The most beautiful historic race truck, trannies etc

[johnh875]

I used to see one of those Austin trucks selling fruit & veg in a layby in Ferntree Gully Rd, Scoresby up until a couple of years ago. Burgundy and best described as 'survivor' condition.

Modern diesels can have their quirks too, I have heard of a harvester that developed a turbo oil leak on a newly-rebuilt engine, the oil then fuels the engine and it ran at max revs for approx 10min before making large amounts of smoke and shrapnel. That was the story anyway, not sure if that is accurate/possible, nor how you would shut it down when in a paddock a long way from anywhere.

Back on topic, I remember seeing a photo in a book of a V16 Cadillac or similar towing a V16 racing car, does this ring a bell with anyone?

[Al Weyman]

Its very possible with the turbo diesels and I know of two incidents, I saw a brand new Vivaro revving its nuts off and the woman driver abandoned ship and ran up the road! Not sure if that was the turbo but a few months ago it definitely was on my son in laws Hyundia van, as you described he suddenly couldnt shut down but not being mechanically savvy did not have the foresight to do what I did and stall the thing in top gear and when it wouldnt turn off just paniced and bailed out, the turbo was sucking up engine oil fuel the engine, it eventually ran out of oil and destroyed itself in spectacular fashion.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by johnh875

Modern diesels can have their quirks too, I have heard of a harvester that developed a turbo oil leak on a newly-rebuilt engine, the oil then fuels the engine and it ran at max revs for approx 10min before making large amounts of smoke and shrapnel. That was the story anyway, not sure if that is accurate/possible, nor how you would shut it down when in a paddock a long way from anywhere.

Yes this happens on most of the common rail TDs today when the turbo gets clapped out. overfilling the engine oil will do it as well ! (not many people know that )

[BILTEL]

One was spotted at Silverstone, the other at my house. You'll never guess which is which.

[Colin McKay]

The Jag outfit is Nigel Webb's. I qualified right behind the Mk2 with Neil Cunningham at the wheel at Brands GP last summer, thinking oho! we're in for a race here! Next time I saw it was in the paddock

[p261brm]

Left this out until I could find photo, failure in that department, somebody might just have pic some where of Gilbert, Green Gilbert, an ex RAF Bedford [YA?] petrol crew coach, back cut out, and a ex Southern Railway wagon tarpaulin nailed in place to afford some protection. This beauty was acquired by Keith Grant and Chris Appleby to transport a Brabham Climax [2-7FPF] BT8[ex Clive Lacey] to and from the 1000k classics across Europe! 'Team Quick' also used it to transport E and ex Le Mans Marcos then in the hands of David James to Brands, Oulton, Thruxton etc. MRC (Peter Gaydon) organised the entries,and he drove one race, an episode he will conveniently forget . Gilbert were cheap to run, fill Brabham with Shell 5* free, and Gilbert as well! The car was a Start money special, 3 laps collect money, and go to the pub. Gilbert never did let us down, even when a split rim came off a truck travelling in the opposite direction and hit Gilbert fare and square in the front bumper and cut it in two. It was replaced by one of rolled steel channel, much to the detriment of a taxi in Spain who tried to cut up Gilbert in Barcelona. Gilberts 'best' episode was the Ferrari engine. No names no pack drill, asked to do A Pal a favour; go to the Ferrari transporter at the Ring and collect a V12 for Mr A.N Other and return to UK. Chris, had a slight disagreement with the Armco in his E-type and so with E and V12 set off for UK, the customs officer at Dover was most concerned about lack of paper work for the E, the proffered ATA carnet for the Brabham it seemed was not accepted as a substitute, 'and what is under that sheet?' pulling it back to expose said V12, engine; 'out of that' was the quick and best I could think of, in reply, an eventual 'OK' and I was gone..... Gilbert and the BT8 eventually were sold on, and I said goodbye to London headed North, and Chevron's. I would be happy to think Gilbert survived, but doubt it

[Al Weyman]

