Kevin Cimmiyotti's 1966 Peterbilt 281, the winner of Overdrive's Pride & Polish Antique category this year, claims a vibrant and historic piece of trucking's story, and possibly even inspired the first factory-made two-tone Petes ever off the line at the Oakland factory.
Cimmiyotti, the rig's second owner, lovingly restored and updated the 281, mostly over thirteen weekends driving an hour and back from his friend's shop in southern California.
"On about the ninth weekend, my wife said, 'Are you sure you don't have a girlfriend over there?'" he said.
And the reply: "Yes, she's big and red."
Kevin Cimmiyotti's 1966 Peterbilt 281, the winner of Overdrive's 2023 Pride & Polish competition in the Antique class.
Not only has Cimmiyotti kept up the Pete's physical operation and appearance, he's also acutely aware of the half-century-plus in the rear view. To talk to him is to get an oral history of how Peterbilt became the beloved brand it is today, long before the 359, 379, and 389 were even a twinkle in trucking's eye.
"There's kind of a cool history with it," he said. "The owner, after he bought it, was pulling bottom dumps for Bay Area construction companies in the late 1960s, early 70s."
