Its registered from Oct 51 to 52 Wolverhampton (B) area but it may have been a re-cabbed FG by Bowyer Brothers of Congleton, as this style of cab came out mid 50’s. Franky.
Frankydobo:
Its registered from Oct 51 to 52 Wolverhampton (B) area but it may have been a re-cabbed FG by Bowyer Brothers of Congleton, as this style of cab came out mid 50’s. Franky.
Great info as ever Franky, and what a great cab too. Excellent vision compared to modern vehicles and their great big thick posts and large mirrors (don’t get me wrong, I have always been a mirror fanatic). I am only surprised that many more motorcyclist are not wiped up at T-junctions.
Mind you, I know which I would prefer to drive in heavy rain. 
Frankydobo:
Its registered from Oct 51 to 52 Wolverhampton (B) area but it may have been a re-cabbed FG by Bowyer Brothers of Congleton, as this style of cab came out mid 50’s. Franky.
That begs the question Franky, what were Bowyer all about n their relationship to Foden ? Cheers Coomsey
Frankydobo:
Its registered from Oct 51 to 52 Wolverhampton (B) area but it may have been a re-cabbed FG by Bowyer Brothers of Congleton, as this style of cab came out mid 50’s. Franky.
Thanks for this great info Franky, It looks a bit like Fodens S 18 design, But not the same, Regards Larry.
Bowyers being a local bodybuilder to Foden designed and built the cab on this OG model which has similarities to the one in the photo, maybe they also built that cab too, the S20 cab which has the same chrome trim design came out around the same time mid 50’s to replace the older S18 and possibly there was some influence for the S20 design, the cab on the first pic may be a sort of missing link between the OG and S20. Franky.
Frankydobo:
Bowyers being a local bodybuilder to Foden designed and built the cab on this OG model which has similarities to the one in the photo, maybe they also built that cab too, the S20 cab which has the same chrome trim design came out around the same time mid 50’s to replace the older S18 and possibly there was some influence for the S20 design, the cab on the first pic may be a sort of missing link between the OG and S20. Franky.
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First glance n I’m thinking an Akky , Franky. The 1st has the look of a S18 for sure. So would you buy a chassis off of Foden then get Bowyer to build one for you n save a bob or two?
Yeah its a poser, it does have the Atkinson type front bumper which Foden did use on the S20 models but the doors are also similar to the Foden FG. If Bowyer Brothers did build the cab on the 8 Wheeler then they certainly had a designer or team that was forward thinking in producing nicely curved and attractive cabs as the OG below shows. Franky.
No shortage of these fellas. They meant getting full whack with those coke sides ! I had an Akky with similar but never made 30t gross. I’ve given the R n S boys a bit of stick but sheeting was a bit hairy. Cheers Coomsey
That’s actually the S20 cab you have there Larry, the S18 was fitted to the earlier FG range. These Foden cab and model designations can be quite confusing. Still a nice cab though. Franky.
Hi Franky, 
It must be my old age or the Single Malts perhaps, , Regards Larry.
I really think the S18 cab was a really handsome looking cab , it sat well on an 8 wheeler of the time . That was if you were on the outside looking in , different story if you were inside looking out driving it . Those were the days when you had to actually drive a lorry .
This Foden still in operation today all local work shunting loads between an offsite storage area to our factory in Walker Newcastle upon Tyne.
coomsey:
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Not exactly a good kipping cab, but easier to keep warm I reckon. 
How would that have gone ?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I remember that being mentioned now, there were several companies in the running I believe but Foden rejected them all. I suppose that like Gardner there were still many family members involved and it can’t be easy to see ‘your’ business that had been built up over a century slipping away and the vultures (for want of a better word) moving in fot the kill? Eventually the inevitable happened of course, I suppose Rolls wouldn’t have changed much apart from putting capital in, and Foden would still have plodded along using fifties/sixties technology that was outdated but they wouldn’t admit to it? Paccar did move them into the modern age but at the expense of buying most of the components in and therefore becoming just another ‘boring’ assembler like ERF and Atkinson. 
Pete.
windrush:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I remember that being mentioned now, there were several companies in the running I believe but Foden rejected them all. I suppose that like Gardner there were still many family members involved and it can’t be easy to see ‘your’ business that had been built up over a century slipping away and the vultures (for want of a better word) moving in fot the kill? Eventually the inevitable happened of course, I suppose Rolls wouldn’t have changed much apart from putting capital in, and Foden would still have plodded along using fifties/sixties technology that was outdated but they wouldn’t admit to it? Paccar did move them into the modern age but at the expense of buying most of the components in and therefore becoming just another ‘boring’ assembler like ERF and Atkinson.
Pete.
To be fair there wasn’t much better than Rolls/■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ and steering parts were usually also outside supplied regardless.While MP cabs were arguably better than anything which in house could produce other than a plastic shed.Assembly was the way to go at that point.
Carryfast:
To be fair there wasn’t much better than Rolls/■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ and steering parts were usually also outside supplied regardless.While MP cabs were arguably better than anything which in house could produce other than a plastic shed.Assembly was the way to go at that point.
You are probably correct, Foden had used Roll/■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ for a few years before the Paccar influence though, and were still making all their own brake and steering components until then (apart from some ‘lightweight’ models aimed at the mixer market that had Stopmaster brakes, and some heavier models began being fitted with Rockwell but still on Foden axles) but when the Paccar influence mid eighties arrived they had lost their ‘identity’ in my opinion and were specced just the same as the UK built competition? They did use a lot of alloy chasiss components though, stamped KW for Kenworth, which made them competative weight-wise compared to Sed Ak’s etc which were far too heavy for our type of work and had crap brakes and suspension! Sad but that’s how it was, I remember touring the factory in the seventies and everything was produced ‘in house’ and it was an amazing almost ‘Victorian’ (which some of it was of course!) experience! Seeing all the brakeshoes cast as pairs before being seperated and the bronze worm wheels stacked up was something you didn’t see at other makers! The smell in the fibreglass shop literally took your breath away, and that was several hours after work had ended for the day. 
As somebody once said regarding a comedian: “A good act, but just went on too long” 
Pete.