Seddon Lorry discovery.

The story below was sent in by John, who contacting me about finding spares for his classic lorry purchase. Old lorries are popular in preservation, and this great old Seddon, from 1951, looks like an excellent 'find'. A quick look in an commercial vehicle book I have, suggests that this may be the 6 ton model, powered by the P6 Perkins diesel engine.

Seddon lorry

This truck was found in Western Australia, and here is the story of its discovery:

"You asked for a bit of a story, well there is not much to tell at the moment but I will give you what has happened so far.

While driving from Pithara in Western Australia to Wongan Hills, a distance of about 65 kilometers, I happened to notice a farmer's paddock with a whole lot of "vintage tin" sitting beside a shed. After a few months of trying to find out who owned the property I was at last successful. It turned out the farmer, a wonderful retired old gentleman, had just sold the property. All he retained was the right to use the shed and the pieces of machinery around it for the remainder of his life, and said I was quite welcome to go and have a look at the old vehicles and see if there was anything that tickled my fancy, of course it all did.

The thing that really stood out and made my mouth water was an old Seddon Diesel Truck. It was about 95 per cent complete and not in too bad a condition.The vehicle is a single axle truck with an 18 foot tray, wooden bed of course, and most importantly for me, still had the motor, gearbox and diff, and was complete with all wheels the spare even being in the carrier under the tray.

Of course I went back to the farmer's house and had a good old yarn with him and a deal was struck. Being short of the ready cash he even agreed to keep it for me. The next thing is for me to pay for it and arrange transport for the truck back to my property, even though he said if I put in some fuel and a battery I could probably drive it there.

It turns out it is a 1951 model and he used it for about 20 years. Apparently a top speed of about 30-35 miles per hour can be attained and travelled at quite comfortably. I can tell you that I am really looking forward to getting it home and starting restoration, even though this will be my first really serious project. I will keep you all advised of developments as they happen, but it may be some time yet.

Rick, if any of your readers wish to contact me that is o.k. with me, some might even be able to help with restoration tips."

Thanks for story and fab photos!! if anyone can help John with finding parts and information on his Seddon, please drop me a line and I'll forward your details on.

More links to truck information on oldclassiccar.co.uk:
Free classic truck ads
Old lorry screensaver

External links of interest to old lorry fans:
HCVS (Historic Commercial Vehicle Society

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