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WW2 jeeps in civilian use and other vehicles on British roads 1950's


Royal42
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16 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

It would be a Karrier fitted with a Scammel mechanical horse fifth wheel. By the looks of it would be brand new.

The Bantam would have been fitted with the Karrier J Type coupling, which was compatible with the Scammell automatic coupler. Karrier also fitted their own BK Type coupling, where the landing wheels were positioned outside the tractors' driving wheels, for added stability when uncoupled.

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On 13/06/2021 at 11:38, PhilJ W said:

Nearest is an Austin Atlantic, then what I think is a Wolsely, Austin 8 or 10, Riley Pathfinder?, Hillman Minx, Jag Mk. VII. Metropolitan, FordsonE83W van, unidentifiable, Ford Zephyr Mk. II, another Fordson E83W.

Re the  Fordson E83Wvan . I recall that the accelerator pedal was located in between the clutch and the brake pedal . I was a very young passenger in one circa 1954 . The driver “braked “ when a car slowed and hit the accelerator! But cars and vans had proper bumpers ( girders) in them days .

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2 minutes ago, 1466 said:

Re the  Fordson E83Wvan . I recall that the accelerator pedal was located in between the clutch and the brake pedal . I was a very young passenger in one circa 1954 . The driver “braked “ when a car slowed and hit the accelerator! But cars and vans had proper bumpers ( girders) in them days .

That would have been a pre 1948 version. After 1948 they had the conventional clutch-brake-accelerator. The main identification from outside is the pre 1948 ones didn't have the 'tail' extension of the rear wheel arches.

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Given that centre throttle pedal arrangements were de rigeur on very sporting machinery in the 1920s and 30s, methinks the little Fordson had ideas well above its station.

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On 12/06/2021 at 19:44, JZ said:

.......... The easy way to spot the difference is the grill. Willys have 7 slots, something that continues with todays Jeep brand ......

 

 

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5 hours ago, PatB said:

Given that centre throttle pedal arrangements were de rigeur on very sporting machinery in the 1920s and 30s, methinks the little Fordson had ideas well above its station.

I recall that Douglas Bader had his MG modified after the loss of his legs  . I gather he had more feeling in his left leg for accelerating and braking whilst the right was more or less in and out for clutch .

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5 hours ago, PatB said:

Given that centre throttle pedal arrangements were de rigeur on very sporting machinery in the 1920s and 30s, methinks the little Fordson had ideas well above its station.

More mundane than that. To increase the load space the engine was moved to the left and the driver moved forward. As the engine was the 10hp unit from the Prefect car the throttle linkage from the car was used and was moved leftwards as well which meant that the brake pedal had to go on the right. This as can be imagined was a cause of many accidents so it was changed to a more conventional arrangement in 1948. As an aside left hand drive versions retained the central accelerator to the end of production.

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On 50s Road vehicles in general, something often neglected on layouts (presumably due to a dearth of rtp models, is the utilitarian sidecar outfit. I'm aware it's possible to get AA/RAC combos, but the window cleaner's "float" or the massive, double adult saloon used as family transport, both attached to some wheezy sidevalve workhorse would have been relatively common. 

 

Given that the aforementioned AA outfits will provide a ready made BSA M21 "tug", and a sidecar chassis, much of the modelling work is already done. 1950s sidecar bodies, being made largely of plywood (oh yes they were; contrary to what the classic bike world would have us believe, elegant torpedo shaped Steibs were a rarity) , would not be a challenging scratchbuild in styrene sheet. 

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6 minutes ago, BernardTPM said:

Actually 1930s, but the sidecar probably wouldn't look that out of place in a 1950s setting.

 

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My paternal grand parents that I never met.

I used to have a not dissimilar shot of my maternal grandparents. I'm pretty sure I've still got it, but it's "somewhere". Probably next to the photos I know I have of my paternal grandparents, father and aunt aboard the much more imposing outfit that my grandfather had c1950. A V-twin Matchless Model X with almost double adult sidecar (it was built to contain my grandmother and aunt, neither of whom were large), the body of which was built in the front bedroom of No 2 High Jobs Hill, Crook, and extracted via the window.

 

More prosaically, stuff like this would have been common in those pre-Mini days.

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I know the Busmar ad is 1960s, but I'm pretty sure that egg shaped design had been around for a decade by then, though possibly with larger, spoked wheel.

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I seem to recall sidecars advertised with up to five seats (2 adults 3 children). A neighbour had one such sidecar but as I recall the panels were hardboard not plywood. It was of rather flimsy construction and would probably be regarded as unsafe today. This was because of the weight limitation for sidecar combinations of 7 cwt. Any more and it was taxed as a car. 

Edited by PhilJ W
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You could also drive a sidecar on a provisional licence and any capacity bike .This was greatly abused by yobbos driving  large bikes with weight on the sidecar frame .I even saw a Gold Star rigged up by a twerp going to the 59 Club, L plated flapping in the wind .We  sold a nice  Bonnie which ended up the same  .Brought tears to the eyes .

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2 hours ago, friscopete said:

Here is a weird one.Dated 1954 and a British Ford in shot.Photo by Otto C Perry . Denver Public Library 204040444_10223028134906105_3661086633250263914_n.jpg.1391ecf9969b8c730eb40e9e14d645d0.jpg

 

Some British style Fords were sold in the US, such as this "Squire" which I found in the Auto Museum in Hershey a few years back....

 

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Edited by Johann Marsbar
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2 hours ago, friscopete said:

Here is a weird one.Dated 1954 and a British Ford in shot.Photo by Otto C Perry . Denver Public Library 204040444_10223028134906105_3661086633250263914_n.jpg.1391ecf9969b8c730eb40e9e14d645d0.jpg

US servicemen in the UK could order LH drive British Fords and ship them home at the end of their tour. Also many models not normally sold in the US were available in Canada. The BMC Farina saloons and estates for example. 

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The smaller British Fords were exported to the US up until 1959. Vauxhall F type Victors were marketed under the Plymouth brand for a few years in the late 50's. Standard 10's were marketed as the Triumph TR10 in both saloon and estate versions until replaced by the Herald which was also sold in the US. Austin used to have a big market where the A40 Devon was quite popular even leading to the two door Dorset version designed originally for the US market. They also produced the Metropolitan for Nash using the A50 underpinnings but this was never sold under the Austin badge.

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Vauxhalls would not have been sold through Plymouth agencies - Plymouth was a Chrysler Corporation division. Buick and Pontiac, both part of General Motors, as was Vauxhall, handled their sales in the USA. Canada also had the same arrangement, except that there was additionally a locally-assembled variant, the Envoy Standard, which was sold through Chevrolet dealerships. The Envoy was basically a Victor F Type with a different grille, and did not carry Vauxhall badging.

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