Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Classic & Vintage Commercials

On past performance, we probably shouldn’t have been surprised when, despite saying that we wouldn’t be holding our breath for a response, within 48 hours of our February issue hitting the newsstands, the mystery Foden FG6/12 on age 57 had been identified by a CVC reader – right down to its registration number! This time the man with all the answers was retired MoT inspector Roger Pickering who spent 48 years working around lorries. Roger recognised the Foden as registration number UUJ489, new in 1953 and operated by Wrekin Roadways. It was employed, apparently, mainly on muck-shifting work locally but was also used on seasonal sugar work into the beet factory at Harlescott, near Shrewsbury. There is, apparently, another photo of it in the Kelsey bookazine on Wrekin Roadways –…

One of the things that make commercial vehicles so interesting to enthusiasts is the wide variety of types, ranging from little 2-tonners up to massive heavy haulage outfits. Lorries come in so many different forms, often tailored specifically to the transport of one type of product. Just about everything we need in life has to be transported at one time or another so you can be sure that there’s a lorry that will do the job. Here’s a range of pictures that illustrate the point. Some manufacturers were trying out 32-ton gcw 6x4 tractor units in the late sixties and early seventies, perhaps in anticipation of a possible legal weight increase. Such outfits could potentially have been up-plated to say 40tons gcw in such an event. One drawback at 32…

David Reed takes to trip up to the North Yorkshire coast… Organised by Outdoor Shows, the fourth Whitby Traction Engine Rally was a three-day affair that took place over the weekend of August 6-8, and attracted large crowds to the site on the high cliffs above the North Sea, a stone’s throw away from the picturesque town of Whitby, and with the historic Abbey forming a backdrop to proceedings. This is a traditional family show, with many forms of transportation and bygones being exhibited, although as the event’s name suggests, steam is the major attraction. But there are a good number of commercial vehicles there too, including a fine selection of Scammells and several other lorries that aren’t seen out that often. Here are a few of them... 1959 Commer…

The Editor reports from Anglia Car Auctions first sale of 2022 and their first classic sale since 2020 with buyers in attendance. With – hopefully – the end of you-know-what finally in sight, the classic car auction world is now welcoming buyers back in person. Over in West Norfolk, Anglia Car Auctions hold four or five classic sales a year at their premises in King’s Lynn. These have continued throughout the pandemic, but as online-only events, with no public access. However, over the weekend of January 29-30, ACA’s first classic sale of 2022 was, once again, open to the public, with two open-access viewing days on the Thursday and Friday prior, plus bidding in person available at the sale. However, the absentee bidder arrangements which had been in use during…

Mike Neale takes a look at some miniature versions of the van range with more names than most… By the mid-1970s, Leyland desperately needed a new van to replace their aging JU250 and J4 vans and take on the mighty Ford Transit. Unfortunately, there wasn’t the budget to match, so whilst more radical proposals came and went, the van that emerged in September 1974 looked like the old Austin-Morris J4 with a bonnet. In fact, Project CV306, or the “new Leyland Van” as it was initially called, had a chassis pan derived from the JU250 with J4 body and roof panels. If fitted, sliding doors were on the outside of the body, rather than inside as on the J4, however. Engines were the 1622cc or 1798cc B-Series petrol or 1798cc…

This 1943 Austin K2 has led a somewhat chequered career ranging from starring in a well-known film to standing abandoned in a garden. Now, though, it’s back and serving tea again. Mike Neale tells the story. The Austin K2 was introduced in January 1939 as a 2-axle normal control truck with a 2-ton payload, built at Longbridge. At the same time, a 30cwt truck, the K30, and a 3-ton truck, the K3, were also introduced, all with the same engine. The K30 had single rear wheels whilst the K2 and K3 had twin rear wheels. The 4/5-ton Austin K4 followed in 1941. The standardised engine was an Austin six-cylinder 3459cc, 70bhp overhead valve petrol unit with a bore of 3.35in and stroke of 4in. It had a four-speed gearbox, a…

As British classics go, this Atkinson ‘Black Knight’ drawbar outfit from the famous Holt Lane Transport fleet was well and truly at the top of its class. Doubtless, a modern day driver would find it quite challenging to drive but 55 years ago it was ‘state of the art’ and any drivers worth their salt back then could handle the Gardner/David Brown driveline with ease. ATD898E is seen here taking a break at Scratchwood M1 Services in July 1970. It is loaded with around 20 tons of copper ingots destined for British Insulated Callender’s Cables at Prescot.…

Back in 2020, Richard Maile shared with us some photos of his late father’s meat transport business HJC Maile. However, as a satisfied customer with specialist knowledge, HJC also became the ‘Smithfield Agent’ for Silverdale Motor Bodies Additional information: Peter Davies Commer/Karrier pairing. We’re sure there was a Corgi model similar to the Commer QX ‘TS3’ in the foreground. Following denationalisation of road transport in the late 1950s, my late father HJC Maile re-acquired many of the vehicles that had been taken from his company, HC Maile Limited, in 1948 as part of nationalisation of the industry. He decided, however, to replace many of these older lorries with new vehicles incorporating purpose-built, insulated meat containers. He was recommended to Silverdale Motor Bodies of Birmingham and, over the next 30 years,…

