Some vintage trucks are restored for museums. Others spend their lives at truck shows around the country. But for many owner-operators, the greatest reward is watching a beautifully restored classic do exactly what it was built to do — haul freight.
For Jay VanKampen of Wooden Shoes Trucking, one truck carries far more than freight. It’s a 1976 Kenworth W900A Bicentennial Edition that once belonged to his father. After his father passed away, the truck was sold at auction in 1981.
Jay, who was only a child at the time, was crushed. But more than three decades later, Jay says, he found that truck again, by the grace of God.
Over the next three and a half years, he carefully rebuilt his father’s truck, preserving its iconic Bicentennial appearance and updating it with modern components. Every stripe was recreated by hand. Every detail was chosen with purpose.
Today, that stunning Kenworth is not parked in a collection. It still hauls freight across America, proving that classic trucks can be both showpieces and hardworking business tools.
For owners like Jay, restoration is about more than chrome and paint. It’s about honoring family, preserving trucking history, and keeping these legendary machines doing what they were meant to do — rolling down the open road.
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Linda Garner-Bunch has been with The Trucker since 2020, picking up the reins as managing editor in 2022. Linda has nearly 40 years of experience in the publishing industry, covering topics from the trucking and automotive industry to employment, real estate, home decor, crafts, cooking, weddings, high school sports — you name it, she’s written about it. She is also an experienced photographer, designer and copy editor who has a heartfelt love for the trucking industry, from the driver’s seat to the C-suite.