Cheers Phil
[/quote]
What model is that lorry with the sliding perspex windows ?
Looks like a Ford Thames pickup, not sure but I think they had a Ford Consul engine in them. Don’t know if they came with a Perkins in them as well.
altitude:
Looks like a Ford Thames pickup, not sure but I think they had a Ford Consul engine in them. Don’t know if they came with a Perkins in them as well.
Some did have diesel engine John.I remember driving a Thames van with a diesel engine for a builder in Kington,it also had a column change,a lot of the older blokes couldn’t manage that 
.
Cheers Dave.
bubbleman:
A reminder of home here! - Cubitt and Walker’s mill (now empty unfort) was just down the road from my folks house
Some nice pics here for those into mills!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sophos9/sets/72157616506412633/with/3429379047/
Bowkers used to run 2 of them trucks out of are yard at heywood they used to are trunk from heywood to holland and back.
Dave the Renegade:
altitude:
Looks like a Ford Thames pickup, not sure but I think they had a Ford Consul engine in them. Don’t know if they came with a Perkins in them as well.Some did have diesel engine John.I remember driving a Thames van with a diesel engine for a builder in Kington,it also had a column change,a lot of the older blokes couldn’t manage that
Cheers Dave.
When I worked for Ameys as a young lad ( not that long ago !!! ) they had them in van form for the fitters, we kept are lorries at home then, so if you were in the workshops for repairs they gave you one to get home in. They were all petrol with I think a 4 speed column change in the newer ones, I do remember that they went like hell.
cheers
John.
Northern boy:
Bowkers used to run 2 of them trucks out of are yard at heywood they used to are trunk from heywood to holland and back.
The Heywood/Eindhoven shuttle motors were actually FL10s - this is one of the original Heywood pair (103/4), seen at Blackburn depot:
Unlike the Eurotrotters, the FLs didn’t have demountable bodies. The Heywood motors were Blackburn-based until 1989, and Preston-based thereafter - they saw the depot only at weekends, of course. Another pair (105/6) worked the Croydon/Eindhoven shuttle with Dover-based drivers.
The Croydon/Eindhoven run had first been done with a pair of F7s (101/2):
When bowkers stopped doing the heywood shuttle we started to do it are selfs i was one of drivers to do it
240 Gardner:
This was one of just 12 specially built by Volvo, 8 of which were supplied to Bowker. They are a shorter version of the already-short Eurotrotter cab, with a chassis modified so that the outfits could be built to meet the ‘Philips Concept’ spec. At that time, drawbars were still limited to 18m, and these motors carried two swap bodies, each 8.05m long.
Who had the other four? was it De Bruin? as I recall seeing them with the Philips stuff on.
Buzzybee copyright
I think this is the standard size Eurotrotter
Wheel Nut:
240 Gardner:
This was one of just 12 specially built by Volvo, 8 of which were supplied to Bowker. They are a shorter version of the already-short Eurotrotter cab, with a chassis modified so that the outfits could be built to meet the ‘Philips Concept’ spec. At that time, drawbars were still limited to 18m, and these motors carried two swap bodies, each 8.05m long.
Who had the other four? was it De Bruin? as I recall seeing them with the Philips stuff on.
Buzzybee copyright
I think this is the standard size Eurotrotter
That is indeed a standard-sized Eurotrotter, and the deck looks further from the ground than the Bowker machines. They were very specialised: the chassis was different, the engine re-positioned and so on. The gap between the bodies was only 150mm in straight line. And coming to terms with measuring the overall 18m length only in a dead straight line, and allowing the hydraulic coupling to close up first, caused no end of headaches at Kirkham test station! The original order was for 10, but was reduced to 8, and I’m sorry, but I’ve no idea where the other 4 went.
Bowker were no stranger to specialised motors at that time - the FL10 drawbars were not a standard UK model, and were actually put through Type Approval by Bowker - 10 of these were built. I don’t think there was an FL10 6x2 rigid available at that time anyway, only an FL7 - which is why the first two were badged as FL7s. These were LHD, with full, coach-style air suspension - quite popular with the drivers!
