Kenworth #1 to #400: the Blenners comparison ACT wants to see
From the Australian Custom Trucks archive · Chris Smith
Four hundred Kenworths is a fleet milestone. For Australian Custom Trucks, the more interesting question is what changed between number one and number 400.
Blenners Transport has marked the delivery of its 400th Kenworth, a T909, continuing a relationship with the brand that dates back to the company’s first Kenworth in 1988.
Rather than treating the latest truck as a stand-alone handover, ACT is pursuing the two vehicles as bookends to almost four decades of change in Australian linehaul and refrigerated transport.
From the first truck to a modern T909
Kenworth’s current T909 is engineered and built in Australia for demanding highway and multi-trailer work. The model can be configured for a wide range of applications, with current factory specifications providing multiple sleeper, axle, suspension and driveline configurations.
Current Kenworth material lists nominal gross combination mass from 97 tonnes and up to 180 tonnes depending on application and configuration, with higher ratings subject to application and engineering approval. Modern T909s can also incorporate PACCAR Connect for remote monitoring of vehicle performance, fuel use and maintenance requirements.
Those specifications underline just how much the comparison with a 1988 truck could reveal — not merely horsepower, but the evolution of safety systems, communications, sleeper design, maintenance, fuel capacity, cooling, driver environment and fleet data.
ACT wants the build records
ACT is seeking the original build information for Blenners’ first Kenworth and comparable factory details for truck number 400.
The aim is to compare the two trucks on their actual specifications rather than make assumptions from model-year averages. Key points include engine and transmission, wheelbase, sleeper, fuel capacity, tare and operating task, safety equipment, refrigeration-related requirements and the technology now available to the driver and fleet manager.
Archive imagery of the first truck would also allow the two vehicles to be shown side by side.
A milestone worth looking behind
Blenners’ 400th Kenworth is a T909, a model still aimed at heavy-duty Australian applications where cooling, fuel capacity and front-axle loading can be critical.
ACT will follow the milestone with the full number-one-versus-number-400 comparison if the historical build records and imagery can be confirmed.
Sources: Kenworth Australia current T909 product information and 2026 factory specification sheet; public reporting of the Blenners 400th-Kenworth milestone. ACT is seeking direct historical and build information for the comparison.