anyone got pics or info on these.i worked for spillers wonderloaf Blackburn for a while and they ran loads of these on bread rounds in lancs and ■■■■■■■■■■■■ also ran transit vans on merry baker home delivery rounds for a while.during the early 70s.
No pics but I spent 8 years working on them for various bakeries, Huntley and Palmers, and many other companies.
Pete.
My Grandad was a mechanic in the Wonderloaf Dagenham factory.
i had many happy hours in one of those,my dad was a milkman for northern dairies (dalefarm) and they had loads of them,i remember them to be very noisey even with the compulsery blanket and coat over the engine cover,but to a 10 yr old going along with the doors tied open was fantastic.
Sunblest (Allied Bakeries) from Nottingham ran loads.
When I first glanced at the title of this thread I thought it said, “Wonderfull”.
PMSL- I’ve driven one 
We literally had hundreds at Mothers Pride. When I was at Wigan we had over 100 in the fleet at one time. Tough little lorries but as one poster has commented already, very noisy in the cab. We had one converted for towing broken down vans, nothing fancy, just a straight drawbar arrangement and I used it in the early hours of one morning to recover a Ford D series 16-tonner trunking vehicle of ours that had broken down on the M61, fully loaded with bread needed for loading onto the rounds vans. I had the Ford on the bar, stopped at the top of the long descent down into Aspull and selected second gear to get down the hill, told the driver of the Ford to give me as much braking help as he could and set off. Needless to say the braking effort of the FG was inadequate with that weight behind and I was not in control of a runaway. The engine was screaming away so I had to change up into 3rd gear, not a hope in hell of making the left turn into Cale Lane where the bakery was (and still is), so had to go all the way down the hill, through Scholes traffic lights on red, no brakes at all by then, went through Wigan centre and back up to the hill to the bakery. Arrived there, smoking brakes and clutch on the FG, two very shaken men, I think Brian Cowburn in the Ford was even more shaken up than me, he looked ill at the best of times but he looked like death warmed up that night. I think that the FG recovered quicker than both of us. An exhilerating experience at the very least. 
I don’t know how they were ever allowed on the roads,they must be one of the worst vehicles ever built,but that’s only my opinion after a few brief drives in one.By their popularity they must have been a good bosses truck!Pity the boss never had to drive one!
bestbooties:
I don’t know how they were ever allowed on the roads,they must be one of the worst vehicles ever built,but that’s only my opinion after a few brief drives in one.By their popularity they must have been a good bosses truck!Pity the boss never had to drive one!
I honestly dont think that they have ever been bettered for local multi-drop workly, which after all is what they were designed for. Portly driver’s were a tight fit through the door though, and often the seat base (which only dropped in) would follow them out of the cab! 
However there was a firm in Reading who did a Glasgow run with them, and Modern Display had 4 and 6 cylinder coachbuilt versions that travelled all over Europe for shows etc. The smaller models didn’t have servo assisted brakes either so could take some stopping. They were pretty robust things and very easily repaired, I drove many miles in them besides repairing them and on the larger wheeled models the steering could be heavy but the smaller ones that bakeries used were not so bad. Manor Bakeries (Mr Kipling) had a fleet of the 3.5 ton ones with the 2.2/2.5 diesels and single rear wheels, they were fitted with Borg Warner automatic gearboxes with a nylon gate and the driver’s used to run then flat out in low gear and then pull the lever through into high gear. Alas they often pulled it too far and hit PARK instead, resulting in about 50 yards of broken casing and oil slicks!!! 
Pete.
gingerfold:
We literally had hundreds at Mothers Pride. When I was at Wigan we had over 100 in the fleet at one time. Tough little lorries but as one poster has commented already, very noisy in the cab. We had one converted for towing broken down vans, nothing fancy, just a straight drawbar arrangement and I used it in the early hours of one morning to recover a Ford D series 16-tonner trunking vehicle of ours that had broken down on the M61, fully loaded with bread needed for loading onto the rounds vans. I had the Ford on the bar, stopped at the top of the long descent down into Aspull and selected second gear to get down the hill, told the driver of the Ford to give me as much braking help as he could and set off. Needless to say the braking effort of the FG was inadequate with that weight behind and I was not in control of a runaway. The engine was screaming away so I had to change up into 3rd gear, not a hope in hell of making the left turn into Cale Lane where the bakery was (and still is), so had to go all the way down the hill, through Scholes traffic lights on red, no brakes at all by then, went through Wigan centre and back up to the hill to the bakery. Arrived there, smoking brakes and clutch on the FG, two very shaken men, I think Brian Cowburn in the Ford was even more shaken up than me, he looked ill at the best of times but he looked like death warmed up that night. I think that the FG recovered quicker than both of us. An exhilerating experience at the very least.
Mothers Pride had a place in Rowley Road Coventry, heres a model I’m getting for my collection. My first little driving job delivering garden shed was on one too.
My everlasting memory of Mother’s Pride is of the Austin/Morris LD van, the diesel engines of which proved ideal as replacements for the petrol-engine Austin A60 Cambridge.
I drove two of the FG cabbed motors before I was 21. With the one which I drove full time for William Powell of Kington I was clocking well over a thousand miles a week delivering and collecting building materials throughout Mid Wales and Herefordshire… It was supposed to carry three ton,but often had five onboard.
It was heavy on the steering and gutless with a four cylinder engine,but very reliable and did a lot of work.
Cheers Dave.
I seem to remember the single wheel fg models could be made light enough to be able to get an ordinary m.o.t. by using smaller tyres,taking out drivers seat and door panels,taking off spare wheel carrier,making a light flat out of 8mm ply,no hub caps or rear mudguards,1.5 engine and a cup full of fuel in a small tank.we did these for loads of small builders and tarmac lads so they didn’t need o licences or hgv mots.the larger engine version with the 3.8 diesel engine was the worst,forever cracking liners so we used to fit I think 3.2 ones and job sorted.they were cheap to buy,run and maintain. 
regards,jack preston.
We, Ran 3 of thease horrors 1 , 4 potter and 2 6 potters ,The 4 , potter no power but ran on air , The 2, 6 potters did us well but hard work to drive , Cheers Barry
Otherwise known as BATHGATE SCANIAS!!!.
Eddie.
