Another great photo of one of old Archies motors late 50s reg I would say, Regards Larry.
Another one of NTY 351 wit Bob Grindle the guy who painted & lettered it. He woked as a driver from the late 40’s & painted the trucks up until the early 70’s.
Here’s one of our FG’s I actually travelled over to Naples with this one and brought a household removal back to the North East.
Carl Williams:
Here’s one of our FG’s I actually travelled over to Naples with this one and brought a household removal back to the North East.
Beter you than me Carl we used to bring them down from Bathgate on flats then plate them down to Blaydon about 10 miles which was enough,
BTH 257 , a petrol-engined Austin , was my fathers second wagon bought second-hand in 1950. The livestock body was then built at a joiners workshop in Sedbergh.
He operated BTH for 4 years, then traded it for a brand new Ford 4D.
The photograph was taken in Bradford , August 1954, just before the Ford replaced it.
Cheers, cattle wagon man.
Carl Williams:
Here’s one of our FG’s I actually travelled over to Naples with this one and brought a household removal back to the North East.
Sir, I doff my cap to you 
Actually those small 30cwt FG’s were not bad too drive, by that age (L reg) they had either the 2.5 petrol or diesel engine which was a lot quieter than the 3.8 litre of the larger models, plus a synchromesh gearbox. Steering was a little heavy with no power option but I didn’t mind driving them. Manor Bakeries (Mr Kipling) had a fleet of them with auto gearboxes, the trouble with those was that the driver’s would hold them flat out in 2nd and then ■■■■■■ them back into ‘drive’. The nylon gate used to wear though and instead of getting ‘drive’ they would go into Park! This locked the gearbox solid and usually burst the casing! 
Still, it found us work! 
Pete.
I drove a G reg 900FG in the late 70s for a firm called Pronto Foods in Washington on distance work. Ran down to Torquay in it once. I had to plug my ears with cotton wool the noise was that bad and you couldn’t touch the engine cover it was that hot. It blew up when I was on my way to Carnforth going up the bank out of Kirby Stephen. It was replaced with a Commer Commando - sheer luxury!
night shift bri:
I drove a G reg 900FG in the late 70s for a firm called Pronto Foods in Washington on distance work. Ran down to Torquay in it once. I had to plug my ears with cotton wool the noise was that bad and you couldn’t touch the engine cover it was that hot. It blew up when I was on my way to Carnforth going up the bank out of Kirby Stephen. It was replaced with a Commer Commando - sheer luxury!
They were very light and you could drive them under the age of 21 if they had a light body as well. A five tonner that would legally carry six tons, we serviced a lot of them. Many had the five speed box and two speed axle plus power steering but I think that put them over the three ton unladen mark, some had a nice quilted engine cover as well! Not really intended for distance work.
Pete.
windrush:
Actually those small 30cwt FG’s were not bad too drive, by that age (L reg) they had either the 2.5 petrol or diesel engine which was a lot quieter than the 3.8 litre of the larger models, plus a synchromesh gearbox. Steering was a little heavy with no power option but I didn’t mind driving them. Manor Bakeries (Mr Kipling) had a fleet of them with auto gearboxes, the trouble with those was that the driver’s would hold them flat out in 2nd and then ■■■■■■ them back into ‘drive’. The nylon gate used to wear though and instead of getting ‘drive’ they would go into Park! This locked the gearbox solid and usually burst the casing!Pete.
Hi Peter,
We had the 3.8 litre engine fitted to these 30cwt with the crash gearbox and I can assure you the drum drum of the engine as it reached te top of the Alps was very deafening
Carl
Carl Williams:
windrush:
Actually those small 30cwt FG’s were not bad too drive, by that age (L reg) they had either the 2.5 petrol or diesel engine which was a lot quieter than the 3.8 litre of the larger models, plus a synchromesh gearbox. Steering was a little heavy with no power option but I didn’t mind driving them. Manor Bakeries (Mr Kipling) had a fleet of them with auto gearboxes, the trouble with those was that the driver’s would hold them flat out in 2nd and then ■■■■■■ them back into ‘drive’. The nylon gate used to wear though and instead of getting ‘drive’ they would go into Park! This locked the gearbox solid and usually burst the casing!Pete.
Hi Peter,
We had the 3.8 litre engine fitted to these 30cwt with the crash gearbox and I can assure you the drum drum of the engine as it reached te top of the Alps was very deafening
Carl
Wow, I never realised that was an option on the small FG’s. The two tonners had them but I never saw a single rear wheel model with the 3.8, not even listed in the BMC history booklet that I have! Still it got you there and back, which was what you bought it for. 
Pete.
windrush:
night shift bri:
I drove a G reg 900FG in the late 70s for a firm called Pronto Foods in Washington on distance work. Ran down to Torquay in it once. I had to plug my ears with cotton wool the noise was that bad and you couldn’t touch the engine cover it was that hot. It blew up when I was on my way to Carnforth going up the bank out of Kirby Stephen. It was replaced with a Commer Commando - sheer luxury!They were very light and you could drive them under the age of 21 if they had a light body as well. A five tonner that would legally carry six tons, we serviced a lot of them. Many had the five speed box and two speed axle plus power steering but I think that put them over the three ton unladen mark, some had a nice quilted engine cover as well!
Pete.
