Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i Classic & Vintage Commercials

Carrying on We welcome photos of older lorries (15 years and older) 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, PO Box 1243, SPALDING, PE11 9HE. 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. Jim Lennox Neil Marvin Bob Dickson Bob Dickson Rich Ellis Richard Johnston Rich Ellis Rich Ellis Chris Newsome Chris Newsome…

SUBSCRIBE & GET 12 ISSUES FOR £48.96 SUBSCRIBE NOW 2 EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE VISIT: SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/CVCGIFT22 OR CALL: 01959 543 747 AND QUOTE CVCGIFT22 Lines open Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5.30pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate *Full terms and conditions can be found at shop.kelsey.co.uk/terms. Offer applies to UK subscribers only when paying by direct debit annually. Gift is subject to availability and maybe replaced with an item of equal value. Please allow 28 days for delivery of gift. Overseas and other offers available at shop.kelsey.co.uk/CVCGIFT22 Offer expires 31/03/2022 PLUS FREE CLASSIC & VINTAGE COMMERCIALS FLASK WORTH £15.99! GREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE • SAVE 15% • FREE 500ML THERMOS FLASK • NEVER MISS AN ISSUE • DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR…

FIREFLY THAMES The 400E-based Firefly Mark V fire appliance was intended as a compact, cost-effective and competent first-aid fire appliance for use in factories and small communities. Mike Neale has tracked down a rare and remarkably original survivor… Fire Armour Limited, of 9 George Street, London W1, produced a number of fire tender conversions using the name Firefly. These were based on the Austin Champ, regular and forward-control Land Rovers, and the bigger and better-known Ford Thames ET6/500E. However, a conversion of the Thames 400E Van was also offered, known as the Firefly Mark V Thames. According to their brochure, “the Firefly Mark V First Aid Self Propelled Appliance was designed and introduced as a low-cost self-contained fire appliance for small communities and townships in rural areas.” As a first-aid…

SUBSCRIBE & GET 12 ISSUES FOR £48.96 SUBSCRIBE NOW 2 EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE VISIT: SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/CVCGIFT22 OR CALL: 01959 543 747 AND QUOTE CVCGIFT22 Lines open Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5.30pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate *Full terms and conditions can be found at shop.kelsey.co.uk/terms. Offer applies to UK subscribers only when paying by direct debit annually. Gift is subject to availability and maybe replaced with an item of equal value. Please allow 28 days for delivery of gift. Overseas and other offers available at shop.kelsey.co.uk/CVCGIFT22 Offer expires 31/03/2022 PLUS FREE CLASSIC & VINTAGE COMMERCIALS FLASK WORTH £15.99! GREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE • SAVE 15% • FREE 500ML THERMOS FLASK • NEVER MISS AN ISSUE • DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR…

PERKINS POWERED PERFECTION There are a lot of ERF ECs around, but few are as nice as Scott Retalic’s immaculate Perkins-powered EC12. Pip Dunn went to a Sunny Fraserburgh to see it. Like any sane man, I love a nice ERF, especially an EC. The chances are most those you see these days are Cummins-powered, be they EC11s, or possibly their bigger brethren, the EC14. But ERF offered a selection of engines under the plastic EC cab which broke cover in 1993. And an alternative to Cummins was either a Perkins, Caterpillar or Detroit engine. That said, the Cummins 11-litre was the star motor for most. Scott Retalic now owns one of the best restored ERF ECs you’ll ever see. It’s a real head turner! Now 34 years old, Scott…

CLUB DAYS AT WYTHALL Electric cars are very much in the news at present, though as historic transport enthusiasts are aware, electric power has been used for certain types of delivery work since… Well Harrods famously used electric vans in London back in the 1920s. Anyway, besides its well-known and hugely significant collection of over 90 buses – most with a Midlands connection – Transport Museum Wythall has a unique and varied collection of battery electric vehicles; milk floats, bread vans and even a post office delivery vehicle. Anyway, for 2022 the museum is actively promoting itself as a destination for club road runs, visits and annual gatherings. Cars, vans, light commercials and military vehicles can be accommodated, and vehicles and drivers will be given free museum admission. Dedicated classic…

LOVE CLASSIC & VINTAGE COMMERCIALS? Now read Heritage Commercials ‘A world of classic lorries, trucks and vans’ ▪ Strong historical content with a focus on the various vehicle manufacturers ▪ All the latest from the current preservation scene, with regular features on beautifully restored vehicles from a bygone age, and their owners ▪ Covers light commercials, buses, coaches, fire engines and military vehicles ▪ Coverage of all the long distance road runs and events held throughout the year Visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/HCXS521 Or call 01959 543 747 and quote HCXS531 *When you pay by direct debit. For full price options, visit the website. Savings are calculated on a full UK subscription rate.…

DOWN IN DEVON… By David Reed After being cancelled last year due to Covid restrictions, The Peter Thorner Memorial Somerset and Devon Run took to the roads over the weekend of October 9 and 10. Once again Tony Thompson was at the head of an exceptionally hard-working team with the run starting again at Rumwell Farm Shop near Taunton. From there the varied route called in at Crediton Station before ending the first day at Barnstaple for an overnight stop. Sunday was another interesting day, with a stop at the Cobbaton Collection Military Museum before the short trip over to M. Way & Sons yard at South Molton. The run then took the drivers over the old lorry route, known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, back to Rumwell for…

