when i first began driving wagons i was lucky enough to be given the keys to a volvo f89 , i was the man you see …
i’ve also had the pleasure of driving stuff like several transcons , a 142 ( that was the bosses motor ) and i’ve had a stint in a mack … … and several others .
the question is would you go back driving your scania 111 , 140’s and 141’s or whatever your favorite was and stick with it ■■ because i have a theory that all aint like we remember . for example the f89 i drove was smokey , smelly , hot in summer and cold in winter had a cramped bunk ( you could’nt live with the top one in you had no room . so go on would you …■■
Yes I would, I don’t go back that far, I started 25yrs ago so I missed the real old crap, but I would go back to doing continental the way we used to do it in a heartbeat, I had a 2800 Daf for my 1st trip to Italy, but swap it for a 141 and I would be a very happy bunny indeed
I’d like to take a few modern things back with me, things like my Ipod, internet, air suspension, modern tyres and brakes, I’d be happy to get rid of the motorways though
I would as long as I could have a go on a Leyland Bison tipper, Dads’ Foden 8wheeler B501 AUD with twin splitter or D704 PWL*
*Windrush has had the experience of this old girl!
I would go back on any of the lorries I drove.I wouldn’t worry what I drove because I’m older and hopefully wiser and would take each day as it came.If it came down to which one,it would be C W Griffiths Commer Maxiload which I drove for them.
newmercman:
I’d like to take a few modern things back with me, things like my Ipod, internet, air suspension, modern tyres and brakes, I’d be happy to get rid of the motorways though
Ah, that’s cheating!!! Why not say, I’ll have a 141 with a 730 motor, auto box & full climate controll etc■■?
It has to be “warts & all”!! My first ‘proper’ truck was a 1982 F12 330, I’d had a 1978 F10 240 prior and whilst it never let me down I used to get left on the hills coming back from Valencia, but with the F12 I could run with almost anything and it had a NIGHT HEATER & AIR CON!!! (the F10 had air con but it didn’t work)
But no!!! My boss (I was self employed in those days) just bought a flat top F12 to restore and I have to say that I don’t remember them being that small inside so my vote is for a definate NO!! Nice for a little nostalgia but to punch back & forth to Spain weekly, I don’t think so thank you very much.
newmercman:
I’d like to take a few modern things back with me, things like my Ipod, internet, air suspension, modern tyres and brakes, I’d be happy to get rid of the motorways though
Ah, that’s cheating!!! Why not say, I’ll have a 141 with a 730 motor, auto box & full climate controll etc■■?
Ross.
Well it’s only slightly cheating I don’t want all the bells and whistles, but brakes would be nice, especially when going out on the ■■■■ at weekends unit only, them old Scanias weren’t much fun then and there’s a 111 on the show circuit with factory air suspension, so that’s not cheating at all and I need the ipod as i thrown all my old tapes out
newmercman:
there’s a 111 on the show circuit with factory air suspension, so that’s not cheating at all and I need the ipod as i thrown all my old tapes out
Air suspension, DEFFO!! I did a bit in a mates 141 back in ‘the day’ and poured half a cup of coffee out of my flask whilst driving on the M1, before I got the top back on the flask I went over a bump the size of a ■■■ packet and half the coffee ended up on the windscreen & the other half on the bunk. So air suspension was a must!!
The iPod, no problem!! It’s not a part of the truck and you can get one of those white cassette’s you plug into your iPod & shove into the cassette slot and your in there with your 9,000 tunes !!
I’d bet a hundred quid you wouldn’t last a month, even with air suzzies & yer MP3 player!!
What! go back to freezin yer thingies off in winter, v8 14o’s whistleing on idle, F88 290 the prettiest tractor unit of all time, DAF 310 DKS, making your way to far off places, making life long friends, helping fellow drivers and being helped, treating and being treated as equals by people of all creeds and cultures, getting yourself out of what seemed to be impossible sittuations, living a life of adventure?!------------------ nah give me Eddie Stobart any day
From 73 to 84, I was lucky and had various new units every 2 years,but by far,the best and last two i had was 76P plate, 290 F88 and a 78T plate,350 Transcon,i loved both them trucks.
