I know Clément Friderici quite well, I think he is third or perhaps even fourth generation of this legendary transport family. We live some 25 kms apart and we sometimes meet on trucking events or elsewhere.
It recently occurred to me that the story that follows was not yet published on this forum so here goes…
Friderici sold off their last K100 many years ago (I believe somewhere in the early 2000s). There weren’t any known survivors of their fleet, until in 2011 and by pure coincidence, somebody noticed a 6x4 K100 which if I recall correctly was registered in Belgium and belonged to a fairground operator. A crude paint job had ben applied which eventually turned out to be a blessing because some little areas had not been covered under the new light blue livery, and so still revealed the original grey and yellow.
Long story short and upon closer examination it was officially verified that this used to be one of Friderici’s, she was known in their fleet as C91.
Clément and the Friderici Family decided to buy her back, repatriate her to her original home in Tolochenaz and start the restoration. The rest can be seen here - they decided to create their own website: kenworth.ch/
Some sections worth looking at:
Keep an eye on this site from time to time if you are interested. They recently took on the agency for Renault Trucks so their workshop is extremely busy now and they are squeezing this project in between as best they can.
And yes in case you’re asking, I have floated the idea of Gaydon 2015 to Clément, he did not decline altogether 
Best regards
David
I’d have liked to save this outfit.I can remember seeing these often there in the day.
mackmuppet.skyrock.com/305591097 … rland.html
And when you think you have really seen just about everything, then how about this flying Friderici?!?
friderici-mania.ch/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=69
This was in December 2011. There were works being performed on a dam at high altitude, and they decided a combination of this size was needed to do the job.
Quite ingenuous really. I like that rear axle hanging from the back…
I heard this unit (MB Actros 4160 - 600hp V8) working only once, the turbo whistle surprised me hugely by how loud it was, much louder turbo whistle than any other Actros V8 I have ever seen at work.
Very pleasing. I jokingly asked the unit’s dedicated driver Nicolas if he nicked the Holsett Turbo off of an old Scania 140. But apparently it is to do with the modified exhaust / extra cooling installation mounted on the back.
Very slightly off-topic, but there was another Friderici unit that ended up on the showman’s tober, and that was this Foden. They had several LHD Fodens like this with CAT engines and 13-speed Fullers. Robert
I remember this one sitting outside the police control point, where you had to report and be measured and inspected for the abnormal load permit, just a few kilometers inside Iran. He obviously had some kind of problem as it sat there for a few months.
Regards Jamie
Hello Jamie,
Interesting info!
Next time I meet with them I will ask if they have any recollection of number 96 sitting in Iran with an abnormal load for a few Months.
Do you know roughly when this was?
Hi Davidoff,this photo was taken just before the revolution, which would make it around 1979 i think. They also ran quite a few Steyer’s, which had a pod behind and over the cab. they had a side entry door into the kitchen area and the bed was above the cab. regards Jamie.
Any idea what # the Kenworth is, as it’s tractor unit I’m assuming its not 100 which was Daniel Fremonts draw bar. Most of the Friderici KW’s were Detriot powered usually up about the 425 hp and could shift them selves along quite well. #98 was the regular drive for Claude Rey Mermet AKA the adventurer. One of the guys I was on Trans Mondo with was a cousin of Jacky who used to do a regular run with Claude to Lahore.
That oversize load was part of a thermal power station which as being built at Tabriz, the section on the truck was about 103 tons and built at Brescia, the driver at the start of the job was Jean Daniel Favre who was Ferderici’s top heavy haul guy at the time. The whole job was went pear shape from the start and got worse as it progresses. All up from loading the truck to getting unloaded at the other end took 6 months. It sat on the Iranian side of the border for 4 1/2 months waiting for authorisation from the Iranian, as well as the road being upgraded enough to take the weight of the load. Paul Ferderici went in person to try and get things sorted out, and just as they did the Shah was deposed.
The other shadow on the job was that the Iranian state transport wanted to do the whole job from start to finish, but it went to Ferderici, which the Iranians didn’t like, and it was believed that the Iranians threw as much trouble about as they could.
That’s the very short version of a very long involved tale.
