Bedfords delight Dubbo

I hadn't been to Dubbo for four years so a return trip for Golden Oldies 2012 was well overdue.  This was a great show with plenty of quality trucks on display and a lot of people I hadn't seen for quite a while.  My feet were gone by the end of the Friday afternoon (when we arrived) due to standing around chinwagging!

There weren't a lot of big British trucks and the Bedford numbers were low.  However, what they lacked in numbers they certainly made up for in quality.  Enjoy!

Above: smallest end of the scale first.  This is Jim Morton's Gundagai-based J3 (?).  It is an absolutely stunning truck and a real credit to the owner.

Below: this TK gets around a fair bit.  I've photographed her at the Forbes Show.  Forbes is a good 200 km south of Dubbo and has featured in BTW posts before.  Not a great distance to travel in Australia but a good effort for anything more than 30 years old!

Below: the wheelbase on this TK impressed me as did her tidy condition.  If anyone knows the truck, please let me know as I would love to speak with the owner.



Below: the piece de resistance of the show for me was this KM.  I had not seen her before but I have since learnt she hails from Young - again a town about 200 kms south of Dubbo.  She arrived towing a bogie-axle trailer with a Chamberlain tractor as ballast.  I have an arrival photo of this combination so watch this space for its addition.  In the meantime, bask in the glory that is the KM!  Magnificent.

TK-ing it - the 1968 Bedford sees the light of day

Probably the best look I've had of our TK for the best part of more than three years.  We rolled her and the 1949 ML out of their shed for a bit of a shuffle.  Both have exchanged places - as detailed in an earlier post - and have been turned around.  The TK rolled so nicely it was a dream to drag and push her around.  I hadn't been in the cab for a while but was pleased to be reminded of just how good she is inside.  Really, all I need to do is re-upholster the driver's seat and get a new floor mat and she is good to go internally (not counting a bit of a wash).

Externally, she still has her challenges with a steering linkage having a stripped thread and the brakes and king pins needing a complete re-do.  I suspect the brakes will be the biggest, and most expensive, job.

I'm probably repeating myself a bit here so will sign off on this post.  We did try starting her, and while her electrics appear sound (headlights, high beam, tail lights, indicators, dash and internal lights all worked), suspected stale fuel prevented a start.  Well, it'd have to have lost its octane.  Another high point was discovering I don't need two new steer tyres!

Slowly, slowly...

An update on the update

Happy new year everyone.  I thought I might as well get a post up on BTW now so that when I get to the next entry the site will have already added more content than 2012!

I hope this finds you all well and enjoying a fine start to 2013.  I know myself and my family are so I trust you and yours are too.

Since this is an update post, here's a little bit on our '68 EFN TK.  The shed shuffle and work I mentioned below did not happen but it is now planned to occur in a couple of weeks.  All we're doing is moving the '49 ML out so the TK can also be removed from the shed.  The ML will take up the TK's current spot and the TK will inhabit the old ML parking space.  This will provide a lot more room to work on the TK's Holden 308 V8 motor before the cracked exhaust manifold is finally removed, along with its sister, and replaced with extractors.  That will probably be the limit of the work in the next month or so.  There's lots of little jobs to do like replacing pins and bushings and grease nipples but the more expensive stuff (driver's seat upholstery, servicing the entire brake system, steering wheel restoration, two new steers, four retreads and new wood for the tray) will be chipped away at this year with a very tentative aim of getting her to pass her roadworthy by the end of 2013.  I'm not in a rush but she needs to get out and about to get the juices flowing (mine and hers!). 

Really looking forward to sitting in that comfortable driver's position with that wonderful view of the road that only a TK can provide.  Let's make sure we really do see them everywhere!