Thanks for the suggestion of the shed A-J ? And the ride on the bike? that’s what I do when the sun shines ,the wet roads with diesel spill is not worth the risk , this shed is not mine ,mores the pity !! MIRLIN may be interested ? But I know he likes Japycrappy !! I am still getting my leg over ?!!! And have just come ," in " Both these bikes are for sale mint condition "Blue chip investment " 10 k the 2 ,6&4 respectively , Ron
@Ron, I have no clue on the marques but they look awesome! Does the price includes the (Arthur Fonzarelli-)jacket
with TRANSARABIA on it? You’re our hells angel over here! Enjoy the rides, temperature over here is good >21*C
You would be a great Paris-Dakar contributor, with your knowledge on heat, sand, dust…like
the attached ■■■■■■■■■■■■ from 1957 was explaining.
Well ,thanks A-J , I will have to get a Comb of Wirlin ? I don’t think he uses one any more ? Ron
His comb AND an unlimited cheque for beers at THE AVION in Aldridge so that you
might convince John Davies to look for the TA-archive, hence enabling us to read
more and more on the magnificient TA-company!
Cheers and cheers! Speaking of moviestars…woehoe!!!
Pathway to the Stars!! Just thinking back to The truck that had Broken down 1/2 way to Riyhda in the middle of the desert ? I have briefly wrote about before, I went out with JW he was going with containers to Riyhad , dropping me off at the partly sized ERF about 300 miles out from Jedda with the Philo It was midday before we got to the truck ,the next day ,the temp was red hot !! ,JW went on his way ? I had time to figure out how to get this truck onto the 40ft trailer the following day, after tipping in Riyhad , he will return tomorrow , To survive this heat for 2 days out there ,as any one will tell you is a killer . The philo and I spoke little ,with food and water we where holding out OK, with a plan in mind I started to collect old oil tins from the desert floor ? This I thought would make a path up a soft sand bank to run up the truck onto the trailer !! That night we sat in the cab watching the hot sun go down and the Christmass trees at night going by ,and eventually went to sleep . Next morning again we collected more rubbish in readiness to build a bridge from the sand dune to the trailer ? I just wanted Jim to get back with the trailer !! Will it work ? JW arrived again round midday , he did not BELIEVE the plan would work !! And said you will have to have a Crane !! ? I turned the artic round and Rammed the trailer into the sand bank ! Bridging the gap with old tail gates and a bonnet bits of wood it’s got to work ? Making a path to the trailer I said ok drive it on !! No way they both said ? Building up full air I drove the truck as fast as it would go up the path of tins and over the bridge !! By this time the Trailer had disappeared ? To my amazement I got 3parts on with the NSF over hanging the trailer !!!thats when I saw the Stars I know it’s along Storie but I got it on eventually . With the help of Ziedes Peter built artic ,with tractors on the back of his 60ft I flagged him down on this road to hell ,thank god ,let’s get back to Jeddah ,still a day away, JW had a Migraine the Philo his name was MATT "The saucepan " !!? Was relieved , I was ready for bed Ron. "To be continued "
Back at Trans Arabia a couple of days latter . Removing the heads from this ERF and checking the bores ? I put a cup full of fuel onto each piston crown !! and found the last 2 cyl had picked up !! Removing the sump with no PIT ,available ,removed 5-6 Pistons and liners rebuilt with new kit , changing water pump the oil cooler and all filters all done the ERF was back in service just as if it never happened ? But yes it had ,the truck was good Just brilliant to relive those times Ron , " ps just for A-J. See photo below "
@ Ron, you should hang your jacket in Fort Knox! Priceless and full of memories!
So don’t flog it and perhaps your son Mark is longing to wear it.
By the way, I today ‘discovered’ that ‘your’ TA #123 ERF was a 3MW and ex-Dutch.
That also confirms (I only know of this one chassis in Holland) that from 1969 to 1973
some business was done with ERF, however not via Best Truck Import.
