Another new one
Regards. John.
old 67:
Brand new and ready for work
0
Regards. John
Ah, Judkins at Tuttle Hill. Used to collect 6mm granite chippings from there for Ballidon when ARC owned it and Mancetter were running short, that ‘pyramid’ of theirs was visible for miles around! A landfill site now I believe?
Pete.
Foden in house shot from 1971 showing the Foden apprentices who worked on the production line.
Powered by Foden Mk 6b two stroke engines these were used to deliver parts to Foden agents across the country.
moomooland:
0 Foden in house shot from 1971 showing the Foden apprentices who worked on the production line.Powered by Foden Mk 6b two stroke engines these were used to deliver parts to Foden agents across the country.
Were Fodens actually persisting in still promoting their poxy 2 stroke engine in 1971 ? I thought this engine would have been a “dead duck” by this date ! I re-call in the sixties they used to test run an artic through Kendal on the A6 every day for long enough,they ran over Shap Fell and then the noisey ■■■■■■■ came back south about a couple of hours later,what was all that about then! must have cost a fortune and for what ? They would have gained more info surely by flogging a dead horse outside their factory at Elworth,and saved a few bob in derv into the bargain ! Cheers Bewick.
We had some six wheel mixers with ‘strokers’ in them later than that Dennis, the drivers were slightly annoyed when they were replaced with Gardner 201 engined Haulmasters! 
Pretty economical and bags of power but I never got to drive one myself, I would have loved a trip in one but it was not to be. We had a tour of Fodens in 1976 and they were still producing them for the Admiralty.
Pete.
75 or 76 when the 2 stroke was sold (given) to Rolls Royce. 77 when Rolls tried to buy FODEN.
One of my customers was a navigating officer in the Royal Navy, he was not a fan of the Foden 2 Stroke since his bunk (or whatever the fish heads call it) was directly above one of them.
windrush:
We had some six wheel mixers with ‘strokers’ in them later than that Dennis, the drivers were slightly annoyed when they were replaced with Gardner 201 engined Haulmasters!Pete.
Here you are mate, have a look at this stroker we have just finished restoring !
youtube.com/watch?v=5pwhm_x … i45KW0vGvQ
Regards
Steve.
Very good Steve ,best wishes for the new year to you both .
Now I’ve just watched that Foden 8 wheeler video,and I realise that my opinion of Fodens is still correct,what a load of bollox,aye OK on an enthusiasts site but that motor couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding with 22ton of steel on it and it’s trailer plus you have to be an octopus to drive it !! My mate Eric Poss would have been ■■■■■■ by the time we got half way to Llansamlet on a Sunday,and we would have not probably got there that day even with a dodgy log sheet,sorry Lads but the Foden 2 stroke was a total non starter plus it sounded like there was a Bumble bee under the bonnet and how was a trailer mate “worth his salt” able to have a kip with that ■■■■■■■ row going on !! 
Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
Now I’ve just watched that Foden 8 wheeler video,and I realise that my opinion of Fodens is still correct,what a load of bollox,aye OK on an enthusiasts site but that motor couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding with 22ton of steel on it and it’s trailer plus you have to be an octopus to drive it !! My mate Eric Poss would have been [zb] by the time we got half way to Llansamlet on a Sunday,and we would have not probably got there that day even with a dodgy log sheet,sorry Lads but the Foden 2 stroke was a total non starter plus it sounded like there was a Bumble bee under the bonnet and how was a trailer mate “worth his salt” able to have a kip with that [zb] row going on !!
Wouldn’t have wanted one - remember Cooksey’s 2 stroke Commers? A full load of bog rolls was about all they could cope with. Go like hell on the flat, but died as soon as they saw a hill.
But - I also remember watching ‘Cannonball’ on TV in the late 50’s.
‘The rumble of the diesel, the shifting of the gears,
The rhythm when she’s rolling, is music to his ears,
Cannonbaaaaalllll, Cannonnnnbaallll’
Thought those 2 strokes sounded pretty good then!
Maybe it was just me?
Wake up Dennis, time to get the sheets off!
