Here's to 2011

Compliments of the season to all you old truck nuts. I hope 2011 brings health and happiness, a bit of chrome and not too many oil leaks!

Thanks to Andrew Blacklock for the festive Scammell.

Reflections of Sandown 2010

For the second year running the Historic Commercial Vehicle Club of Australia's annual display day was threatened by some pretty average weather. The days leading up to the show on November 28 were pretty soggy but, unlike last year, cleared sufficiently by Sunday to make things quite pleasant. Even a little bit of drizzle didn't prevent a very good turn-out of trucks. Despite the good numbers there was a surprising amount of regulars who didn't make it which was a surprise. Having said that, the 'new' vehicles present made you forget what was missing pretty quickly!

Here's a small selection of the photos I took on the day - all with a particular, and rather obvious, theme. More of my photos (and a few other guys) can be found on the HCVC Forum - Sandown 2010. Keep an eye on your November weekends for Sandown 2011.

Macungie 2010

It's been a bit British truck focussed since I resurrected the blog so thought it was time to rectify that by going all-American. Macungie, Pennsylvania is well-known for its Mack factory but also hosts the annual convention for the Antique Truck Club of America. As to be expected a lot of Macks attend and to say the models present span more than 90 years is certainly no understatement. Here, thanks to long-time ACC supporter Jeff Lakaszcyck, is a small but good dose of some of the best gear you can find in the States. I like to keep up with the US scene but most of these trucks were new to me (or at least the current paint schemes were). Thanks to Jeff for the photos and his supporting captions.

I think this is the oldest truck to ever feature on ACC - a 1917 Duplex 4x4 dump owned by Donald Barlup.

One of my favourite trucks of all time. This is a Mack 1931 AK-6 (the AK was the shaft or belt-driven version of the chain-drive AC - wish I could remember which!) owned by well-known Mack collector Gary Mahan.

At the lighter end of the scale was Ritchie Pasquarella's 1936 Dodge MC panel.

One for you Inter nuts. It's a toss-up as to whether the D-series or the KB-6 is the best looking IH, I reckon. With that lovely long nose I'd have to say the D. This is Erv Bickford's stunning product of 1939. There's something about the smaller pre and immediate post-war prime movers/tractors that just looks right (even without a trailer).

I have a serious soft spot for Macks from the '30s and '40s and this stunning combination is no exception. Greg Nuss has hooked his 1939 BX to a 1938 Mack trailer (didn't know they made trailers as well) which is loaded with a 1938 Caterpillar D17000 diesel.

Besides LAD-cabbed Leylands and Albions, it is the Mack E-model that stops me in my tracks. I have seen a couple in Australia but nowhere near enough. If anyone knows of any around, please let me know. I promise not to drool ... too much. Oh, Jeff's photo is of Henry Greiner's 1947 EH. Magic.

From the best-looking Mack to the best-looking Acar. Robert King's 1951 DC102 is perfect in its understated finish (as understated as an orange chassis can be). A stunning machine.

For Bugly - the Wotherspoon Commer

Bugly - Roland Turner - requested to see some photos of the Commer featured below in the Alice Springs entry. Well, here she is in all her glory. First a pic of her in our shed and then her arrival at Sandown Raceway for the HCVC's 2008 Display Day. She has since had signwriting done and now gets about carrying engines as can be seen below. You might notice the hubs don't quite match the age of the cab. That's because she's a C-model (CB etc) with an earlier Mk IV cab - the best of both worlds perhaps?

Mike and Mal are working on another Commer and last time I spoke to Mal he was on the trail of an LAD-cabbed Leyland. Clearly a man of class.

The obvious question - where is this AEC now?

Hunter Valley Classic Commercial Vehicle Club member Scott Fayth found this business card in his travels. After picking myself up off the floor, my first thought was, naturally, where is she now (does she even survive?) and did anyone know her during her working life? Indeed, did she come to your rescue?

A stunning machine - note the sleeper cab as well - that must have been working well into the 1980s. Given the mobile number reference, could we hazard a guess at the late 1980s? It's possible Molly's Towing is now Molly's Tilt Tray Service of Heatherbrae, NSW (just north of Newcastle).

I'd love to hear more ... at the risk of hearing she is no longer with us.

Festival of Yesteryear - 2-3 October, 2010

Alice Springs 2010

As I write Mike and Mal, Purveyors of old English crap (seen here at our place before Sandown 2008), will be, er, winging their way to Alice in the Commer (at least I think they were leaving this early). I take this opportunity to wish them, and everyone else travelling to Alice in any way (especially in old trucks), all the best and I hope you have a hell of a lot of fun.

Take lots of photos!

Boxer out of the box

New Zealand native, Leyland 'Steer' owner, regular ACC contributor and all-round top bloke Mike Houghton sent in photos of this Boxer which is new to the Kiwi scene and active on road runs. Looks good for a recently retired worker, doesn't she? Well, there's a surprise in store. Mike sums up the reality:

"One owner from new, 13,000km, still in original paint and never been dented. It's amazing what's still lying around in sheds!"

'Amazing' would have to be the understatement of the year. A dream truck for anyone surely. Long may she roll.

HCVAQ Cleveland - 25-26 September, 2010

A truck for every occasion

Long-time ACC reader Brent Ladyman in Western Australia has been busy over the past few years restoring the ‘C-model’-cabbed trucks you see above – namely two Commers and a Dodge.

The Dodge D2F on the right was Brent’s first project and is powered by a 6-354 Perkins. She is used as the main farm truck with the tipper proving useful when filling the combine seeder. The ‘Dodge’ badge gave Brent a lot of trouble as he tried to source the letters. He eventually turned to a mate and sign-writer who did the computer artwork based on the Commer badge. The letters were then laser cut in 6mm brass before being chromed. The results speak for themselves and, as Brent said,

“Total cost $130. Bargain.”

The next project was the yellow Commer (a CB, I believe). Originally operated by a local transport company in Katanning, the truck is powered by a Vale Cummins 185hp V8 diesel. As you might guess by the red beacon on the driver’s side, the CB serves as Brent’s fire fighting unit and is equipped with a slip-on tank and pump (can just see the tank in the photo).

Finally, the truck on the left is a CE built between 1968 and 1974 and powered by a TS3 215 Knocker driving through a six-speed box (makes it a CEGV?). The engine was reconditioned with the kind help of Kiwi Knocker expert Mark Erskine. The VC cab shown in the photo will be used for this truck as the original was too far gone. Double headlights will replace the singles and an original flat floor will be fitted. There is apparently still a lot of rust to repair but this truck is well on the way to joining Brent’s fleet.

Post-war Commers are proving to be very popular to restore and it is great to see the attention this important make is receiving particularly the later-cabbed models.

Thanks to Brent for the photos and info and to Howard Pettigrew’s Commer Connections for its help with my model guesses!