Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i Classic & Vintage Commercials

CLOSE-UP on Classics ERF LV Peter Davies concludes his two part in-depth analysis… During the lifespan of the LV cab, in all its forms, there was much going on in the world of road transport, not least the 1964 legislative changes that allowed 32 ton artics for the first time on Britain’s roads. ERF was ready for the new weights and dimensions regulations with the 64Cu180 30/32-ton tractors featuring the 3LV and 4LV cabs. For the first time in years the traditional British heavy lorry, the rigid eight, was relegated to lesser roles. From 1964 onwards Britain was to become artic minded. The volume of tractor unit sales rapidly increased, trebling from 20% of sales volume in pre-1964 up to a massive 60% within a couple of years. At the…

Carrying on We welcome photos of older lorries that are still in service for publication in this section. We can accept contributions by email – cvc.ed@kelsey.co.uk, or by post to The Editor, Classic & Vintage Commercials, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding ME18 6AL. Please provide as much (or as little) information about a vehicle as you are able and, before entering or taking photos on private property, please ensure that you have all the permissions that you need to be there, and to be taking photographs. Chris Miles John Podgorski Steve Smith Steve Smith Steve Smith Mike Sowinski…

In the spotlight 1959 Leyland Comet by David Reed One of the stand-out vehicles that took part on the 2019 Somerset and Devon road run was 141KHW, David Wedlake’s superb 1959 Leyland Comet. Still retaining its appearance as a short wheel-base tipper, it was originally one of two ordered by A J Aggregates of Bedminster in Bristol and which worked all over the local area. It was a similar story when it passed to second owner George Taylor who also used it on aggregate and builders work in the Bristol area. It ended up standing in their yard, where it was spotted by David Wedlake. “I was doing some work in the yard where the Comet was standing around 1999,” David said, “and I decided to buy it.” David is…

AUSTIN AJS TRANSPORTER Mike Neale finds an A40 pick-up that’s been bought and renovated to transport a vintage motorcycle and in doing so replicates a similar vehicle that belonged to the owner’s father in the 1950s. The first all-new family cars to be launched after World War II were the Austin A40 Devon (four-door) and Dorset (two-door) in September 1947. With a modern body design featuring faired-in headlamps, smooth curves and no running boards, they were quite a change from the re-introduced pre-war cars that Austin had been producing up until then, and indeed that most of their competitors were still producing. There was even a choice of five colours. It wasn’t just a modern body hiding pre-war components, either. The chassis, although still separate, was new and featured independent…

MAKING LORRIES Nick Baldwin begins a occasional looking at commercial vehicle manufacturing techniques over the years. “British to the Backbone” proclaimed Morris-Commercial in the 1930s whilst Dorman maintained that “The Heart of the Car is its Engine”. Both chassis and motors are good places to start in a whistle stop tour of making lorries through the ages. Back in the early days they laid structural steel or a couple of I-beams out on a flat floor and started measuring, drilling, reaming and bolting. Axles were not a big problem as carriage specialists used them and chains simplified drive to the rear wheels. Engines were a bigger problem though there were pioneer designs to copy by draughtsmen, founders and machinists. Soon engine specialists emerged from general engineering trades or, in the…

Terrific TRADER Though best-known for his collection of Ford Tractors, Lancashire-based Ian Chadwick is also building up a fine collection of restored lorries. Peter Simpson tells the story of his second Thames Trader restoration. Back in July 2017, we met Ian Chadwick, a Lancashire based tractor fan with a particular interest in Roadless four-wheel-drive adaptions of Ford tractors, and a large collection of these rare vehicles. Back then, he had just completed his first lorry restoration and it was an entirely appropriate one – an All Wheel Drive 4x4 conversion of a Ford Thames Trader. As he told us at the time; “If Roadless had ever built a wagon this would be it.” We concluded the feature by mentioning that another 4x4 lorry, a Bedford MJ which had spent its…

BRITISH COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MUSEUM REOPENING The British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland reopened to the public on Saturday July 18. Opening times are Tuesday to Sunday 10.30am-4.30pm, and while visitors do not need to pre-book, additional safety measures have been put in place. In particular, card payments only are being accepted (no cash). Visitors are also asked to stick to the 2 metre distancing rule on arrival and while in the museum, and to follow the one-way system round, and will be required to provide contact details on arrival for Track & Trace purposes (these will be deleted after 21 days). As part of the museum’s well-publicised revamp last year, a number of finger-operated information stations were installed; these remain in use, but rather than using their fingers, visitors will…

Tim Rootes 1925-2020 Tim Rootes, son of Sir Reginald Rootes and the last remaining member of the Rootes family to have worked in the business which included the Commer and Karrier commercial vehicle brands, has died at the age of 95. Tim was born in Maidstone in 1925 at a time when the Rootes business was still a sales and distribution business, albet an extremely successful one. The same year, Rootes moved into manufacture of sort by acquiring the Thrupp & Maberley coachbuilding business. Hillman and Humber (the latter including Commercial Cars aka Commer) followed in 1928 and Karrier in 1934. Tim joined Humber on leaving school aged 15, and following military service from 1943-47 he subsequently worked for Rootes in America before returning to the UK in 1956 as…

