Sandown 2010 - when it rains, it pours Bedfords

The Historic Commercial Vehicle Club of Australia's annual display day, held at Sandown race course in Melbourne, was again threatened by rain this year but managed to shine on the day (Nov 28). A good selection of trucks attended, well over 200, and there were a number of Bedfords flying the flag. Unfortunately I didn't get photos of them all as we left by midday for the seven hour drive home. There's probably a good three of four at least that are not featured in the photos below.

I've tried to put them in age order - oldest to youngest - but am purely guessing in some places. Again, due to lack of time and my strategy for this year (concentrate on shooting the trucks moving), I do not have any detail shots of interiors for you to enjoy.

Some familiar faces below but hopefully some good new ones too.

Above: WL and K-type keeping each other company. Golly, I didn't even take photos of the placards for further information!

Below: OB in a reflective mood.

Above: the ACW Bedford convoy arrived with some fine examples of their earlier projects. The '68 or earlier TK is a regular attendee along with ACW's CDJ 'support vehicle' below.
Above and below: this KM was a distinct surprise when she arrived. I had not seen or heard of her before so I relished her GM as she idled past (drowning out the similarly-engined R190 that preceded her). Not the CF in the background. Unfortunately, I blew the photo out for this truck i.e. I stuffed it up. She was a tidy little thing with a good-sized tray and, making her a real truck, dual wheels.

Above: Southern Cross Recyclers operate a number of Bedfords and regularly have them serviced or rebuilt by ACW. Why wouldn't you operate good, solid trucks that don't cost an arm and a leg to simply pay interest on? Note the early W on her back. One of two at the show (although decidedly more complete than than the other one), yet another truck I can't for the life of me think why I didn't have a closer look.

"A good student but must try harder"! Gawd.

Bedfords at Sandown 2008

What's better than seeing a Bedford on the road? Seeing several! The Historic Commercial Vehicle Club's annual show at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne had a good showing of Bedfords in 2008 (when I last managed to get there). Here's a selection of the majority as they arrived on the Sunday morning.

Above: I believe the cab of this fine, pre-1968 TK was restored by ACW Bedford. Note what appears to be their signature vinyl roof protection. Below: I first saw this J1 (?) at Sandown 2006 ... and it was just as shiny then (although her teeth were still white)!

Above: this post-1973 TK gets around a fair bit and will feature heavily here over the next few posts as I'll use it to explain my TK-ageing technique. Below: ACW's mobile workshop CDJ (not a TJ, note the Griffin badge on the bonnet) has a nice metallic green finish which might not be obvious in this sun-drenched (read slightly over-exposed!) photo.

Above: I've admired this little post-1967/pre-1973 TK on a number of occasions but have yet to meet the owner. He did feature over on the HVCV Forum last year but I've forgotten his name. Below: this J1 (?) was parked outside the venue but is a worthy exhibit in itself as it is still clearly working and how often do you see Bedfords with more than just a tray these days? A bit hard to photograph though...

Above: not really my cup of tea but it's a Bedford ... and it's not selling ice creams!