Demolition Man — Andy Pell’s Gumdale Western Star

Gumdale Demolition’s Andy Pell is a self-proclaimed transport fanatic. His 2002 Western Star Constellation 4800FX shows the pride he takes in his truck.

Words by Chris Smith. Photography by Chris Smith.

It is a passion born from inspiration that draws many to the transport industry. One woman that keeps popping up as an inspiration to many is Tracey Rehe.

When Australian Custom Trucks caught up with Gumdale Demolition driver Andy Pell he tells us in no uncertain terms that as a kid it was the posters of Tracey, and the legendary Desperado, that got him firmly hooked to a life in road transport. In fact, he had all three posters on his wall and is proud these days to call Tracey a dear friend.

Based in Forestdale, Queensland, Gumdale Demolition owner Trevor Lyons has given the ownership duties of his truck fleet to the blokes he knows will look after them properly, his drivers.

Andy says all the drivers take their respective trucks home each day. It means that there is no need to have a storage yard for the equipment.

He adds that if anything needs to be done to keep it in top condition it is done straight away.

“I take it home, anything that’s wrong I make sure its fixed, even though I don’t pay for it. Everything thing you have seen done on it, I have done to it. It never looked like that when it was bought,” he says.

“My boss knows what I am like. He knows that I look after the gear.

I look after all our trucks to be honest.”

As the name suggests, the core business of Gumdale Demolition is “knocking down stuff.”

“We primarily knock down houses and buildings to demolish them,” Andy explains.

Before we discuss Andy’s Western Star we’ll explain a bit about the man himself and how he pursued a career in transport.

He started at the tender age of 14 working for his then to be father in-law John who taught him how to drive a B model Mack…the ones with the twin gear sticks.

“I drove the B model B61 up to Darwin with my now ex-wife’s father. We took two trailers to Darwin with it and he got me to drive nearly all the way,” says.

Needless to say when he turned up for his driving test at the local cop shop on Bribie Island the officer was about to take him for a longer drive but seeing the two sticks he said if you can drive this thing then just back it in and he gave him his licence.

The fanaticism in keeping his rig clean, well that is once again attributed to Tracey Rehe and the quality of the Desperado. The way he looks after his truck is a testament to the passion he has for the industry. Considering the work it does, and where it travels, keeping his 2002 Western Star Constellation 4800FX clean is a challenge that he has accepted wholeheartedly.

“Going into the coal mine and tipping off the rubbish all the time you can do up to seven or eight loads a day, you can imagine what it looks like,” he tells ACT.

“You try and wash it as much as you can to keep it nice and clean.”

PJs, based in Brisbane, performed the mechanical, custom stainless and paintwork. We won’t cover every detail of what was done because there is a couple of pages of job sheet but we’ll talk through the major changes and tricky parts of the customising.

Out the front is a fabulously polished King Bars Texas bullbar.

The bar has Lucidity lights on its side panels as well as through its chin strap. You’ll notice all the lights are clear to give an overall clean look to the truck.

In saying this, the indicators still flicker amber and the brake lights still beam red to comply with the relevant Australian Design Rules (ADRs).

New Trucklite LED headlamps have replaced the existing lamps with hooded stainless steel headlight holders with stainless backing. To the side of the headlamps are stainless steel offsets on the side of the bonnet that adds a bit of pop to the overall look.

A new wheel arch trim kit was added to the bonnet and the side indicators on the bonnet were removed.

Moving up PJs supplied and fitted an impressive horizontal louvred grille complemented by the grille shell on both sides as well as side deflectors and a top bug deflector.

A new Western Star logo has been used to modernise the look.

Above this sits a replica of the hood ornament of Rubber Duck’s black Mack RS712LST from the 1978 cult trucking film Convoy. Only this one sports a unique Mohawk hairdo.

The secret of the hair can’t be divulged though!

Another impressively sized Western Star logo sits on the windscreen guard.

Above the windscreen PJs added a 14-inch drop visor.

