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.

Through The Fence - a Bedford weekend

We did a fair bit of travelling this weekend and just happened to stumble upon several Bedfords. We were in Parkes on Friday and while Jodi was at the physio, I headed off to a yard in the LIA to stick the camera through the fence to record several trucks we'd found a few months ago. Had forgotten about this pre-1973 TK - note the old style clearance lights above the headlights. Doesn't look like she's been anywhere for a while. I also found a shorter wheelbase tipper but half of her was hidden behind a pile of dirt.

Decided to head out to Parkes airport for a sticky but noted the pre-1968 TK cab and chassis - note the 'ridge' above the grille and clearance lights - parked under a tree at a water tank manufacturer's yard. Decided to be cheeky and ask if I could have a look at this and a truck-mounted crane parked nearby. Fortunately, the owner was a pretty cheery bloke. The cab of the TK was totally stripped-out but it's only just occurred to me that I didn't look at the back of the rear wall on the left for the data plate. That's what I get for walking over sheets of tin in Crocs (shoes) and worrying about things that don't like being disturbed!

The D-type with the mounted crane (anyone heard of a Steinbock?) is a familiar sight from the highway as you head north out of Forbes. However she points away from the road so I had assumed she was a J-type. Imagine how chuffed I was to see her from the front! She actually looks in decent nick so I'm entertaining the idea of having a closer look i.e. seeing if the owner will let me into the paddock.

Finally, with my sister and brother-in-law visiting over the weekend, we did some sight-seeing and since the b-i-l is a car enthusiast we went back to Forbes to visit McFeeter's Motor Museum. Full of a surprising range of cars so not quite my cup of tea (hee hee) but, happily, housing a J1 fire appliance from 1962. On loan from the Forbes fire brigade - note the number plate - there's a surprising number of these still around and, according to the museum guide, they are bullet-proof. A couple of these live here in West Wyalong so I'll check them out. I was a bit cheeky and asked to hop the rope to see inside the cab. She's in original condition and I was surprised to see many cab features that were unchanged from the KMO range - even the 'vertical' pedals. Somewhere in the dark depths of my mind is something about smaller Js having the Bedford six-cylinder 214 cu. inch motor ... just like the KMOs. A cab and front-end change and ... was it that simple? If so, a good, long-lived basic design under the skin.

Our Bedfords - Part One

Well, I guess I had better put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. Here is one of our three Bedfords. We'll talk about her and her sisters' various 'issues' at a later date but, to kick things off, here's our TK - a 1968 EFN (conveniently called the effing TK on occasion) - with the nose of our 1949 MLZ edging into the picture. I'm still learning the various incarnations of the legendary TK so would welcome a run down if anyone can make any sense of them!

One thing I have worked out is how to get a general idea of the age of a TK. It all has to do with the location of the 'Bedford' on the front of the cab and the style of indicators. Not foolproof of course but it has served me well. I'll write something later with photos to illustrate (need to do that for the KMO series too).