A bit quiet on my side

Hi all

Sorry for being a bit quiet of late especially in the form of blog posts. I've got at least three shows/runs and a heap of little features to put up but we've been pre-occupied of late.

Thanks to those who have kept in touch and kept sending in some great material. In the past few weeks I was lucky enough to finally meet Howard Pettigrew of Kiwi (and worldwide) Commer fame (http://www.commer.org.nz/) and catch up with Pat Morris. Great to finally put a face to a name in Howard's case and finally see Pat's collection - mmm.

Andy

Bridgetown Old Machinery Show - 2009

I'm afraid the name of this show escapes me at the moment but this is the third instalment of something that started in 2004 if I remember correctly. From the photos below this is one of the best truck attendances I've seen in the West ...and just check out the Ridolfo Pete!

The line up below consists of, from right to left, Peter Johnston's 1953 Chev, a Ford A, Rob Hyde's V8 Inter, Brian Brooke's 110 (I think) van, a Dodge, Barry Kitto's R190 and Ted Pickston's equally stunning Foden (and a few others I can't ID).

Above: Daniel Ridolfo's stunning Peterbilt, 1960 or 1961 I think, was the first truck his family's business bought. I last saw her in 2004 sitting in a Kewdale workshop as a very well-restored rolling chassis and engine and I believe she was recovered from a sugar cane farm in Queensland. If Barry Kitto's R190 was the leading restoration from last year, this surely must be 2009's selection. Below: the attention to detail is superb.

Above: this Inter with the Kalgoorlie plates was restored 20 years ago by Bourkie who Victorians might remember came over with Barry to last year's Sandown. Below: Ted Pickston's magic Foden S20 is a former east-west prime-mover. You don't see many of these on the road down here!

Above: this B61 was originally restored by a haulier bloke in Geraldton before being sold to its current 'edge-of-Donnybrook' owner who has at least another 15 trucks in his collection (his name escapes me ... I'm doing well tonight!). She's a bit different in having her glove box lid signed by Slim Dusty.

Successful shows over the weekend

Three major classic commercial shows were held over the weekend - one relatively new and the others well-established. The Hunter Valley Classic Commercial Club's Truck Muster - I think the last one was five years ago - was a great success and based on the text messages I was getting from Andrew Blacklock over the weekend, the organisers were beside themselves.

Similarly, the Heritage Truck Association held their regular Beenleigh weekend and pulled off a great show as always. Fine weather prevailed and the photos show this to great effect! Cam McFadyen will be writing a report on Beenleigh for ACC.

Over in Western Australia, the town of Bridgetown put on its bi-annual 'old time' show (I forget the official title) and there's a couple of nice surprises to feature there including what must surely be this year's best restoration. In the meantime, here's some pics to keep you excited.

Above: one of the highlights of the HVCCVC's Truck Muster was the line-up of Smith's Transport trucks - all now retired. From left to right: Andrew Blacklock's Scammell Routeman Mk II, Smith's Leyland Reiver, Andrew Blacklock and Paul Campbell's AEC Monarch and Keiran Jefferies' Albion. A lot of local history there. Below: Paul Harrison's rather impressive Volvo F717. Andrew Blacklock photos.

Above: Beenleigh is renowned for its large numbers of Macks in attendance but the range of smaller gear has to be seen to be believed. Here's a Dodge Power Wagon, Commer Superpoise and what looks like an Austin Loadstar fire truck. Perfect weather too. Cam McFadyen photo. Below: this Mack B85 is now owned by Des Hockley and is seen at the Bridgetown show. Mack only built just over 70 of this particular model of B85 and, IIRC, two came down here and she arrived in Australia substantially longer. As can be seen from the V in the roobar, she is a former Ridolfo truck (V for Vince Ridolfo). I first met her when previous owner Malcolm Macwatt bought her (I bought my old B61T off Mal). At the time she was pulling a float down in Esperance, Western Australia. She's Cummins-powered and sits on 24-inch rims. She certainly made my B look small! Barry Kitto photo.

How to pull your weight in PNG

Completing a quick swing around the South Pacific today is the story of a well-travelled White. Lou Cowan’s brother, Dave, owns Complete Auto Services Ltd in Lae, Papua New Guinea. He deals in all things big, heavy and mechanical. The truck is actually a White Road Boss with a Western Star bonnet - White of course being the predecessor of Western Star out of Canada (that’s why the bonnet fits). Dave found it's easier to tell people she’s a Western Star rather than go through all the talk about the bonnet, the White and the Western Star relationship etc. The engine is a 330hp Cummins, the transmission a 13-speed Roadranger (but geared very well), the crane rated at 10 tonne and the winch weighs in at 15 tonne.

Dave found the White in a Deals on Wheels magazine a couple of years ago when he was in Cairns. From his previous experience in the New Zealand Army he knew the capability of the salvage gear as it was similar (although bigger) to the army unit he had used previously. The 15 tonne rear winch was larger than the army unit as well. Dave has since done a recovery with the winch reduced down to a 4:1 ratio – all up a 60 tonne pull.

Dave thinks the White was operating out of Sydney in the Blue Mountains but he bought it through a dealer in Sydney. The dealer emailed him a series of photos and Dave rang the previous owner (the name still being on the door). Based on this conversation, the truck was bought sight unseen, loaded onto a ship and freighted to Lae. She was tidied up a bit - the name "Hercules" was retained - and has been putting in honest and reliable work ever since.

Nothing midrange about this

Now for some 100% Australian content. This is Warwick Bryce's Leader Midranger looking like she's progressing nicely. I saw her in June last year as a rolling chassis and engine. Peter Lynch caught her in March looking decidely more advanced. Apparently, all she was waiting for at the time was a tray. Well done, Warwick!

