1978 "White * Western Star" 4900
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Other Topics
Forum Name: Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks
Forum Description: anything you want to talk about except politics
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=205775
Printed Date: 13 Mar 2025 at 12:15am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: 1978 "White * Western Star" 4900
Posted By: BuckSkin
Subject: 1978 "White * Western Star" 4900
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2025 at 3:49am
|
Tuesday_25-February-2025 1978 "White * http://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Star_Trucks" rel="nofollow - Poster for the International Trucking Show, San Francisco, California May 10-12 1978 Thumb-tacked to the office wall at Jones Transport.  - --- -  I wish the photo didn't have such a glare on it but it is what it is. I really like that truck and that paint scheme. |
Replies:
Posted By: DMiller
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2025 at 4:44am
| Cab on the Star is called a Kelowna. Made for all white subsidiary companies for decades as Autocar and Western Star. Was based of Kelowna BC is where name came from. Strong cabs but steel and rusted to healland gone in a hurry.. have not been produced since early 2000s or the late 1990s. Were the first truly ‘Roomy’ truck cab. I liked these and the old A-cars a lot. |
Posted By: Codger
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2025 at 8:25am
|
Never heard the term "Kelowna" myself. Was always called the "Driver's Cab" around here. Originally an Autocar design, it was used extensively with slight modifications after White Motor's acquisition on all other lines they had absorbed, and subsequently destroyed including themselves. Mack did the same to Brockway trucks using the basic "R" series cab. International-Harvester also followed suit with their "R" line cab to most everything they'd acquired. Rebuilt a lot of those cabs over the years. Plenty of room but rust was problematic. Wiring could have been a lot better also. I was never a fan of "White". Seems everything they did was as cheap as possible and just good enough to get out of warranty of those days. Flush with cash at the conclusion of WWII they went on a buying binge. So much they purchased, (corporate greed) raping the profits to "shore up" their truck division in changing economies, wound up taking them down in the early 1980's. Far overextended at that time to which there was no recovery. Always liked the original "Western Star" line of trucks when built in Canada mostly by hand.
------------- That's All Folks! |
Posted By: BuckSkin
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2025 at 9:50am
Thanks. This is the first two sentences of the "History" section of the wikipedia link I posted above: "In 1967 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Motor_Company" rel="nofollow - White Motor Company started the Western Star division as White Western Star with a new plant at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelowna" rel="nofollow - Kelowna , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia" rel="nofollow - British Columbia , sharing headquarters with White in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland,_Ohio" rel="nofollow - Cleveland, Ohio . White Western Star trucks in that era typically used cabs from its sister company, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocar_Company" rel="nofollow - Autocar ." I drove a tri-axle Western Star with that cab for several years and it was one of my favorite trucks that I ever drove.
|
DMiller wrote:Posted By: DougG
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2025 at 10:40am
| White tried to take over Allis Chalmers too! |
Posted By: Lars(wi)
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2025 at 11:41am
|
Worked for a family owned construction decades ago, the owner had some equipment stored away ‘off-site’ from the main yard. There was a ‘White Road Boss’ in the back corner. I asked why don’t we use that? He said it was completely worn out, but it was the very first road tractor he bought, and couldn’t bring himself to trade it in on anything. ------------- I tried to follow the science, but it was not there. I then followed the money, and that’s where I found the science. |
Posted By: BuckSkin
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2025 at 12:07pm
Many years ago, I was given the task to bob-tail a SRA Road Boss for several miles, black in color; I can see it right now as plainly as the day I drove it. I guess any SRA bob-tail would have been brutal to drive, but that one seemed particularly so; like Ol' Elvis, I was all shook up for certain...
|
Posted By: DiyDave
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2025 at 3:50pm
Did I hear a request? https://youtu.be/I1iw8v-Dnu0?si=AdC3IfqcFb6l11Lp" rel="nofollow - https://youtu.be/I1iw8v-Dnu0?si=AdC3IfqcFb6l11Lp ------------- Source: Babylon Bee. Sponsored by BRAWNDO, its got what you need! |