HENLEY TRANSPORT Jack Henley and Chris Lawrence begin a two-part series telling the story, in words and pictures, of a famous family-run Kent firm When Jack Henley left agricultural college in 1959 aged 20, he was destined to take over the running of the family farms in the Goudhurst area of the Weald of Kent. At this time the Henleys were the largest private hop growers in the country along with 200 acres of top fruit plus arable and they also kept sheep, cattle and pigs. The main farm was the Spelmonden Estate where the Henley family lived. Jack, however, wasn’t too keen on getting into farming as he was more mechanically minded and wanted to have a motor car garage business. His father Percy however wasn’t going to promote…

NEWS If you have a News story, e-mail cvc.ed@kelsey.co.uk or write to The Editor, Classic and Vintage Commercials, 5 Yalding Hill, Downs Court, Yalding ME18 6AL A GAYDON SHOW IS HAPPENING! The British Motor Museum at Gaydon will not be hosting the Classic & Vintage Commercial Show (incorporating the Classic Van Show) over the weekend of August 8 and 9. However they will be hosting, on the same weekend, an “informal gathering of commercial vehicles and owners” which thought smaller will incorporate many aspects of the C&VC show! This decision follows recent changes to the rules governing larger gatherings under which they are permitted, but only under strict conditions. The main difference is that ALL admissions – both vehicles being displayed and, importantly, general public as well, MUST be pre-booked.…

HELLINGLY 2020 OFF Sadly, another popular and long-running regional event which usually attracts strong support from the classic commercial fraternity has had to be added to be cancelled in 2020 list – this year’s Hellingly Festival of Transport will not now be happening. Hellingly is one of the premier events in East Sussex, as well as one of the longest-established; the 2020 show would have been the 45th. However, David Bone, Secretary of the Eastbourne Historic Vehicle Club, has advised that the show is off, as “The Directors of Eastbourne Historic Vehicle Club have reluctantly taken the decision that it would be impossible to run our usual friendly show in a safe and enjoyable way this year.” The Hellingly show will, however, be back for August bank holiday next year at…

Fairground FODEN Clive and Lorna Allman’s ex-BRS 1953 Foden FE6/15 spent most of its working life as a fairground lorry, and they have chosen to preserve it in this guise. David Reed tells the story. Many vehicles that are seen on today’s rally circuit owe their very existence to having become fairground lorries in their later working life. One such is PTB641, Clive and Lorna Allman’s 1953 Foden FE6/15. Unusually however, this one has been preserved in its fairground lorry guise, and retains the living caravan that it carried when working for E Morley on the fairground circuit in North West England and North Wales. The Foden and caravan combination can be seen at many North Western events during the rally season. The FE6/15 actually started off as an eight-wheeler…

BRAW SCOT North of the Border, ‘Braw’ is an expression that implies excellence so what better word could there be to sum up this fabulous ERF A-series outfit from the much-admired J&A Smith of Maddiston fleet which used to be one of the biggest haulage fleets in the UK. It is appropriate to feature an A-series on this month’s centre spread in keeping with our close-up look at the LV cab. This superb example has the 7LV(L) cab, set off to perfection by Smith’s traditional style livery. Peter J Davies…

MODEL PROFILE BEDFORD CA Peter Simpson tells the story of Bedford’s iconic 10-17cwt offering, a van which set new standards when launched, and remained the firm market leader until the Transit arrived. “You see them everywhere!” So said Bedford’s advertising in the immediate post-war era, and it was certainly 100% true with the CA van range. An instant success from the moment it was launched in 1952, the CA, with its distinctive snub-nosed front, was to remain in production for 17 years, and was an instantly-recognisable, familiar and friendly face throughout the fifties, sixties and seventies and into the early eighties. Look at any period street scene, and chances are they’ll be a CA in it somewhere! Of course it was the short, ‘bonnet’ that made the CA so recognisable.…

SHERPA FOR SALE Following last month’s LDV buyers guide, NICK LARKIN looks at a rare Leyland Sherpa pick-up which is for sale… Wow it’s a Leyland! Not something that might have seemed wondrously exciting when the Sherpa was new, but pre-Freight Rover variants of the model are now extremely rare, especially in good order, pick-up form and even more unusually, for sale. A recent import from the Irish Republic, the 1982 pick-up is on offer by Nick Day, who runs classic car specialist Bournes Motors in Winceby, near Horncastle in Lincolnshire. Nick’s fascination for, and collection of, Mk3 Ford Transits was the subject of a recent feature in Classic Van and Pick-up magazine. Sherpa dropsides were built on a proper chassis, which proved a selling point for the vehicles, and…