Not all trucks were made for the open road – some are just destined to be classy farm trucks. Although the 2005 Peterbilt 379 gracing these pages was very cool before it received its full makeover, a bad accident in 2022 left the truck totaled. What was once a pretty basic white and black daycab with an Acert CAT, an 8LL transmission, 4.11 rears, and a modest 240-inch wheelbase, turned into this absolutely jaw dropping and totally custom farm truck. Yes, you read that right, it’s a farm truck!
The Musser Family of Manheim, PA, who own and operate Pleasant View Acres Farm, purchased the truck from an auction. It should be no surprise to anyone that a truck this cool comes from the “717” area. Once bought, the truck ran for a few years as is, with the only changes being an 18-speed swap, the 4.11 rears changed to 3.70s, and air-ride added on the front axle. As mentioned before, the truck was in an accident in 2022. Kody Musser was driving in the left lane on the highway when a car cut him off from the shoulder, attempting to make an illegal U-Turn, in a cut through. The insurance company totaled the truck, but the decision was quickly made to buy it back and rebuild it.
As these things quite often go, the rebuild plan went much further than anyone expected. Kody (25) has always loved trucks, especially the shiny ones. Way before he could drive he would put drop visors and bumpers, made out of cardboard and aluminum foil, on the toy trucks he pushed on the floor. He and his brothers grew up watching their uncle’s shiny trucks going up and down the road (in addition to many other 717 trucks), washing their dad’s trucks, and riding with their father when he pulled reefer at the beginning of his farming career. Kody also learned how to polish, and he fondly remembers the day when his grandfather handed him a buffer to do a fuel tank on a truck.
Always hoping to drive something like this one day, Kody said, “It’s still very weird and surreal to be piloting something of this caliber and to have had a hand in putting it together.” The Musser family (Kody’s father, Kody, and his brothers) and five full time employees keep the farm and trucks running. They specialize in egg production. They also plant, grow, harvest and mill their own grain. During harvest season they are also contract harvesters for the community where they live. As for trucks in the fleet, there is a mix of Peterbilt and Mack trucks, and trailers consist of reefers, hopper bottoms, belt, RGNs and feed tankers. On the harvest side of things, they run John Deere equipment.
Once everything settled from the accident, the talks began about the plan for rebuilding the truck. Kody explained that his brother-in-law, Lewis Weaver, decided to take on the challenge of the rebuild, from the frame up. Lewis owns and operates LK Kustomz, a company that specifically works on big trucks. Lewis had just started his business right around the time of the accident. The decision to rebuild the truck was pushed ahead because, for one reason, it being a pre-emissions truck and how desirable they were (and continue to be).
In March of 2023, Lewis took over the truck and teardown began. After the teardown process began, two new frame rails were delivered to the shop. One of Kody’s wants for the rebuild was a 36” sleeper for more cab room. A 265” wheelbase was decided on, since the truck needed to be versatile, getting in and out of tight fields, loading docks and mills. The Peterbilt Air Trac suspension was also another thing Kody wanted to change. The 18-speed was kept, but it was upfitted to an “H” pattern with high against the dash. The 3.70 ratio rear ends were also kept, so they were swapped over to the new chassis.
Around this time, Kody spoke to Dallas Good at Blackworth Custom Trucks to get an idea of paint colors and schemes. Kody likes the 30s and 40s hot rod look, and he wanted to add subtle hints of that in the build. Work began on sourcing parts for the rebuild while Lewis and his father rebuilt the motor. There was never really a plan to rebuild the motor, but the decision was made to do it since the truck was apart. What was once a twin-turbo Acert CAT was rebuilt from the oil pan up, including converting it over to a single turbo setup. The motor is set up for about 600-hp, which is plenty for everything they haul with it.
While the rebuild was being done, Kody was driving a lot at this time, and he kept thinking about the potential for the truck – and not just for practical use or even advertisement for potential employees. His thoughts were more about what kind of business this could bring to Lewis. With that idea in mind, they turned it up a notch (or two). The motor was blasted and painted, with custom stainless steel piping by B&H Tubes, and a ton of motor parts were chromed by a local shop. It is Kody’s belief that this little sparkle in the engine bay started them down the road to what ultimately led to the finished product. Once the motor was done, the attention was turned to the rest of the truck.
The original plan was to paint this truck the same color as the rest of the trucks in their fleet, which is a metallic blue color, but Kody was itching to keep the same white and black scheme the truck wore before the accident. One of the other reasons the decision was made to keep it black and white was because of pinstriping ideas he had in mind. His belief was that the pinstripes he had in mind would look better on black and white versus blue. Kody and the crew settled on the white color, and then the time came to select the black.
