In 1984, at the Motor Truck Distributors production line in Palmerston North, the wireless would have been playing Kenny Loggins singing about his loose feet while the team added the finishing touches to LW2193. Twelve owners later and no less than 10 coats of paint, we catch up with ‘The Hulk’.

At the right place at the right time and at the front of the queue was where Bevan Satherley found himself when he stumbled across ‘The Hulk’ for sale on Trade Me. A few phone calls and some negotiating skills later, the deal was done. For Bevan, the search for a clean Super-Liner had been simmering for a while.

“We were after one that was original with some history, as well as not too far gone – a truck we could rebuild as a workable classic/hobby show truck,” explains Bevan.

LW2193 ticked that box abundantly. Ordered new and custom built for RW Tupe of Whangarei, the 440hp V8 Econodyne-powered R722RS Super-Liner was put to work servicing a Mobil fuels- delivery contract. Known at the time as ‘Eagle Eater’, it mostly pulled a spread-axle tri-set tanker trailer, typical of the era.

From here, it was purchased by well-known Mainfreight contractor GL & SC McCormack. A solid coat of Mainfreight blue and white paint was applied, and a matching five-axle flat-deck B-train was hooked up to the fifth wheel. The name was also changed to ‘Angel of Darkness’.

Murray Brown was the next proud owner. Contracted to Freightways Express out of Invercargill, LW2193 received a fresh coat of white paint to the cab, as well as a splash of sky blue to the chassis. In Murray’s care, LW2193 also ended up in Irvines Freightlines teal green, white and yellow livery when Murray contracted to the organisation. At this time, ‘The Hulk’ showed up for the first time on the bug deflector, a name that the rig has proudly carried to this day.

A stint with Farmer & Dabinett based in Stoke was next, contracting to Rail Freight. LA Schreiber of New Plymouth was then next to have LW2193 wear its livery, and again on all manner of general freight duties. After a brief time in Motor Truck Distributors’ care, it was back out to work again, but this time it was G & C.A Daley Partnership grabbing the keys and hooking up a tri-axle Reefer to the turntable. Next up was LB Landon Contractors, with LW2193 connected to a tandem-axle tipulator. And finally, ‘The Hulk’ had a burst with R Vincent of Wiri.

For 38 years, LW2193 has had a working career of which it can be extremely proud. And with the birthday rebuild recently administered by Bevan and his workshop team at Satherley Logging in Hawke’s Bay, ‘The Hulk’ will likely ply the highways for at least another 38.