SimonRS2K:
and the other was called a knocker no idea what make it was
simon
Commer.
Salut, David.
Spardo:
SimonRS2K:
and the other was called a knocker no idea what make it was
simonCommer.
Salut, David.
That wouldnt be one of those 2-strokes would it, Spardo. I used to drive one of those for Martin Barrett ( was Maroy Trucking on Longmoor Lane, Long Eaton.) I remember travelling back home on the M1 in Leicestershire one dark evening and seeing sparks coming from the truck. I pulled in at Leicester Forest and phoned base to tell them of my concern. Martin burst out laughing, and told me not to worry, as this was normal for that type of truck. I have to say that this was the most comfortable non-sleeper cab Ive ever had the pleasure to sleep in. However, that wasnt the oldest truck Ive driven - that dubious honour goes to the Bedford RL that I learned to drive in. The worst truck I ever had the displeasure to drive was the old Albion Reever that was owned by the firm I am back with now (I`ve still got a sore left elbow as a reminder lol.) Some of the older ones on here will know what I mean by my last comment 
Regards
Trev
Trevor Parry:
[Commer.
.
That wouldn`t be one of those 2-strokes would it, Spardo.
[/quote]
It would. I drove one for Hedley Shaw of Pasture Rd. Stapleford after he had been taken over by C.E. Dormer of Leytonstone who took over Coopers of Wednesbury (anyone remember Reg Cooper ‘where’ve yo bin, caffee shappin’ eet?') who supplied us with some motors in his colours. This rowdy Commer was one of them. Flat floor walk across cab though. Not the first flat floor I drove, that honour goes to an Austin with the engine on its side underneath.
Salut, David.
A 1977 Ford D series and a Beford Joey (J type) cant remember what year the Joey was but I remember the fly wheel coming off it when I was in Market Harborough 
Bully
Not a truck,but in the mid-80’s I worked for a company called Suntrekers doing camping tours in Europe & N.Africa in open top double-deckers. I regularly did tours in Morocco with a 1956 Daimler CVG6. Gardner engine(150 I think) & a pre-select 4-speed gearbox. This set-up was good for a top speed of 35mph!!!. They used this motor down there because it was the most reliable.
It was quite a nice drive but every now and then,if you didn’t catch the gearchange just right, the change pedal would give an almighty kick back & give you a nice bruise on your shin This was the oldest bus in the fleet;newest was a1967 Leyland PD2.
XEE 917V, Sixteen speed 4x2 Volvo F10 with the splitter on the dash and a leaky roof. Pulled a tri-axle brick crane at 38t and I remember being very let down by its performance next to our 320 ■■■■■■■ powered Foden. On its demise however we discovered that it was only a 240 version. Little wonder I needed everyone of those 16 gears!
Small world, Spardo - I used to live on Pasture Rd in Stapleford. Served my drinking apprenticeship in the Man of Iron, which was run by Joe and Doreen, until their retirement
Regards
Trev
alix776:
whats the oldest truck youve ever driven in your career or do you have fond memories of a good old truck you drove long agome its the a choice of two the F reg 143 450 topline and the 143 500 m reg topline we have both great trucks the sound of the 500 is pure ■■■ throught the twin eminox stacks
the F reg is on steel at the back and has a 10 speed but is still great to drive
Well I took my Class 1 in 1981 on a long wheelbase twin steer Atkinson unit with a 180 Gardner, which used to be Pandoro’s training vehicle. I loved it so much that I tracked it round the country till I was able to buy it in Skegness in 1994, and I still have it now!
The oldest motor that I’ve driven commercially was a 1967 Atkinson Mk.1 unit (ratchet handbrake, tiny mirrors, no heater), but I’ve driven thousands of miles in diverse restored lorries including a 1924 Thornycroft (5 Trans-Pennine Runs, London to Brighton and London to Basingstoke, amongst others), 1920 Lancia Triota and 1934 Leyland Beaver. All good fun, and some surprisingly nice to drive, unladen at least!
Starting the Thorny (by hand) was interesting, to say the least. And driving it in the rain with just oil side lamps at the front and one oil lamp at the rear, with the windscreen open (no wipers!) was entertaining too!
The oldest for me, I think was a early-ish Bedford TK around mid 60’s vintage, can’t remember exactly. 
I drove loads of them things in my early days.
Big J Guy for Dodds Shepherds Bush, 1976. used to put camp bed over the engine hump and put towells over windows, early sleeper!
Maudsley (1954) …Thames Trader…Leyland Beaver (i love a beaver) … Leyland Mandator… Commer (2 stroke)…T.K.Bedford… Threepenny bit Austin… Ford D series(loved the ratchet hand brake)…Fordson (4jd)… Guy big J (8 legger) Guy Warrior (8 legger) Bedford TM…ERF (wooden floor) caught fire on the m4…Sed Atkinson Various including a 180 gardner…Leyland marathon…Scammell Crusader…Scammell Handyman (8 legger)
Maggie Deutz (column change) Ford trans Continental (way ahead of its time) Scania 111…Scania 141 (that v8 couldnt be beaten)Scania 81 (road train)Seddon…Strato…Volvo (F88) + (F89) VolvoF10…F12…F16…Daf 2600(split screen) Daf 2800…Leyland road train.and a bike with one wheel…not necessarily in that order…and maybe others i`v forgotten about…at present a Daf 430 SSC L.H.D.
truckyboy:
Maudsley (1954) …Thames Trader…Leyland Beaver (i love a beaver)
Maggie Deutz (column change) Ford trans Continental (way ahead of its time) Scania 111…Scania 141 (that v8 couldnt be beaten)Scania 81 (road train)Seddon…Strato…Volvo (F88) + (F89) VolvoF10…F12…F16…Daf 2600(split screen) Daf 2800…Leyland road train.and a bike with one wheel…not necessarily in that order…and maybe others i`v forgotten about…at present a Daf 430 SSC L.H.D.
