Sorry Steve.I did something wrong and put your post in my name.
Not very good for my first try
moomooland:
0
Now this must be one of the “coolest” shots to have been posted on this thread (forgive the pun!) Cheers Bewick.
on or two more traders
Guesty44:
milkmantom:
on or two more tradersThey keep turning up “eh”
GUESTY44
By the looks of the tyres , I think theyre churning` the ground ! 
Cheers , cattle wagon man.
rastone:
Ste46:
1970commer:
Ste46:
A couple of photos which have only recently surfaced - these were from my first driving job in the late 1960’s when I worked for a small family-owned tipper firm in Hilton, Derbyshire. We had a small fleet of Traders, mostly four wheelers, with two County double-drive conversions. I well remember regularly doing two loads a day with one of these from Cheadle to Liverpool, with 3/4 no fines (gravel men will understand) when they were building the new council development at Netherley - hundreds of poured concrete houses.I last passed Netherley about ten years ago and the whole lot has now been demolished - makes you realise that you’re getting old!
Steve
Nice assortment of none standard front grills on those traders Steve, who’d been wandering round at Jim Marsh’s robbing bits off cars to customise lorries then, cant imagine doing it today can you, trying to fit a front grill off a Toyota Avensis on to a Daf XF or putting wheel trims off a Ford Fiesta on to a Renault Premium but back in the day it was the done thing. Its nice to see a line up from 5 miles away from our yard though.
Yeah - Doug Allen always did like a bit of bling!
Got a few more photos of the fleet, too, but will post them on another thread as they aren’t Traders.
Steve
As well as Allens Do you remembe Albert Looms at Spondon.Here are some pics of one I sold them in 1964.The body didn’t stay like that for long.It soon got covered in pimples
One which is to sell in Uruguay.
Hi all
My first Job as a Lorry Driver was with Homeworthy Furniture based in Edmonton North London, i was only 19 but said i was 21. Mr Frenchman was the Gov"ner and Tom was the Transport Manager,my first lorry was a Thames Trader 2000 Cube pantechnicon loaded to the brim on my first day with 21 drops Scotland. Even the tailboard was loaded with furniture with a curtain over to keep it dry.Wow!! my first real job as a wagon driver i was in heaven i couldn’t wait to get it home in Harlow Essex to show my Dad (ex Wagon Driver).I think it ended up there were 7 drivers living in Harlow and in those days once loaded you took it home to go the same night.I wander how many Lorry Drivers of today could drive a Thames Trader fully loaded all the way to Scotland no heater, no night heater, no Radio, Microwaves, TVs, Stoves, etc Ha Ha to be honest i dont how we did but we did it and enjoyed it, oh how i wished i had taken photos.
Ste46:
1970commer:
Ste46:
A couple of photos which have only recently surfaced - these were from my first driving job in the late 1960’s when I worked for a small family-owned tipper firm in Hilton, Derbyshire. We had a small fleet of Traders, mostly four wheelers, with two County double-drive conversions. I well remember regularly doing two loads a day with one of these from Cheadle to Liverpool, with 3/4 no fines (gravel men will understand) when they were building the new council development at Netherley - hundreds of poured concrete houses.I last passed Netherley about ten years ago and the whole lot has now been demolished - makes you realise that you’re getting old!
Steve
Nice assortment of none standard front grills on those traders Steve, who’d been wandering round at Jim Marsh’s robbing bits off cars to customise lorries then, cant imagine doing it today can you, trying to fit a front grill off a Toyota Avensis on to a Daf XF or putting wheel trims off a Ford Fiesta on to a Renault Premium but back in the day it was the done thing. Its nice to see a line up from 5 miles away from our yard though.
Yeah - Doug Allen always did like a bit of bling!
Got a few more photos of the fleet, too, but will post them on another thread as they aren’t Traders.
Steve
More J.H.Allen Traders
Hi, the Ford van in the corner the forerunner to the Transit. Can anyone remember what it was called? As a kid I rode in one with a column change, always fancied having one.
Paul John:
Hi, the Ford van in the corner the forerunner to the Transit. Can anyone remember what it was called? As a kid I rode in one with a column change, always fancied having one.
Ford Thames 400E if memory serves me right.
or thames 15 cwt they had the same engine and g/box as the ford consul 3 speed column change my brother in law put a consul engine in one as his was knackered he had terrible trouble turning the steering wheel turns out the sump had to be turned round as the sump was sitting on the steering arm, when the transit came out they were so much better and advanced than the thames, I always liked the thames though, my ole man worked on fruit and veg stalls as well as lorry driving he at one time worked for henry cooper the boxer and they bought a transit truck C reg so 1965 supposedly the first with that type of body he used to bring it home every night anyway the bloody thing would never start in the morning especially if there was any damp about it was petrol remember me old dad cursing like a good un at 4 or 5 in the morning happy memories for me sorry if I ranted a bit happy days, fredm
Well I never, I was looking at one of those Thames van only a fortnight ago.It belonged to a Villiers engine agent and he brought two Cotton Motorcycles in it to the meeting at Gloucester.
ubym344:
or thames 15 cwt they had the same engine and g/box as the ford consul 3 speed column change my brother in law put a consul engine in one as his was knackered he had terrible trouble turning the steering wheel turns out the sump had to be turned round as the sump was sitting on the steering arm, when the transit came out they were so much better and advanced than the thames, I always liked the thames though, my ole man worked on fruit and veg stalls as well as lorry driving he at one time worked for henry cooper the boxer and they bought a transit truck C reg so 1965 supposedly the first with that type of body he used to bring it home every night anyway the bloody thing would never start in the morning especially if there was any damp about it was petrol remember me old dad cursing like a good un at 4 or 5 in the morning happy memories for me sorry if I ranted a bit happy days, fredm
Yes it was a 400E and a 15cwt but there was a 10/12cwt too and Ford said the vehicle was designed as a 15cwt not like the Bedford CA which was designed as a 10/12cwt. It had a wooden floor.Allens first had one with a three speed box but eventually Ford put a four speed which Allen’s had.They were a bit light on the back end but went well.Sometimes the gear change mechanism jammed but all you had to do was to get the long starting handle from the back of the seats,lift the bonnet, and “adjust” them.They also offered a Perkins 499 Diesel which wasn’t too exciting.I remember when the Transit came along I sat in the first one we had I thought what an awful THING,big thick gear lever and this one had sliding doors which were very wide.I said to myself these will never sell.I think I thought the wrong thing.They became the Bank Robbers most important vehicle.
The Ford Thames were amuch better van than the early V4 transit petrol engine pile of zb. The perkins 4.108 was o.k. but only on the twin wheel because of the weight.Then along came the disasterous York diesel,which had to have easy start every time.Load of rubbish they were nearly sent Ford to the wall. Good vans now though.
You may remember mentioning Charlie Hart but just to give some info.Charlie bought an Albion Chieftain from me that I took in Part ex from George Richardson for a D.Series but back to the Trader’s.Fred Harrison used to run B.M.C’s and they were sold to him by Basil Ainsworth who sold quite a few motors round there.He did sell Fred Kent a B.M.C. six wheeler which was quite a surprise to many folk int th’lls.However I sold a couple of Trader’s to Fred,one was a tipper and it had a Turner overdrive 5 speed box.That motor went to Cotton Transport at Burton.The other was a dropside and we agreed a deal sitting on a window sill outside The Bowling Green at Ashbourne on Market Day…
The tipper was needed to be under three tons unladen.Funny how these motors used to run on singles and no passenger seat.
I don’t think anybody will arrest me for that now