Any idea of the location of this Roger Kenney picture
Sorry that I cannot help with the location but these were a decent enough truck for that time in the cheaper end of the market. Named the 701 in seven ton form they had a Willenhall manufactured cab and the 5.1 diesel engine with a four speed box and two speed axle, power steering was an option as well which a lot of more expensive trucks didn’t have. They also produced them in 3, 4 and 5 ton form with an optional 4 litre petrol engine as used in the Austin Princess or a 3.4 litre diesel in the lighter models. All had the constant mesh gearbox whereas Bedford etc used synchromesh. I worked on many of them, also my father drove one for Bootys Transport of Oxford and broke down in Trafalgar Square when the two speed axle stuck in neutral. A passing copper got underneath, took the sideplate off of the actuator and wedged it in gear with a piece of wood so that dad could get mobile again, not many Policemen would do that today!
Pete.
Can,t see Bulmers running a 7 tonner to far from Hereford,so I would say the picture is in Gloucester or Worcester.
Transporter Man, Can you remember a firm that ran BMC car transporters, 4 wheelers in the 60s, The late John Robson from Hexham drove one & a bloke called George Calvert also from Hexham ■■?, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Transporter Man, Can you remember a firm that ran BMC car transporters, 4 wheelers in the 60s, The late John Robson from Hexham drove one & a bloke called George Calvert also from Hexham ■■?, Regards Larry.
Yes it was Doug Robson he ran 1 that I can remember it was a Commer 2 stroke with a Tasker Burtonwood trailer he used to do Fiats out of Dover, we used to help him out when he was busy. He lived in one of them streets that ran off to the right on what was the A69 before you get to the graveyard.
Just to stimulate further debate,which was the better motor for it’s time,the BMC (Austin & Morris) or the Thames Trader,they were both in the same market place 50 odd years ago and sold in large numbers.I always think of the Trader as the better of the two but there will be,quite rightly,equal and opposite opinions !! Cheers Bewick.
i never drove a trader dennis , but from my experience it would have had to be dire to be a worse lorry than a bmc . having said that the tippers always ran well above their design weight , just the bmc couldn’t hack it , cheers , dave
Bewick:
Just to stimulate further debate,which was the better motor for it’s time,the BMC (Austin & Morris) or the Thames Trader,they were both in the same market place 50 odd years ago and sold in large numbers.I always think of the Trader as the better of the two but there will be,quite rightly,equal and opposite opinions !! Cheers Bewick.
Couldn’t really say Dennis, only drove the BMC’s though I have worked on Trader’s. The BMC’s were a nice truck to drive though with a better (I thought) driving position as the trader seat was a bit low! I guess that the Ford was stronger in tipper form, though Derbyshire Stone ran plenty of BMC tipper’s as well, I guess that there wasn’t much between the engines but the Ford had a synchro gearbox as opposed to BMC’s constant mesh one. As has been said it was the FJ that caused their downfall against the D series Ford but before that I would think it was just a case of whatever took your fancy and what dealership’s were local?
Bewick:
Just to stimulate further debate,which was the better motor for it’s time,the BMC (Austin & Morris) or the Thames Trader,they were both in the same market place 50 odd years ago and sold in large numbers.I always think of the Trader as the better of the two but there will be,quite rightly,equal and opposite opinions !! Cheers Bewick.
Couldn’t really say Dennis, only drove the BMC’s though I have worked on Trader’s. I guess that the Ford was stronger in tipper form, though Derbyshire Stone ran plenty of BMC tipper’s as well, I guess that there wasn’t much between the engines but the Ford had a synchro gearbox as opposed to BMC’s constant mesh one. As has been said it was the FJ that caused their downfall against the D series Ford but before that I would think it was just a case of whatever took your fancy and what dealership’s were local?
Pete.
The BMC with the 5.7 under slung engine was a powerful motor in its day Pete,as you know.I also drove a Thames Trader and road shotgun in one as a kid.I wouldn’t like to say which was the best.They were both stronger built lorries than the Bedford TK which outsold them.
