Australia then and now

CAR SOS is different in concept from others where owners of old classics have fallen ill and rendered unable to complete or even start their projects and in most senarios a complete basket case would be restored to factory fresh and in some cases better than new.Totally unrealistic cost wise but some of the vehicles are stunning and it gets very emotional for those involved

I found this while looking for something else.

A bit more on the P76.

It will be rust free, Alice has a very dry climate.
There is also a follow up video.

Bloody Hell SDU, that was a good read, but who’s the speed reader that wrote

Est. reading time: 1 minute

:rofl: :rofl:

Took me the best part of half a hour, perhaps I was savouring it all a bit too much. I knew much of it of course, the pre-war stuff and the Johansen and Buntine eras especially, but Jim Cooper was new to me.

The little photo that appeared on the link was one of Shell’s Aussie Atkis wasn’t it?

Yes mate, body and two, I imagine that was a big jigger in the day. Would have been good for ~80,000 litres/20,000gal.

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but Buntine had an A-triple tank on for Shell carrying hot asphalt down the Stuart from Darwin. Double manned, sometimes the passenger would have a kip on the platform of the unit until one day, when he wasn’t there, a sudden stop slopped a load of the stuff out of the front hatch which hadn’t been dogged down. Never slept there again. :rofl:

HubNut (Ian Seagrove) test drives a Hairy Lime P76

Mack 6x6 cargo crane moving timber, Buzzer nmp


Aus but does not say where.

I reckon that Mack is ex-Army, Buzzer. There are issues with the front axles being overweight, in civvy street.

Shamelessly stolen from elsewhere, but an insight into the the death knell of British trucks and the early days of the emerging interstate road transport sector.

Rotation of bax
Rotation of bay

Rotation of bba

The body trucks mentioned, became known as Grey Ghosts, thanks to their Mercedes racing silver livery and unearthly speeds at which they travelled, as a matter of course.

Modern trucks withover 700hp and motorways can’t do Sydney-Melbourne in the time that Ghosts were doing it on narrow, winding and hilly roads that were barely more than a spray seal over a goat track.

Well, for some reason I couldn’t get the text enlarged enough to read, and as for that video, could you get it translated into French for me? I reckon I might be able to comprehend all that was said then. :rofl:

:face_with_raised_eyebrow: :laughing:

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I could be mistaken, but I think it is a photo. :thinking:

The half cab is to stop the operator from stretching out for a kip during a smokoh. :rofl:

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Cor blimey, that Albion would have been retired before I was born. I’ve never seen (photo or real) a half cab, road going truck in this country.

It’d take more than a half cab to prevent an enterprising, or should that be unenterprising, Aussie from stretching out. :grin:
I’m more concerned about where he could store his fridge, which contained said smoko and lunch. :thinking:

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Found this one on FB, Albion again and says South Africa, Buzzer


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G’day Buzzer, I’d hazard a guess and say that was modified by a body builder, after it was sold by the Albion purveyor.
They used to be quite common here, for carrying long lengths of, particularly, steel from steel merchants.
images (47)
Bedford island cab aka long tom and centre cab.

images (46)
International Acco.

images (45)
Very generic, could be almost anything, but looks like a Rodgers bodyworks cab and tray.

In latter years centre cabs have been banned. Long toms are still permitted, however the driving position must remain on the right hand side.

images (48)
A modern long tom, note the chassis are now sourced from Japan rather than the UK.

The above pictures are not of stock trucks, they are expensive, vocationally modified, so that doesn’t explain why a fuel tanker would have a half cab. Perhaps to save weight, which was a particular penchant of fuel companies.

If I’ve posted this before, I make no apologies