Adventures with Kiwi Mike

Here's another trip from Mike Houghton in New Zealand. This time he went to Wellington for a show as a guest of Peter Vincent in late 2008. Peter owns the yellow Ergo Octopus - perhaps one of the hardest working, show-attending classic trucks in the southern hemisphere. Peter, a Leyland nut, owns Vincent Aviation operating out of Wellington and Darwin. Last year, Peter sold his AEC Mammoth Major 6 to a restorer in Napier and naturally had to deliver it!

In his travels Mike also visited Vic Draper's - Leyland nuts in New Zealand understandably tend to congregate. Vic is well known for his excellent Leyland restorations particularly his LAD-cabbed 'Hypo Hippo' which is perhaps the most impressively restored LAD ever. He's now working on a short-wheelbase Octopus which, given these photos were taken last year, would be well underway now.

Mike says:

You can see the new chassis rails on top of the 20ft box in the background. The cab is now finished and came from an Albion Riever that I picked up in Southland with my Beaver and carried to Picton for the start of the Long Lap in October 2007.

While at Vic's Mike snapped a couple of other vehicles in the Draper collection. Despite what the mudflaps say, the Loadstar has a GM 6V53 in it. The tractor, however, is not what you'd expect. She is powered by a Ford Cargo turbo motor and, according to Mike, is very smart off the line!

Finally for this Houghton instalment are a couple of photos of Mike and his yard in action. The Nissan (model anyone?) is still working for a local tree-lopping contractor and was parked in the Houghton yard overnight while the Merc on the back of Mike's Beaver (captured by Alex Vincent) is a mobile wardrobe as there isn't enough room in a Beaver for two people's clothes for a weekend! It's always great to see couples enjoying their old vehicles.

Derelict Hino ... and an album of old trucks

Steven Holmes in the UK is an avid photographer of old trucks and other historic items as indicated by this great photo of an old Hino eight-legger found in a Lye scrapyard in the Black Country. He has a Flickr account full of photos which is well worth visiting - http://www.flickr.com/photos/fryske/

From page 15 you'll find a great selection of the old Scammell fleet owned by the Harrisons. This is a famous and legendary collection and includes more than 20 Scammell Rigid 8s (supposed to be rare aren't they?!), one of which is the second prototype, and even a Foden S80 that has never been registered and has only ever driven around the yard.

Kiwi Foden ... with a difference

Vic Hungerford in NZ reports on this different-looking Foden (thanks to Cam McFadyen for forwarding the details).

The cab on this Fletcher's Foden is a NZ-built replacement. The truck is a 1954 model FETU, I think, which originally had the export version of the S18 cab. This S18 cab was a disaster which rotted out in no time which was why it was replaced with the Kiwi one. A friend of mine had an S18 which lived up to its reputation by rotting away very quickly. He replaced it with a plastic S21 Mickey Mouse cab.

This Fletcher's truck has a Foden two-stroke engine and Foden 12-speed gearbox. It was due to be started up yesterday for the first time in years. Fletcher's had a lot of Fodens - from the S18s right through every model up to the S10s.

Thanks for the info, Vic. Any word on how the start-up went?

What a great photo. If I was still doing the magazine, it'd be a great candidate for the cover!

Manufacturers Bottle Co - photos guaranteed to make you thirsty

Murray Langford has sent in a wonderful batch of photos taken by Andy McNabb when he worked for the Victorian Manufacturers Bottle Co on the Darwin run. Sent to Murray by Zane Morrison, no background is known about the photos so any information as to the trucks, the companies and even the locations would be great please. Do any of the trucks still survive?

I've kept the original dimensions of the photos so you can see the original format of what are great archival items. How good would it be to see these combinations as restored vehicles? Lots of investment - yes - but what fun!

Above: An MBC Kenworth with a Foster's Lager roof sign. I'm hopeless with Kenworth models. Can anyone ID please? The B61 behind appears to have two stock crates hooked up with what looks like a water tank for the stock trailing the second trailer. Below: Sigh. Leyland bonnets! Super Hippos I reckon but definitely all MBC trucks. Any more details?

Another B61, this time a B61T I reckon, of Sydney Melb Transport. The tarp says DR & G Miller - Sydney (ring a bell with anyone?). The Kenworth with the impressive roobar has what looks like 'Cold Tap' on its headboard so must be another MBC beastie.

Highland Fling - The Oberon Highlands Steam and Vintage Fair 2009

The Oberon Heritage and Collectors' Club, back in February, was not even a year old when it held its inaugural Highlands Steam and Vintage Fair over the weekend of February 20-22. To achieve any event with old vehicles is always a great achievement due to the fickleness of the attendees (the vehicles, not the owners...!) so for a new club to pull this off is truly remarkable. Congratulations to Jim Hawkes, president, and the club as a whole.

Jim commented on the show in an email to me back in March.

Held in conjunction with the 109th Oberon Show the fair was well-attended by more than 200 registered exhibitors and the public response was excellent. In attendance were six steam engines, two steam portables operating working farm displays, more than 30 oil engines and a big military display including a Centurion and Matilda tank. A good commercial vehicle display was seen with an excellent turn out of cars and tractors. A tractor pull operated on Saturday and Sunday and was well utilised by tractor owners wanting to give their machines a good work out. All in all, an excellent weekend that will only grow over the next few years as we become known as an event for enthusiasts of everything mechanical.

Sounds like something worth noting on the calendar.

Above: Well known truck and bus identity, Joe Fogarty attended and had a bit of spare time to complete some essential maintenance. Below: The Vernier traction engine being driven by Michael DeBomford.

Above: Steam traction engine line up outside the Tourist Hotel in Oberon. Below: The Clapham brothers and their Allchin traction engine.

Below: Ray Millington and his Brown and May portable belted up to a chaff cutter.