the saddest part of all this bedford tm stuff is they got it wrong in the first place had they put the bigger detroit in it or an option for ■■■■■■■ etc we might not have lost another old lorry name in this country
ubym344:
the saddest part of all this bedford tm stuff is they got it wrong in the first place had they put the bigger detroit in it or an option for ■■■■■■■ etc we might not have lost another old lorry name in this country
Absolutely right but it was’nt all their fault because they just could’nt sell enough of that spec of truck with the mindset of most of the British guvnors in the industry.But the Scandinavian and European manufacturers already had a strong home market with guvnors calling for ever increasing specs and power outputs over there.So they were in the position of saying to the Brits take it or leave it and eventually the British guvnors caught on that big power heavier trucks are more cost efficient although the owner drivers knew that years before which is why there were often such massive differences between owner driver specced British trucks,usually big spec/power Scandinavian,Yank or European types versus British fleet trucks.The TM was in most respects a proper yank truck which was dumbed down to suit many of the British fleets of the 1970’s.But the 3800 and the 4400 were two of the exceptions.Bedford should have just built them in lower volumes to compete with Scania,Volvo and DAF etc in the owner driver sector of the market and just said to the fleets take it or leave it.That Scottish and Newcastle fleet engineer was the type of buyer they needed but just could’nt find enough of unfortunately.That’s why the Scandinavians and Europeans cleaned up when more managers like that eventually came along,too late for Bedford unfortunately.
Carryfast:
ubym344:
the saddest part of all this bedford tm stuff is they got it wrong in the first place had they put the bigger detroit in it or an option for ■■■■■■■ etc we might not have lost another old lorry name in this countryAbsolutely right but it was’nt all their fault because they just could’nt sell enough of that spec of truck with the mindset of most of the British guvnors in the industry.But the Scandinavian and European manufacturers already had a strong home market with guvnors calling for ever increasing specs and power outputs over there.So they were in the position of saying to the Brits take it or leave it and eventually the British guvnors caught on that big power heavier trucks are more cost efficient although the owner drivers knew that years before which is why there were often such massive differences between owner driver specced British trucks,usually big spec/power Scandinavian,Yank or European types versus British fleet trucks.The TM was in most respects a proper yank truck which was dumbed down to suit many of the British fleets of the 1970’s.But the 3800 and the 4400 were two of the exceptions.Bedford should have just built them in lower volumes to compete with Scania,Volvo and DAF etc in the owner driver sector of the market and just said to the fleets take it or leave it.That Scottish and Newcastle fleet engineer was the type of buyer they needed but just could’nt find enough of unfortunately.That’s why the Scandinavians and Europeans cleaned up when more managers like that eventually came along,too late for Bedford unfortunately.
Hiya Carryfast ! as an ex Guvno’r I know which motors I’d sooner have lined up in my yard on a Saturday and it would be the Scandinavians not the Bedfords !! You really do need a brain transplant my old son but the zoo are having great difficulty finding a suitable doner !! Cheers Bewick.
Bewick:
Carryfast:
ubym344:
the saddest part of all this bedford tm stuff is they got it wrong in the first place had they put the bigger detroit in it or an option for ■■■■■■■ etc we might not have lost another old lorry name in this countryAbsolutely right but it was’nt all their fault because they just could’nt sell enough of that spec of truck with the mindset of most of the British guvnors in the industry.But the Scandinavian and European manufacturers already had a strong home market with guvnors calling for ever increasing specs and power outputs over there.So they were in the position of saying to the Brits take it or leave it and eventually the British guvnors caught on that big power heavier trucks are more cost efficient although the owner drivers knew that years before which is why there were often such massive differences between owner driver specced British trucks,usually big spec/power Scandinavian,Yank or European types versus British fleet trucks.The TM was in most respects a proper yank truck which was dumbed down to suit many of the British fleets of the 1970’s.But the 3800 and the 4400 were two of the exceptions.Bedford should have just built them in lower volumes to compete with Scania,Volvo and DAF etc in the owner driver sector of the market and just said to the fleets take it or leave it.That Scottish and Newcastle fleet engineer was the type of buyer they needed but just could’nt find enough of unfortunately.That’s why the Scandinavians and Europeans cleaned up when more managers like that eventually came along,too late for Bedford unfortunately.