A-J
Trans Arabia Khamish I had just relined JPs trailer extreme right !! and blow me down these three turned up after all the work was done !! But to see these lads was great !! 5 days away From Jeddah sharing a bowl of rice and a smoke , no body wanted my donkeys tin hut for the night ,they where spoilt with sleeper cabs and A/C , it was a terrible ride down for me ,storms all the way you can see it was just drying out ,the journey back was just OK and seeing Gogie at the top of Tief made my day ,he fed me Beens with sand , his new Rolex blinded me !! I know they old stories but the photos are fresh of my slides ,Ron
Thanks for the info A-J , I have just found cab over White for your scrap book twin stacks this must have been in Jeddah Ron
Thanks Ron!
I frequently wondered why White/Autocar didn’t had more presence with their products in the Middle East.
Back in the shoebox …any of you remember seeing this between Tiaf and Riyhad ■■?.. as I mentioned before this is the only place where I get to remember these days and there are some great yarns !!! somebody said it ai,nt a life for the fainthearted at SARAMAT there was an ex army lad hard as nails Ion one trip there were 3 of us he had numerous flats and blowouts we used up the truck spares and the trailers well we made do …he was in tears at the finish and pulled the pin and went home so it was and experience right enough
Backsplice ? You are along way from Blighty ? You must like the Sun standing upside down to us lot ? Your memories go along side of all of us traveling the same roads sharing that hot Sun as if there was not enough to go round . The blow outs could take its toll on blokes , trying to get into a safe place out of the way of the camacarzy Tonkers and the effort of cracking the wheel nuts with the bars digging in the sand It was heavy work . Dehydration was exhausting and demoralising ,it was bad enough in the yard ! Going out to trucks in trouble,out there was a dread ,there was never a dull moment at T/A , you can just see my hotel for the night in the background , the price on the screen is what KB paid me for the Trip Ron
Nice digs Ron … was breakfast thrown in ■■? these split rims were mongrel of things to fix a puncture in especially in the sand but like you say needs must there was always a way out !!!you had to use your loaf I have only praise for you mechanics … geez it was hot enough without a flaming hot engine !! mind you I have to say that my F89 never had any out of depot work done on it although going up Taif it was practice to keep flicking the range change so the cable would,nt get stuck to the shield I was advised to do that on my first trip out of Jeddah ( to Ras Tanura) and developed the habit typical driver though did,nt want to get another tractor or want anybody to get mine
Mah Salahm
Driving time , I have just looked on Google ? 1day 4hrs . From Jeddah to Khamis Mushayat this is nearly all mountain road and this must be in a car ? Our trucks loaded you can say 2days 892.9 miles !!i don’t remember what time the 3 musketeers arrived at the bottom of the mountain road where JP had run out of brakes ? But looking at the shadows it must have been late after noon , Ron
ronhawk:
Rons farewell GCC ,engine bay ,there where at least 10 engine stands with ■■■■■■■ of all shapes and sizes in this " oven" of a place all good men straight and true , the work was hard,the men where great ,The man on my left Pervez his ears use to bleed running up the test at full bore on the Dyno i insisted he wore ear muffs no silencers where used full load at 2100 rpm , I really rated the ■■■■■■■ Engine Ron
@Ron, I have a modest first contact with GCC/Olayan…from when till when you joined GCC?
