A jaw dropping truck in its day, and still imposing today. ‘The Critter’ is made up of parts from America, England and Japan, but was put together by five blokes here in Australia back in 1968
Just as now, heavy recovery equipment was specialised and very expensive in the 1960s, so Ray Miller took his old post-War KB-11 International tow truck into the workshop to budget-build a truck that could handle any job
“What is it?” Owner, Ian Castles has to answer that question the best way he can every time he takes the old wrecker out. The fact is, it’s simply ‘The Critter’ and was put together nearly fifty years ago to do jobs no other truck was able to do.
When looking for clues regarding the identity of a truck, the grille is usually a good place to start but, here, it tells you nothing and everything about this truck that has the pedigree of Frankenstein
Ray Miller of Dandenong, Victoria had an old c.1948 KB-11 International that had already undergone various changes for heavy towing duties, but in around 1968 it was torn down for a major rebuild. Ray and four of his employees: Mick Terrington, Wayne Wright and Alan and Rick Leask started by running six inch channel sections along the top of the original heavy chassis rails. Then, with tape measure in hand, the truck wrecking yards were searched for suitable parts.
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