Hiya Carryfast ! as an ex Guvno’r I know which motors I’d sooner have lined up in my yard on a Saturday and it would be the Scandinavians not the Bedfords !! You really do need a brain transplant my old son but the zoo are having great difficulty finding a suitable doner !! Cheers Bewick.
If you could find that driver there in that advert driving that 3800 and that ex fleet engineer maybe you could ask them if they’d have preferred an F88.I’d bet that they’d have said no so being a democracy it would be 3 to 1 in that case and we’d probably be the ones saying that it’s you who needed the transplant from the zoo 
But did’nt someone say that Volvo UK tried to stop someone from putting a Gardner 240 into a F88?.Maybe Volvo thought that it was a 290 version and only most of the British managers at the time would be mad enough to either order the 250 version or do that instead:
mercman123:
Hi my dad wolrked for a man called Bradley. This was his Bedfrod TM. It was one of the first TM’s to have the ■■■■■■■ E 290. It flew !Sorry the picture quality wasn’t very good blame it on the scottish snow and a crap camera !!
Was that Morris Bradley from Telford?
ubym344:
the saddest part of all this bedford tm stuff is they got it wrong in the first place had they put the bigger detroit in it or an option for ■■■■■■■ etc we might not have lost another old lorry name in this country
Well said. I think the TM, like the Ford Transconti- was ahead of it’s time, maybe too much ahead of it’s time?
Had some of these trucks stood the test of time, think of what they might have become. They were certainly trend setters
for some of the stuff around today.
I took my class 1 in a TM with a Bedford 500 in it. I don’t think it would have been man enough to pull a load!
Mike Lewis:
ubym344:
the saddest part of all this bedford tm stuff is they got it wrong in the first place had they put the bigger detroit in it or an option for ■■■■■■■ etc we might not have lost another old lorry name in this countryWell said. I think the TM, like the Ford Transconti- was ahead of it’s time, maybe too much ahead of it’s time?
Had some of these trucks stood the test of time, think of what they might have become. They were certainly trend setters
for some of the stuff around today.I took my class 1 in a TM with a Bedford 500 in it. I don’t think it would have been man enough to pull a load!
i drove an x reg one in 1989 with the ■■■■■■■ a 290 I think not sure after all these years it was a bit long in the tooth then but pulled really well and would fly fully laden easy do 80 no cameras back then and all that summer I never put any oil in that truck I checked every day I got to really like that old girl it had sleeper cab which was ok no jake brake though I did have the u bolts on the back axle shear as I was coming off the 25 when it was fixed the fitter told me they were a thinner construction than normal and at the time the army held most stocks of spares and it was sometimes hard to get certain parts and to be honest as a kid I spent a lot time with my ole man in his lorries at the time which always seemed to be bedfords so i had a soft spot for them I suppose I only left that job after a row with the boss as you do now and again, not driven for a living for about 20 yrs and all the modern trucks seem to be very boring to me might change my mind if I drove one though, great web site this by the way
Mike Lewis:
ubym344:
the saddest part of all this bedford tm stuff is they got it wrong in the first place had they put the bigger detroit in it or an option for ■■■■■■■ etc we might not have lost another old lorry name in this countryWell said. I think the TM, like the Ford Transconti- was ahead of it’s time, maybe too much ahead of it’s time?
Had some of these trucks stood the test of time, think of what they might have become. They were certainly trend setters
for some of the stuff around today.I took my class 1 in a TM with a Bedford 500 in it. I don’t think it would have been man enough to pull a load!
so did i,west midland training group in kingswinford
Carryfast:
Bewick:
Carryfast:
You could keep the ■■■■■■■ version I’ll second that advert but they should have gone for the 4400 if power is really what they wanted.Stop drooling Carryfast !! That Scottish & Newcastle fleet engineer must have been cosuming too much of his own product to make a statement like he did on the advert !! Bewick
Better days then bewick it’s just a shame that I was born too late to be emloyed on that firm and the only thing which would have passed me on a night trunk would have been that 4400.
…or a Smiths Gardner!!!