John
John West:
Bewick:
Now I’ve just watched that Foden 8 wheeler video,and I realise that my opinion of Fodens is still correct,what a load of bollox,aye OK on an enthusiasts site but that motor couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding with 22ton of steel on it and it’s trailer plus you have to be an octopus to drive it !! My mate Eric Poss would have been [zb] by the time we got half way to Llansamlet on a Sunday,and we would have not probably got there that day even with a dodgy log sheet,sorry Lads but the Foden 2 stroke was a total non starter plus it sounded like there was a Bumble bee under the bonnet and how was a trailer mate “worth his salt” able to have a kip with that [zb] row going on !!Wouldn’t have wanted one - remember Cooksey’s 2 stroke Commers? A full load of bog rolls was about all they could cope with. Go like hell on the flat, but died as soon as they saw a hill.
But - I also remember watching ‘Cannonball’ on TV in the late 50’s.
‘The rumble of the diesel, the shifting of the gears,
The rhythm when she’s rolling, is music to his ears,
Cannonbaaaaalllll, Cannonnnnbaallll’Thought those 2 strokes sounded pretty good then!
Maybe it was just me?
Wake up Dennis, time to get the sheets off!
John
Sam Longson had Foden eight leggers running up and down from Derbyshire to South Wales with the two stroke engine in, and they used to fly.
I drove a Commer Maxiload with the TS3 two stroke engine running at 16 ton gross for C W Griffiths, and no other four wheeler could get by it on the hills loaded, and that included the D series Fords with the 360 turbo, or the V8’s like Dennis had.
Cheers Dave.
Yes Dave, there wasn’t much that could live with a Foden stroker on hills as long as you could use the 12 speed as was intended. A chap I worked for once ran an eight legger (ex Sellers and Kent) flat years ago before I started there and he had a ride from Wirksworth up to Manchester one Saturday with a load of asphalt blocks and its regular driver driving it, he said that they passed everything on the A515 (including cars!) and went over Long Hill like it didn’t exist. He had never seen a bloke work a gearbox like that in his life, wore him out just watching him perform, and he was full of admiration for him. Doubtful if he gave him a payrise though!!!
Pete.
windrush:
Yes Dave, there wasn’t much that could live with a Foden stroker on hills as long as you could use the 12 speed as was intended. A chap I worked for once ran an eight legger (ex Sellers and Kent) flat years ago before I started there and he had a ride from Wirksworth up to Manchester one Saturday with a load of asphalt blocks and its regular driver driving it, he said that they passed everything on the A515 (including cars!) and went over Long Hill like it didn’t exist. He had never seen a bloke work a gearbox like that in his life, wore him out just watching him perform, and he was full of admiration for him. Doubtful if he gave him a payrise though!!!Pete.
That’s the point Pete, those blokes with the restored Foden in the film didn’t drive one regularly. Some of the 1960’s and 70’s drivers who drove them full time could make them go. A chap from Hereford Freddie Brace had two Foden two stroke eight leggers hauling out of the Gore when I was driving, and they went well, also never let him down. There was no other eight wheeler that could live with them.
Cheers Dave.
Why then did Foden not get inundated with orders for their 2 stroke ? I think you lads have been sniffing glue or summat !! If your into acoustics and that sort of thing----fine,but lets not pretend that the Foden or Commer 2 strokers were anything other than noisy,gutless ■■■■■■■■■■ Fair enough,if you were parked up in one having 40winks you will be forgiven for dreaming about “■■■■■■■■ past everything else on the road in those far off days,but unfortunately—you had to wake up----- and return to reality driving a motor that couldn’t pull your ■■■■■■■■ back— on a good day! 
Ah! well back to sleep,now then where did I park my motor! Good night then! Well at least the motors I woke up in ( 680 Octopus and D1000) could at least actually perform in real life the same as in dreamland!!! Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
Why then did Foden not get inundated with orders for their 2 stroke ? I think you lads have been sniffing glue or summat !! If your into acoustics and that sort of thing----fine,but lets not pretend that the Foden or Commer 2 strokers were anything other than noisy,gutless [zb]!! Fair enough,if you were parked up in one having 40winks you will be forgiven for dreaming about “■■■■■■■■ past everything else on the road in those far off days,but unfortunately—you had to wake up----- and return to reality driving a motor that couldn’t pull your ■■■■■■■■ back— on a good day!
Well they DID sell plenty Dennis, and over a 30+ year period! The Commer was VERY popular in our area for tipper application and there wasn’t much to touch them on hills, no use having a ‘gutless’ truck in the Peak District. No low down torque of course but driven well they were good performers and VERY economical. With Foden it was the usual situation of some operators not wanting to try something other than a Gardner which they knew wouldn’t pull, leaked oil everywhere, choked you half to death on startup but was economical and even a rough driver wouldn’t damage it. Many large fleets did buy them (two strokes) though but if miss-treated they were not as reliable and, being aluminium, didn’t like being overheated and were possibly expensive to repair. Most drivers liked them though, plenty of power and even a decent heater! They needed a skilled driver though as unless running at the top of the rev range they were gutless, you needed to use every gear, certainly couldn’t be driven like a Gardner!!!