and Yea if i were 10years younger now and could do the regular European work i was doing then,and doing it the same way i would be back tomorrow
They were mostly Good days
Would I want to drive one today? day in day out, maybe, 2800/3300 Daf yes, 290 F88, 111 Scania, the best time for me was from when I started in 75 through to 86, but I can remember getting my first Atki Borderer 220 Rolls 2 years old and it was great, old lorries only look bad with hindsight, when your driving a D Series Ford, and your boss gives you an Atki, it’s a real step up, at the time, of course once your tasted the delights of an F88 or Scanny, you wouldn’t want to go back, same as when the F10/12 came out you wanted the next new one. But I can honestly say if I was in the job market and someone offered me a job doing local with an Atki Borderer, and the cash was right I jump at it, and same with an 88/111. Plus it would have to be roping and sheeting.
i would go back tomorrow if i could be 40 years younger ! old bedfords , fodens and all . you had to learn to drive properly , the boss gave you your work & trusted you to get it done [ ring when tipped ] . there was always time for a brew & natter with your mates [ we all sat round the same table then ] . if you broke down someone , often a complete stranger would stop and help . watched eddie stobarts on tv last night , thank god i’m out of it now !!! all those pimply oiks behind computers telling grown men what to do , turned it off in disgust . if that is driving now , us older ones had the best of it , i bet harry l r would agree .
rigsby:
i would go back tomorrow if i could be 40 years younger ! old bedfords , fodens and all . you had to learn to drive properly , the boss gave you your work & trusted you to get it done [ ring when tipped ] . there was always time for a brew & natter with your mates [ we all sat round the same table then ] . if you broke down someone , often a complete stranger would stop and help . watched eddie stobarts on tv last night , thank god i’m out of it now !!! all those pimply oiks behind computers telling grown men what to do , turned it off in disgust . if that is driving now , us older ones had the best of it , i bet harry l r would agree .
“Ring when tipped” We still do that, but with a mobile phone! My Uncle was asked a few years back why he didn’t ring when tipped instead of going to the yard and washing his truck, to which he replied “I couldn’t think of anything to say!” With that office man shook his head and walked back indoors.
I started in 1960, would I go back? yes, but not to todays traffic and all the rules and regs. Two that stick in my mind, New AEC Marshall 5177WY, wonderful machine, only a 7.7 AEC, but it was a good un. The other, and the best, an Atky unit. 290 ■■■■■■■ and a Fuller range change. I did a lot of happy miles in that. Keep it on the governor and it would show the modern machines a thing or two.
Hello newmercman, you said, “but brakes would be nice, especially when going out on the ■■■■ at weekends unit only, them old Scanias weren’t much fun then…” What was wrong with the brakes, unit only?
The reason most of the tractors were so uncomfortable when bobtail was the short wheelbase, and the brakes were either wedge or s cams, wedge brakes on Ford and Iveco were always going to be rubbish, but a set of trailer brakes, a 9/16 spanner and a mucky coat was all that was needed every morning
Too many freezing nights in a cab, No night heaters in them days. Missed the kids growing up. One of the kids asked the wife if daddy had left home. No dear she answered, He works for A one Transport. Yes I would go back to them days in a flash.
BIG NEWS on this subject, a mate of mine is an O/D on european work and he works along side a bloke (also now an O/D) who once had quite a large fleet of trucks working from a depot at the side of the M62 at Burtonwood. (that narrows it down a bit eh??)
So, the story is he’s working as an O/D (despite being worth a few bob) and is currently having an F88 restored to better than new condition, I’m told that once finished, he’s going to put it to work doing 2 trips a week to Belgium (at 38 tons gross) and selling the Magnum he’s currently doing this work with!!!
Hows that for timing■■? (with this thread starting!!)
Ross.
PS, This is completely as I was told it today and if it’s not true I accept no responsibility!!
bigr250:
BIG NEWS on this subject, a mate of mine is an O/D on european work and he works along side a bloke (also now an O/D) who once had quite a large fleet of trucks working from a depot at the side of the M62 at Burtonwood. (that narrows it down a bit eh??)
So, the story is he’s working as an O/D (despite being worth a few bob) and is currently having an F88 restored to better than new condition, I’m told that once finished, he’s going to put it to work doing 2 trips a week to Belgium (at 38 tons gross) and selling the Magnum he’s currently doing this work with!!!
Hows that for timing■■? (with this thread starting!!)
Ross.
PS, This is completely as I was told it today and if it’s not true I accept no responsibility!!
… and several others .