Moving to the roof square LED roof lamps are fitted. Side mirrors with lights were also added.

PJs added stainless steel air cleaner covers with five LED lamps in each and stainless straps.

Looking front on the impressive eight-inch stacks give this Star a breathtaking road presence.

Much work went into putting on these stacks says PJs Workshop Manager Nick Allez.

“First of all the clearance between the cab and the fuel tanks doesn’t usually allow for the eight-inch exhaust stacks so we had to perform a cab lift, we lifted the cab just enough to fit in the eight-inch elbows so we could put on the full eight-inch Monster System,” he explains. A new sports exhaust system was also added to the Star.

Andy adds that the choice of Aussie Curve tips was preferable over a straight exhaust for practicality.

“Instead of upright stacks I chose this shape so the branches can roll over the top of them. Some of the places we have to go have a lot of overhanging trees and this design minimises the damage that can be caused,” he says.

Further work included replacing the two back fuel tanks from the smaller 80 gallons (302.833 litres) to 100 gallons (378.541 litre). This job required the tanks to all be repositioned to fit. A stainless steel step was also added to the fuel tank. They also added tank steps and the corresponding LED lights to complement the tanks steps.

The reason for the extra capacity tanks is to allow for the truck to carry extra fuel in case the demolition machinery needs a quick top up, so the job can keep on going.

Housed discretely on the back of the cab is a nifty piece of gear.

“In the back panel is an oil tank in the middle, a water tank on one side and a fuel pump. Hidden away discreetly is a hose real. I have an option of fuelling our excavators if need be so the job can continue,” explains Andy.

The high capacity hydraulic oil tank is to facilitate the different bodies that the truck carries.

Nick explains placing this device on the back gantry was an epic task.

“We went down the road of making it all look good ny covering it all to make it look nice, neat and even,” he says.

“We acomplished this by making the tank and the housing for the fuel gauge the same size as the central hydraulic tank.

“This gave it a nice symmetrical look. We also improved the design by adding a nice easy access door on, because before it wasn’t very user friendly.

“The main aim was to make it look good but to also make it user friendly and easy to operate and give it a level of serviceability that he wasn’t getting before from the original set up, we made it practical,” Nick explains.

Lights on the back wall illuminate this tidy set up at night.

PJs also added extended wing trim with seven clear Lucidity LEDs, which light up red.

PJs also added a host of backlit Western Star badges as well as the laser cut backlit Gumdale wings.

Moving back to the wheels, Andy says the choice of stainless steel guards, even though these do get damaged, was preferred over the plastic option because the plastic guards fade and look bad over time.

He admits the stainless steel guards can get damaged, but like most things, they are easily replaced.

He says the Alcoa Dura-Bright® Wheels have kept the shine on through the worst of conditions.

It’s been fitted with a Jost ballrace turntable as well as some good looking walk plates to set off the look.

PJs changed all the door handles and latches and pretty much everything else that needed to be replaced mechanically was done in- house.

At its rear PJs made the light bar.

It is extra thick and built for the toughest environments.

One unique standout feature is the most mudflaps I have ever seen on a trucks.

Andy reckons that it was something he asked to have and that it really does work to suppress the mud in the conditions he travels.

“The mudflaps are to try and keep the dirt on the ground and not go into the truck, it does work,” he says.

The 2002 Western Star Constellation purrs beautifully with a CAT C15 motor.

The finish of this truck is spectacular with its Subaru Pearl colour with a metallic flake through the paint.

This is complemented by quality sign writing and scroll work.

The sign writing of Gumdale Demolition pulling down Brisbane City Hall is definitely a talking piece says Andy. He says he has copped a lot of agreement and an equal amount of abuse for the image on the side of his door.

It’s the guys like Andy that really do fly the flag for the industry in a positive light. His truck is clean, he will be at a local show and I am sure he will be an inspiration to the younger folk wanting to join the transport world just like Tracey Rehe was to him!

Rear Vision: where are they now?

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