My Kenworth Golden Bolt Story

It was the summer of 1976 and me and another MP mechanic were on our way to Dembo’s scrap yard with a load of junk cars. We had gathered them from the surrounding area. The Farm, located in Lewis County, is one of the poorest counties in Tennessee. Almost every household had an old car rusting away in the yard.  

The Motor Pool developed a scrapping operation and had an agreement with The Bank Lady that they could keep any money made from scrapping cars. The money was to be used to fund operations and buy parts to keep The Farm fleet of cars and trucks running, some hundreds of them at the time.

And so, we were cruising along with 8 or 9 junk cars in our old car carrier pulled by the “Red” White tractor truck when we noticed a used truck lot with a couple semi-trucks out front. We made the decision to stop there on the way home.

We were interested in semi-trucks because The Farm Band needed a bigger truck to haul their equipment, and Stephen thought a semi was what was needed. At the time I was the band equipment truck driver/mechanic. The thought of driving a semi-truck was exciting to me.

On the way back we stopped into the truck lot to look around. There were a few trucks there but none with a sleeper. A sleeper is necessary for overnight touring trips. We started to leave when an old guy came out and said, “Hey boys can I help you?” “We’re looking for a semi-truck to pull our equipment trailer,” I said. “I might just have what you’re looking for. Come with me” he said and led us into his garage. 

The garage was stuffed with every imaginable truck part and piece of automotive equipment, but in the corner sat this amazing looking Kenworth semi-truck. It sparkled, with shinney paint, huge chrome bumper and a chrome muffler stack running up the side. And, it had a sleeper. We were totally mesmerized and asked if we could look it over. “Sure” he said. 

We climbed in the cab and saw an impressive dash- board with lots of gauges. The speed odometer went up to 120 mph! The sleeper was long enough for a six-foot man to stretch out comfortably. Sitting in the driver seat I felt elated. I could see myself sitting here driving the interstate on a band tour following Stephen and the Farm Band Greyhound to the next gig. 

We raised the hood and gazed at the huge 6-cylinder Cumming’s engine. There was little dirt and oil, it looked well kept. “Can we hear it run?” I asked, and he handed me the keys. I stuck the key in the ignition and cranked it over. It took a few attempts, but the motor started. It ran smooth. I revved it up a few times and the motor purred. I turned it off and turned to my friend in the shot-gun seat. “This might be the truck we need” I said. He agreed.

We climbed out and the old man asked, “what do you think?” “Nice truck,” I said, “how much are you asking for it?” He said I gotta get $4,000. The Bank Lady said the band could spend $3,000 on a truck and so I said, “could you come down in your asking price?” “What do you have in mind?” he asked. I told him we had $3,000 and asked if he could he let it go for that? He said “I’ll tell you what, I got this other truck coming in to detail and I need the space. I’ll let it go for $3,000 but you’ll have to buy it right away.” Great,’ I said, “but first I am going to get a few other people to come look at it.” 

We had gotten a couple hundred bucks from Dembo’s for the junk cars, so I said “We want you to hold it for us so here’s $100.00, we’ll be back in a couple days. “No problem,” he said, and so we were off back home to The Farm and Motor Pool.

My friend and I were excited as we drove back to the Motor Pool. We arrived in about an hour, and I called some folks together. I told them about a great truck we found for The Farm Band down by the Alabama state line. Stephen pulled into the MP just then to get his car looked at and I told him about the truck. He was excited by the news and said, “We should go see it tomorrow.” 

A group of 3 or 4 mechanics along with Stephen and some ladies went back to check out the truck. We got there and went into the garage. There was right away a lot of enthusiastic comments as everyone saw the truck. Someone said, “That’s a big, beautiful truck.” The old man came out of his office and said, “Look it over boys and start her up.

Stephen was the first to get in and sat in the driver’s seat and started it up. It ran smooth and quiet. Others took turns in the shot-gun seat and the ladies climbed into the sleeper. I asked the old man if we could take it on a test run and he said, “sure.” Some people had to get out of the cab for the test run. The ladies climbed down from the cap to leave room for the mechanics. 

