The 500 series was the truck line that carried Kenworth through the 1940s and into the mid-1950s. Introduced in 1939, it was the basis of the company’s commercial range, and its cab-over version, redesigned in 1948, became known as the “Bull-nose”.
Kenworth 500 series at a glance
| Introduced | 1939 |
|---|---|
| Role | basis of the Kenworth commercial truck line into the mid-1950s |
| Cab-over version | redesigned in 1948, nicknamed “Bull-nose” |
| Follow-up | CSE (Cab-Surrounding-Engine) of 1955, on 500-series underpinnings |
| Related model | Model 853, 1,700 ordered by ARAMCO in 1951 |
| Related model | Model 801 earth-moving dump truck, cab beside the engine |
| Maker | Kenworth Motor Truck Company, Seattle |
| Parent from 1945 | Pacific Car and Foundry |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on Kenworth; the 500 series is described there in the company history, so this page covers only what that article states.
History of the Kenworth 500 series
Kenworth introduced the 500 series in 1939, the year the company also reworked its production line. The new trucks became the basis of the commercial range and stayed in production into the mid-1950s, through the war years and the sale of the company to Pacific Car and Foundry in 1945.
The 1948 revision of the cab-over line gave the 500 series its best-known shape. The redesigned cab was later nicknamed the “Bull-nose”, and the name stuck to the cab-over 500-series trucks. By then Kenworth was building vehicles to customer specification in individual bays rather than on an assembly line, a practice the company still advertises today.
In 1951 the Middle East oil company ARAMCO ordered 1,700 Model 853 trucks, a large order for a specialist builder. The Model 801 of the same period was an earth-moving dump truck with the cab beside the engine, one of the first layouts of its kind. The 500-series story ends in 1955, when Kenworth launched the CSE, or Cab-Surrounding-Engine: it shared its underpinnings with the 500-series trucks and, like them, had no tilting cab.
Design and features
- Long life: introduced in 1939 and still the basis of the range in the mid-1950s.
- Bull-nose cab: the 1948 cab-over cab that gave the line its nickname.
- Built to order: assembled in individual bays to each customer’s specification.
- Model 853: 1,700 examples ordered by ARAMCO in 1951.
- Model 801: an earth-moving dump truck with the cab beside the engine.
Kenworth 500 series versions
- 500-series conventional: the standard bonneted truck of 1939 and after.
- Bull-nose cab-over: the 1948 cab-over version with the upright cab.
- Model 853: the heavy model bought in bulk by ARAMCO in 1951.
- Model 801: earth-moving dump truck with cab-beside-engine layout.
- CSE (1955): the successor cab-over, still on 500-series underpinnings.
The 500 series was followed by the 900 series of 1956 and, in 1961, by the W900 and the cab-over K100. More trucks are in the Kenworth collection.
Sources
- Kenworth, English Wikipedia: 500 series of 1939, Bull-nose cab of 1948, Model 853 and Model 801, CSE of 1955
