Buying his Mercedes-Benz 1425 new in 1986, Greg Bird has done almost 2 million kilometres in the hauler
Greg Bird, who hails from Orange, is a rare breed of truck owner.
He bought his Mercedes-Benz 1425 new from West Orange Motors in 1986, and apart from a 200km stretch, he’s been behind its wheel ever since.
“A cow knocked me over and I did my knee,” Greg explains. “So my brother came over and did the job for me.
“When the original number plates were handed back in July 2012, the truck had done 1,905,761 kilometres.”
Coupled to bogie axle trailers and 2×1 stock floats, the truck would haul pigs throughout central western NSW, mostly headed for Canberra.
Six of those years were spent driving through Harden once a week.
Greg says would cop his fair share of jokes on the CB, especially when carting pigs along the Hume, with comments such as “look boys, another load of recruits going up to Goulburn to the academy”.
“Then you’d put the blinkers on to turn right to Canberra, and it would be, ‘oh no, wait on, they’re politicians’.”
Greg was a diesel mechanic in Orange before moving into the truck industry: “The apprenticeship was on 1418s so I knew them inside out.”
Nowadays, the Benz is on club registration and despite its age, Greg says the 1425 still goes well.
The engine has been rebuilt once, however it still has the original brake linings and drums which are only 50 per cent worn.
“It’s never been a ball of power,” Greg says. “But it spends most of its time running around on the flat now.”
Read more about the Harden Truck and Tractor Show in the May issue of Owner//Driver.