Last week in Overdrive’s Pride & Polish weekly video feature, we highlighted the “blinged-out” 1979 Kenworth K100 Aerodyne of retired heavy equipment operator Stuart Geltmaker.
Geltmaker is back in this week’s feature, though this time with his son, Kevin, talking about the junior Geltmaker’s near-matching 1980 K100 Aerodyne. (Near-matching you heard right -- just wait till you see the engine under the cabover.)
Kevin followed in his father’s footsteps in more ways than one -- he’s a heavy equipment operator himself, and also has a keen interest in classic iron.
Kevin and Stuart GeltmakerVideo and photos by Lawson Rudisill
When Stuart purchased the ’79, Kevin soon set out to find one of his own that would be as close to his father’s as possible. As noted last week, Stuart bought his unit in 1998. Kevin bought the one featured in the video up top in 2003.
It would be nearly 15 years before work to really fix up the unit started in earnest.
[Related: 'Big Red': Stuart Geltmaker's blinged-out 1979 K100]
Based in the Louisville, Kentucky, suburb of Floyds Knobs, Indiana, the Geltmakers turned their focus to the 1980 K100 before the 2018 American Truck Historical Society’s Annual Convention arrived in nearby Lexington, Kentucky. It was something of a “father and son joint venture,” Kevin said. The goal was to make the two trucks similar while also unique in their own ways.
Like Stuart’s truck, Kevin’s K100 features big V8 power with a Cat 3408 -- at the time this video was captured at the 2026 Mid-America Trucking Show, the recently in-framed engine had just 30 miles on it since overhaul.
“They're almost identically matched other than the transmission and rear ends and the paint scheme,” Kevin said. Kevin’s boasts a 13-speed with 4.11 rears compared to Stuart’s 15-speed and 3.90s.
Stuart’s K100 (left) features a little more “bling” than his son's, at least on the exterior.
Where Kevin’s “bling” outdoes Stuart’s is under the cab with that big 3408.
“I'm proud of my son because he really detailed his motor,” Stuart said. “That's what I like about his truck, because he went all out and really did a detailed job on his 3408.”
Kevin said he “spent a lot of time under the cab, modifying chrome caps, lug nut caps to go on the engine and just polishing … just to kind of put a little touch of something different on the engine.”
Inside, the unit features the original VIT button-tuck upholstery, though he’s capped all of his buttons with chrome covers.
More than 500 chrome button covers in total between the cab and sleeper, in fact.
The Geltmakers replaced the carpet, added some Rockwood dash accessories and other touches inside.
You may notice in the video up top a handful of stuffed rabbits in the truck and a sticker of Disney’s Thumper character on the back of Kevin’s sleeper. He said the 3408 engine coupled with the 8-inch stacks puts off something of a thumping sound, like Thumper’s foot in Bambi. The truck carries a “Thumper” theme.
[Related: 'Dark Horse' Peterbilt 589 boasts intricate detail, 'ghost stripe']
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Kevin Geltmaker: I'm Kevin Geltmaker. I'm the owner of this 1980 Kenworth K100C Aerodyne behind us. It's got a 3408 Caterpillar engine in it, 13 speed with 4.11 Eaton rears. And this is my father, Stuart Geltmaker. He's the one that owns the ’79 K100C Aerodyne that you saw a video of.
So yeah, they're almost identically matched other than the transmission and rear ends and the paint scheme, it was a rarity to find one that was close to his, yeah.
It's been a good build. We really started on it whenever the ATHS convention was coming to Lexington, Kentucky in 2018, and I told him, “we got to get that thing ready because Lexington is not that far away from us.”
We've added stuff to it since then. Recently, this past winter, we did a total in-frame on the 3408 engine that's in it. Original engine was tired and it was time to do a in-frame overhaul. So we did that. So it's got a fresh engine in it with about 30 miles on it right now.
Stuart Geltmaker: I'm proud of my son because he really detailed his motor. That's what I like about his truck because he went all out, you know, and really did a detailed job on his 3408.
Kevin Geltmaker: I spent a lot of time under the cab, modifying chrome caps, lug nut caps to go on the engine and just.
Stuart Geltmaker: Just a little bit of bling, just whatever looks good.
Kevin Geltmaker: Just to kind of put a little touch of something different on the engine.
Stuart Geltmaker: Yeah. He's done a real good job on that accessories and stuff on the engine, make it really stand out.
Kevin Geltmaker: But we did the interior, the carpet, the actual button tuck, VIT interior is original. The only thing we've done to that is clean it up and put the chrome button covers on to cover the buttons. Dress that up a little bit, and there's probably over 500.
Stuart Geltmaker: Over 500 per truck. Yeah. Counting the roof, the ceiling, you know, the bunk area, everything.
Kevin Geltmaker: Yes. We just told the chrome shop, just order it by the box full.
Stuart Geltmaker: Yeah.
Overdrive: Why do you have these rabbits in the truck?
Kevin Geltmaker: Kind of going along with the Disney Thumper theme. Because this thing, when you drive it down the road with these eight-inch exhaust pipes and this V8 Caterpillar, it gives you kind of a thumping noise, like, like Thumper does with his foot. That's what it kind of sounds like, a diesel locomotive that's out on the tracks running it. That's why it's the Thumper theme, because it thumps when you're going down the road or driving it.
Stuart Geltmaker: It’s been a labor of love.
Kevin Geltmaker: Yeah, absolutely. It's been a father and son joint venture, for sure. You definitely got to work together to get it done. I guess like father, like son, or son like father, however you want to put it.
