RMweb Gold Corbs Posted January 5, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2017 ..... That'll polish out.... A lot easier when you have a replacement cab Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Isambarduk Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 (edited) "A Bedford TK. A thing I found horrible to drive when I was young - purely because I was too tall for the cab, and had to drive with my head tilted to one side and against the cab roof." Been there, and I agree! We had a TK as a horsebox but we think it had been in service with the GPO, Fire Service, or some such, because it still had a sticker on the dash saying 'Ensure PTO is disengaged before driving off'. It no longer had its PTO but perhaps it drove an auger, a winch, a pump or something. Also, although it was first registered in 1974, it still had only about 28,000 miles on the clock when we bought it (from a scrapyard!) in 2008, so it had not spent its life hauling up and down the M1 every working day. The cab was small by modern standards but I think the main problem was that the seat was too high up because I only ever looked through the top 2" of the large windscreen. David Edited January 5, 2017 by Isambarduk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgood Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 (edited) Well the MJR's TK cab has long gone - in fact the replacement TL cab (and it tilts!) is in need of a change now (a spare new ex military cab is in stock). Oh and the Bedford 330 had to go, to be replaced by a Cummins 6B. Oh, and the 4 speed Bedford gearbox is now a Turner 5 speed. Re the accurate-looking IXO model - If it were not for the single spacing between the A and E of 'cakes' you could have kept the box van trailer and simply changed - HALES CAKES to GILES CABLES Edited January 5, 2017 by Osgood 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Isambarduk Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 "Well the MJR's TK cab has long gone ... and the 4 speed Bedford gearbox is now a Turner 5 speed." I see; the same old axe but with a new handle and a new head? Our TK had a straight 6-cylinder Bedford, can't remember what now but could it have been something like 660? But we really shouldn't be hijacking this thread with talk road vehicles! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted January 5, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2017 I know it may be a bit out of period for your model, Giles, but I always loved the Matador gun tractors that were converted into artic units for the General Post Office: http://www.britishtelephones.com/vehicles/tractorcabs/039.htm I mention them as the trailers were designed to carry cable drums which may be useful for you? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 9, 2017 Author Share Posted January 9, 2017 Nice.... I always liked the Matadors... Quite serious trailers - for large drums! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 9, 2017 Author Share Posted January 9, 2017 Finally got the steering axle done. I make rather heavy weather of it, and it's taken the thick end of two days. The stub axles are steel blocks cross drilled and silver soldered with stub axle, steering arm and king pin. Now in situ with track rod in place And with its rebuilt trailer 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 13, 2017 Author Share Posted January 13, 2017 it finally works, so now I shall probably now put it to one side and finish the detailing later (the trailer needs a light board and tie- down hooks, and the whole thing needs weathering.) 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 The TK is now fully complete aside from weathering. The trailer had its tie-downs and light board, and all is the correct colour, and the unit's roof was stripped of the white and sprayed blue. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Giles, What scale is the TK? Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Hi Chris - it is actually 1:43...... of course they were much smaller than we're nowadays used to..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Looking better for decent mirror arms and proper sized number plate. A bit of road muck will help! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Isambarduk Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 "decent mirror arms" Ah, yes, those mirror arms! They had to be able to swing back if you drove too close to something but I never seemed to be able to get them tight enough on ours - if a huge modern high-sider passed rather close at high speed, the one on the drivers side would fly in and try to join me in the cab! This was a bit disconcerting but it was no real bother to wind down the window and push it back out again ... but the novelty of this manoeuvre soon wore off on a lengthy joureny. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 26, 2017 Author Share Posted January 26, 2017 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 "decent mirror arms" Ah, yes, those mirror arms! They had to be able to swing back if you drove too close to something but I never seemed to be able to get them tight enough on ours - if a huge modern high-sider passed rather close at high speed, the one on the drivers side would fly in and try to join me in the cab! This was a bit disconcerting but it was no real bother to wind down the window and push it back out again ... but the novelty of this manoeuvre soon wore off on a lengthy joureny. David My abiding memory of the TK... those mirrors waaaaay out on long arms, as the cab was so narrow they had to stick out far to see back down the body. The arms & hence the mirrors would also vibrate when stopped or at very low speed, blurring the image in them. If you could get your eyeballs to vibrate at the same frequency, all well and good..... To be fair I seem to recall this affliction on the later Ford Cargo, also. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmrspaul Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 My abiding memory of the TK... those mirrors waaaaay out on long arms, as the cab was so narrow they had to stick out far to see back down the body. The arms & hence the mirrors would also vibrate when stopped or at very low speed, blurring the image in them. If you could get your eyeballs to vibrate at the same frequency, all well and good..... To be fair I seem to recall this affliction on the later Ford Cargo, also. At the Schweppes depot that saw me through college the drivers broke so many they were carried as spares either in the cab or back at the depot. A lot better ride than the couple of earlier Bedfords that we remained in the early 1970s and the Ford D [was that a Cargo] - looked modern but the rather short in stature driver had to stand up to control it when it was bouncing along. Paul Bartlett Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgood Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) Not sure when this type of arm came into being - but they are certainly more stable. For some reason I turned the arms upside down, but no doubt there was a reason for that. Edited January 26, 2017 by Osgood Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted January 26, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26, 2017 Superb. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) Ford D pre-dated the Ford Cargo; not the same beasts at all. The D was about as bad as the TK. Of course when I was driving them, most of them were coming to the end of their careers, as mine was just starting, so I never got to drive any of the 'old guard' as new trucks. Including a spell of Agency driving early in my career, where by default the Agency driver got the Fleet Knacker, & it's hardly surprising my memories of old British trucks aren't exactly rosy!! I don't really have memories of any new British trucks either, because after ERF closed, there weren't any. Edited January 26, 2017 by F-UnitMad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 In 1981-3 as Stage Manager of a touring theatre company (Great Eastern Stage, in Lincoln) our truck was a Ford D series 7 1/2 tonner, with a pantechnicon body fitted. I drove it nearly all the time, and grew very fond of it - I certainly begrudge it when it went for service and we had to borrow a TK for a couple of days! My first agency job (on HGVs) was with an old Leyland Marathon at 38 tonnes dragging bricks. That was a heap of junk. It needed bump starting in the morning with the yards big fork lift (simply picked up the back of the trailer, and pushed the whole lot, ready or not....), and the broke a spring centre bolt on the unit's rear axle, which saw me crabbing down the A1 at an alarming angle. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted February 24, 2017 Author Share Posted February 24, 2017 (edited) And now the crane is, I think, truly working reliably with its 4 stick transmitter....... and can join the fleet Edited March 15, 2017 by Giles 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengiant Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 And now the crane is, I think, truly working reliably with its 4 stick transmitter....... and can join the fleet http://youtu.be/dtmj2a92sJw Very nice Giles. So that is three lorries and eight joysticks! Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 And now the crane is, I think, truly working reliably with its 4 stick transmitter....... and can join the fleet http://youtu.be/dtmj2a92sJw As I have commented over on WT; I was actually waiting for the lorry's suspension to sag as the cable drums were lowered onto the deck... ...although the driver will be in big trouble for driving with an insecure load... Anyway, to the matter in hand:- do I just give up modelling now, or go look for some knitting patterns first..?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted February 24, 2017 Author Share Posted February 24, 2017 (edited) Very nice Giles. So that is three lorries and eight joysticks! Martin And a couple of knobs ...... Edited February 24, 2017 by Giles Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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