Stephen carefully backed out of the garage. There was palpable excitement from us in the cab as he pulled into the street and went through the gears. Soon we were going 60 mph. As we cruised along there were comments from the mechanics about how smooth the engine ran, and didn’t it feel strong? We went about 5 miles down the road and turned around. The road had some rough spots and we got bounced around a bit. But it didn’t seem like a big-deal and no one made a comment.

On the way back to the garage it was decided we would buy it. I don’t remember who had the check book, but the check was written for $3000. The old man took the check and signed over the title to us. It was a done deal. We were excited that the truck was ours.

Stephen and the ladies left in a separate car, and I had the honor to drive it home. We pulled up to the Motor Pool and I blasted the air horn a few times. Everyone stopped working and came out from the garage to see the truck. There was a lot of excitement.

The next few days were spent looking the truck over from top-to -bottom. We thought everything looked good until one of the mechanics who stayed behind the day we bought the truck, looked at the suspension and shouted to me, “You think this truck can be used to haul band equipment?” “The suspension is wrong; it looks like a steel hauling truck to me.” I ran over to the truck and looked closely at the suspension for the first time. Sure enough, it only had rubber blocks between the axles and the frame. Essentially every bump in the road would be transferred to the cab and the equipment truck. It should have an air-ride suspension to haul band equipment safely.

I was devastated. How did I miss this important aspect of the truck? Its suspension? And how did the other mechanics miss it? It was decided we had to get back to Alabama right away, return the truck, and get our money back. Surely the old man would be reasonable and understand that we couldn’t use this truck to haul band equipment and give us back our money. A couple guys said they would go back with me and the next day we left for Alabama.

We got to the truck lot and found the old man in his office. “Hello boys, what can I do for you?” “Well sir we made a mistake buying your truck. I told you we needed a truck to haul our band equipment, but this truck is a steel hauling truck. We want to return it and get our money back,” I said

“Well fellas I’m sorry but I have to tell you, all sales are final,” and he pointed to a sign on the wall behind his desk that said ALL SALES ARE FINAL!! “But we really need to get our money back so we can buy the right truck” I said. 

“Look you and your friends looked the truck over. You took it on a test run. In this business its “Buyer Beware.” I reckon you gotta live with it.” “And besides I can’t take it back after those women you brought with you climbed all over the seats while not wearing any underwear.

We were shocked but what he said was true, there was little money in the Farm’s Basic Budget for niceties like underwear for men or women, so many folks went without. But I wondered how he knew the ladies not wearing any? Then I remembered he took great interest in watching the ladies climb up and down from the cab the day we were all there.

I asked him again if he would take it back and return our money? “No sir” he said emphatically so we left. Back at the Motor Pool we talked about what we should do and decided we could at least haul scrap metal and cars with it to help recoup some of the three thousand dollars we lost.

That plan went well for a few months until one day, as we were driving a load of cars to the scrap yard in Nashville, one of the rod bearings started knocking. We made it to the truck stop on Rt 65 and parked. We called the Motor Pool, and someone came up and brought us back to The Farm. The next day me and another guy drove the “Red” White semi-truck to the truck-stop. We hitched to the car carrier and delivered the cars to the yard and made a couple hundred bucks. On the way back we hooked up to the disabled Kenworth and pulled it back to the Motor Pool. I was totally dispirited. The Kenworth purchase was a complete disaster. Not good for The Farm Band, and not good for the scrapping operation of the Motor Pool. 

So that’s the story of how I got a Golden Bolt for the purchase of the Kenworth semi-truck. I am honored to have receive a Golden Bolt for a major screw=up, but I still maintain that this illustrious award should be shared. It should be shared with the mechanics that went to Alabama with me to check out the truck before we bought it. These guys were the major mechanics in the Motor Pool, one was the head of the Motor Pool at the time, and another the head mechanic for the Farm Band and a few others. But alas, no one has “copped” to any responsibility in the matter, so this Golden Bolt is mine alone. 

But the Kenworth truck had a new incarnation. A couple talented mechanics rebuilt the engine, put an air suspension on it, and generally spiffed it up. It ran well and hauled steel for the trucking company a number of years.