If it was like the Green Goddess Fire engines thats a Bedford RL. I had a hand in renovating a few of those when I worked at Mullard Vehicles in Edgware. We pulled the things apart rebuilt everything and put them back together again with a nice coat of paint and a new tipper body big balloon sand tyres and shipped them out the arabs. One year I will never forget about 8 of us set out to the docks and it was about 66/67 and a real fiece winter. Anyhow I got split from the rest of the group who decided to go around the North Circular to Docklands but me being a bit cavalier deecided to go across Hampstead Heath through all the back doubles. The snow was attrocious and every one even Land Rovers were getting bogged down but I have vivid recollections of putting this baby into 4WD and just powering up the hill with the big balloon tyres as these things stood really tall. I eventually was the only one who got to the docks because all the others were stranded on the North Circular. I dunno if I should even have been driving the thing as I was only about 17!

[p261brm]

No Al not an RL, it was YB or something like that, memory might come to, same chassis as commercial single deck bus. Brakes were vacuum over hydrulic, built in 1944

[p261brm]

http://www.fleetdata.co.uk/bedfordchassis.html

According to this site Gilbert was an OWB

[Al Weyman]

Ah right yes I remember the OL Bedford, Mullards where I worked (became MFI actually and owed a massive yard in Edgware which is today worth many millions) had a few of those in as well, as I recollect they had a sort of bull bar on the front and were seen in many a WW2 movie.

[Mike Bell]

Surprised no-one has commented on this- nice project for someone, and original Norfolk registration number as well!

http://www.racecarsdirect.com/listin...ansporter.html

Now if someone can vouch for the seller..................

[delta]

Nothing as grand as the one above but this was the very first Delta truck.If we ever got to a race meeting without a trailer wheel falling off we was lucky.[img=http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/88/miniartic.th.jpg]

[Al Weyman]

Ford A Series what a dog, the only thing worse than the 4 cylinder York diesel was the 6 cylinder one they stuck in that. I knew someone who's father in laws business went busr as a result of those dogs, he had a small fleet of them and they were always off the road.

[BILTEL]

Originally Posted by delta

Nothing as grand as the one above but this was the very first Delta truck.If we ever got to a race meeting without a trailer wheel falling off we was lucky.[img=http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/88/miniartic.th.jpg]

Would be great now!!!

[p261brm]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Ford A Series what a dog, the only thing worse than the 4 cylinder York diesel was the 6 cylinder one they stuck in that. I knew someone who's father in laws business went busr as a result of those dogs, he had a small fleet of them and they were always off the road.

Were they better than the Perkins 4/108 in Transits Al? Jeez you had to have at least 10 head gaskets and a spare head or 2 plus some combustion chambers with those pigs. Best answer was Konig's he stuck a Uren V6 in one.

[Al Weyman]

No far worse, its been said on here before but its a fact Ford had their own 'unique solution' to these poor starting heaps of crap as I had a York conversion in a Mk 1 Granada Estate car and bought one of these bits of kit from Fords. It was basically a can of easystart (Ether) that clipped into a little bracket under bonnet, you then tapped a pipe from the can into the inlet manifold. To activate this was a piece of string (I kid you not) that you ran into the van so when you started you gave it a couple of tugs which activated a lever on the the bracket and depressed the nozzle on the can and if it had not got immune to the easystart (I think the immunity thing was basically the compressions dropping as the pig rapidly wore out) it it may fire up.

[John Turner]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Surprised no-one has commented on this- nice project for someone, and original Norfolk registration number as well!

http://www.racecarsdirect.com/listin...ansporter.html

Now if someone can vouch for the seller..................

What a stirrer! Actually, given Simon H's description, I think you have your answer. Nice bit of history, though!

Simon, if you are reading this, you may elaborate on this vehicle if you so wish! It won't be advertising, as I have invited you to do so!

[zefarelly]

Is that Lotus gaffer tape holding the lights on? or genuine Duck tape, the strong stuff!

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by p261brm

Were they better than the Perkins 4/108 in Transits Al? Jeez you had to have at least 10 head gaskets and a spare head or 2 plus some combustion chambers with those pigs. .

