for him to compete against trucks with a lot less miles on them, and he did not have the time to shut down and clean for a week like many of his fellow competitors do before a show. But hey, his truck has logged over three million miles and can still hang with the best of them – how many out there can say that about their rig?
Two years ago Ron and his wife Jan bought a new home in Avondale, a suburb just outside of Phoenix. Ron didn’t really want to move – he liked their old house and it was already paid for – but when he heard that he could get a basement as an option, he “pulled the trigger” as he likes to say. This basement, which is about 1,400 square feet, is now his “Man Pit” – an area just for him and his friends to hang out (girls are allowed by invite only). His Man Pit includes a large sitting area with a 60-inch television, a booming sound system and a custom bar big enough to seat eight. There are also two rooms down there – one is Ron’s office and the other is his weight room. Besides his computer, desk and other work-related necessities, Ron’s office is filled with his extensive collection of die cast vehicles, truck show trophies, and all sorts of other trucking memorabilia.
About eight years ago, Ron began collecting marbles. When he first started his collection, he did not know much so he bought a book and started studying. Marbles are typically purchased at antique stores in jars – sometimes there are ten marbles in the jar and sometimes there are a hundred – but you never really know what you are getting until you get home and go through them. Well, today Ron has over 20,000 marbles in his collection, and many of them are very valuable. He has a few rare marbles in his collection that he claims are worth upwards of $1,500 each! Ron considers his marble collecting to be part hobby and part investment, but thinks that his collection is pretty much complete now. So, if you ever meet Ron and think, “Man, this guy has really lost his marbles!” Never fear, we know where they are – they are being displayed in wooden boxes on the walls of his Man Pit!
Another thing Ron likes to do is cook. We had the pleasure of staying at Ron and Jan’s place for a few days while we were in town for the photo shoot, and they were fantastic hosts. One night, Ron treated us to a tasty smorgasbord of meats that he cooked in his huge smoker, along with every kind of side dish you could imagine. His smoker is large enough to cook three full-size turkeys at one time, but for us he made a brisket, a pulled pork roast, a few racks of beef ribs and a few racks of baby back ribs, all basted with his own homemade barbecue sauce. There was so much food, Ron had to invite some of his friends and neighbors over to help us eat it – and we still didn’t come close to finishing any of it. We had a great time hanging out with Ron and Jan and all of their friends, and can’t thank them enough for their hospitality.
Ron and Jan have been married for almost 13 years. Jan has worked at Phoenix Children’s Hospital for almost 25 years, but when the two of them find the time, they love to travel and enjoy outdoor activities. Ron loves the freedom of being an independent trucker, and having a truck that is paid for, he can take time off whenever he wants (or needs) to. When asked how long he thinks he will continue to drive, Ron said, “Until I can’t get in or out of the truck anymore.”
Ron hopes that his classic Pete, even with the newer engine, will remain legal and compliant for many years to come, because he doesn’t want to buy a new rig. But the way the laws are going, only time will tell. Some day this truck, which has earned Ron a good living for over 25 years, might just become a fancy paperweight or yard art if the California Air Resources Board gets their way. And that would be a shame.
But for now, Ron Kelsey will continue to traverse the desolate desert, delivering vital products, and chasing that mistress called the road in a truck that looks even better today than the day he bought it back in 1984. And not because he performed some large-scale frame-up restoration, but because he simply never let it get old! Keep up the good work, Ron.