A-J
ronhawk:
Backsplice ? You are along way from Blighty ? You must like the Sun standing upside down to us lot ? Your memories go along side of all of us traveling the same roads sharing that hot Sun as if there was not enough to go round . The blow outs could take its toll on blokes , trying to get into a safe place out of the way of the camacarzy Tonkers and the effort of cracking the wheel nuts with the bars digging in the sand It was heavy work . Dehydration was exhausting and demoralising ,it was bad enough in the yard ! Going out to trucks in trouble,out there was a dread ,there was never a dull moment at T/A , you can just see my hotel for the night in the background , the price on the screen is what KB paid me for the Trip Ron
Nice picture of my Chev Blazer - nice wheel on the front
Spent many a night in the back of her when doing reci ops - 10nights the longest - had MEJ and DhH on one journey to Almasarne via Jizan - that really was an interesting trip from start to nearly back to Jeddah - 4 nights undercover - had a tent also - no Hilton hotels - did all the cooking driving
On the initial run to Almasarne I had to go to Najran airport to pick up various people from Jeddah and meet up with our guide who was in a Toyota Lancruiser - A fab vehicle - I ran from Jeddah to halfway down the Abha - Najran road before I pulled over for the night - 5am till about 21.30 - also stopped off in Abha to buy some spare tyres for the Blazer
Love your picture of the 3 Phillipinos - all those steel rods as aerials on the Mack
If I remember correctly Boy was a very strong guy and could lift 1200 x 20 tyres and rims off the floor onto flat beds - not a man to argue with!!
I smiled at JP vehicle loaded with Steel re bar for the Indonesian Construction co who were building a new market in Abha - that’s another story - Mr Widodo - turned up in TA 's office with a suitcase of cash on a Thursday afternoon when the banks were closed - had to put that under the bed!!
You never mention how well fed you all were ( in Jeddah)by our fantastic Indonesian chef Hamza he could cook a mean steak
Most of your pictures are about broken down trucks and trailers - anyone would think we had a junk fleet - mind you I think some of those ex Jones 2nd hand trucks had done a million k before coming to Jeddah repainted!!
Ken
Well KB ,so I have given the impression that we ran a load of junk ? I have aways praised the ERF from A to B with the ■■■■■■■ I thought they where great ,considering that they where thoroughly over hauled before the came out on this venture proved to be a good truck ,Sounds as you where living well on the reci trips , I would have loved 10nights in a tent and would have done a straight swop for the donkey shed Har Har , there where many times I only just made it back by the skin of my teeth , it was aways great to get back to Jeddah to have good food and a bed , but I was called out to look after the lads in trouble that was my job and I loved it , and never failed ,as well as driving , I did all that I had to do , Hamsa the Cook was great, the camel steaks where great , I Remember calling Jeddah home that’s a compliment to the food and lodging That dose’nt mean that our house is comparable you understand Mirlin knows we live in a semi detached mansion house !! Ron.
ronhawk:
Well KB ,so I have given the impression that we ran a load of junk ? I have aways praised the ERF from A to B with the ■■■■■■■ I thought they where great ,considering that they where thoroughly over hauled before the came out on this venture proved to be a good truck ,Sounds as you where living well on the reci trips , I would have loved 10nights in a tent and would have done a straight swop for the donkey shed Har Har , there where many times I only just made it back by the skin of my teeth , it was aways great to get back to Jeddah to have good food and a bed , but I was called out to look after the lads in trouble that was my job and I loved it , and never failed ,as well as driving , I did all that I had to do , Hamsa the Cook was great, the camel steaks where great , I Remember calling Jeddah home that’s a compliment to the food and lodging That dose’nt mean that our house is comparabliie you understand Mirlin knows we live in a semi detached mansion house !! Ron.
Ron
I guess the pictures are from your expeditions although I cannot remember that we did a lot of it- I used to go with JD before you arrived although we were never away overnight.
The thing I liked about traveling on the road was that you parked up late at night in the dark - not a clue what really surrounded you until nxt morning (have to day I was never disappointed) when the locals were appearing out of the dersrt and mountain area and the kids were coming to the main road for the school bus - interesting times
Keep cool
Ken
Not exactly belonging to this thread but herewith two small movies from Damco-Van Swieten (later Nedlloyd
Road Cargo and a sister-company of Damco GG) heading towards KSA. Because of the file-size it’s in two parts.
youtu.be/otKYI5YGuNI?t=838
youtu.be/rteS44ILYbk
Damco-Van Swieten has been formed in 1848 and quite some companies as “Koopvaart” and “SBS” (Van der Schuyt,
Boom en Stanfries) were absorbed into Van Swieten. Damco by the way still exists being a part of Maersk now.