backsplice:
My memories of my 1972 TK (KCC) originally had a Chev 6 Cyl petrol which was converted to a 253 V8 Holden which had a nice "purr " when running … I know that Bedford down here in Australia produced a TK fitted with a 308 Holden V8 (Chev) which were quite popular but I suspect that there were numerous combinations … I think with these smaller models with the GVM of 7.5 Tons all had the typical 4 speed box with a gear lever that swiveled all over the place …I loved my little TK
Sorry for being pedantic but, both 253 and 308 are Australian (GM-Holden) designed and built. They shared the stroke, but differed in bore and cams. The Chev was 307, 327 and 350.
Star down under.:
Lucky you, our KMs were fitted with bird scarers (6-53). I’ve never seen a Bedford with a Gardiner.
It was 6v71 for the KM and that was too small for a 32 tonner let alone 53 
.Yep luckily they never put Gardners in anything and Bewick has never forgiven em for it. 
Well a long departed friend of mine who ran nothing else but Bedfords, He replaced a S Type 4 wheeler with a 6 wheeler TK With a Primrose trailaig axle, It had a Bedford 300, Diesel engine a four speed box along with a two speed drive axle, This was 1959/60. It was bother from day one, It wouldnt pull the skin off a rice pudding He ended up just putting 10 Ton on it as it just used to give up on any steep incline, He even thouth about making it into a four wheeler, But this was just before M O T s came in and the silly transmission hand brake was a joke IMO, He sold up and retired, Regards Larry.
I spent nine months at a Bedford dealership and I grew to quite like them after a while. Not as awkward to work on as I had first imagined, not bad to drive either apart from the low windscreen which meant that at 6’ 4" tall I had to stoop a little to see under it, and with their own four speed box a nice easy gearchange. They were very light on steering after the BMC’s I had been used to and we never had any problems with the brake readings on MOT. They had one thick and one thin lining on the front brakes, only the thicker one wore out and we relined them regularly but rarely touched the thinner trailing shoes. KM’s were not as easy to work on though as it was all rather tight in their engine bay! The quarry I later worked at had run Bedfords for years but they had all gone when I started apart from a couple used internally, and some long out of use and parked up awaiting disposal. When I went for my interview the then foreman was fitting some new big end shells to an internal one fitted with the 466 engine as it had run backwards into a hopper when tipping and the crank had run dry. “He will be very lucky to get away with just shells” I thought at the time. I started there just over a week later and the foreman had just retired, guess what one of my first jobs was…fitting a new crankshaft into that Bedford as ‘you know all about these’. 
The shells hadn’t cured the problem!
Pete.
ownerdriver.com.au/truck-re … ny-bedford
I’m surprised a '71 would fit, without major modifications but it matters none, all two stroke Detroits drank like a sailor on leave and leaked like a colander. A crap truck with a rubbish engine.
Star down under.:
backsplice:
My memories of my 1972 TK (KCC) originally had a Chev 6 Cyl petrol which was converted to a 253 V8 Holden which had a nice "purr " when running … I know that Bedford down here in Australia produced a TK fitted with a 308 Holden V8 (Chev) which were quite popular but I suspect that there were numerous combinations … I think with these smaller models with the GVM of 7.5 Tons all had the typical 4 speed box with a gear lever that swiveled all over the place …I loved my little TK
Sorry for being pedantic but, both 253 and 308 are Australian (GM-Holden) designed and built. They shared the stroke, but differed in bore and cams. The Chev was 307, 327 and 350.
I stand corrected I was under the impression that the Holden V8,s were the same as the Chev being GM … while I was with the bushfire service there was a canteen TK with the 6 cyl "Mexican Chev " it is still there now its an early 70,s model
This is the first I’ve heard of a ■■■■■■■ in a Bedford. It wasn’t a factory option, but a major dealer conversion, offering an air of officialdom. The ad is from early 1970.
