C is for Canadian Commer

At the same time news came through about the South African Commer recovery, Peter Scarr of Lake Erie in Canada took delivery of this Mk III.

Apart from broken headlights and a stolen Commer badge, the truck is amazingly complete. Peter reckons it’s come out of a time capsule. The extra lights situated alongside the grille are actually factory-fitted but not widely seen on surviving Commers.

Believe it or not, the Commer has been sitting outside all of its life and still wears her original paint on the cab and chassis. In fact, the only rust present is on the surface where the paint has worn away. Despite having a lot of experience with old trucks and c*rs, Peter has never seen a vehicle that has survived so well.

Details at hand suggest she was last registered in 1961 when she was just five years old. It is therefore quite possible the 75,000 miles on the clock are all she has ever done. If used on interstate work, it would be reasonable to expect she would have done 175,000 miles or more.

The TS3 was pulled out for repair, probably in 1961, and never refitted. The “Dodo Egg” gearbox (genuine early Commer four-speed overdrive) is still there and delivered the grunt to a high-speed diff. Another indication of her intended interstate work is the massive, long range saddle-type fuel tank. Her low mileage, however, is supported by the pedals (and to a lesser extent the gauges and steering wheel) showing very little wear.

Continuing the time capsule “walk around”, all the wheels on the short 115-inch chassis turn freely (air-over-hydraulic brakes...on a 1956 Mk III!) and, amazingly, all of the tyres remain inflated and proudly display “Made in England” on their walls! Another indicator of low mileage surely? Finally, and again unusually, she is fitted with Armstrong shock absorbers on the front and rear. These appear factory-fitted and perhaps indicate she was used to transport fragile goods.

A mystery yes, but surely unique in North America? Probably but wouldn't it be cool if she wasn’t the only one!

Thanks again to Howard Pettigrew for permission to use the above photos.