Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i Classic & Vintage Commercials

No one can deny that Swedish lorries offered us high standards of performance and driver comfort when they appeared in the UK in the late ‘sixties. Volvo, for one, soon became a big seller in the UK during the 1970s. The models that were central to their sales drive were the highly successful ‘System 8’ series, namely the F86 and F88 that won over thousands of British customers. Having gained such popularity, Volvo sought to maintain their position by coming up with new models featuring even more improvements. Most would agree that the F88 offered performance, reliability and comfort not found in most of its British contemporaries. Drivers were not used to the luxury of efficient heaters, power-assisted steering and synchromesh gearboxes. In less than a decade after entering the…

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, PEl 1 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.…

The Standard Motor Company launched the Vanguard range in 1947, replacing the pre-war type Standard 8, 12 and 14 with a single model. The name came from 1940s British battleship, HMS Vanguard. As well as a saloon, there was a pick-up, a van and an estate. If you think that the styling looks American influenced, you would be right. Standard’s boss, Sir John Black, sent inhouse body stylist, Walter Belgrove, to Grosvenor Square in London to find, sketch and photograph a Plymouth car outside the American Embassy. This was a design that Sir John admired. Belgrove duly drew up designs with 120in., 108in. and 102in. wheelbases (the Plymouth’s was 117in). However, to Belgrove’s dismay, Sir John insisted upon a stubby 94in. wheelbase on the advice of bean-counters that this would…

PLUS: Classic Truck Show at Gaydon, Carrying On Special featuring more showland lorries, PT2 of our F10, F12 and F16 profile, all our usual features plus, of course, a few surprises! These features are all planned at the time of going to press, We reserve the right to make changes and amendments if necessary.…

Sometimes, the restoration stories we feature in Classic & Vintage Commercials commence within days, or even hours, of a vehicle being collected or delivered. Others join a queue and get done when they reach the top of it. However, the 1952 Bedford M that is the subject of this month’s main feature actually spent almost 40 years in store awaiting its turn in the restoration workshop. Before that, simply acquiring the lorry took significant quantities of determination and tenacity… First, though, a bit of personal background. Geoff Hubbard, an extremely spritely and fit 79-year-old, was born in Suffolk but has lived just over the border in Norfolk since 1968. On leaving school aged 14½, as was allowed in 1957, he became an apprentice at the BMC dealership in Framlingham. Two…

The Crowland LVT Buffalo Association are continuing the preservation and restoration of Buffalo 47,a following its extraction from being buried in a field since 1947 during repairs to the Lincolnshire town’s flood defences. Much work has already been done including fitting a set of replacement tracks, a gearbox rebuild, buying and shipping a replacement radial engine from America, and commissioning a replacement wiring loom. There has also, of course, been the not-insignificant task of clearing tons (literally) Lincolnshire mud and clay from every corner of the beast. As you might expect, all this costs money, and away from the actual restoration, a lot of time and effort is spent of fundraising initiatives. One such, which has now become an annual event, is the Crowland & Thorney 1940s weekend which takes…

Every time I go to a classic commercial show, there is something that catches my eye and I think ‘I must go and see that and find out more’ That was most definitely the case when I spied Mark Thomas’ Dodge 300 at the covid-delayed Gaydon show in August 2021. As the world – slowly – got back to normal after the pandemic, we could, at last, start getting out and enjoying everything we had taken for granted before the world shut down. At that show, I first met Mark and his – then jet black – Dodge 300 MUY502T and it immediately excited me in the way only an old lorry can! I’m of that age who just about remembers Dodge 300s on the road. That said, they were…

There was a tremendous line-up of vehicles at the two-day 2023 AEC Gathering, that was held at Newark Showground over the late May Bank Holiday weekend. As ever though, the vehicles on display were not just representing the AEC name, other makes of vehicles are welcome to attend, with line-ups of ERFs, Bedfords, Fodens, Scammells as well as other manufacturers. In all, the organisers estinate that around 300 lorries were on site. With so many, we’re dividing our coverage in two, with this month’s instalment concentrating on the actual AEC attendance. Next month, we’ll look at the best of the rest.…

The August bank holiday Hellingly Festival of Transport in East Sussex is one of those events which, basically, seems to have always been there, and which despite the basic format having not changed significantly, its popularity never seems to wane, despite now being in its 47th year. Overall, Hellingly is a refreshingly old-school event which attracts roadgoing vehicles of all kinds, from motorcycles right up to steam traction and showman’s engines. There is, though, always a strong turnout from commercial vehicle owners, and this year was no exception, despite very ‘changeable’ weather on the Saturday.…

Scottish hauliers can boast some the UK’s finest liveries and Gibb’s of Fraserburgh ranks with the best. Once loyal ERF and Atkinson users, the firm later went on to run mainly DAFs before announcing it was to cease operations in 2002. Most enthusiasts mourned the loss of the much-celebrated fleet but were heartened when it was announced, in 2016, that Gibb’s were once more back in business. This 38-tonne ERF C40 of 1983 vintage coupled to a fridge trailer advertising ‘Pura Vegetable Lard’ is a true classic of theirs, appropriately named ‘Pride of Scotland’.…

When I embarked on a survey of oilfield exploration vehicles, I had no idea what a vast subject would be uncovered. It turns out that there were very few winners, such as the Kenworth 953, and dozens of losers. Just about every specialist lorry making firm of the 1930s to 1960s tried to tap into oil company wealth. National pride was at stake with each country vying to make its own equipment. Not surprisingly, in view of Royal Dutch Shell, Holland was at the heart of the matter and this makes a good moment to look at protagonists like Kromhout, Verheul and Terberg, and at the complicated structure of Shell itself. Founded in Britain as an importer of exotic seashells in 1833 by Marcus Samuel, it began trading in Asian…