Chheers Dave.
rigsby:
i never drove a trader dennis , but from my experience it would have had to be dire to be a worse lorry than a bmc . having said that the tippers always ran well above their design weight , just the bmc couldn’t hack it , cheers , dave
You could be right be there Dave,I recall that Robsons of Carlisle ran a large number of Traders in their light weight fleet,both 4 wheelers and tractor units they were mainly used on the Metal Box traffic.The 4 wheelers all seemed to have 2 ft dropside bodies which I could never understand why.D &D Transport of Dundee also ran a fleet of 6 wheeler Traders,used to see them passing through Kendal loaded to the Gun’als with Jute.I also recall a firm from Swadlincote ( Wraggs IIRC) also ran 6 wheeler Traders with dropside bodies.Cheers Dennis.
that’s what i had pete , ex derbyshire stone , and they had had the best out of them . always overheating , and the shackle pins were a nightmare . one advantage was the oil filler flap on the engine cover , you could let some warm air into the cab on the hills . i thought it was xmas when i got a tk in place of it ,cheers , dave
Bewick:
Just to stimulate further debate,which was the better motor for it’s time,the BMC (Austin & Morris) or the Thames Trader,they were both in the same market place 50 odd years ago and sold in large numbers.I always think of the Trader as the better of the two but there will be,quite rightly,equal and opposite opinions !! Cheers Bewick.
Couldn’t really say Dennis, only drove the BMC’s though I have worked on Trader’s. The BMC’s were a nice truck to drive though with a better (I thought) driving position as the trader seat was a bit low! I guess that the Ford was stronger in tipper form, though Derbyshire Stone ran plenty of BMC tipper’s as well, I guess that there wasn’t much between the engines but the Ford had a synchro gearbox as opposed to BMC’s constant mesh one. As has been said it was the FJ that caused their downfall against the D series Ford but before that I would think it was just a case of whatever took your fancy and what dealership’s were local?
Pete.
We ran 2 Traders MJR 66 & MTY 123 & a normal control Ford JTY 401 they were tippers running along side the BMC’s working mainly on long distant work at the time. They were not as good as the BMC, the thing I can remember as a cab happy 9/10 year old was the driving position in the Trader was the driving position with your legs straight out in front like a sports car.
Bewick:
Just to stimulate further debate,which was the better motor for it’s time,the BMC (Austin & Morris) or the Thames Trader,they were both in the same market place 50 odd years ago and sold in large numbers.I always think of the Trader as the better of the two but there will be,quite rightly,equal and opposite opinions !! Cheers Bewick.
Couldn’t really say Dennis, only drove the BMC’s though I have worked on Trader’s. The BMC’s were a nice truck to drive though with a better (I thought) driving position as the trader seat was a bit low! I guess that the Ford was stronger in tipper form, though Derbyshire Stone ran plenty of BMC tipper’s as well, I guess that there wasn’t much between the engines but the Ford had a synchro gearbox as opposed to BMC’s constant mesh one. As has been said it was the FJ that caused their downfall against the D series Ford but before that I would think it was just a case of whatever took your fancy and what dealership’s were local?
Pete.
We ran 2 Traders MJR 66 & MTY 123 & a normal control Ford JTY 401 they were tippers running along side the BMC’s working mainly on long distant work at the time. They were not as good as the BMC, the thing I can remember as a cab happy 9/10 year old was the driving position in the Trader was the driving position with your legs straight out in front like a sports car.
Howay noo! Bonny lad, could you reach the pedals on a Trader when you were 9 or 10 ? Cheers Bewick.
rigsby:
that’s what i had pete , ex derbyshire stone , and they had had the best out of them . always overheating , and the shackle pins were a nightmare . one advantage was the oil filler flap on the engine cover , you could let some warm air into the cab on the hills . i thought it was xmas when i got a tk in place of it ,cheers , dave
To be fair Dave I was living in Reading back then and most of the ones that I worked on were dropsiders and furniture vans, the only tippers that we had dealings with were builders merchants and not quarry trucks so didn’t get the rough treatment. We did service some Traders belonging to Union Cartage though and they didn’t give many problems. I suppose most of those ‘cheaper trucks’ like Ford BMC Commer Bedford etc were never going to match Leyland AEC etc but then they were not intended to. What they did share was that most of their components were produced by themselves and not bought in from other companies.
Probably just personal preference, but I reckon the BMC was the better of the two. Our garage staff were second to none & were always on top of any problems before they occurred- brilliant chaps who never got the recognition they deserved.