With things looking like returning to normal, Peter Davies looks back to the start of one of the few lorry events that was able to keep running throughout the pandemic… Having read the July supplement about The Classic & Vintage Commercial Show’s 20-year history I thought I might add a few details about the original event which I organised with the support of my wife Jill and a group of Commercial Vehicle & Road Transport Club (CVRTC) members back in September 1979. It seems like ancient history now, but I can recall it being a very successful event in most respects. To explain the origins of the event I need to go back a whole year earlier to September 1978. The ‘Commercial Motor’ Lorry Driver of the Year (LDoY) competition…

Pt4: Nick Baldwin concludes his lockdown research project with some correction and clarification OK, it’s a fair cop! I realised that trying to write about an unknown lorry maker of long ago during lockdown was a tall order. As a transport historian, one has to be careful not to allow what you don’t know fit the facts that you do know, which makes me guilty as charged! The lack of information from Hertfordshire Records didn’t help much but that is little excuse. In July 2021 issue I decided that the Mr Crawford, who I noted had been one of the 1934 founders of Arran Dieselet, might have had Commer connections to make such a similar Perkins powered vehicle. Well, guess what, I’ve now heard from Mr Crawford’s grandson and I…

If you have a News story, e-mail cvc.ed@kelsey.co.uk or write to The Editor, Classic and Vintage Commercials, PO Box 1243, Spalding PE11 9HE Tom Caren, Shows Manager at the British Motor Museum, has told us that there will be another significant attraction at this year’s Classic & Vintage Commercials Show on June 11/12. As well as the already-announced Shelvoke & Drewry centenary display, more details of which we will include next month, there will also be a major section of the show, organised jointly by the Scammell Register and the Mechanical Horse Club, marking the 100th anniversary of Scammell. Precisely what will be there and what form the display will take has yet to be finalised, but it certainly sounds like Gaydon 2021 will be a show to remember. Anyone…

At the recent NEC Classic Car Show, the Rootes Archive Centre Trust announced that, a year ahead of schedule, they have paid off the £185,000 they borrowed from supporters and Rootes vehicle clubs five years ago. This means they now own the freehold of their premises in Wroxton, near Banbury outright. The Trust was formed in 2004 by the Association of Rootes Car Clubs in order to house, conserve and preserve the Rootes engineering archive of over 300,000 drawings and other artefacts, all of which was at the time in danger of being lost forever. In 2017, after more than ten years storage in sometimes less-than-ideal rented facilities, the trust purchased the Wroxton premises, and as well as providing a safe, secure and permanent site for the engineering archive, Wroxton…

CLOSE-UP on Classics Peter Davies begins an in-depth look at the Japanese range which proved popular with UK operators but rather less so with domestic manufacturers such as Leyland… During the late 1970s a new make of lorry began appearing on British roads, namely Hino. New that is to British eyes - few people had even heard of Hino let alone ran them. However the Irish-assembled Japanese heavies were soon growing in numbers, especially in tipper fleets. They were seen as no-frills workhorses to compete with the likes of the old Scammell Routeman 3 for tough site work and muckaway operations. Hinos, especially the eight-wheeled tippers, were to remain popular in certain fleets throughout the 1980s and 1990s and their popularity increased even further with the arrival of the 700-series…

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.…

As lockdown finally ended in Britain at the end of July, Andy and Julie Dyson organised another Buxton Boys Run on July 25. As the name implies, this starts and finishes in Buxton, and over 30 vehicles made their way around the scenic Derbyshire countryside visiting Cromford and Ashbourne and then on to Leek and Macclesfield before heading back to Buxton. This is, though, a fluid run with drivers and lorries joining in and leaving for home at different points around the route. It certainly was an enjoyable outing. A new route in the offing for 2022, and this road-run looks set to become a regular entry in the events diary. 1984 Seddon Atkinson 401 was with the US Airforce for a while before passing to David G Davies of…

William Houston’s tidy-looking Austin ‘A60’ half-ton van has a slight difference from most of its age. Bob Weir tells the story. William Houston has lived in the Motherwell area all his life and is an engineer by profession. He has been interested in light commercials for many years, and in addition to the Austin featured here he owns several other vehicles. “I served my apprenticeship as a turner fitter, so am used to working with tools,” he explained. “I’ve always been keen on classic commercials, and the first vehicle I acquired was a Fordson E83W. When I first got the van it wasn’t a runner and needed a lot of work. Fortunately, my son and I managed to fix the mechanics and repair the bodywork. Bearing in mind its age,…

COMMER SUPERPOISE Fabulous new prizewinning restoration; we are given exclusive access! ERF B-SERIES Eric Shipley’s well-known 1977 B-Series has been out of the limelight for a few years, but it’s now back with a bright new look and a few other changes under the skin. FORDSON E494C 1952 sidevalve, restored in the style of a 1960s back-street garage van, complete with carefully-applied roller paintwork! SILVERDALE MOTOR BODIES A further selection of lovely period factory photos. MODEL CORNER Start of a two-parter on miniature Bedford TKs, this time looking at models sold originally as toys. PLUS: Pt2 of our in-depth analysis of Hino in the UK, event reports from Lancashire and Cheshire, more from Nick Baldwin on oilfields, all our regular features and a few surprises – possibly to us as…