A Borderer in a spot of bother on it’s way to Middle East! Spoke to my mate,he done few trips in a sed atki,and he recalls a Midlands based lad doing trips in Volvo F86 with his board behind the seats to kip on, just two examples of the variety of motors that were used, I wonder how many motors got abandoned, not just through unrepairable breakdowns but driver’s who thought they were living the dream but could not hack it and left the lorry?
Googling Reyco, they are now Reyco Granning, and from what I recall Granning had a good reputation for its suspension systems. In past times Reyco seemed to be a common suspension on Kenworths.
There were certainly some wonderous bits of British kit sent to the Middle East in search of fame and fortune.
I remember arriving once at Kapicule and finding a hand painted, elderly Guy Big J, two up bound for Iran. To make up for the lack of a sleeper they had two Southend Corpoation deck chairs on the sheet rack on the roof and when I first saw them both the blokes were asleep in front of the motor. Heros both but I never saw them again.
There was a man who not many knew because he was a loner who just got on with the job who started long before most of us and who only did Afgahnistan or Pakistan - he used to say he had no interest in doing the ‘locals’. His name was Ray Tohr and he ran an Atkinson Borderer with a Gardner and a home made plywood ‘nesting box’ bolted to the roof and accessed via an external ladder. He was a big mate of my first Govenor, John Ellingham, but I have no idea what happened to him. Does anyone else remember him?
David
Amazing to see the pic of Davies Atki.I spent 2 Days helping them after he Went off the road,It was at Horasan just as you start to climb the dirt road to Tahir.
Yes i remember ‘‘■■■■ ray’’ tohrs and his brother Dave.
hutpik:
Amazing to see the pic of Davies Atki.I spent 2 Days helping them after he Went off the road,It was at Horasan just as you start to climb the dirt road to Tahir.
Yes i remember ‘’[zb] ray’’ tohrs and his brother Dave.
Here is the same Atki in use as Killingbecks breakdown truck, now in preservation
Hi all.I see that the ‘‘auto delete’’ has deleted a Word i used.This was not a derogatory word but was the shortening of the word Pakistan which happened to be Ray’s nickname.Just to clarify. 
As to the Davies motor i remember it well purely due to the wonderful help we received from the people in Horosan,contrary to the popular opinion regarding them.The people who are milling about there have just got off a ‘‘dolmus’’[mini bus]from Eleskirt and were curious.
I was driving a Dutch reg truck at the time and one of the guy’s came up to me and asked in perfect Dutch ‘‘I see you have a small problem,please allow me to be of assistance’’.This guy and some friends helped us for 2 Days with customs,police,Jandarma and unloading\reloading crane,etc.
Afternoon Hutpik. Nice to see you as always
I am glad you remember Ray - even if we cannot use the nickname we all knew him by. It’good to know that somebody does. Have you heard anything about him from more recient years?
Take care mate.
David
Hi Dave, With Ref to Ray tohr, I ran back with him on I think was his last trip to ME. His truck was so knackered he left it in Dover docks to be picked up by a scrap man. He then rented a butchers shop from a friend of mine in Leyton, east London. What happened after that I do not know only that a short time later my friend commited suuicide due to business pressures. Ray I have no Idea,one good fellow though. Tony.
gingerfold:
Googling Reyco, they are now Reyco Granning, and from what I recall Granning had a good reputation for its suspension systems. In past times Reyco seemed to be a common suspension on Kenworths.
‘Common’ maybe like Gardner powered Atkis 
but not ‘Iconic’. 
Which probably explains why I grew up with knowing about Astran’s V8 Scania’s and Friderici’s KW’s and Hendrickson suspension systems.But not Reyco. 
Or for that matter Atkis being the ‘Iconic’ wagon of choice for running to Asia.On that note I doubt if the ditched Atki will make it into the cover photo of T and D’s Iconic Asian run specials story. 
Thanks for that Tony. If I remember right Ray was a butcher by trade.
David
Carryfast:
gingerfold:
Googling Reyco, they are now Reyco Granning, and from what I recall Granning had a good reputation for its suspension systems. In past times Reyco seemed to be a common suspension on Kenworths.‘Common’ maybe like Gardner powered Atkis
Which probably explains why I grew up with knowing about Astran’s V8 Scania’s and Friderici’s KW’s and Hendrickson suspension systems.But not Reyco.
CF,
I did not post the picture of the Atki saying it was the best motor for the middle east! Thread turned to the variety of vehicles used and yes you are quite right about the Atki not making it on to front cover that will be a 140 or F89 
,Cheer’s Pete
pete smith:
you are quite right about the Atki not making it on to front cover that will be a 140 or F89
Trust me the Friderici KW will help to sell more copies than the F89. 
Hi David.Many people had nicknames in those days.They were not considered derogatory or racist,mostly lighthearted about the person,i.e.black billy,what else should you call him .Or Ray’s was where he ran to.Things were not taken so seriously then.
Like many of us who live a bit ‘‘off the beaten track’’ i have lost touch with most of my ‘‘old mates’’ and,sad to say,the only time i seem to hear anything now is on here when we get notification of their passing 
Mike
Hi David, you make some interesting reading…John Ellingham…yes i remember and met him in the Londra a couple of times, always had a turk with him ( Kemal ) i also think John wore a leather jacket in all weathers, sun or winter…lol wasnt he doing ■■■■■■ backs ?..anyway…yes i too was a loner, still am really, prefer my own company, but had some great fun when meeting fellow drivers along the route at the the usual haunts, had a few Efes over the years, with many a good driver, but never carried a camera, and always forgot names…still do in my old age…ha ha why i`m even starting to write shopping lists…old age eh…you cant fight it…but the memories are still there…
Apart from the perception of 70s Era Smokey and the Bandit supertruckers, a larger bunk and an extra drive axle, there’s not much difference between an Atki and a KW. Neither would appear on my list of things to drive on unmade roads or in extreme temperatures.