MODEL CORNER BEDFORD CF VANS Mike Neale looks at miniature CFs sold as contemporary toys and, later, for adult collectors. Launched in 1969, the Bedford CF came in a range of body styles, sizes and payloads. The standard wheelbase van was 106in, with a long wheelbase version at 126in. It was given a facelift in 1980 with a full-width plastic grille and squarer, chunkier bumpers, before becoming the similar-looking CF2 in 1984. From 1973, the CF was also sold as the Opel Bedford Blitz. Dinky Toys introduced their diecast Bedford CF in 1972 in red with a Royal Mail sticker on each side, model number 410, available until 1980. Window glazing (to the front windows only) was generally clear, but some were blue tinted. Thiswasfollowedin1974by model number 412, a yellow…

BLACK GOLD PT5: Nick Baldwin continues his look at the lorries used in oil exploration and extraction. We saw last time how Kenworth came to dominate the exploration business but there were plenty of other US contenders including perhaps surprisingly Peterbilt even after 1958 when it had joined PACCAR owner of Kenworth since the end of the war. A couple of 1965 specials from Peterbilt for the French Petroleum Co in Australia were its biggest yet. They were 35ft 6x6 models weighing 49,500lbs powered by 318bhp Detroits. They had water tanks in their cylindrical bumpers and air-conditioned cabs. The Michelin Sahara sand tyres were 63ins diameter and they worked in the Simpson Desert. Other significant US truck firms included International Harvester, which found it such big business that in the…

CLOSE-UP on Classics SCAMMELL ROUTEMAN Pt2: Peter Davies concludes the story with 1970s-on developments from the arrival of the Routeman 3 to replacement by the Leyland-badged but Scammell designed and built Constructor. In 1970, when Scammell launched the Routeman 3, British Construction & Use Regulations favoured artics which could legally gross 32 tons and could carry a nominal 20-ton payload. Short to medium wheelbase rigid eight-wheelers suited to tipping work were still restricted to 24 tons gross. You could of course get 26- or even 28-ton eight-wheelers but only on a very long wheelbase. To qualify for 26 tons you needed a minimum outer axle spread of 23ft (7m) and for 28 tons it was an unwieldy 26ft (7.9m). Consequently manoeuvrability was severely impaired. Not only that, long tipping bodies…

DENNIS Delight In late 2016, this 1934 Dennis four-tonner was at real risk of being scrapped. Now, though, it’s been restored to a very high standard. Peter Simpson tells the story… In September 2016, Neal and Nigel Davis, who as regular CVC readers will be aware, are prolific vehicle restorers with a particular liking for the slightly unusual, were visiting the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway for the first time. The ‘Middy’ is Suffolk’s only preserved standard-gauge railway and unusually, it sets out to create the atmosphere of a genuine light railway between the wars – right down to small engines, four-wheel coaches and grounded van and coach bodies forming many of the station buildings. It’s all intentionally low-key, as too many visitors would need extra facilities which in turn would spoil…

CLASSIC DELIVERY, SIXTIES STYLE Getting new cars to dealers in mint condition without putting miles on the clock became a priority for manufacturers from the late 1940s onwards. This 1961 Bedford TK artic with Carrimore trailer is a true classic, seen here loaded with four Vauxhall FC Victor 101s and a lone Bedford CALV. London-based Dealers Deliveries Ltd, established in 1948, was one of several such car delivery specialists and had depots in Luton, Birmingham, Coventry and Oxford. Peter J Davies…

HYMER FIAT Brian Culpan tells the story of a rather fine coachbuilt camper that’s moved about a bit in its life so far… German maker Eriba started its bodybuilding business near Bad Wadsee, Germany, in 1923. Alfons Hymer worked there as a wheelwright and coachbuilder but always wanted to be self-employed. When eventually this happened his son, Erwin, joined him in 1956. Working in part of the Bachem premises and working closely with Erich Bachem they developed the Ure-Troll in 1957. In 1958 the two started serial production of the now famous Eriba touring caravans. The brand of Hymer motorhomes came in 1972 and they were the first to offer a six-year guarantee against rainwater leaks. Now over 60 years old, the Eriba-Hymer brand has gathered something of a cult…

MORE OF MALCOLM’S MEMORIES! We present a further selection of images from the Malcolm Ladd collection Last year, we ran a series of photo-features based around a collection of photos put together by Malcolm Ladd. Most of the collection came together when, as a schoolboy with an interest in lorries, he wrote to most of the major fleets, asking if they could send him any spare photos they might have – and many obliged! Anyway, since then Malcolm has unearthed some more, which we will be printing over the next two or three months……

Next month Coming up in the March 2022 issue OUT Friday February 25 FREE: EVENTS BOOKLET MARCH-JULY 2022 FORD D SERIES CONCRETE MIXER While on a parts-hunting mission at Rush Green Motors, Paul Bibby spotted this fine specimen, and decided it deserved a fresh chance of life. We tell the full story of this truly amazing restoration. HINO Designed and part-made in Japan, but assembled in Ireland. Peter Davies begins an in-depth analysis of the Toyota subsidiary brand which scared some British makers, including Leyland, as rigid as the eight-wheeled version’s chassis layout! BMC HALF-TON Restored and lovingly preserved… AUSTIN K2 Film-star NAAFI van that’s still serving tea and coffee. Mike Neale tells the story.. PLUS: Small Sherpas examined. Nick Baldwin follows-up his recent Arran in Lockdown series, a fine…