Anyone remember these? I used to work on several and occasionally take on test, but all I can really remember is that the ones I saw; several 6 and 8 wheel tippers and a couple of units; gave so little trouble that they seemed unremarkable, about the only things that stand out are that they did seem to manage not to puke oil everywhere like the British lorries of the time and that a rear hub and drum was a decidedly heavy lump to pick up and put back on. They did go well though.
Plenty of 'em here! 
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=29254&p=305263
Even more here:
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I used to work on two of those we had at Sampsons years ago, MDK396 and 397R, both ex-Chartermoor vehicles.
They used to suffer from pump couplings and rear spring centre bolts breaking but they pulled like trains and were very fast. Our ones had the fuller gearboxes but the earlier ones had a chrysler box which wasn’t so robust, and no tilt cab on the early ones.
Wheetabix had a big fleet of them but cab room wise there wasn’t a lot more than a F86. A local block haulier, Rodger Carpenter, had some late A to C registered 6-wheel and 8-wheel rigids but I can remember M&L Hayle at Thurrock having an early M-reg tractor which, at the time, was a very powerful vehicle.
Chinese six.
What engines were fitted to them i remember my dad having 1 on demo and he wasnt keen bearing in mind his normal motor was a ten year old worse for wear mandator
Sod the Barreiros, look at the Zaragoza plated Licoln behind it!
Barreiros engines.
Chrysler had a fleet of them running between the Ryton plant and Pompey docks usually pulling SCAC trailers sent over from France.
There is another thread for these vehicles if you look back.
Herefordshire timber haulier John Weaver with his superbly restored Dodge 300,seen at Gaydon this year.
One of Burgoynes of Lyonshall Dodges.Burgoynes ran several of thee including the one John Weaver now has,which is the same spec to the one John previously owned.
Photo courtesy of Brian Lloyd.
Brian Lloyd now transport manager at Burgoynes previously drove this Dodge for them.
Brian’s young daughter seen with the lorry.
Hi all my mate bought a second hand F88 from D J Light from Holcolm near bath in 1980 and he was running one of them dodges and said he liked it very much,wonder how it ended.
BRS truck rental had 2 at Coventry the first week they started in the truck rental business and as my Atki was in for MOT I got one, ok the cab was a bit cramped but what a flyer it was. Later on my Brother owned one, and to this day it is still I still haven’t done Coventry to So’ton faster even with the M40 open ,2 hours going the old road Southam, Banbury, Deddington, no Newbury bypass 20 ton coke cola. and a lovely throaty sound too!!
Hi, All
There was a very good article in a recent Heritage Commercial magazine about John Weaver’s Dodge restoration. It looks to made up from two or three others that were beyond saving. He certainly did a cracking job, it’s a credit to him.
Cheers Bassman
Bassman:
Hi, AllThere was a very good article in a recent Heritage Commercial magazine about John Weaver’s Dodge restoration. It looks to made up from two or three others that were beyond saving. He certainly did a cracking job, it’s a credit to him.
Cheers Bassman
Hi Bassman,
Alan Coxall and his son Mark rebuilt the Dodge for John Weaver.They are professional commercial vehicle restorers based in Knighton Powys.TNUK member atkidave is also Alans son.
Cheers Dave.
Hi, Dave the Renegade
Thanks for that , I shall have to reread that article. I read it that he had done the work himself with a lot of cannabilising of two or three that weren’t saving.
Still a good job though, looks really good.
Cheers Bassman
Bassman:
Hi, Dave the Renegade
Thanks for that , I shall have to reread that article. I read it that he had done the work himself with a lot of cannabilising of two or three that weren’t saving.
Still a good job though, looks really good.Cheers Bassman
I think if you read the article again Bassman,it does acknowledge the blokes that rebuilt it.It was one of Burgoyne’s.Like yourself I have the magazine here with the article and will have to take another look.
Cheers Dave.
The first five that came into the country one went to an owner driver from Leicester (Badger trsport if i recall correctly) the other 4 went to Stewart Cameron/ Molyneux transport .Reliability was a problem ( the back axle on one went on the way to the paint shop) the Crysler gearbox gave problems (it couldnt handle the torque) as did the engine,they had problems with pistons picking up if you stopped them without allowing them to cool, when you started away again they would pick up. They cured the gearbox by fitting Fullers, and cured the engine by improving the oil sprayers on the pistons, when running they went like sh… off a shovel and would give a 290 Volvo a run for its money. The 4 that molyneux ran ended up running on the same route time after time mainly because they were never to far away from a Chrsler agent it was often seen one of the drivers of these steeds returning home in an Avis Rental truck while their truck was being repaired (Crysler paid for the rental) i remember one moter that when the driver changed down for aroundabout an almighty bang anounced that a piston and con rod came out the side of the engine! you could look through the mudguard striaght through to the other side both sides of the engine were completely missing. The next time i had anything to do with them most of the problems had been sorted Mortons/BRS in Coventry were running them and a good friend of mine had bought 5 second hand ,he had two of them convertedto 6 wheel units with tag axles ,two ran as twoaxle units and the last one (bought as a none runner) had a 350 ■■■■■■■ fitted in it they all gave good service working into the late 90s early 2000, I still have various spares for them including gauges, sender units ect.
One of BRS from Coventry
In the late 80s I worked a holiday job while a student at Banks Hobbs, the grain merchants at Kennett just beside the A14 near Newmarket. There was one of these Dodges used as a yard shunter, which I once got to drive around the yard…however a few of the drivers used to talk of there being a few of them on the small Hobbs fleet pulling grain trailers, in a dark green livery. They seemed to be regarded as good trucks.
I dont know if any Suffolk readers of that vintage will recall, but apparently one of them was involved in a nasty accident on the A11 near Barton Mills, hitting another truck I think, and they spoke of the cab being pushed right back off its mounts - I think the driver survived but not sure. I used to love sitting in the hut listening to the drivers stories.
Hobbs were running Leylands by that time and had been taken over by Banks grain from Sandy, so they no longer had their own livery.
They also had an old Dodge rigid with a tipper body that was used in the yard.