Heritage Commercials Magazine - capturing the spirit of vintage days

Comment - November 2011

In fact I was 14 when I first drove one, and it was owned by a relation who had a limestone quarry.

The vehicle in question was a 1960s Commer VC8 wooden-bodied tipper, and it was one of two ‘site lorries’ at the firm that spent their time doing every job from moving spoil to push-starting plant with flat batteries. I’d loved lorries for years and I still remember the excitement of climbing into the driver’s seat and starting the Perkins 6.354 engine for the first time – fantastic!

The Commer was around 15 years old when I first drove it and it was in pretty good condition, but when I visited the quarry over the next couple of years, due to the rough treatment it was receiving and being constantly caked in mud, it was deteriorating badly and so was eventually cut up for scrap during a big ‘clear-out’.

This also saw the end of its stablemate, a Leyland Clydesdale tipper, and a 1940s Austin K2 that had been stored there for ages. I hated to see these lorries go to the gas-axe but the one I really wish I could have saved was the K2. It had originally been a National Fire Service appliance and in later life had been converted into a breakdown vehicle for a village garage. When the garage owner retired he asked to store the lorry at the quarry with the intention of eventually restoring it but he then lost interest and said it could be scrapped. It still had the high cab roof with its emergency lights, and its flaking yellow paint revealed the NFS grey underneath.

It was also sad to see the end of ‘my’ Commer, but for me there was one saving grace – at least it hadn’t been a two-stroke. The TS3 engine to me is a marvel of engineering! Alright, some people may hate it but I just love the sound it makes and as a mechanic I’m fascinated by its engineering, with six pistons, three horizontal cylinder bores and a supercharger. In fact, to this day, owning a TS3 engine is on my ‘to do’ list. It may surprise some that it’s just the engine I want, but if I can get a running example, perhaps mounted on a trailer, I’ll be chuffed to bits. I just hope my neighbours love the TS3 ‘howl’ as much as I do!

Stephen Pullen
Editor