This 1987 Peterbilt 377 truck was built, owned and operated by an Ontario-based owner operator….. belonged to a good friend of mine, who was a Peterbilt fanatic and a mechanical genius.
This ’87 Peterbilt had some pretty amazing features and specifications:
- a 15 over transmission
- 390 rear ends
- rev limiter was set to 2600
- had a marine fuel pump
- Caterpillar 700 HP marine engine, Model 3406 with propane injection
- Schwitzer turbo
- marine injectors
- Kysor automatic heat shut off.
- 244″ wheelbase
- set forward front axle, SFFA, (most were set back front axle SBFA), it would scale differently than most trucks. Actually the reason it was designed like this, was because the owner wanted this configuration to accommodate an oversize bumper.
Peterbilt 377 With Power +
This 377 Peterbilt had no shortage of power and torque.
The motor was built before the emission standards came into play in the trucking industry.
It was custom built by Great Lakes Diesel, mechanic: Rick Plauman. It averaged 6.5 miles/gallon, which was absolutely amazing, for a motor with these specs.
This baby smoked like a chimney when it was working hard, although it rarely needed to work hard….. it had way more power than it ever needed. It won several championships at truck pulls in Ontario over the years.
Way back when, we ran produce on the 3 day schedule, from the U.S. west coast, Salinas and Bakersfield, California to the Ontario Food Terminal, in Toronto.
This rig was a weapon…. it could literally almost run coast to coast without
dropping a gear…. occasionally, he’d need to drop one.
When he was climbing Donner Pass on I-80, going east, he’d drop one gear there… but that was it….. all the way to Toronto. Needless to say, he’d pass me on the hills like I was standing still!
It also had lots of custom made chrome accents……clutch pedal, fuel and brake pedal, steering column was chrome. The owner kept the truck in meticulous condition, inside and out…. it was his baby.
He had this Peterbilt 377 for about 8 years and eventually traded it for a rare high bunk, long hood, black and gold 359 Peterbilt, with a 425 Cat….. AFTER he blew an injector, attempting to pass another truck, with the thing wound up to its limits.
This guy was evidently a fiend for power in his trucks, as you can tell from the spec’s of this Pete.
This particular rig didn’t have a long wheel base….. he got the yearning for the big ass long wheel-base trucks later on….. he built a few long wheel base trucks from scratch and sold them….. he’d start with a bare bones frame and body, take a heap of parts, go to the salvage yards and buy some used parts, buy some new parts…. and build a truck…. amazing talent.
He’s also quit driving a truck about 10 years ago to work in construction. However, in a couple of months, he’ll be back behind the wheel……he’s got trucking in his blood and he just can’t stay away.
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