Hello again,heres some old Scanias from the cuttings box 
Apologies for any repeats.
Cheers Bubbs, 
That clip of the G.C. Keedwell Scania “144”, is a bit at odds with memories i have from a magazine article about it years ago as i tought it to be a 142 fitted with a 3 series topline cab, were in the article shown it says that it was a P cabbed 6x4. Now im quite sure that Scania never fitted the V8 under the P cab, and have always thought that fitting a V8 into a straight 6 chassis involved quite a bit of work( differant chassis cross members?).
bubbleman:
Hello again,heres some old Scanias from the cuttings box
Apologies for any repeats.
Cheers Bubbs,
Ido believe that the driver of that BRS Scania 80 Super is Mr. Harry Gill!!! Anon.
nah its too powerful for Harry
Hi boys
and it bends in the wrong place
Regards Keith.
ramone:
nah its too powerful for Harry
Only ever got lumbered with an 80 supposedly a
32 tonner that was when on for Bowkers rather than
drive it i chucked it, i’ve driven stuff with only a
150 percy in that went better than that heap,
now that beauty of Keedwells i could have done
some good with that, proper motor, wish i’d had
one of them in the 60s when on the heavy stuff
would have made the job a piece of cake.
thanks harry long retired.
harry_gill:
ramone:
nah its too powerful for HarryOnly ever got lumbered with an 80 supposedly a
32 tonner that was when on for Bowkers rather than
drive it i chucked it, i’ve driven stuff with only a
150 percy in that went better than that heap,
now that beauty of Keedwells i could have done
some good with that, proper motor, wish i’d had
one of them in the 60s when on the heavy stuff
would have made the job a piece of cake.
thanks harry long retired.
Hello Harry, did you ever work for Siddle?
haddy:
harry_gill:
ramone:
nah its too powerful for HarryOnly ever got lumbered with an 80 supposedly a
32 tonner that was when on for Bowkers rather than
drive it i chucked it, i’ve driven stuff with only a
150 percy in that went better than that heap,
now that beauty of Keedwells i could have done
some good with that, proper motor, wish i’d had
one of them in the 60s when on the heavy stuff
would have made the job a piece of cake.
thanks harry long retired.Hello Harry, did you ever work for Siddle?
hiya,
No not for Siddle but for what was Tayforth who took over
“Cookies” and later became BRS North East, Siddle sold out
just about when i moved from the North West to the
North East, did drive what had been a Cookies F88
when i first started there, funnily right up to closure
it was still referred to as Cookies, i thought that
Eldiss might have used that name, but no.
thanks harry long retired.
harry_gill:
ramone:
nah its too powerful for HarryOnly ever got lumbered with an 80 supposedly a
32 tonner that was when on for Bowkers rather than
drive it i chucked it, i’ve driven stuff with only a
150 percy in that went better than that heap,
now that beauty of Keedwells i could have done
some good with that, proper motor, wish i’d had
one of them in the 60s when on the heavy stuff
would have made the job a piece of cake.
thanks harry long retired.
Never drove an 80 Harry but we had a load of these 81s.When I was on trunk I’d volunteer for owt else that was available rather than take one of these underpowered slugs.
And these 82Ms were no better…
And to shove a drag on the back was a bloody insult…
Chris Webb:
harry_gill:
ramone:
nah its too powerful for HarryOnly ever got lumbered with an 80 supposedly a
32 tonner that was when on for Bowkers rather than
drive it i chucked it, i’ve driven stuff with only a
150 percy in that went better than that heap,
now that beauty of Keedwells i could have done
some good with that, proper motor, wish i’d had
one of them in the 60s when on the heavy stuff
would have made the job a piece of cake.
thanks harry long retired.Never drove an 80 Harry but we had a load of these 81s.When I was on trunk I’d volunteer for owt else that was available rather than take one of these underpowered slugs.
Were they worse than the mkv AECs you drove?
And these 82Ms were no better…
And to shove a drag on the back was a bloody insult…