The frame, tanks and front fenders were going to be black, but the boys knew they had to spice that color up a bit. They mixed a few different blacks, but nothing really struck them as “the” color. So, Kody turned to Dallas and Lewis for help, and that is when they came up with the idea to use a “bass boat black” color, as Kody refers to it, with an insane amount of flake in it. Dallas and his team at Blackworth did the heavy lifting on the painting, and even replaced some body panels, as well. They did all the prep work, paint, and wet sanding on everything, including miscellaneous parts like the deck plate, rear panels, mudflap brackets and headlight buckets. While the cab of the truck was in the paint shop, the decision was also made to smooth the dash and paint it the same black color as the exterior.
Once the frame was painted, Lewis took delivery of it and slowly started putting the truck back together. Lewis replumbed the entire truck, from front to back, and completely rewired it, as well. Kody and Lewis bounced ideas off each other during the process and Kody says sometimes it was a “one step forward and two steps back” deal. Since Kody could not be there to have his hands on the truck every day, he made a lot of drawings and cardboard cutouts to help envision what the truck and accessories could look like when completed.
Once the engine was placed in the frame, the cab was fitted, followed by the hood and bunk. The dash panels are engine turned aluminum that Kody sourced from a company in the Midwest, and this guy’s talent is absolutely unreal. Kody had given Jeff Nolt and the crew at Spare Time Fab the general direction he wanted to go and, as he put it, they went above and beyond his wildest dreams.
While Jeff was doing his thing on the interior panels, Randy Martin, the founder of Spare Time Fab, was busy at work installing the gorgeous interior in the truck. The door panels, headliner and seats were reupholstered by Randy and his team to match the new cab layout. Spare Time Fab also installed the killer sound system! Rounding out the interior are glass watermelon lights with bases from Spare Time Fab, along with a custom shift boot and steering wheel cover, both made to match the interior.
Moving on to the exterior of the truck, Jeff Nolt once again did his thing with pinstriping and the small mural on the back of the sleeper. The strapless breathers were chopped, sanded and buffed to give them a mirror finish. 12 Ga. Customs supplied stainless mirror brackets, bumper, grill surround and the insert. ProFab, a local shop in Manheim, custom made the cab and sleeper skirts. Dual square 359 style headlights were chosen and then mounted on custom stainless brackets built by CJ Nairn. GGE stainless wiper arms replaced the factory originals, the visor was custom made by Greg Crispell, and 6” Lincoln Chrome stacks were installed.
The front axle is on an air ride kit which was made by LK Kustomz. All the watermelon style lights are LED with glass lenses and are mounted on LK Kustomz stainless billet steel bases. The two 4” lights in the sleeper and the lights in the rear light panel are jeweled to go along with the hot rod theme that Kody was after. Some lights were placed under the truck, but not too many, so it would not detract from the overall look of the truck. Hogebuilt quarter fenders round out the rear end, with the top flaps on them being made by Dane Nelson.
The truck’s name “Adaline” came from an Italian restaurant Kody and his then new bride went to while on their honeymoon. As Kody explained it, he switched one letter out and came up with Adaline. He researched the name, which means “classy, yet distinct,” and it was perfectly fitting for this truck. You may also notice the “Project 305” on the truck, as well. This is in honor of the number it wore before the accident. It follows the numbering system they have at the company, where the last two digits are the year of the truck and the first is the sequence of when they bought the truck. This truck is the 3rd 2005 model year truck they own, so “305” is the number, and “project” was added, since that is what it turned into.
One of Kody’s goals was to keep the truck looking “simple” at a distance but, as you get closer, you start to notice all the details, and I think that goal was accomplished! Contrary to comments and questions, the truck does work! Whether hooked to a reefer delivering eggs or hooked to a hopper hauling grain, this truck earns its keep. Since it is still a fresh build, they try to keep it off the road during the winter months when salt is on the road. However, with the workload for the next year looking busy, there is a chance it will be out and about, regardless of the weather, being piloted by Kody, some of his family, and a few of the company employees.
Kody would like to thank everyone involved in the build, including Lewis Weaver, Dallas Good, Randy Kaylor (Pro-Fab), Jeff Nolt, Randy Martin, as well as all his family, friends, coworkers and everyone else behind the scenes (wives, girlfriends, etc.) for all their help and ideas along the way. He would especially like to thank the employees for keeping everything in top shape and his family for allowing him the opportunity to put his dreams on the road. Last, but certainly not least, he would like to thank his wife for standing by him and allowing him to do something he loves every day. Fun fact: there is an estimated 2,200+ hours involved with this build!
Interestingly, I met the Musser boys through the agriculture side of their business, not the trucks. I had started shooting some photos and videos of them during corn harvest in October of 2023, followed by the wheat and bean harvests over the last two years. It’s been pretty cool to hear about the truck and then finally get the chance to shoot it since it was completed. The truck is truly breathtaking, and the flake in the black paint needs to be appreciated in person, as photos do not do it any justice.
We used their land for the shoot since it works in the fields surrounding the farm. The trailer hooked to the truck during this shoot is a 2025 Titan hopper bottom. Kody and the crew have been extremely impressed with the trailer, so far, and Kody would like to thank Chris and the team from Titan. It was and continues to be a pleasure to shoot their farming and trucking operations, which includes this classy farm truck!