One could argue that the 1980s were the “golden years” of trucking. A time when owner operators were still independent, and a time when trucks were evolving and changing, with things like comfort and efficiency beginning to take center stage. This month’s feature is Angel Eduardo Jimenez Jimenez (yes, that’s right) or “Mile High Mexican” on the CB, from Lochbuie, Colorado and his stellar and true survivor of yesteryear… his 1989 Kenworth T600A.
A business associate of mine once remarked, “Eventually you realize the world is composed of ten people and the rest is just mirrors.” The longer you spend in the industry, the more you realize how many drivers, owners and other industry professionals know one another. And even if they don’t know each other directly, as the six degrees of separation often goes, you know people in common. Such was the case here.
Hailing from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Angel Jimenez has spent his adult life in the trucking industry. At 30 years of age, Angel started trucking when he was 19 and, in short order, has managed to truck all over the lower 48 states. Learning the ropes from his dad, Angel has primarily pulled dry van and refrigerated freight throughout his career but has also done some step-deck and flatbed trucking, as well. Doing business under the banner of West Freight Lines, Angel currently operates a small fleet of Internationals and Kenworths, moving mostly dry van freight, throughout the contiguous 48 states.
Today, the world of dry van and refrigerated freight is largely dominated by aero trucks, and the Kenworth T600A seen on these pages is the forefather of the countless T680s, Anthems, Cascadias, and other popular aero models today. When Kenworth first released the T600, it was certainly a truck that resulted in strong opinions by both companies and drivers – some positive, some negative. Numerous terms arose like curb sniffers, dust busters, and the perennial “anteater” moniker. To this day, many of those strong opinions still exist in the industry between traditional long hood styling and the slippery, low-drag aero designs.
The T600A, however, is now an old enough truck to qualify as a “classic” (you can debate with other drivers about the philosophical merits of an aero truck now being classic), and it is a historically significant truck in the North American trucking industry, no doubt. And Angel’s “Thelma” is a pristine example of the uniqueness of the T600A.
Starting her long trucking career in Connecticut, Thelma was originally bought by a Ferrari dealer in Greenwich. Used by the dealership for some club racing transports, the truck eventually found its way to transporting various Ferraris for the Ferrari Challenge Team, race cars for Paul Newman, and various other go-fast machines for the HSR and IMSA series. After a well-pampered career moving racecars, the truck began to sit in the dealer’s backlot. At the time, Ray Aakjar was one of the caretakers of the truck, ensuring it periodically got a lap around town to keep seals and lines soft and the tires round and black.
After a change in ownership, the order was sent down to get the truck sold. Enter Gary Straight of Straight Roads, LLC (featured by Kim and John Jaikes in December 2022). Gary spent many years doing enclosed auto transport. Knowing Ray through his connections to the exotic and collector car world, Gary was the front runner on Ray’s list of potential buyers. Unfortunately, Gary was dealing with some medical issues at the time, but when a cash buyer showed up (a garbage hauler on the East Coast), Ray contacted Gary and a deal was struck. A few days later, Gary was driving the truck home, where she would spend the next several years transporting the finest rides.
As Gary was preparing to sort of semi-retire (because few drivers ever truly retire), he began kicking around the idea of selling the T600A. Much like Ray Aakjar, however, Gary wanted to ensure that the truck went to someone who would look after the truck well. Unbeknownst to Gary, Angel had first seen the truck in 2018, and there was a mutual connection between Gary and Angel – Pat McFarlan from Wilton, Wisconsin (who I featured in March of 2021). Like I said, everyone knows everyone somehow. Pat put Angel and Gary in contact, and like before, a deal was made. Down the road she went to her new home in Colorado to move light dry van loads. What a life for the truck to have, never dragging heavy weight.
The truck is powered by a 425-hp 3406B mechanical CAT backed by a 13-speed Eaton. Sitting on a moderate and proportional 260-inch wheelbase, the silver, black and grey Kenworth sports an unmolested Aerodyne One sleeper, along with a whale tail and fairings, dual 5-inch turnout stacks, a factory polished visor, and plenty of shined-up aluminum. Aside from a few plastic components being updated to fiberglass, this 1989 T600A sits as it would have from the factory in the late 80s. The interior, with a leather-wrapped resin steering wheel, features all the accommodations and appointments of a nicely spec’d Kenworth from the late 1980s.
Working hard for his keep, Angel learned how to go trucking from his father and having watched both his dad and grandfather trucking as a kid. When the freight is due, it’s time to move, and Angel has always been ready to step into the snowstorms, blizzards, the high country grades, and long nights of endless highway. With an astute revery for the history of this industry, it was no stretch when the opportunity presented itself for him to operate a piece of that history, and he jumped at the chance.
Angel would like to thank Gary Straight for opening the opportunity for him to purchase Thelma, as there was a long buyer’s list when the truck hit the market. Angel would also like to thank Russell Wilkins of W Diesel in Watkins, Colorado, for getting the KW’s 425 CAT running like a clock. Angel would also like to acknowledge his wife, Adela, along with his entire family, for the continued and endless support. Without them, as Angel put it, his success would not be possible.
Ray knew Gary. Gary knew Pat. Pat knew Angel. I knew Pat. Gary knew me. Now I know Ray. Like I stated at the beginning of this feature, nothing but mirrors. I’d like to thank Angel for taking the time to get the truck ready, and 10-4 Magazine would like to thank Gary Straight and Ray Aakjar for their time providing the backstory on the KW.
Featuring a simple and efficient design, the truck is a true window into the last of the “golden years” of trucking. As a classic of yesteryear, the T600A was a harbinger of the designs to come. Love them or hate them, aero trucks aren’t going anywhere – after all, they’ve been here forty years already! What is true, however, whether it’s a classic hood or a classic aero, a well presented truck will always stand out, and Thelma, with her storied history of Ferraris, racecars, antiques, and owners and caretakers, is no exception.