Thanks for clearing that one up 
As you said i was under the impression that the first two digits was the GCW & the last two BHP - [adding a zero], for example
D2817 = 28ton GCW & 170 bhp . Incidently , what extras did a âcustom cabâ have apart from a chrome strip & bumper 
This D series still works for a living in Penzance.
fryske:
Wheel Nut:
Here is a broken one in need of TLC
wheerâs this one?
I only just noticed this post, sorry fryske, it lives in Hilton Derbyshire along with an old AEC I think. I had a picture but cannot find it on streetview or in my camera
And another one seen at junction 9 Watling Street
Can remenber the first wagon I went in with my dad, an H-reg D series artic with the V8 â â â â â â â and Eaton two-speed axle. Being 5 years old at the time, my main memories are being fascinated with the red 2-speed button on the gear lever constantly turning round, and how handy double passenger seat was for a kip!
Donât remember him saying it was good, bad or indifferent. His favourite early wagon was a Bedford TK artic with a Leyland engine - a real flyer! Iâll have to ask him about the Ford. Iâve still got the front number plate from it on my garage wall - OAR 410 H.
boris:
Incidently , what extras did a âcustom cabâ have apart from a chrome strip & bumper
I think it was only a padded ledge to the top of the dash, sun visors and a dual passenger seat, windscreen washers and a bit of sound deadening material at first. Then around 1973 they went really flash and stuck âWoodgrain Fablonâ around the clocks. 
Taken at the All Wales Truck Show at Carmarthen this month.
This one belonged to TIPITS dad when he was an owner driver.Hope he wont mind me putting it on here.He would have got this new sometime around 68/69.
I never thought of putting that one on John, it must have been close to the end of itâs working life when that photo was took, about 4 years old. Come to think of it that one only had a single passenger seat, so dual seats mustnât have been standard fitting with the Custom Cab after all. It was December '68 when it got delivered, the Western mirrors must have been an option as one of the 3 x D1000âs that Lambâs ordered (Freddie Lundâs) came with small mirrors, and the other came fitted with a Perkins V8 so got a rev counter.
A beautifully restored D series from Gaydon
Stanfield:
That one rings a bell although a completely different vehicle, the first company I worked at while at, and after school had a D Series with a 1200 CFM static compressor on the back, the boss originally ran a caravan transport company near York and then retired with a filling station while his son took over the caravan and bodybuilding business. This D series had only done about 35000 miles but was about 8 years old.
Bert decided his retirement would be spent in warmer climes and he had us build a house on the back of the Ford, it was a box body like a caravan, he then bought an A frame boat trailer and delivered yachts all over the Mediterranean and the Adriatic coast. The truck did almost a million km like this, from a relaxed start to a Marathon runner.
Nice pictures there Riverstick of the restored Ford at Gaydon but dont you think it was a little bit dodgy having the body raised and know body prop in place for safety and also leaving the door open with the tipper controls on show for everyone to see, anyone could have reached in and moved a lever and people stood under it as well.
Stanfield:
Nice pictures there Riverstick of the restored Ford at Gaydon but dont you think it was a little bit dodgy having the body raised and know body prop in place for safety and also leaving the door open with the tipper controls on show for everyone to see, anyone could have reached in and moved a lever and people stood under it as well.
Possibly,possibly,possibly StanâŚalthough I took those pics at the 2009 show and the place was crawling with Health & Safety muppets,who no doubt applied a 12 page risk assessment study before retiring to the bog for a few hours to inspire themselves for a chapter in a future edition of their autobiography(Mein Kamf)âŚAll jokes aside,I do belive from memory,some form of prop was in place even though it is not apparent in the picsâŚ
Hi Tipit.
Here is a pic of the woodgrained fablon dash and the padded piece across the front of dash plus twin seat.
Note where the windscreen wash was on the floor next to the clutch pedal.If you remember the outer ring started the wipers and then press again and it squirted the water.This was a posh motor it hasnât got the rachet h/brake on the dash,remember them.
JOHN
Stanfield:
Hi Tipit.
Here is a pic of the woodgrained fablon dash and the padded piece across the front of dash plus twin seat.
Note where the windscreen wash was on the floor next to the clutch pedal.If you remember the outer ring started the wipers and then press again and it squirted the water.This was a posh motor it hasnât got the rachet h/brake on the dash,remember them.
JOHN
I donât remember the D series with the handbrake between the seats, but do remember that gear stick where you push it down and rotate it 180 degrees to tilt the cab. Speaking of the cab, the driver looks as though he was proud of his yolk and quite cab happy with flags and banners in the window
Yeah, it had a handle behind the passenger seat you pulled up and turned anti-clockwise to unlock the cab then pulled a lever outside to tip it, I also remember the heater in the D Series was very good and the seats comfortable and I loved the metally snarl from the â â â â â â â V8 and not as noisy as the Perkins lump we had in the 500 Series Dodges, they must have been well over the decibel limit allowed today! I think, but canât be positive that the Western style mirrors only came with the D1000 Tractor unit at first. Franky.
Wheel Nut:
Stanfield:
Hi Tipit.
Here is a pic of the woodgrained fablon dash and the padded piece across the front of dash plus twin seat.
Note where the windscreen wash was on the floor next to the clutch pedal.If you remember the outer ring started the wipers and then press again and it squirted the water.This was a posh motor it hasnât got the rachet h/brake on the dash,remember them.
JOHN
I donât remember the D series with the handbrake between the seats, but do remember that gear stick where you push it down and rotate it 180 degrees to tilt the cab. Speaking of the cab, the driver looks as though he was proud of his yolk and quite cab happy with flags and banners in the window
Ahhh , that brings back some memories I can hear the squeaky clutch pedal now & the vibrating âpudding stirrerâ gear lever Wasnât it the early models that had the âumbrellaâ handbrake under the dash & a car style handbrake deadman between the seats?
Thatâs it I think the handbrake position got changed over when the big convex mirrors came out about '71, and they did away with those stupid Vacume Wipers. That cab locking mechanism seemed to take for ever to screw down before folding over and trapping your fingers. After all that though I still preferred the D series to the Scania 80 I got later.
This one has the old cow catcher on the front.Remember you pulled two pins and lowered it down before you could tilt the cab.
JOHN
Hiya ,
What was the thing with the âwest coastâ mirrors in the early 70s- didnât ERF try them as well? Are they âflatâ glass? & what were they like compared to normal mirrors .