Trucking legend Jim Hurley of Brown & Hurley: Classic Restos - Series 44

Jim Hurley tells the story of how his father met Alan Brown in the Army during WW2 in 1947, and that they decided to open the Brown & Hurley garage and workshop in Koygle NSW on their return.
Alan was an engineer, so he took on the service side, and Jim's dad took on the sales role. Times were tough in the early days, but it was when they sold the first Oliver Cletrac in 1947 and white logging truck and made handsome commissions of 50 Pounds and 70 Pounds that they realised that trucking sales were the future.

Today, Jim Hurley continues the passion for the restoration of these trucks and recounts the restoration of a '78 KL124 they sold and were able to buy back and begin the restoration process. Jim was looking for a Kenworth 76inch Cab Over with torsion bar suspension because in years to come he felt nobody would know what that was. The truck was retired in 2013 after hauling grain for most of its working life. While it appeared ok, they discovered a few more sins than they had expected during the restoration. The truck today is a beautiful example of the collection of classic trucks and tractors owned by Brown & Hurley. The collection also includes a '42 Oliver Cletrac, a White Superpower WC22, the first two vehicles they sold. Along with the first Kenworth they sold, a 1965 Model that featured in the 2019 Kenworth Classic, plus a C500 Kenworth logging truck, a 1958 Landrover and a 1922 White Solid Tyre truck that their grandfather sold his bullock team to buy, a great story of the families history.

Jim's memory of these vehicles is quite fantastic and tells of their time as a dealer for Leyland Trucks selling 548 Trucks between 1957-68 and a restored 1959 Leyland Super Hippo in the collection.

The companies mission statement of 'Principles before Profits' has never changed and customer service has always been the key to the business, a family business that has many long-serving employees is testament to their success over the past 70+ years. The Brown & Hurley Group continues today with a staff of 420 and 42 in the mechanical workshop that does Smash repairs and also responsible for their truck restorations.