Heritage Commercials Magazine - capturing the spirit of vintage days

Magnum force

For almost the last 50 years John Taylor has lived in the Devon market town of Holdsworthy. For much of that time he was a pig farmer but with the downturn in agriculture John decided to leave the industry and got a job driving a Bedford TK suction cleaner for a company contracted to clean drains for councils in the district.

In 2004 John went on to part-time work but unfortunately the work started to dry up and he was offered less and less hours each week and so when he reached the age of 70 he decided to retire.

He then sat at home for the next couple of years twiddling his thumbs with nothing much to do. He really missed being out on the road in a lorry, so decided he would buy his own that he could use as a big toy, just for fun. He talked to his son Tim, telling him he would like a Bedford QL just like the one he had driven in the Army many years previously. Tim however, wasn’t keen saying: “If you buy a Bedford QL I’ll spend all my time trying to keep it on the road. Why don’t you buy a Renault Magnum?” It seems that Tim has long had a fascination for Magnums and knew the name of a company up in Bedfordshire called Hunts which dealt in them.

Enquiries were made and John, his son Tim and grandson Mathew travelled up to Bedford in January 2007 to see what was available. There were several for sale but young Mathew was particularly taken with one particular truck. The reason was it had a sleeper cab with bunks – he’d never seen bunks in a lorry before! John walked around the short wheelbase artic unit, and realised it would fit the bill as it was in pretty good condition for a 1995 truck. The deal was done which included delivery down to Holdsworthy.

Overseas

Since purchasing the Magnum John has not managed to find out much history about it, other than that the last owner lived in Wales. It also appears the lorry did a lot of continental runs as there was a stash of Spanish Pesetas under the driver’s seat!

When John first started the six-cylinder 420hp engine it sounded great, but he thought it needed a bit of work to make it top notch. For example the starter motor sounded a little sad, so it was soon replaced. New batteries were also fitted.
New brake drums were next on the cards, followed by paintwork, logos and signwriting. John then decided that as the lorry was only going to be used on road runs and rallies in the district, he would make it look more of a show vehicle by fitting vertical exhaust stacks with little opening and closing vents on the top. The interior was also spruced up with the addition of new carpets and red velvet curtains, while outside an illuminated Renault logo, the Taylor crest and air horns were fitted.

When you first see a Renault Magnum the thing that hits you is its size – it just looks so tall. Now obviously this means that to be able to get in and out you need to be reasonably fit, but unfortunately over the last few months John has been having a few health problems. He has therefore made the difficult decision to sell the lorry as he is finding it harder and harder to handle. So, if you’re genuinely interested in owning this stunning looking truck John can be contacted on 07903 903216.

Thanks John for taking the time to show Heritage Commercials this stunning lorry.

Words & Photography: Roger Hamlin