I have still got 4 brand new injectors for that old beast of an engine kicking about. (How sad am I)

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Surprised no-one has commented on this- nice project for someone, and original Norfolk registration number as well!

http://www.racecarsdirect.com/listin...ansporter.html

Now if someone can vouch for the seller..................

I actually remember that one from 'back in the day'. I always thought it had a touch of the Thunderbirds about it, maybe the triple headlamps?
Really, this would just about been one of the last custom built transporters before the teams went over to using more 'normal looking' articulated units...

[Simon Hadfield]

It was a great old thing, and took us all over Europe for several seasons and I was particularly proud to run the Lotus 72 and 78 out of the back of it for a while.....anyway it's now sold and hopefully will go on to give the new owner as much pleasure. I was the third owner - Team Lotus, Freddy Kumshick then me. It was built for Team Lotus by Marshalls of Cambridge on a Leyland Leopard chassis and when Clive Chapman cleaned out his files he very kindly passed all he had on the truck to me, and Marshalls similarly passed on their files and drawings, all of which will now go with the truck. I have to say it will be quite a sad moment when it finally slips out of the drive.

[esper]

Originally Posted by Simon Hadfield

It was a great old thing, and took us all over Europe for several seasons and I was particularly proud to run the Lotus 72 and 78 out of the back of it for a while.....anyway it's now sold and hopefully will go on to give the new owner as much pleasure. I was the third owner - Team Lotus, Freddy Kumshick then me. It was built for Team Lotus by Marshalls of Cambridge on a Leyland Leopard chassis and when Clive Chapman cleaned out his files he very kindly passed all he had on the truck to me, and Marshalls similarly passed on their files and drawings, all of which will now go with the truck. I have to say it will be quite a sad moment when it finally slips out of the drive.

It is just that I have projects up to 2050, but this is such a very very tremendous great car to get your racecars to the track. I think racers which take their historic racecars in these pieces of history should be awarded with gold! It adds character to the events and sets us apart from the dull modern race world . I am okay when you say I take a modern truck from London to Portimao or Paul Ricard but hey lets, keep the paddocks in Britain and the old continental F1 circuits look the part!!!! (they do less and less every day!!!!) Well anybody who buys this piece of history of Simon will get a fine Grand Cru bottle of Bordeau say Bel Air of me from around a good year to and from 2000 when he or she will take this truck up to Spa once (she means more bottles)

[grantp]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I actually remember that one from 'back in the day'. I always thought it had a touch of the Thunderbirds about it, maybe the triple headlamps?

I thought they nearly all had triple headlights back then..

A quick story.

When Uncle Ken thought it was time to change the old bus he bought a rather bland Leyland chassis-cab and had a kitted box fitted on it. Functional but not beautiful. This was delivered to the works for some tweaks to be applied and checks made that the work was to the correct dimension and stuff and then dispatched for the tail-lift to be fitted. It wnet up to Scotland iirc - to Ross and Bonneyman (?)

Anyway, the tail lift was a full body height job - about twice the size of a typical delivery tail lift. Once installation was completed someone was sent to collect it. Nice job. Very sturdy. Actually too sturdy - the lift was so heavy that the front wheels of the truck were going light.

It went back to have as much weight as possible shaved off it but was still a bit weighty at the rear even when loaded.

[delta]

Originally Posted by Alan Morgan

I've always liked this one - as driven by Delta's dad!

http://www.racingmodels.co.uk/center...143-5809-p.asp

Spent a day with Dad yesterday.We have to write everything down he';s as deaf as a post.Dad drove tanks and half tracks in the war and often the gunner would fire the machine gun without telling Dad to duck his head as the gun was next to his head. Thats what he told me when i was a kid..Any way had a nice day then all of a sudden he says"112mph". I say WHAT!!!!. "112mph "again thats what the top speed of the AEC transporter. He wanted to see how fast she would go!!!. Dont think Mr Wyer knew about it.

[Al Weyman]

What in that Brick! Must have needed about 1000bhp.