BJ and the Bear Fan Club

This is from club member "Kenworth" An actual 8x10 photo from 1980 of BJ's first season Kenworth K100 Aerodyne!

SPECIAL THANKS!! TO "KENWORTH" FOR SENDING THIS IN SO ALL BJ FANS CAN ENJOY IT!

BJ's "Palace" was a Kenworth K100 108" Aerodyne V.I.T. C.O.E. The K100 is the cabover Kenworth manufactured at the time "BJ and the Bear" was aired. The 108" refers to the size of the cab from the bumper to the back of the cab ( bbc ). The word Aerodyne is a trademark of Kenworth, though it is used in many publications of several types of trucks, it is still a Kenworth trademark. The Aerodyne which first rolled off the assembly line in 1976, refers to the roof of the cab.

Not only was this a way for more room in the cab, but the aerodynamics of this truck acted as a built in wind deflector. It also was the first K100 that you could stand up inside the cab. It had two bunk beds which at the time was a major luxury for any drivers who drove with a co-driver. If a driver was early to a delivery and has to wait a few hours, then both drivers could rest in their own bunk beds.

The V.I.T. is the abbreviation of Very Important Trucker which refers to the interior of the truck. The VIT had a leather interior that was diamond button tuck and looked alot classier than the old standard interiors. The abbreviation C.O.E. simply refers to Cab Over Engine. The cabs on these trucks would tilt forward and make the engine compartment easier to work on.

These trucks were designed to run cross country and were owned by alot of husband-wife teams. The moving industry was a common place to find these Kenworths as well. There are few left today to remember what they looked like back then, but Thanks to our assistant manager Naseer and Paul, Jeff, Aaron, and PJcaddy...The beautiful memories are returning slowly. If you haven't seen Paul's truck yet..You gotta see it! It is painted up like BJ's tractor and trailer and still travels the 48 states. Our other member Kenworth is restoring a K100 Aerodyne which he plans to restore and bring to life with BJ's paint scheme and take it to truck shows. We wish him luck on his truck! He is going to send in photos as the truck goes through the process of being restored.

History of the BJ and the Bear paint scheme by Blaze

Hello all! Blaze here. I bet most of you have questions about how BJ's truck got those stripes and colors eh? Or I bet you seen trucks on the road that looked like BJ's rig but with different colors eh? (Photo courtesy of 71kw..circa 1958)

BJ's Kenworth Aerodyne is made up of Red, White, Gold, Black. Universal Studios choose Red & White as the main colors for the Kenworth. HOWEVER, the Black & Gold stripes are endorsed/owned by Kenworth. As far back as I have on history, the Black & Gold stripe appeared on Kenworths around the 1950's. The Black stripe would be accented by Gold. Surrounding the entire cab of the truck in a straight line. Sometimes the stripe would curve at the front of the cab as well. Thru the 1960's and 1970's, Peterbilt & Freightliner bought the rights for owning the Black & Gold stripe pattern as well. Once the Black & Gold pattern stripe was applied to a cab, the owner could have any other colors to have on the cab.

Kenworth K100 used on the Pilot Movie "The Foundlings"

This is the Kenworth K100 used in the BJ and the Bear pilot movie "The Foundlings" Blaze has built this truck as a 1/25th scale model... If you haven't seen it yet..Click here

** Do you remember this movie? Click here to see more **

Found this photo on alltheweb.com in the photos section. Blaze brought up an interesting point on this photo.. the white stripe usually goes up at an angle where the grab handles are mounted, this photo shows the white stripe angled up behind the grab handle.. What an eye for detail Blaze!

This Picture is a close up of the truck, off a T-shirt.

From "Heavy Duty Trucking magazine" Sent in by Naseer "Kenworth"