Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2025 i Classic & Vintage Commercials

INSIDE EACH ISSUE • The latest news and analysis • Expert buying guides and advice • Product reviews • Classic cars and parts for sale • Auction news and preview Visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/CBU Or Call: 01959 543 747 and quote CBU Hotlines open Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5.30pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate *UK Direct debit offer only. Savings based on the standard basic six monthly rate of £146.63 which includes the cover price of £3.00 plus Kelsey Media’s standard postage and packing price per single issue for 6 months (24 issues). You will pay £61.20 every 6 months. Offer ends 30th November 2023. Your subscription will start with the next available issue and you will receive 24 issues every 6 months. Prices correct at time of…

By late 1969, the Ford Transit had established its position as the clear market-leader in the 12-35cwt van market, and its rivals could, it seemed, do little to challenge that status. In fact, Rootes (Chrysler UK from 1970) didn’t even try, and the 15/17cwt PB van continued pretty-much unchanged apart from a new dash and grey plastic grille until it finally ended production in February 1982. BMC/BL of course had huge issues elsewhere, and its response to the Transit was, to put it mildly, somewhat half-hearted. Not untypically for BMC at the time, it had two vehicles within the Transit’s sector; the J2 and slightly smaller J4. The J2 dated back to 1956, and really owed its continued existence to orders from the General Post Office. It was replaced from…

With Spring now here, it’s probably appropriate for us to look at soft drinks suppliers of times past. Back in 1961, Holmes, based in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, were a leading manufacturer of these, and their distinctively-liveried fleet of lorries were a familiar sight in the locality and further afield. Note the eye-catching branding and slogans too, and the “3/-deposit” branding on the wooden crates. We imagine there would have been a small deposit/refund on return of empty bottles, too. This photograph dates from spring of 1961 and shows a fleet line-up outside the firm’s Cliff Street premises. It was, we suspect, taken to mark the arrival in the fleet of the Bedford TK at the front. The TK was then totally state-of-the-art, having been introduced only the previous year, and…

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For many years, the red cabbed lorries of T R Butcher & Son were a very familiar sight in and around north-east Cambridgeshire. Started by Stuart Butcher’s grandfather Ralph Snr in the early 1950s and based just east of Whittlesey, the main loads carried at first were coal from the midlands coalfields in, and farm produce out, with locally-grown potatoes for the London fruit and veg markets something of a speciality. The coal was sold door-to-door to homes and businesses, and a some also went ‘wholesale’ to coal merchants. As was usual at the time though, if something needed moving, and they had suitable vehicles, T R Butcher would move it. In the early days, the firm, like so many local independents, ran mainly Bedfords; Stuart wasn’t around then but…

Dave Whittle is a well-known figure at rallies in the Derbyshire area. He also often provides commentaries, and it was a proud moment for him when his Bedford entered the ring for the first time at the 2022 Cromford Steam Rally, while he was on the microphone. The Bedford’s history is pretty straightforward in that it worked for H. Askey Transport of Sheffield from new, and later in life became their recovery vehicle. But before looking at the restoration of the Bedford itself, it’s worth mentioning the history of Askeys, a family run business that is still thriving today. HORSE AND CART The firm itself can be traced back over 120 years to the days of horse and carts at Glass Tilt House, Loxley on the outskirts of Sheffield. The…

Back in February, a message pinged into my inbox from a regular CVC reader who wanted to tell me about his latest project. This isn’t that unusual. This one, however, was different. For starters, the sender told me, in the very first sentence, that he was just 18 years old. Secondly, the vehicle in question was a Scammell Amazon heavy-haulage tractor, one of just 11 made. From that point my attention was very definitely caught. This is what he had to say… “My name is Jack Carter and I am 18 years old. I live in Sussex and I have a passion and love for the Scammell Amazon. This stems back to the roots of my childhood to the day I was born where dad was convinced he taught me…

Every year, former CVC Editor (and current Editor of our sister publication Old Glory) Peter Love organises an informal get-together of local old-transport enthusiasts in his home village of Bodle Street Green in East Sussex, writes Peter Simpson. This is usually timed to coincide with Driveit-Day, but this year for various reasons the date was bought forward a few weeks to Sunday April 6. This all started a few years ago as a get-together of like-minded enthusiasts to celebrate Peter’s birthday, and as a result the attendance tends to reflect Peter’s own broad interests. These range from stationary engines through cars, tractors and motorcycles to commercial vehicles. There’s also a model railway exhibition, which this year was organised by CVC/Vintage Roadscene contributor David Vaughan. The Bodle Street event also raises…