You’re probably right there Windrush. When I worked for BRS Roadline they had a fleet of Noddy vans which I believe were FGs with a BRS designed body on and they were adequate for the job. Mind you they weren’t a patch on the later Leyland Terriers and Bedford TKs.
Just for the record here’s a pic of a Roadline Terrier. Don’t know where I found it so appologies if I upset anybody
windrush:
Carl Williams:
windrush:
Actually those small 30cwt FG’s were not bad too drive, by that age (L reg) they had either the 2.5 petrol or diesel engine which was a lot quieter than the 3.8 litre of the larger models, plus a synchromesh gearbox. Steering was a little heavy with no power option but I didn’t mind driving them. Manor Bakeries (Mr Kipling) had a fleet of them with auto gearboxes, the trouble with those was that the driver’s would hold them flat out in 2nd and then ■■■■■■ them back into ‘drive’. The nylon gate used to wear though and instead of getting ‘drive’ they would go into Park! This locked the gearbox solid and usually burst the casing!Pete.
Hi Peter,
We had the 3.8 litre engine fitted to these 30cwt with the crash gearbox and I can assure you the drum drum of the engine as it reached te top of the Alps was very deafening
Carl
Wow, I never realised that was an option on the small FG’s. The two tonners had them but I never saw a single rear wheel model with the 3.8, not even listed in the BMC history booklet that I have! Still it got you there and back, which was what you bought it for.
Pete.
Hi Pete,
We had three all identcal MPT393J RPT—K CPT404L all with 3.8 engine and extra large fuel tanks. Barrett-Atkin was tha sales manager of Byers Dunn- Turvey, then Hargreaves who supplied the chassis cabs, and all who knew him would know he was an exceptional salesman for BMC vehicles. With him almost anything was possible. The bodies were all by Marsden coachbuilders warrington.The three vans were under operators licence weight and exempt, and of course could be driven on ordnary car licence by drivers under 21 years old. They were specified for long distance work, although I would admit not designed as such, however our young trainee HGV hopeful drivers didn’t mind as they were so pleased to be offered the experience of driving . The down side was that after the vehicle weight was taken away from the GVW meant that the load carried was limited (legally) to 1.2 ton. However used on smaller household removals and new furiture, even with a full load this was usually adequate.One of the drivers, Eric Nelson, at 18 years old, never been outside Uk before took the vehicle in the photo to a delivery of office furniture to Champs Eleses, Paris. determination and experience at such an early age created excellent HGV drivers as they got older.
Carl
oiltreader:
This 1955 model looks like it may have originally been a van or maybe a diy cab to a scuttle.
oily
That is an early LD1 with the heart shaped grille and ‘crash’ gearbox, they did make truck versions and some of the breweries had them for small deliveries. Wethered brewery at Marlow, Bucks, had at least one of them, though I think that was a later model with the slatted grille and synchomesh box, and I think that it is in preservation? The LD was a good van, very reliable and easy to work on. The Post Office had special ones (didn’t they allways?!) with twin rear wheels and drop tailgates but I dont recall them being offered to other customer’s. There WAS a version known as the LCFO which had the LD front end marrried to a twin rear wheel chassis, these were fitted with the 3.4 diesel and again the ‘crash’ gearbox and were normally turned out as mobile shops! I did a job on one as an apprentice and the owner gave me 10 Park Drive ciggy’s as a ‘tip’, I didn’t smoke at that time but they started me off on five years of being a smoker until I got engaged and could no longer afford them! 
The later LD 30 cwt is in the pic above, together with the earlier PV (parcel van in top pic) which came out just as war broke out and continued until the early 1950’s when the LD 1 appeared.
The Roadline Terrier is a later version, the earlier ones had hydraulic brakes with NITROGEN actuators. The nitrogen cylinders were fitted one either side behind the bumper and their was an engine driven pump which powered the brakes hydraulic fluid with a tank behind the cab, they were very good brakes, too powerfull at times, but the nitrogen actuators would lose pressure and require recharging and then the truck would brake to one side! The later Terrier’s had standard vacuum/ hydraulic brakes, I was due to attend a course at Cowley on the earlier braking system but left the BMC dealer to go to work at a Bedford agent before the appointed time so that was that!
Pete.
Good on you windrush, you are certainly well genned up on the models and their workings, for myself I have driven some of these vans and wagons (car delivery 1960s) and read your input with interest.
Edit
I’ve just come across a Wadham Coachbuilders pic which has turned over the grey matter, we used to deliver LD front ends or scuttles to their place at Waterlooville for ambulance building.
Cheers
Oily
My dad worked as a tipper driver for whitwick granite company in Leicestershire.As a kid I spent a lot of time with him when I was very small in the early 1950s Dads maudsley eight wheeler had a tipper misfunction when he was doing his 99 point grease service this trapped his arm and he was unable to drive an Armstrong powered steering eight wheeler for a while.He was put on a small grey four wheel morris I think it only carried about 6 ton…I don’t know the model number it had suicide doors and was very noisy.They had several of these and they sold them to parkin and jones a local coalville haulage contractor.BMC products weren’t very common as tippers in the area where I grew up but one company was the exception.H V Day haulage of glenfield near Leicester had an exclusively BMC fleet of tippers even six wheel convertions and at least one Chinese six.They went out of business many years ago they hauled mainly coal and granite.One picture is on this site in the massive thread “scrapbook memories” about a 1958 BMC 4 wheel tipper