Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

The boxy front-end tinwork confirms this Bedford as being ex-military, presumably converted into a breakdown wagon after being sold off post-WW2.

Has anyone here driven one of these O-Series Bedfords?

http://ebay.to/1Kgx8JY



RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[47Jag]

Rick,

I started my apprenticeship in a place that rebuilt for the Ministry of Supply, among other things Bedford OYs. Between these and Austin K2 ambulances this is what I learned to drive in. This tow truck would probably be built on a short wheelbase OX chassis.

Art

[emmerson]

That square front is military, Rick. All the services used them, some with 4x4, then of course they were disposed of after the war.
Quite what the purpose of the different front was I can't quite see. The only explanation I've heard is that it saved on steel, but I cannot see how, as underneath it is the same as the ordinary O type.
Any ex- mil fans know different?

[47Jag]

Emmerson,

They weren't disposed of right away. We were reconditioning them in the late 50s. When we were finished they were taken to a big field somewhere, usually Abingdon in Berkshire to await WW3.

As an aside, one of my tradesmen had left the army and a mate of his went to an auction to buy something to start a business with. He bid on what he thought was one of these and was quite happy to drive off with his purchase. A couple of weeks later he got a letter asking when he was coming for his other two trucks

Art

[emmerson]

Art, that sounds about right!

[Rick]

[Rootes75]

The wartime front end styling was as such so basically in a simplified form it could be produced more cheaply and by various other companies. I would presume the dies for punching the sheet were easier and cheaper than forming the traditional shaped wings / bonnet.

Take a look at the Guy Ant or Morris Quad and they look even more 'squared' off.

[MartinC]

There are other stories of ex-WD lorries being bought at auction and the owner discovering the back was full of WD motorcycles!

The early War Departemnt (WD) lorries from Bedford used the civilian sheet metal. The WD complained about the difficulty of de-contaminating these after a gas attack. Of course we know gas wasn't used, but they didn't , and after the experinces of the Great War it was a very real liklihood. The flat panels made cleaning much easier. The design also gave much more room under the bonnet for military-spec equipment such as larger air cleaners etc.

The far more practical upshot of this, as mentioned by someone else, is that the lorry could be made much more cheaply, and more importantly after the Dunkirk debacle, much more quickly. That's the real benefit.

Vauxhall-Bedford's body press tools were still in full use, making a few H & J type cars, plus the Bedfords cab roof, back, & front wings were all still press-formed, plus they stamped out many thousands of steel helmets, and 'jerry-can' sides. I'm pretty sure I have one of each. I have a civilian 'Zuckermann' helmet and a jerry can both with "VM" stamped into them, 'Vauxhall Motors' I assume.

As an aside, Vauxhall were responsible for designing and building the Churchill tank, (including it's flat-twelve engine from scratch), and produced 250,000 vehicles during the war.
_________________
1937 Standard Flying Twelve
1942 Bedford OYD
1947 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty-Special
1954 Hillman Minx
1956 Austin A30
1957 Vauxhall Victor Super
1960 Car Cruiser Carousel caravan
1962 Car Cruiser Carissima caravan

[Churchill Johnson]

When i worked for Woodyatt Motor's in Southend i used one of these OXO model and pulled in car's,van's and lorry's and even a coach. got it up to 60mph going down Rawreth lane once, this was during the time of a lot less car's on the road, it still had the desert tyre's on it and was sold to a transport firm in Eastwood who i believe used the engine for one of their lorry's.