Remarkable RLC recovery

On a cold Sunday in February Dave Gothard was travelling home along the motorway when he spied this RLC3 recovery. Pulled out of the yard for transporting to her new owner in Manchester, she's certainly distracting. Dave returned on Monday and, after convincing the yard's owner of his bona fides, was able to look over the Bedford and shoot these photos.

She appears complete and is definitely a superb restoration prospect (my first thought was "awesome" when the emails came through). Note the spare cab frame/shell on the back of the Bedford. This is the first time I've seen this structure and it is interesting to see details of what's under the skin. The photo below of the rear of the truck shows this cab component to include the dash. Quite an impressive piece that'll certainly be useful given the corresponding parts of the Bedford's cab are showing rust in the usual places - the cab-front vents and the base and crease of the doors.

Here's the official numbers off the data plate/s. If anyone can interpret them I'd be most grateful as I know very little about the R-type.

CHASSIS NUMBER RLC3 34076
TRACTOR 3 TON G. S. RECOVERY LIGHT 4X4 BEDFORD RL
VEHICLE 36-CL-37
CODE NO 434862.01 360
CONT NO 6/VEHS/27936

It'd be great to see this old girl restored to the civilian colours she's currently (sort of) wearing. In all honesty who cares what colours she ends up in as long as she's on the road.

The Derelict Bedford - part one

With the large numbers of Bedfords built and sold, you'd expect to come across a variety of challenged examples in your travels. Some can be saved while others are too far gone and would even be doubtful as sources of parts. However, Bedfords are Bedfords no matter what their condition or how much or little they did in their working lives.

A well-restored Bedford is magnificent but a worn working example or even just a cab sitting in a paddock has just as much appeal. For those who appreciate old machinery, I know I'm preaching to the converted. Here's a few pics from Ian Storrie - working Bedford owner - who has a habit of turning up old trucks in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully they illustrate what I'm dribbling on about.

I hope to find out some more detail about each truck from Ian in the near future so for the time being I hope you enjoy the pics. A nice foil for the lovely shiny things in the preceding post too.

Still rolling after all of these years. While the A-frame attached to the front of this O-type is an indication she's more trailer than truck these days, it's good to see she's still useful.

I had forgotten about this O until I was going through Ian's old emails. I got rather excited as it's not every day you come across a complete truck with a van body such as this. A lot of preserved trucks these days are finished with trays because, let's face it, they're more useful that way. However of late I've noticed vans becoming a more popular restoration subject particularly in the UK where some new restorations have appeared wearing wonderful period livery. They are certainly refreshing when you are accustomed to trays - not that there's anything wrong with those of course.

A mate of mine has suggested we do our TK as an Arnott's truck. He even knows where there is a former Arnott's body that might be available. Of course me being the king of procrastinators...

Having said that, this O would be wonderful to park in the shed for one day in the future. Superb. I hope she is still with us.

A-types are rare the world over as they seem to have been cast aside when the TJ appeared - just like the majority of road-going (as opposed to the fire appliances etc) S and C-types when the TK was released. Always pleasing to see one.

What looks like a J1. This might have a fibreglass body as something similar - and in much better condition - was recently for sale on Ebay.

A 1968 or earlier (note the 'ridge' on the front panel) TK-style cab. Looks like she would still yield some decent bits.

Peterborough Truckfest - the Bedfords add the class...

George Ward attended the Truckfest on May 2 and, among the huge number of trucks (old and modern) present, he found a few Bedfords and has graciously given his permission for them to be posted on BTW - since it desperately needs an update. Anyway, enjoy.

The oldest Bedford to feature on BTW to date, this 1936 WL tipper was photographed during one of the show's parades. A couple of years or so after this truck was built, the W-type received a facelift when the bonnet and grille more associated with the later KMO range 'replaced' the front-end you see above. The cab remained until the KMOs arrived on the scene just before the war.

Speaking of the war, the polar bear on the left guard of this 1941 O-type radio van (?) is the insignia for the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division. Interesting to see the fuel tank on the left. Would it also have one on the right in the standard position?

Probably one of the most extensively restored Bedfords on the road in the UK, this Jeakins 1951 ML (same age as our ML but infinitely more complete!) accompanied a Model T to Truckfest.

I'm afraid I'm no good with the dating of UK number plates (L reg?) but based on the lack of 'ridge' on the front of the cab, I'd argue this TK 'type' is post-1968. Helping this argument, and going by the combined indicator/clearance light and assuming the "Bedford" badge would have been on the grille, I'd also say post-1973. Can anyone confirm? She's certainly a very tidy example and wonderful to see.