Faithful old lorries?

cp1980

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A couple of months ago, driving away from an event, I was impressed to see a 25 year old Bedford TL with an Oakley body making stately progress along the M11. It was a little slow, but it looked very clean and well looked after.

Does anyone on the forum have such an old faithful lorry?

Are they reliable after a certain age? Anyone had an old lorry restored or overhauled?

Fascinating stuff.
 

Nicnac

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Elsie is my 22 year old Leyland Roadrunner. She's very ugly with a bright blue wooden body and a yellow cab but I love her. Incredibly reliable, relatively slow, known in the family as the Ikea lorry but she's safe and she's mine :D (and she'll never get nicked!)
 

Mamamia

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I have a 22 year old Iveco Oakland conversion. Never let me down in 5 years, and never failed a plating. I love her!
 

foxy1

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My coachbuilt VW LT35 is 30 years old, I bought it at a horse auction for a couple of hundred pounds and spent a couple of thousand restoring it. I know every inch of the lorry intimately and everything from wiring to brake pipes to the lorry floor has been replaced, and some things upgraded like the rear springs for better stability.
I'm very fond of it now :)
 

siennamum

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I LOVE my lorry. D reg Leyland Roadrunner. 550km on the clock. Has built in air con & heater only works in the Summer, but dependable & horses love travelling in it.
 

vam

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I have a F Cargo, not only is it reliable it doesnt look like swiss cheese with all the rust! :D
Its a fab lorry, always starts and chugs along in its own time so while not quick we always get there. I have put in a new living as it only had a basic one in when i got it and ive done other work to make it how i want it but haven't had to do anything to the body, chassi or cab as its in such good condition.
There are only a few bits of surface rust on it unlike most Cargos that age that are held together by baling twine, gaffer tape and hope :D
Its not the best looking lorry in the world but i dont care :)
 

cp1980

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Thanks for the messages - interesting reading.

Perhaps H&H ought to do an article on old faithful lorries. If it could give a few interesting stories and maybe a success story like a complete restoration, then that would be great.
 

ecrozier

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Was it a pale blue Oakley by any chance? My friend has one, its amazing, in absolutely spotless condition on a D reg Bedford!
 

Heidi1

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I had a lovely Bedford TK hunting box, wooden backed on old M 1976, had it for 25 years, had to upgrade as it needed alot of work doing to it, hopefully it has been resorted to it original self as it was a lovely lorry, cried when it went.......
 

Kal

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Mine is a Bedford TK and 31 years old :D had it for about 6 years now i think and nothing major has gone on it and it's still going, starts everytime (all of this touching wood of course, i don't want it to brake now :rolleyes:)

I want to get a prize for the oldest one :D Is there anyone with an older lorry?
 

Kal

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I had a lovely Bedford TK hunting box, wooden backed on old M 1976, had it for 25 years, had to upgrade as it needed alot of work doing to it, hopefully it has been resorted to it original self as it was a lovely lorry, cried when it went.......

Doh, yours is / was older than mine :D
 

*hic*

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I sadly retired my "S the first time round" Leyland Terrier Delilah D'Lorry a couple of years ago. She was great fun and could be fixed by us - actually she HAD to be fixed by us as the mechanics of today didn't really want to deal with her.
 

Llanali

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My D reg Douglas the Dodge. Amazing 6.6t lorry, adore him!!! Huge payload, full living and the biggest space for horses I've seen in a lorry.

I actually cried when I realised last week I have to sell him- I've got to advertise him but am putting it off!! I want someone to treasure him as I do!!
 

Clava

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I have a 26 yr old Bedford lorry, but I refuse to say it is reliable until it has passed it's MOT next month lol. Easy to drive though and we call her The Falcon (after the Millenium Falcon, as in "You came in that!, you're braver than I thought!" and "Hold together!").
 

Mrs Pink

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Wench...definitely lol

Old E Reg Volvo FL6 for me, still going strong and mechanic swears it will run for ever :)

Before that I had a Bedford TK with a petrol engine in, think it was an M or an N, old Oakley wooden hunting box on it, answered to the name of Biddy :eek:!! Wasn't that good for a long journey but providing you kept replacing the exhaust gasket it kept going :)
 

Gingerbird

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We have a 22yrs old 'Doris' Dodge 50. She's the most awesome lorry bless her. She's a bit on the noisy side but is 100% in all ways, starts first time everytime.

My father adores her so much that a had a birthday cake of Doris made and he was so beside himself with it that he wouldn't cut it for three days!!!
 

Gingerbird

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My D reg Douglas the Dodge. Amazing 6.6t lorry, adore him!!! Huge payload, full living and the biggest space for horses I've seen in a lorry.

I actually cried when I realised last week I have to sell him- I've got to advertise him but am putting it off!! I want someone to treasure him as I do!!

A fellow Dodge fan :-D I reckon Douglas and Doris would make a beautiful couple!!!
 

Scoutie

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I have a G reg (1989) Leyland DAF 7.5 tonne. She may not be beautiful, green with wood pannelling, she is definitely not fast but she is reliable. She always passes her plate and the biggest work I have had done is a new fan for the heater. The rubber flooring had to be lifted last year and the floor is in good condition. Love her!
 

Kal

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Just for the Bedford TK anoraks amongst us, they can be pretty easily restored and uprated on to MAN 8.13 running gear. Not that I have a (not so) secret desire to rebuild and restore a Bedford TK *whistles innocently* ;)

You can always buy mine to restore :D I need to sell it within the next year or so as i need a bigger one with more living and a toliet / shower in it for my OH otherwise he will never be able to come with me.

I love my lorry it has living but just not big enough to add a toliet :(

I would love it to go to a good home :D
 

Baggybreeches

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You can always buy mine to restore :D I need to sell it within the next year or so as i need a bigger one with more living and a toliet / shower in it for my OH otherwise he will never be able to come with me.

I love my lorry it has living but just not big enough to add a toliet :(

I would love it to go to a good home :D

Give me a shout when you are ready to get rid, I am broke at the moment but forward planning is my forte ;)
 

scribble

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I had a 1984 merc 814 with an Arden 4 horse box on the back with full living. It went from Norfolk to Wales several times and all round. Always started no power steering was really long, horse loved it. it had a manual idle speed on it that was next to the drivers seat and if it started to chug a bit when very cold or going up hills then you could unscrew it a bit. Great fun.
 

cp1980

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I had a 1984 merc 814 with an Arden 4 horse box on the back with full living. It went from Norfolk to Wales several times and all round. .

Wow - is that a record for such a lorry?

I went with a friend from Suffolk to Cumbria a 1993 lorry the other year. The engine started to overheat a little once the M6 started getting hilly, north of Lancaster. But we just slowed down a bit on the inclines and the radiator got things back to normal temperature again.

Has anyone used those engine cleaning/flush liquids on their old engines?
 

Baggybreeches

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Has anyone used those engine cleaning/flush liquids on their old engines?

If you mean an diesel injector flush then yes they are useful for de-coking the fuel system (a wee bit of petrol in a diesel engine does the same thing but not recommended ;) )

Things to avoid with the older vehicles are any that claim to stop water leaks, what they effectively do is seal a coating on the inside surfaces of the cooling system, (which in turn reduces the cooling capacity = overheating).
 

PoshDonkey

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Could we make the Dodge's a trio?

I have Dora the Explorer - E reg Dodge 50, ultra reliable, much loved by ourselves and subject of 'lorry envy' by many friends with much younger transport!
 
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