Folk don’t criticize the Detroit etc two strokes, they have proved themselves worldwide, yet the Rootes and Foden seem to get ‘stick’ from people? 
Pete.
windrush:
Bewick:
Why then did Foden not get inundated with orders for their 2 stroke ? I think you lads have been sniffing glue or summat !! If your into acoustics and that sort of thing----fine,but lets not pretend that the Foden or Commer 2 strokers were anything other than noisy,gutless [zb]!! Fair enough,if you were parked up in one having 40winks you will be forgiven for dreaming about “■■■■■■■■ past everything else on the road in those far off days,but unfortunately—you had to wake up----- and return to reality driving a motor that couldn’t pull your ■■■■■■■■ back— on a good day!Well they DID sell plenty Dennis, and over a 30+ year period! The Commer was VERY popular in our area for tipper application and there wasn’t much to touch them on hills, no use having a ‘gutless’ truck in the Peak District. No low down torque of course but driven well they were good performers and VERY economical. With Foden it was the usual situation of some operators not wanting to try something other than a Gardner which they knew wouldn’t pull, leaked oil everywhere, choked you half to death on startup but was economical and even a rough driver wouldn’t damage it. Many large fleets did buy them (two strokes) though but if miss-treated they were not as reliable and, being aluminium, didn’t like being overheated and were possibly expensive to repair. Most drivers liked them though, plenty of power and even a decent heater! They needed a skilled driver though as unless running at the top of the rev range they were gutless, you needed to use every gear, certainly couldn’t be driven like a Gardner!!!
Folk don’t criticize the Detroit etc two strokes, they have proved themselves worldwide, yet the Rootes and Foden seem to get ‘stick’ from people?
Pete.
The Commer Maxiload that I drove pulled like a train Pete. After driving Bedford TK’s it was a big step up in power and felt a proper lorry. Clarence Griffiths ran his for years, and had very little problem with it. As for hills,it would eat them with,and when we were hauling to Kidderminster nobody was tailgating me up over Clows Top, which as anyone who has travelled the A456 will tellytou is a fair old climb.
Also Sam Longson ran from Chapel-en-le-Frith, and he wouldn’t have run two stroke Fodens if they were gutless. The one’s I saw running to South Wales loaded both ways certainly pulled well.
Cheers Dave.
Whitwick granite in coalville Leicestershire where my late dad worked purchased about a dozen brand new commer 4 wheel tippers All had two stroke engines the alternative was a perkins…This was in 1964 they were northants registered TNH265/276. They had a steel body and were bought for work on the new M1 motorway extension which was just coming through Leicestershire at this time. My dad got one and it turned out to be his last lorry going into the weighbridge in 1966. They didn’t have a 2 speed axle 5 speed transmission they flew on hills could out pull anything in their weight range…they returned 18/20 mpg they lasted about 5 years of severe punishment …and really all they were was a cheap lorry. Payload around 10 tons.
robinswh:
Whitwick granite in coalville Leicestershire where my late dad worked purchased about a dozen brand new commer 4 wheel tippers All had two stroke engines the alternative was a perkins…This was in 1964 they were northants registered TNH265/276. They had a steel body and were bought for work on the new M1 motorway extension which was just coming through Leicestershire at this time. My dad got one and it turned out to be his last lorry going into the weighbridge in 1966. They didn’t have a 2 speed axle 5 speed transmission they flew on hills could out pull anything in their weight range…they returned 18/20 mpg they lasted about 5 years of severe punishment …and really all they were was a cheap lorry. Payload around 10 tons.
The one I drove was a 1966 Maxiload Robin, it had a two speed axle and six gears if you included overdrive. It was the best four wheeler that I drove as my regular drive. The Leyland Comet with the Ergo cab was nice to drive, but didn’t pull like the Commer.
Cheers Dave.
Nickolls of Folkestone used to run a fleet of 2 stroke Foden mixers which I used to see and hear around Ashford. They were certainly going better than Brett’s AECs which were also around the town. Nickolls also had at least one TS3 Commer flat.