50 years of Bedford advertising

Decades after the last truck to wear the Bedford name rolled off the production line not only do we still see them working on farms, and even on the streets adding some class to a modern world, but they still appear in ads on TV and in print. It seems companies that like to promote their product as 'natural' and 'farm-grown' lean towards a Bedford as the truck of choice. No argument here.

So, here we have an a trade ad from 1961 promoting the sense in buying Bedford and, as a small indication of the popularity and continuing appeal of the make, a current ad featuring a J1. Whether it's 1961 or 2011, you really do see them everywhere.

A new lease of life for this J2

Several months ago, an advertisement appeared on the HCVC of Australia’s forum for a 1961 J2. In good condition, as affirmed by the photos included with the details, the truck was said to be complete and running although on that latter point she wasn’t perfect. Last licensed in May 2010, here was the perfect opportunity for a good Bedford to find a home.

Enter Jeff Smith. Jeff lives near where the truck was laid up – Dandenong South, a south-eastern suburb of Melbourne – and it was love at first sight. Bought on his 21st wedding anniversary, Jeff’s new truck was about to be put to work doing what she does best. First, though, she required a bit of work herself.

Finding himself bitten by the love bug, Jeff didn’t waste any time getting back down to the Beddy and firing her up. As the ad had said, she ran a bit rough but after a “muck about with the timing”, there was some improvement. A further visit was very productive with the Beddy receiving a new set of plugs, fuel drained from her carburetor and filter bowl and 20 litres of premium fuel in her tank. Quite the birthday but, really, don’t all Bedfords deserve that sort of treatment?

Jeff also reset the points gap and set the timing right. The result? “Running like a Swiss watch”! The brakes have also been sorted so she now pulls up straight.

While Beddies in general are pretty intoxicating, this little J2 has proven even more so for Jeff as he realised it is the same model as the truck he first ‘drove’ at the age of eight when carting hay!

As you can see from the photos, the body was cut down once there were no takers for it complete. This was done after Jeff got the truck home. The Bedford has also found a fan in Jeff’s son.

“Watching him drive it, I’m not sure who had the biggest grin on their mug, me or him!”, said Jeff.

“He did alright too, although the re-entry into the farm was a bit quick but he kept it shiny side up!” The drive home was not without its drama either with a small electrical fire under the dash proving a challenge as Jeff was “singing” along at 40mph.

Another challenge faced the Beddy at her new home with enough hay cut to make 1,000 small square bales. It could be argued the J2’s power proved too much for Jeff’s father-in-law as he kept launching bales over Jeff’s head and back into the paddock but it was simply because he hadn’t used a bale elevator before – second gear and 1500 rpm is a bit too much! Having said that, the Beddy did get a load of 60 bales in 10 minutes!

Above: first load for the J2. Note the bale under the front axle - a product of Jeff's father-in-law launching bales off the elevator!

Despite being a joy to operate, the J2 still has some issues to overcome. Jeff discovered the float wire pivot mounted upside-down which was causing flooding at idle and “pops and farts” under load besides over-fueling/plug fouling. Jeff’s last words about the J2 before I wrote this story were “we got 600 bales in yesterday before the rain beat us.”

Above: a few loads in the shed and the J2 is ready for more.

Can’t keep a good Beddy down.Thanks to Jeff for the details and photos. If you know of any working Bedfords (or any Bedford!) and reckon they are worth a story, please let me know.

Above and below: Oh yes, Jeff found the original delivery slip in the glove box! The original owner a Mr TA Seiffert of Leopold, Victoria (just SSE of Geelong). The truck's serial number is J2LC2/96658/M. Can't quite make out the dealer - it looks like Esler & Belton Motors of Geelong.

Season's Greetings

Best wishes to everyone who enjoys any Bedford in one way or the other.

Thanks to Lars Petter Skau and owner Ole J. Hellerud for this taste of a Norwegian winter.

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.

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.