This impressive image of the Danish Bacon Company’s Bedford delivery fleet dates back to 1957, and was taken outside the firm’s Kilnhurst depot in South Yorkshire. Due to its central location near Rotherham and its proximity to the A1 and the North Sea ports, Kilnhurst was an ideal base for the company. The photograph was commisioned by Michelin, who supplied tyres for the vehicles at the time. As might be expected, the latest Bedford A Types are in the foreground, with the slightly older O types behind.…

Back in the mid-seventies, while many UK lorry manufacturers were in decline and rapidly losing ground to European imports, it was a something of a surprise when a new make appeared on the scene. That make was Dennison. Our nearest EU neighbours, Ireland, were not generally seen as a source of motor vehicles but Co Kildare based trailer manufacturer Dennison had decided to enter the lorry market. Today Dennison of Naas is acknowledged as a leading trailer manufacturer with an extensive range of curtainsiders, platforms, tippers, skeletals, low-loaders and drawbar trailers. As well as their present day plant in Naas the company also has a factory in Lancaster. The company can boast over sixty years in the trailer business having begun as a small family concern in 1964. It was…

Cheffins held their first vintage sale of 2025 on Friday April 25 and Saturday April 26 at their large purpose-built agricultural and machinery auction centre at Sutton, near Ely. These are big affairs, with two auctions running simultaneously on Friday and four on the Saturday. A truly massive range of stuff is on offer, ranging from models and literature through spare parts and machinery right up to tractors (of which there were over 400) classic cars and, of course commercials. Oh, and there were also a few steam powered vehicles. The commercial entry was large and varied, and while as usual at sales of this kind, some lots remained unsold, there were plenty of significant sales as well. Top seller money-wise among the lorries was an ex-army Seddon-Atkinson Strato 6x4…

Regular readers may be familiar with the extensive collection of Bedford CA Vans with many different body types owned by Bob Alderman, several of which have appeared on the big and small screen as well as in these pages. His collection is not confined to Bedfords, however, as two of his more recent purchases show. FORD THAMES E83W GOWN VAN Ford launched the 10cwt E83W Van in March 1938, badged as a Fordson, and the engine was the 10hp, 1172cc, four-cylinder sidevalve unit from the Model C car. The E83W was also available as a chassis-cowl or chassiscab to allow for other body styles to be built, such as Laundry Vans, Gown Vans and Luton Vans. During the Second World War, several were built as high-roof Emergency Food Vans, mostly…

In 1952, Bedford launched its new four-wheel-drive truck, the R-Type, using the same all-steel cab as the S-Type. The RL had a 13ft. wheelbase and was sold in large numbers to the British army and other military users. It was rated at 3-tons by the military, then 4-tons in 1969. Many were ordered by the government for civil defence in the Auxiliary Fire Service fleet, with various different body types and uses including Control Units, Stores & Service vans, pipe carriers, petrol carriers, recovery vehicles, and general purpose lorries. Probably the best known and most loved, though, was the Bedford RLHZ Emergency Pump, better known as the Green Goddess (earlier ones were built on the 4x2 S-Type chassis with lower ground clearance). The British Army also ordered them. Bodies were…

PRIDE OF THE ’47! Dave Crowson’s stunning Scania 93M has, since 1989, been a regular sight on the A47 around Leicester and into Norfolk. Then, at weekends, he takes it to shows! We meet the man, and the lorry he has owned and cared for from new. BEDFORD JO A Fast Bedford; Mike Neale tells the story DODGE 300 A fine restoration… 60 YEARS OF THE FORD TRANSIT Pt3: and the Tranny gets a whole new shape… BRIGHTON RUN 2025 We report from Madeira Drive… PLUS: Cheshire run report, a final selection of images from the Alan Robinson/Papworth Coachworks collection, Pt2 of the Dennison story, all our usual features and, of course, one or two surprises… These features arc all planned al’he time of going Io press. We 'eserve the…