Mike Lewis:
mercman123:
Hi my dad wolrked for a man called Bradley. This was his Bedfrod TM. It was one of the first TM’s to have the ■■■■■■■ E 290. It flew !Sorry the picture quality wasn’t very good blame it on the scottish snow and a crap camera !!
Was that Morris Bradley from Telford?
No from Pentre near shrewsbury
Yes I remember the Bedford V8 Detroit tractors well, I use to run 2 at 38ton tractor units and a former Solar Glass Lorry and Drag running at 32 tons. Sadley in the mid to late 80’s I was so busy running them on general haulage from Darts Farm Topsham that I never took any photos. In those days we didnt have digi cameras. I have found 2 photos but don’t know how to upload them. I am US at computers. What I would say is whilst people knocked and made fun of my old Bedfords they are the only lorries I have owned that made me money. They just kept going without touching the engines with a spanner. Yes they were heavy on fuel, but when I changed to Volvo F10’s and Daf 3300 Space Cabs thats when the problems started Always breaking down and spending money on them. Good old days.
This ones for carryfast.As the S@N fleet engineer is your hero thought I would send you an ex S@Nvehicle that I had for nine years and showed regularly.If you had driven this you would think a vehicle with a 240 was concorde.Please take it with the humour intended as things are getting a bit personal at times.
Regards
Robert.
miketdt:
Yes I remember the Bedford V8 Detroit tractors well, I use to run 2 at 38ton tractor units and a former Solar Glass Lorry and Drag running at 32 tons. Sadley in the mid to late 80’s I was so busy running them on general haulage from Darts Farm Topsham that I never took any photos. In those days we didnt have digi cameras. I have found 2 photos but don’t know how to upload them. I am US at computers. What I would say is whilst people knocked and made fun of my old Bedfords they are the only lorries I have owned that made me money. They just kept going without touching the engines with a spanner. Yes they were heavy on fuel, but when I changed to Volvo F10’s and Daf 3300 Space Cabs thats when the problems started Always breaking down and spending money on them. Good old days.
Nothing’s changed that lot who make fun of V8 Detroit powered TM’s are still around.But that’s probably one of the reasons why the DAF and the Volvo were’nt accepted in the States considering the higher speeds and bigger distances over there.
Sorry carryfast I don’t no what I’m doing with the photos that one seems to appear on every post I do.Hope I’ve got it right this time.
Soory guys if I’ve wasted your thread.Hope this makes up for it.
The mechanic:
This ones for carryfast.As the S@N fleet engineer is your hero thought I would send you an ex S@Nvehicle that I had for nine years and showed regularly.If you had driven this you would think a vehicle with a 240 was concorde.Please take it with the humour intended as things are getting a bit personal at times.
Regards
Robert.
I would have preferred the AEC 
but it was probably that experience of the ERF which made them learn later for the 1970’s.
Found this lot of old pics for you TM fans 
Hope these were of interest
Mike Lewis:
ubym344:
the saddest part of all this bedford tm stuff is they got it wrong in the first place had they put the bigger detroit in it or an option for ■■■■■■■ etc we might not have lost another old lorry name in this countryWell said. I think the TM, like the Ford Transconti- was ahead of it’s time, maybe too much ahead of it’s time?
Had some of these trucks stood the test of time, think of what they might have become. They were certainly trend setters
for some of the stuff around today.I took my class 1 in a TM with a Bedford 500 in it. I don’t think it would have been man enough to pull a load!
Hi,yep, they always seemed to be a good looking truck, and a mate in Knighton (smudger Smith) used to run one with the big detroit and a straight through stack that sounded great, and the only thing that went faster than the truck was the amount of fuel it used !!!.
I almost forgot that I passed my hgv test in a TM, one of two that was used out of the Severn Valley training school at Abermule, Shrops, although it almost cost me a fail when the clutch went on the test, the examiner was going to cancel the test, but I managed to persuade him that I could drive it without the clutch. Carried on with a shortened route and passed anyway,only for my instructer to refuse to drive the lorry to High Ercell afterwards to get it fixed, so I had to drive it there as well, not bad for a twenty year old !!.
a couple i saw at gaydon this year
