Car Show Classic: 2013 Historic Commercial Vehicle Club Annual Show Part One

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– Posted on April 4, 2018

I’ve used a few photographs from this show before, but never delved into on CC, so it is time to do that now for all the truck fans.  As always there is a real variety here, and not just trucks (eg I-H Loadstar) but buses, military vehicles, tractors and some light commercials.  Even a steam truck!  Read on…

This very nice International AR180 was parked in the pit paddock of Sandown Racecourse that runs both car and horse racing (not on the same track!), and has a nice large paved area ideal for hosting a truck show.  On the day a big storm came through that forced everyone to seek shelter until it passed, which is why there are some pretty gloomy clouds evident.

This 1955 IH AR162 was likely once upon a time a typical farm truck.  It has a 240 ci Silver Diamond inline six, with a synchronised 4-speed and a 2-speed diff, and a PTO-driven hydraulic hoist giving a tipping tray.

Next is a R200 prime mover, or tractor in many other parts of the world – a term normally reserved here for the agricultural variety.  The model designation without the ‘A’ prefix indicates it was a fully-imported truck.

Getting a bit newer, the AB180 is a version of the truck mentioned last time at Pakenham, with the cab shared with Dodge trucks.  From 1961 the cabs were built in Adelaide by TJ Richards, one of the bigger body builders.

I don’t think International really got into the prime mover market here to the extent that Kenworth or Mack did, but here is a purpose-built Transtar as opposed to a biggest-of-the-range medium truck.

A slightly later version of the mainstream Australian International truck is the D1210, one of the smaller versions.  I’m not sure what the story with the tray is, but I would be surprised if it is what the truck wore during its working life.

For a change of pace, here is a row of British Ford commercial utes and vans from the late-40s and 1950s.

One of their competitors was the Morris J van, or as the first one shows they were also sold as Austins, back when commercial vans were still finding their form.  Note the sliding doors.

A more modern small commercial is this Suzuki Carry pickup.  Of course these are more often seen as vans; and not very often seen in customised form like this.  With the flared wheel arches and ‘big’ alloy wheels I wonder what is going on engine-wise!

One of the more remarkable machines made is the Pinzgauer.  With six-wheel drive and a 2.5L diesel engine powering a fairly light-weight machine they have almost unparalleled off-road ability.  The downside is that most terrain that requires that ability would be a long drive away at Pinzgauer speeds, although there are some decent hills not far from Melbourne where you could challenge it.

Back into the heavy metal, here are a pair of unusual trucks at least for Australia.  Peterbilts are not very often seen here, and the Atkinson which had a fibreglass cab was equally uncommon.

A much more familiar sight is this 1966 Mack B61.  What a life this trucks looks to have led!  And I doubt it was in metropolitan areas – just look at those air cleaners.

Somewhere in between is this White Road Boss.  This is an interesting looking truck that I think must have seen some major changes ‘post-retirement’; heavy trucks like this aren’t normally seen with a single rear axle, nor such a small tray body.  Otherwise the front half of the truck is fairly typical for a long-haul rig.

This R190 tipper is remarkably similar to the R200 seen earlier with the obvious exception of the body.  It has a V8 that I don’t think would be original – any ideas?

These cabover Kenworths seem to have been around forever without much discernible change – length regulations keep them popular.  A couple of years ago I saw a mid-1970s version driving in Port Melbourne still working for its living.  On the other hand this one is wearing a club permit plate, indicating it is no longer in regular use.

This 1987 Ford L9000 (beautifully restored) is one of the last year these trucks were produced in Plant 2 at Broadmeadows on the northern side of Melbourne; after that production was transferred to Ford’s Eagle Farm factory in Brisbane.

There were two more Atkinsons like the blue one shown earlier, which are late-1970s versions built after the 1974 takeover of the company by International, but this one is earlier (est. late 1960s) and has several artifacts from older Atkinsons such as the ‘knights of the road’ badge at top left of the radiator which itself is kind of exposed in an archaic fashion for the times.  The other badge indicates it is powered by a Gardiner 180 or 6LXB 10.5 litre diesel, 180 is the horsepower output.

To go further back in English trucks, there was a 1948 era Bedford OL plus two other K/M/O’s (I’m not 100% clear on the differences) in a line.  The dropside tray bodies on two were built by GM-H.

Here is a restored example.

For another change of pace, this unrestored 1965 Ford XP model Falcon ute which is fairly remarkable.

Next is a late-70’s F100 (1976?) with the sort of setup that is fairly often seen on these, a 1956 Mainline ute, an early 50’s Pontiac and a 1925 Chevrolet pickup with a timber cabin.

The Mainline ute is interesting, the registration number indicates it may have been restored and re-registered in the 1980s, and the widened wheels and LPG conversion are consistent with this.

Here is a 1925 Chevrolet that most likely started out as a tourer before being cut down into a buckboard utility – not that there is much bodywork left!  I can’t remember noting what the engine in the back was, but apparently something interesting.  The 8×4 Leader truck behind is an interesting piece, as is the early Kenworth too (not the new truck!).

To finish this post, we have a Leyland Marathon 2 truck (with Caterpillar D4D bulldozer for decoration) and another Bedford O-series truck.

One bonus of truck shows compared to car shows is that owners often adorn their trucks with interesting cargo, and there will be a few more cases to come.