6 Cape crusader
Deep in the heart of South Africa’s Western Cape beats a much travelled 1964 Leyland Comet that shows no sign of stopping. It may be the pride and joy of Wellington based Slabbert Burger Transport, but Bob Tuck discovers it still has to earn its daily keep. Our man visits the Winelands to try it out for himself.
12 News
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18 Swiss role
Carrying out a road test following the completion of a vehicle restoration is not really anything out of the ordinary. A few miles of running around the local roads will either indicate that all is well or reveal problems that will need attention. For Roger and Margaret Mortimore the ‘shakedown cruise’ for their 1958 Saurer was slightly more ambitious and involved a trip of 2600 miles around Europe travelling through France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium.
24 Micro marvel
Honda commercials have always been a bit on the small side – and maybe that’s why preserved ones are incredibly rare. However, Dean Reader managed to track down a unique example made almost 50 years ago.
28 Your say
Four pages of your memories, queries and observations.
32 Subscription form
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34 Marshal lore
The Marshal was one of the last lorries to wear the famous AEC badge. Bob Weir went to Halleaths Home Farm near Lockerbie to meet Shona Nichol and EHA 144T.
38 Model world
A look at some more of the superb model lorries made by Alan Fixter.
40 Archive album
Four pages of pure nostalgia from the NA3T photographic archive.
44 Dutch courage
Dutch niche-market heavy truck builder FTF had a relatively short lifespan. But as Ed Burrows records, it had two separate bouts of assembling Macks, built trailers as well as trucks, was the first in Europe to offer Allison automatics as standard and supplied a fleet of tank transporters for the Dutch Army.
52 On location
This month Gyles Carpenter reports from the Retro Truck Show.
54 Gardner cultivates respect down under
Peter Roberts recognised the ultimate dependability of the British diesel engine marque, Gardner, early in his life and stayed stoically loyal to the maker for the rest of his life. Tony Petch tells his story.
60 Stylish stalwart
Remaining in production for 18 years, Scammell’s Routeman with its ‘cheese grater’ cab managed to work hard and look futuristic all at the same time. Mark Gredzinski tells its story.
66 Lanarkshire Three-Way
In recent years Austin K8s have become an endangered species. Ben Weston, from Chryston near Glasgow, restored a superb example over the millennium, and it is now a big favourite on the Scottish vintage vehicle circuit, reports Bob Weir.
70 From our archives
This month we feature the Ford D Series tractor unit range. Did you drive these lorries?
74 Spence Haulage of Swinton
In a recent issue of Heritage Commercials we featured the story of T&M Jets, the recovery business established by Tom Leddy. As well as operating that successful recovery business, Tom and his family also ran, for many years, their own equally successful transport firm.
80 The Volvo FL story
In 1986 Volvo became the first truck manufacturer to be awarded the prestigious Truck of the Year award for the third time. The company received its first award in 1979 for the Volvo F7 and followed that in 1984 winning with the impressive F10. Claiming victory again only two years later with its newly introduced FL Series was certainly a notable achievement for the company.
86 Total recall
Mike Farrell’s late mother Joan always used to say to him that you can be or do anything you want in life provided you work hard enough for it. So, adopting that doctrine, Mike has not only built up his own company, but he’s also managed to buy the truck of his dreams. Bob Tuck goes to East Yorkshire to discover a V8 Scania 143 which is turning heads whether it’s at work or on show.
92 HC Marketplace
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