David Derham bought his Kenworth cab-over brand new in 1984, speccing it with the legendary 892 Detroit two-stroke engine, a 13-speed Road Ranger overdrive, and a 3.7 diff for hauling gas tankers across the country. Working around the clock through the 1980s and ’90s, David ran LPG, ammonia, and chlorine tankers from Melbourne to Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide — a workhorse that carried him through some of the toughest years in Australian trucking. He started driving at just 17 years and 9 months old, working his way up from milk runs to interstate hauls.
Bringing the 892 Detroit Back to Life
David sold the truck around 2000 but never forgot it, and when his son Andrew suggested tracking it down, they found and bought it back from its second owner in 2016-17. Master restorer Steve Thomas then spent 12 to 18 months bringing it back to exactly how it rolled off the Kenworth line in 1984, right down to the original gantry-mounted exhaust and period-correct chrome. Today it does the rounds of truck shows across Australia, giving younger generations a chance to hear a two-stroke Detroit scream that’s becoming increasingly rare on our roads.
There aren’t many 892 Detroit two-strokes left running, let alone one restored back to the exact spec it left the factory with. That distinctive scream is disappearing from Australian roads, which is exactly why David and Andrew wanted it heard again, not just looked at.
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