Luke Rethwisch didn't repeat as the Mid-America Trucking Show’s Big Rig Build-Off winner in 2026, but the 1976 Peterbilt 352H cabover that he and his family rebuilt for the competition impressed no less than last year's trophy-winner 1987 Peterbilt 359.
Rethwisch’s title defense came up just short against “Outta the Ordinary”, the 1985 Peterbilt 359 of Never Satisfied Builds/J&L Contracting.
The goal this year: Take the 352H back to as close to factory as possible, Rethwisch said, with just a few modern-day upgrades like power steering.
[Related: 'Outta the Ordinary' 1985 Peterbilt 359 captures $20K MATS Build-Off win]
The Rethwisch family operates a Tomah, Wisconsin-based mostly tanker-haul business in Rethwisch Transport, and have owned this particular cabover five or six years. It sat out by a barn most of that time.
“After I won the Build-Off last year and I had to come back, we’re like, ‘Oh, well, what are we going to build?’” Rethwisch said. They already had the truck, so they decided to “pull it off the side of the barn and started taking it apart. It was a family project.”Photos and video in this story by Lawson Rudisill
It's painted with factory stripes, colors close to original. The biggest difference is addition of Peterbilt's "Legendary" paint, which features a metallic flake and wouldn’t have been around in 1976.
Instead of cutting and welding the frame for the stretch, the team put the 352H cab on top of a 2025 Kenworth T680 frame for the longer look, in addition to the air ride suspension. “Everything besides the frame is factory,” Rethwisch noted.
The rig boasts the original V8-power Cat 3408 with an 18-speed and 3.70 rears. Engine complete with white period-correct paint, and the team chromed the valve covers, rocker box, blow-by tubes and the five-inch stacks.
The back of the truck features a Merritt deck plate painted red down the middle with stainless inserts on the trim, along with Hogebuilt stainless full fenders, a custom taillight panel built by C.J. Nairn, chromed gladhands and more.
The rig will be part-time worker this summer Luke Rethwisch’s father, Bill, hops in it to haul gas -- they didn’t extend the deck plate over the rear of the truck past the fifth wheel.
“So, if anything does happen, it’s a lot easier to work on it on the side of the road than having to crawl underneath the truck and work on it,” Luke said.
Power steering will help in other ways, though not exactly period-correct for this unit. “Trying to maneuver around in gas stations and stuff that we go into, you just got to have power steering,” he added.
Underneath the cab, you’ll also find the underside of the doghouse is wrapped in stainless so to reflect the top side of the engine.
All-new interior's made to look factory with the Oxblood Red leather with gold stitching, along with a woodgrain dash.
Lighting-wise, double-bubble lights illuminate the sides, glass lights the the roof and mirrors, and yellow fog lights the bumper. There’s also lights in the doghouse shining on the engine.
[Related: Built to win: Wheels-off '87 Peterbilt 359 triumphant in Big Rig Build-Off]
"The cabovers never came with a whole lot of lights on the truck from factory back in the day,” Rethwisch, so additions are minimal.
On the front bumper, a “bingo plate” for registration stickers for each state you operated in, long before the International Registration Plan. Luke’s brother, Owen, found a bingo plate from 1976 that still had original stickers on it in good shape; the family bought it and added for old-school symmetry.
Rethwisch said he won’t be competing in the 2027 MATS Big Rig Build-Off.
Yet don't fret -- the family's got another truck in the works for the PKY Truck Beauty Championship at the Kentucky big show.
[Related: 'Blue Collar Roots' Pete 379 pays tribute]
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Luke Rethwisch: We've had this truck for 5 or 6 years, just sitting on the side of the barn. After I won the Build-Off last year and I had to come back, we're like, "oh, well, what are we going to build? What are we going to build?" And like, "Oh, we can build that truck." And that's what we did.
Pulled it off side of the barn and started taking it apart. It was like it was a family, it was a family project.
My name is Luke Rethwisch. We are in Louisville, Kentucky at MATS Truck Show. This is a 1976 Peterbilt 352H cabover that we built.
With this build, we just tried to keep it as original as it would it come off of the showroom floor to keep it with the old-school look. It's factory stripes on this, almost same color from factory. The only thing we changed, it's got the Legendary color, so it's got the metallic in it now.
It's got the 3408 V8 Cat in it from factory. The motor we painted back white again to match it was from a factory. The chrome valve cover, rocker box, blow-by tubes, five-inch exhaust up to the top and down all the way to the turbo with the mufflers, which would have come from factory. We wrapped the whole underside of the doghouse with stainless. That way when the cab's up in the air, you look and you can see the whole top side of the motor and everything.
We added power steering to the engine and everything. It never came with power steering from factory. Try and maneuver around the gas stations and stuff that we go into, you just got to have the power steering. So we put power steering in it.
We put all new interior in it. The leather interior, it's just new old stock interior, the red carpet and red seats. Did the old woodgrain dash. We put it on a 2025 Kenworth T680 frame. Just that way is longer because they come real short from factory. So we wanted to extend the wheelbase a little bit, but we didn't want to extend it, so we just put a new frame under it that we didn't have to cut it or weld it.
24.5 talls all the way around with Alcoa small-hole wheels. We got brand new Alumitank fuel tanks, Merritt deck plate. Painted the middle of it red, and then put the stainless inserts in it and the stainless on the trim on the outside.
All our bolts and everything are clocked all the way around the truck. 3.70 rear ends on the flex air suspension, Hogebilt stainless full fenders on it. We did a taillight panel that C.J. Nairn built for us. Chromed the gladhands and everything, electrical plug. The glad hands, normally they're red and blue. We painted both Legendary Red just for the cleaner look.
We chromed the shocks and stuff, painted the rear ends nice. Didn't put a plate back here because when dad gets home, he's going to run this truck this summer. So if anything does happen, it's a lot easier to work on it on the side of the road than having to crawl underneath the truck and work on it.
Overdrive: Anything on this side?
Luke Rethwisch: Everything's pretty much the same size. There is a Thermaflow up there. We put a Thermaflow on it for our hydraulic pump. That way we can pump into above-ground tanks or suck products out of the ground in a tank.
We did double bubbles down the side of the truck, did glass slides up on the roof and the turn signals on the mirror. And then we did yellow fog lights down on the bumper. There's not a whole lot of lights on this. There's two in the doghouse to shine it on the motor. And then there's two back here. And then the old glass round lights back here. There's not a whole lot of lights on this truck, but the cabovers never came with a whole lot of lights on the truck from factory back in the day.
It's a bingo plate. Back in the old days, whenever you entered the state, you had to get a sticker that said you can run in the state, a registration sticker. So they had them bingo plates back in the day. My brother, Owen, found one from '76 with original stickers that were in good shape and got it, and we put it on this.
So it's an original Union 76 gas pump and the truck's a '76. So we found one that was in good shape still. On the turn dials inside when you're pumping gas, how they spin. it says 3408, 1976 and 352. So that's the details for the truck.
Overdrive: You know, this is your second year in the Build-Off. Can people expect something next year?
Luke Rethwisch: We won't be in the build off next year. But we got another truck in mind for next year for the regular show.