I suppose I considered the BMC more of a “man’s” motor- very important for a 21-year-old! The Trader’s driving position was more like a car’s- I lost count of the short drivers I saw trying to peer through the windscreens. The blokes at BMC also gave you a “proper” gearbox to play around with- four speed, two speed Eaton axle and none of this wimpish synchromesh stuff! The engine sounded like a proper lorry, too, especially when driven fully loaded with an amount of enthusiasm appropriate to this driver’s age. It wasn’t the warmest cab in the winter, but we were used to wrapping ourselves in old coats, blankets,etc when the weather was less than tropical. The biggest problem I encountered was in getting the left leg of my boiler suit caught up on the handbrake when changing gear!
And just for Bewick, I wish I’d taken photos of the nine-high loads of straw I regularly hauled!
This Norfolk company seemed to stick to Austins. I can only remember the Loadstars myself, the earlier model was a little before my time. They were dark green with yellow signwriting and always clean. Cheers Haddy.
Bewick:
Just to stimulate further debate,which was the better motor for it’s time,the BMC (Austin & Morris) or the Thames Trader,they were both in the same market place 50 odd years ago and sold in large numbers.I always think of the Trader as the better of the two but there will be,quite rightly,equal and opposite opinions !! Cheers Bewick.
Couldn’t really say Dennis, only drove the BMC’s though I have worked on Trader’s. The BMC’s were a nice truck to drive though with a better (I thought) driving position as the trader seat was a bit low! I guess that the Ford was stronger in tipper form, though Derbyshire Stone ran plenty of BMC tipper’s as well, I guess that there wasn’t much between the engines but the Ford had a synchro gearbox as opposed to BMC’s constant mesh one. As has been said it was the FJ that caused their downfall against the D series Ford but before that I would think it was just a case of whatever took your fancy and what dealership’s were local?
Pete.
We ran 2 Traders MJR 66 & MTY 123 & a normal control Ford JTY 401 they were tippers running along side the BMC’s working mainly on long distant work at the time. They were not as good as the BMC, the thing I can remember as a cab happy 9/10 year old was the driving position in the Trader was the driving position with your legs straight out in front like a sports car.
Howay noo! Bonny lad, could you reach the pedals on a Trader when you were 9 or 10 ? Cheers Bewick.
Was a stretch can remember getting a bolocking when I reversed into a 45 gall drum knocking the tail lights off.
Bewick:
Just to stimulate further debate,which was the better motor for it’s time,the BMC (Austin & Morris) or the Thames Trader,they were both in the same market place 50 odd years ago and sold in large numbers.I always think of the Trader as the better of the two but there will be,quite rightly,equal and opposite opinions !! Cheers Bewick.
Couldn’t really say Dennis, only drove the BMC’s though I have worked on Trader’s. The BMC’s were a nice truck to drive though with a better (I thought) driving position as the trader seat was a bit low! I guess that the Ford was stronger in tipper form, though Derbyshire Stone ran plenty of BMC tipper’s as well, I guess that there wasn’t much between the engines but the Ford had a synchro gearbox as opposed to BMC’s constant mesh one. As has been said it was the FJ that caused their downfall against the D series Ford but before that I would think it was just a case of whatever took your fancy and what dealership’s were local?
Pete.
We ran 2 Traders MJR 66 & MTY 123 & a normal control Ford JTY 401 they were tippers running along side the BMC’s working mainly on long distant work at the time. They were not as good as the BMC, the thing I can remember as a cab happy 9/10 year old was the driving position in the Trader was the driving position with your legs straight out in front like a sports car.
Howay noo! Bonny lad, could you reach the pedals on a Trader when you were 9 or 10 ? Cheers Bewick.
Was a stretch can remember getting a bolocking when I reversed into a 45 gall drum knocking the tail lights off.
Wm. Parry & Sons of St. Briavels , Lydney , ran this Austin FFK 140 7 tonner, reg. no 4817 AD.
Animal feedstuffs and agricultural supplies were carried , and also a demountable livestock body was used for it to double up
on work when needed. Photographed , new, in the early 1960s. Parrys operated another FFK (longer wheelbase model) on milk kit collection from farms in their area.
In 1965 , a new FHK 160 long wheelbase 8 tonner , reg. no. DDD 210 C, was added to the fleet. A dropside body was fitted , and was used for transporting livestock feeds. It was driven by Jack Harris, who worked for Parry`s for many years.
This Austin ■■■ 100 5 tonner stands on the “Podium” at Ingliston for Truckfest Scotland 2012.
Somehow , the green paint used for the cab interior is the only downside to this restoration.
Taken late in the evening , for better photography.
