Aussie super 'Star

As the ultimate expression of form and function, it's difficult to top Aussie 1 – a stunning Western Star 6900 that began its life on the show circuit, before swapping admiring crowds and flashing cameras for the loneliness of WA's outback.

But before we fix the spotlight on Aussie 1 in all its cobalt-blue glory, let's backtrack a little – and find out how this show-stopping, now hard-working rig first came to be.

THE BACK STORY
Back in 2012, Western Star wanted a knockout truck for its display at Melbourne's International Truck, Trailer and Equipment Show. They wanted to stop people in their tracks and have them remember the brand long after the show had ended.

The solution came from the US – a LowBoy Western Star with leather-clad tanks and side skirts that looked like it had been made in the same village that served as the set for iconic '60s flick, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

As the 2013 Mid-America Show approached, the local Western Star team decided to return the favour, and 'Aussie 1' was born. Don Hansen – then Western Star's General Manager, Marketing, and company chief – agreed to sign the cheques and the project was on.

The brief was simple. Get the biggest Western Star in the range, paint it like one of our local exhibitionists would, load it up with acres of chrome and stainless steel, and let the Yanks know what a road train truck is all about.

The 6900 was chosen, along with the biggest possible sleeper. Because the truck would have to be built in the US, Pat Cook at Western Star’s Brisbane HQ put aside one of the 6900s that was already in stock and used it as the mule to develop all the extras to be bolted on.

CUSTOM FEVER
Craig MacPherson from King Bars designed and built a five-post road train bull bar. The tow pin set into the front had a cover plate with 'Aussie 1' cut into it. Naturally, each side of the bar had an obligatory kangaroo cut in too.

It was the first Western Star with the new road train 'over size' signage. UHF aerials reached for the sky so Flying Doctor access was guaranteed anywhere in Australia. Six driving lights were installed across the front to boost the quad headlights.

PJ’s Custom Spraypainting at Rocklea (Qld) did the graphics when the truck arrived. Heavy haul pack, Icepack air-con, exhaust shields embossed with 'Western Star' and a deflector with the none-too-subtle, "I Come from a Land Down Under", made up the exterior trim.

The bits were then taken off the mule and airfreighted to the US where they were fitted to the truck for the US show. The only item that missed the boat was the barbecue planned for the under-bunk area. It would have slid out for that perfect evening grill after a long day, but Pat and the boys weren't confident the US folk could get it installed in time.

As far as the chassis was concerned, it was ordered specced for WA Western Star dealer AV Trucks, which meant Alcoa rims, radiator-mounted air condenser, taillight bar, six fuel tanks, Jost fifth wheel and a dog-and-chain box with a crocodile head cut in.

The exterior door treatments were something special, with each door fitted with 'embedded luminescence' panels. They’re a clear-film design under the paint. A coat of clear is sprayed on top so there’s no seam to feel. An embedded transformer varies a small current to the film and it changes colour, either dull to bright, flashing, or just on all the time. The end result is that it looks like there’s a deep panel behind the door. It's a stunning effect, but one which the accompanying photo – taken at the Brisbane Show and with the Western Star 'Tough Design' bolt-head design – can't hope to do justice.

At the end of that show-build process, and after knocking them dead at Mid-America, the truck arrived in Queensland – where it won the 2013 Brisbane Truck Show's 'Truck of the Show' title with ease. Nothing else came close.

TIME TO WORK
Aussie 1 started life as a show pony, designed to impress the Yanks first, then the Brisbane show crowd. It worked – after claiming the ultimate accolade at the Brisbane event it then knocked 'em dead at the Perth Truck and Trailer Show later that year. But when the lights go down and the audience leaves, it’s time to show how all those features aid an on-highway truck task that is among the most arduous of any in the world.

Aussie 1's job is to be a part of a vital link between WA's vast network of population centres and the goods and services available to city folk, pulling triples on a weekly run north from Perth for Centurion Transport.

The truck now lives in Roleystone, nestled in the hills east of Perth, where it shares a shed with four other Western Stars, all under the watchful gaze of Joe and Sue-Anne Leca.

STAR-STUDDED HISTORY
The Lecas have owned seven Western Stars during the life of their truck operation. Joe started driving for the old Carnarvon Transport as a full rigger/sub-contractor many years ago, but switched to Centurion after a spell with new owners Wesfarmers.

His first truck was the choice of many truckies getting started: a Ford LTL bought second-hand in 1980.

The switch to Western Star started with a Heritage model, and following on from that came a change in how they did business. Their work was for a large transport group that owned all its trailers, so they ditched their own trailers and just focused on owning the prime movers. They haven’t looked back since.

Joe does the regular maintenance – when he’s not on the road himself, that is. For any major or warranty work, the Lecas depend on the aforementioned AV Trucks, in the Perth suburb of Redcliffe.

"I can’t speak highly enough of their support and quality of service," Sue-Anne told me.

They also use Kelico Mechanical for additional help, particularly for their CAT-engined Western Stars.

TOUGH ITINERARY
Aussie 1's pilot is veteran Dave Fullgrabe (pictured), an experienced operator who has been with the Lecas for eight years now and who treats the truck as his home away from home on a pretty punishing schedule.

When I visited Aussie 1's lair, Dave was about to leave to pick up the trailers for the run north. It had just been cleaned and was an impressive sight as it rumbled out of the shed under a cloudless Perth sky.

The routine is to head for Centurion's yard in the afternoon, hook up two trailers and leave in the evening for the road train assembly area in Wubin, nearly 300 kilometres north-east, where he picks up the third trailer.

Dave then heads north 900 kilometres to Newman, dropping off the trailers and hopping in the sleeper for his sleep break. He takes three returning trailers back to Meekatharra after his snooze (420 kilometres back towards Wubin), where he waits for another Perth driver bringing another set of loaded triples bound for the Kimberley.

With another three trailers crammed full, Dave then heads for Broome – just a tad less than 1500 kilometres via Port Hedland. But wait, there’s more…

A sleep break is followed by the unloading, then a 200-kilometre sidestep to a plantation to pick up pumpkins, water melon and other produce, before heading home on the final leg back to Perth, another 2240 kilometres to the south-west. No wonder Aussie 1 carries 2116 litres of diesel in those six tanks…

It's taken a bit of an adjustment to shift from CAT power to the Detroit DD15 engine in Aussie 1. There's an extra 10hp in the DD15 but the torque is virtually identical – 2508Nm for the CAT and 2509 for the DD.

GLEAM AND MEAN
Aussie 1's truck show days may well be over, but the way the Lecas and Dave keep the signature truck cleaned and maintained, you'd never guess the work it does every week of the year.

Sue-Anne insisted on the final word: "She will always be a show pony and will be kept that way!"

With thanks to Joe Leca for the photos of Aussie 1 in road train format