scruff

Money. That's all people seem to care about when old motors are mentioned.

I got James Brown's (journo not king of soul) new book "animal house" for Christmas. Some good KLF encounters and photos of Ford Timelord in Sweden.

Proper lorry. I got a 17 plate FH 540 at the end of September, absolutely love it.

Ellard make industrial/agricultural doors and have done since the 50s, it might be off some sort of weather protection for a barn or similar.

Done a few jobs on my latest purchase this morning. A Series III was my first car so it's great to have one again. Even smells the same (good and bad). Just off to the post office in a min to sort the change in tax status out and should be able to run around in it soon.

I have a few poo pants stories, here's a couple Had a hired mini digger on a job on the Isle of Dogs years ago. One Monday morning it wouldn't start, ignition light on but no go. No problem thinks I, I'll jump it off the van (Transit). Bit of a fiddle to get the leads on with a few sparks and then try the digger. Nothing at all.... No lights on the digger... hang on what's that smell? The friggin throttle cable was melting all the plastic off and was glowing red - and my mate shouts "there's a light on in the van" . Sure enough the battery light was glowing merrily away. Shit shit shit... Obviously a bad earth on the excavator but the van had me puzzled. Got the cables off, took a moment to weigh things up. Decided to ring the hire firm with a non start and let them sort it. Bricking it about the van I rang the boss with that sinking feeling in my stomach... "Oh it's been a shit starter the last few weeks, probably packed in totally" 👀 Barrelling along the A24 flat out in my first car, a diesel Series 3 Landy, ears bleeding and overdrive screaming when there's a sudden lurch and I see the passenger side front wheel merrily spin itself away up the hard shoulder. It was dusk so the resultant spark-show as the brake drum ground itself along the tarmac was quite spectacular. It had pulled itself hard to the left which fortunately was clear, I ground to a halt on the three remaining brakes and composed myself. Not easy jacking up a three wheeled Land Rover in the dark. Often wonder if someone ever found the lovingly painted steel rim clad with a nearly new BF Goodrich tyre 🤦‍♂️ Following a mate one beautiful sunny morning. Me in my 205 he in a rough old Range Rover. He had been having propshaft problems and so had removed the rear one. Unfortunately he didn't realize the prop held the handbrake drum in place. Into a NSL and he put his foot down, five seconds later the drum catapulted off the road like a cast iron frisbee aimed straight at my Peugeot. By some miracle it missed the car but I just caught sight of it in the mirror, hitting the kerb and shattering into pieces.

Mick Moody will import you a new Ford if you want one, there was a geezer running one on international event/music work. Ideal as I think they are only built 4x2 and LHD. Ford themselves have at least one on the road, you see it with a race/exhibition trailer behind it. I'm not going to pretend i know the in and outs of the cut throat European heavies market but it looks a good contender to me, I would have one. They look well smart I reckon and the cabs look as nice inside as anything else these days. The Brit fella who had the Moody one raved about it in one of the mag's a few years back. https://www.fordtrucks.com.tr/en/

Setting up our stand at the Royal Highland Show. Surprising yad spot. With bonus swallow

Not really a truck, but lots in common. Moved this JCB Fastrac for a bloke this week. I do a lot with Fastracs but hadn't driven one of these particular models since I was a student. This, coupled with the fella buying it to restore, meant I was surprised to find it's 23 years old! This is the smaller of the "big" Fastracs with a 155hp Perkins in it. Nice tractor, it ran well and built up air no problem, all the gears worked etc. Not quite as cool as the original Fastrac with the Austin Rover steering wheel and wind up windows, but still a pleasant place to be. Air con was ice cold. VID_20220524_095546.mp4 VID_20220524_095546.mp4

Tipped next to their older Volvo today, 09 plate and spotless. Unlike mine at the moment 😃

I can well believe that 😂 Good mate of mine works for a firm who have just changed from new generation Scanias to Mercs. He is distraught. I've driven a 2033, I think it was a C plate, V8 twin steer with a slap-over range change. Solid and quality feeling thing but the cab was well ripe.

It's the Turner from Bomford Turner isn't it. Like many of these agricultural/municipal engineers have changed hands and names a few times over the years.

That is fantastic

I notice this gem every time I travel the A45 through Ryton. But where could I share such enthusiasm, I wonder. Once again AS serves up a blinder. There's a few more in our little corner of the world, I will endeavour to record them now. o

Been spending far too much time looking at euro 6 stuff and getting depressed at tales of woe/warnings from fitters What I really want* is Alan Agar's motor, I last saw it a few months back, it is just awesome. There's something about it that a lot of restored lorries just don't have. Always makes me dig out a Long Distance Diary from Truck magazine when I get home. Not my pic: *Of course that's the rose tints properly on. But it is cool as fuck 😎

Awesome thread. In a previous life I spent a lot of time around there scurrying in and out of waterways I never knew existed. Metroland is GR8.

I think you're right, for a long time there wasn't really much around to replace them either particularly if you had a BUY BRITISH policy.

That's the one. I see them a lot in Heygates mill at Bugbrooke which is like a haulage museum in its own right.

There is a fella around Northampton running one of those V8 Mercs on a grain bulker, it's a bit blinged up but is absolutely immaculate. Anybody ever driven one?

Pains me to say it but now I've read it properly that Disco looks a nice thing to keep, very late reg madness, leather and all that.

Bye bye Disco, though it has to be said they are a much less common sight than they once were and are surely going to be out of banger territory soon. I am pleased to have played a part in killing them off, I can't put my finger on it but there's just something I've never liked about them. Which is stupid as I adore Range Rover classics which are just the same underneath.

Yes, Bought this with my now wife as a barn find, rebuilt it (underneath) and went all over Europe in it, dailyed it too. Wanted a series one 80" since I was 10 years old and said I'd never sell it, but... Prices going mental coincided with first child arriving so I shamelessly cashed in. Probably never have another now, and for what they demand there's much better things to spend your money on.

Top story, sorry I am late to the party. My mum had a B reg 413 hard top that colour, I think they are super little things, I can't remember the last time I actually saw one out and about. Is yours four or five speed?

I once took a Sentinel man on a Aveling roller, old single cylinder job that runs on hot water, does about 3.8mph and looks like the Guinness advert, for about four or five miles, his comment at the end was "well, thanks, I now have that out of my system" 😂

Yeah the knackered look is really what makes it isn't it. I don't know about you but rough old yanks were a reasonably familiar sight for a while, in the KLF heyday I guess! Where I grew up on the coast there were a few blokes who always had some proper US shite, always with the 'classic American' tax disc holder and usually parked up outside a shite house. Not hard to imagine they could get in the dance if the need took them. Did I miss it or has there been any discussion on the "shipping container near Sizewell B" referenced on the tunnel poster a few years back?