Jeff…
kenworth.ch/?p=241#comment-2
kenworth.ch/?m=201207
How come the cabs on these need so much work? There is not much (if any?) steel to rust.
[zb]
anorak:
http://www.kenworth.ch/?p=241#comment-2
kenworth.ch/?m=201207
How come the cabs on these need so much work? There is not much (if any?) steel to rust.
Aluminium bodywork corrodes and can suffer from fatigue which can be worse depending on paint protection type and methods and especially if it’s ally on steel frame anywhere and strength of build etc etc and exposure to weather conditions over the years.In this case it’s a known light weight construction having probably been subject to harsh duty usage patterns in harsh climates over a lot of years.Which in general seems to show that they were reasonably well put together as well as could be expected when new.
[zb]
anorak:
http://www.kenworth.ch/?p=241#comment-2
kenworth.ch/?m=201207
How come the cabs on these need so much work? There is not much (if any?) steel to rust.
Hi Anorak,
I wondered about that myself and asked a car bodywork specialist in my neighbourhood I know well.
Aluminium is non-ferrous therefore will not rust like steel with red flakes falling off, but it does corrode quite well. It forms a whitish powdery layer which, if removed, re-forms itself immediately. Repeat this process often enough and you find yourself with severely reduced thickness, or even a whole!
I have seen the cabin myself in Friderici’s workshop and the corrosion around the footwell and some other parts was quite bad, definitely in need of a repair…
Cheers
David
Davidoff:
Hi Anorak,
I wondered about that myself and asked a car bodywork specialist in my neighbourhood I know well.
Aluminium is non-ferrous therefore will not rust like steel with red flakes falling off, but it does corrode quite well. It forms a whitish powdery layer which, if removed, re-forms itself immediately. Repeat this process often enough and you find yourself with severely reduced thickness, or even a whole!
I have seen the cabin myself in Friderici’s workshop and the corrosion around the footwell and some other parts was quite bad, definitely in need of a repair…
Cheers
David
Thanks for good answer. The difference between iron and aluminium is that iron expands eightfold when it oxidises, causing the oxide to flake off, leaving fresh metal exposed to the air. Al, on the other hand, is actually protected from further corrosion by the formation of an oxide layer. At least, that is what gets hammered into one’s head at college!
I am still, therefore, surprised that corrosion is the problem, unless abrasion of the oxide layer was also going on. In the case of the footwell, this probably explains it- the shuffling of the driver’s feet, transmitted through the mat, would be enough to “wear” through the thin sheet. Even cyclic loading of mating parts, causing the joints to rub together (fretting) would accelerate corrosion. It also provides places for fatigue cracks to start- were there cracks emanating from the rivet holes?
With ALL respect…what has happened with YOU and Carryfast in school? Is everything supposed to be scientific?
In several threads you appear interested but all of a sudden something pops up to DOUBT everything and to see
elefants behind every straw of grass…absorb information, rely on it and moreover enjoy it!
You really screwed your own thread on the Scania LV’s by wanting the last bit of truth…leave it a mystery and
comfort the romantic content of it!
Good that Friderici decided to buy a previous vehicle…more operators ought to have done this but are too late!
I’m surprised they didn’t use a shot blaster on the chassis parts.
I’ve done a fair bit of Kenworth restoration in my time and I haven’t seen on as bad as that. Even a 50’s cab over I worked on in eastern USA wasn’t any where as bad as that.
Jeff…
ERF-Continental:
With ALL respect…what has happened with YOU and Carryfast in school? Is everything supposed to be scientific?
In several threads you appear interested but all of a sudden something pops up to DOUBT everything and to see
elefants behind every straw of grass…absorb information, rely on it and moreover enjoy it!
You really screwed your own thread on the Scania LV’s by wanting the last bit of truth…leave it a mystery and
comfort the romantic content of it!
Good that Friderici decided to buy a previous vehicle…more operators ought to have done this but are too late!
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What happened to me at school? An interest in maths and science was fostered, a curiosity which provided me with a career and a hobby.
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Don’t know what happened to the other feller.
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Everything is scientific.
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Did not understand the apparent contradiction in the rest of it. Absorb information, enjoy it… get more of it! There is no such thing as the last bit of truth.
If you are not interested in what goes wrong with aluminium cabs, don’t read it!