A proper wagon man then!!
Yeah…driven a few in my time the best one was probably the bike.
28 year old
Saurer,right steered and built in Aargon,or how that is named
SimonRS2K:
The two oldest trucks ive ever driven were in the army in cyprus one was a bedford Jtype and the other was called a knocker no idea what make it was as i only drove it a few times the J type was an absolute beast to drive i remember the batteries shorting out on the bottom of the seat and setting on fire at 50 mph on the UN road i just carried on going till i got to nicosia and my mate who was passenger sat on the dash trying to put it outThe few times i drove the knocker i hated every minute of it 4 speed box that wouldnt go in gear no matter how much you timed the revs and double d clutched the ■■■■ thing, my mate used to sit on the engine cover and forse it in gear with his foot
simon
A Knocker was the AEC 10 tonner six wheeler, 1950 something vintage.
Top speed of 32 mph.
I did my class 2 test in one and the tester lept over the engine cowling to check i wasnt going over 30 mph
.
An 83 GMC General, it was 21 when I quit driving it, with a 13 speed roadranger, and a 300 big-cam come-apart under the hood. Loved it
Trevor Parry:
Small world, Spardo - I used to live on Pasture Rd in Stapleford. Served my drinking apprenticeship in the Man of Iron, which was run by Joe and Doreen, until their retirement
Regards
Trev
How old are you Trev, not old enough I suppose to remember old Hedley? He ran in 2 tone red colours and worked out of Stanton. His yard and garage were on the left towards Trowel next to a club (The Albion?) and 100 yards before the turn into Moorbridge Lane. He had a smashed up Leyland Comet in the yard which had come to grief after losing brakes down a long hill somewhere. The driver survived the experience fortunately. Hedley sold up to Dormers after setting himself on fire trying to light the wood stove in the garage with paraffin. They put in green Dodge artics and later Coopers took control on behalf of Dormers supplying many of their blue and red motors.
The man of Iron is down on the bend near the Hickings lane turn isn’t it? Don’t know Joe & Doreen though. What year was that? I was with the firm in about 1965.
Salut, David.
Spardo:
When I was selling cars my partner said ‘nip up the auctions and get a bit of stock’. So off I went but didn’t fancy what was on offer and came back with an ex WD wartime Morris Commercial reccer with a straight 6 petrol engine and about 6 gears and transfer box to lock into 4 wheel drive. The crane was handcranked and the batteries were 2x6 volts measuring about 3 feet long each. Starting in the morning involved a half turn of the engine on pulling the button, a heartsinking pause, then roaring into life. Never failed.
I paid £65 for it and £12 later for a WD workshop manual from a specialist dealer. This manual, designed for the thickest of squaddies and describing everything in the minutest of detail, enabled me, a non-mechanic, to split the engine and gearbox and strip and refurbish the transfer box.We painted it blue and white and, with the addition of some west coast mirrors it looked very pretty.
No power on the fluid brakes meant that going down hill, laden or otherwise, involved forming my body into a rigid bar between pedal and seat back (came in handy later in my old Kew Dodge, see Sutton Bank thread). No power steering involved considerable muscle work (I was younger then), blipping the throttle and pulling downwards with both hands on one side of the wheel.
I even used to sleep in it, across the seats, outside the police post at Trowel services, ready to clear up the tangled wreckage of the night.
We earned a bob or two, plus pulling purchases back from the ‘block’, and then sold it for double the money a year or so later. He sold it on and for some years it was operated out of the Fina garage on the A52 westbound between Sandiacre and the M1 J25. Mean old sod wouldn’t buy the manual though and I’ve still got it to this day, still in its protective plastic cover, might put it on e-bay.
Update: Now I’ve discovered images, here’s a pic of an original from that manual. Of course ours was much prettier
In haulage terms, in the sixties, Hedley Shaw of Stapleford whom I drove for, had a fifties AEC 8 wheeler, 6 wheeler, Guy Invincible 8 wheeler, and an Octopus. I at different times drove them all but, as a newbie, got the relatively modern, but not as good an earner, (paid by %, therefore more weight, more money) Albion 4 wheeler. Non of the old geezers there were artic drivers so when the first new LAD Dodge came, I slipped straight into the driving seat - thought all my christmasses had come at once
Salut, David.
Oldest truck? umm.Cant remember the reg but i drove a 0608 then an 0709 Ford D series for Hudsons.My elbow still bears the scars…
Oldest wagon i had when i started doing distance work was a Ford Cargo 0811 . SJX 513 X aka the six day wonder.
what a pile of ■■■.
It was a “last wagon on friday night” truck.Horrible.No power steering and a habit of breaking down,as you can probably tell from the nickname.
she dumped her piston rings on the Heads of the Valley road as a copper was following me.He wasnt too impressed apparently 
Dumped half her brakes when fully loaded on Long Lane in Liverpool.That scared me and the bus who nearly had the honour of collecting my fare. Stopped 6 inch away after braking for what seemed like a mile,but was probably only half that.
Her finest hour was probably blowing her new engine up,cracked cylinder head,in the middle lane just as i came out of swansea one friday morning.
I remember the truck.But with very little pleasure.
My finest regular motor was a MAN 8.150. F 524 AWN known as “babe”
I got her when she was 3 years old with 100k on her.Her diff broke up in Lincoln which ended her,But that was 6 years later with over 750k on her.All original driveline bar a clutch.
What a cracking motor she was. 