The ultimate M/E spec lorry needs practically first and foremost, a huge bed and a sought after badge is not a priority, the proper M/E outfit would have a properly equipped trailer with storage boxes for supplies, tools and spares, so all the cab needed to do was provide a comfortable well insulated place to drive and sleep.
The majority of miles covered were on level ground or in countries with low speed limits and local trucks that were seriously under powered, so having big BHP was an indulgence, rather than a necessity, not much point having a high power lorry when you can only go as fast as the lorry at the front of the queue.
So again, it has to be the Scandinavian spec 6x2 141, it was engineered for dragging 62ton around on unmade forest roads and therefore was more than capable of coping with the worst that the M/E could throw at it, the cab was comfortable with enough space for the stuff that needed to be inside, power was more than sufficient and they were reliable and simple to fix when things did break.
The Transcon, Crusader, F89, 1632 Merc, 2800 Daf etc were up there too, but the Scania was in a league of its own in my opinion.
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newmercman:
Apart from the perception of 70s Era Smokey and the Bandit supertruckers, a larger bunk and an extra drive axle, there’s not much difference between an Atki and a KW. Neither would appear on my list of things to drive on unmade roads or in extreme temperatures.The ultimate M/E spec lorry needs practically first and foremost, a huge bed and a sought after badge is not a priority, the proper M/E outfit would have a properly equipped trailer with storage boxes for supplies, tools and spares, so all the cab needed to do was provide a comfortable well insulated place to drive and sleep.
The majority of miles covered were on level ground or in countries with low speed limits and local trucks that were seriously under powered, so having big BHP was an indulgence, rather than a necessity, not much point having a high power lorry when you can only go as fast as the lorry at the front of the queue.
So again, it has to be the Scandinavian spec 6x2 141, it was engineered for dragging 62ton around on unmade forest roads and therefore was more than capable of coping with the worst that the M/E could throw at it, the cab was comfortable with enough space for the stuff that needed to be inside, power was more than sufficient and they were reliable and simple to fix when things did break.
The Transcon, Crusader, F89, 1632 Merc, 2800 Daf etc were up there too, but the Scania was in a league of its own in my opinion.
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Very good point about high power not being a priority NMM, but I would add the rider that a good multi-speed 'box for the mountains is needed to offset lower power. Good point too about the concept of the Scania (ie why it was built). However, does my memory serve me right in thinking that one of the drawbacks cited by '70s M/E men, was the hard ride that Scanias gave thus increasing the likelihood of parts being shaken off? Robert
I did think about the Scania gearbox, but in a left hooked the awkward 1st/6th position was not really awkward and with a box of Swan Vestas you could fix the only reliability issues they had, plus the 141 had enough oompf to manage with only 10 speeds.
The ride was a bit harsh, but not significantly worse than the competition really, not to the point of shaking themselves to pieces, although the later Scanias were fragile compared to a Volvo, the 1 series was a pretty solid lorry. I had a 111 that had done many trips to the M/E and it was as tight as a drum, it was evil to drive bobtail and braking hard on a wet road without a trailer was usually accompanied by spinning round in circles before arriving at the scene of the crash.
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newmercman:
Apart from the perception of 70s Era Smokey and the Bandit supertruckers, a larger bunk and an extra drive axle, there’s not much difference between an Atki and a KW. Neither would appear on my list of things to drive on unmade roads or in extreme temperatures.The ultimate M/E spec lorry needs practically first and foremost, a huge bed and a sought after badge is not a priority, the proper M/E outfit would have a properly equipped trailer with storage boxes for supplies, tools and spares, so all the cab needed to do was provide a comfortable well insulated place to drive and sleep.
The majority of miles covered were on level ground or in countries with low speed limits and local trucks that were seriously under powered, so having big BHP was an indulgence, rather than a necessity, not much point having a high power lorry when you can only go as fast as the lorry at the front of the queue.
So again, it has to be the Scandinavian spec 6x2 141, it was engineered for dragging 62ton around on unmade forest roads and therefore was more than capable of coping with the worst that the M/E could throw at it, the cab was comfortable with enough space for the stuff that needed to be inside, power was more than sufficient and they were reliable and simple to fix when things did break.
The Transcon, Crusader, F89, 1632 Merc, 2800 Daf etc were up there too, but the Scania was in a league of its own in my opinion.
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I think this will safely bust the 6x2 myth and since when did Smokey and the Bandit use a drawbar outfit.
youtube.com/watch?v=8N4aL205BCo 3.29-
youtube.com/watch?v=_b6naEfSPag 4.00-4.26
While if power isn’t an issue then we ain’t really going to need a V8 Scania.With the win win that the drawbar means that at least we’ll be able to leave the trailer in Turkey to help with the lack of traction in the desert unlike an artic.
I’m talking about unrealistic Carryfast type power, not normal 300-400hp stuff and I’m talking about lorries that did the job, not ifs, buts and maybes.
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newmercman:
I’m talking about unrealistic Carryfast type power, not normal 300-400hp stuff and I’m talking about lorries that did the job, not ifs, buts and maybes.Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
This is the 1970’s so nothing will have much more than 400 hp.Which just leaves the choice between looking for a 6x4 Scania 140/141 with a Fuller box in it or go for the American alternative.