Bob Tuck has obviously been following rthe Biglorryblog stream on old Scammell Crusaders. Andyroadup he says: "Brian, I obviously picked up on Vic's mention of Stan Williamson and his link to the image with one of his old Crusaders. As I covered at length in my book 'King of the Road', Stan was Mr Crusader so far as NZ was concerned."
Bob continues: "I managed to meet up with him when I was last in NZ and actually he let me drive his last remaining Crusader (with about 3 million clicks on it - honestly) round his field. He still loves any excuse to take it down the road even though he's well past his bus pass age."
Bob adds:"I've attached some other shots of the vehicles in his field and was naturally quite taken with the eight wheel version of Crusader. As you know, this form of Crusader was never built in the UK apart from the sole heavy haulage Samson which Pickfords originally took delivery of in 1970. Still excited... Bob!" Now click through here for some more Kiwi relics....
And for a pie what's this when it's at home?
Biglorryblog used to have a Satuirday job with the local Co-op and one day I went out with a long-haired nutter from the furniture department in one of these with a furniture van body on it which he promptly stuffed it into the side of a bridge near Kings Langley with me in the passenger seat! But what is it?
And we'll finish with this... Thanks Bob.
I think your relics with pie-potential are an Austin WF and an FG (3d bit!), with the LAD-cabbed Albion at the bottom being a Reiver, perhaps?
Hi Chris
It's splitting hairs a bit, but I think that the Austin/Morris in the first photo is actually a WE model, not a WF. The WF was the later model, almost the same but with twin headlights and a one-piece windscreen.
I was driving for Lesney Products in England when that FG came out, and it was supposed to be the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel. BMC thought it was going to take over the world with this innovative design. Lesneys bought one to add to their fleet of FF models, and what a horrible truck to drive that FG was. Its angled doors meant that the driver had to sit on a narrow seat jammed up against the engine cover and because there was nowhere else to put it the gear lever was behind the driver; you had to be a double-jointed contortionist to use it. The FG ws commonly known as the "Threepenny Bit", as you say Chris, but we had a lot more impolite names for it than that.
Just to split hairs a bit more, strictly speaking the designations WE, WF, FF, FG etc were Morris model letters and the equivalent Austin models had quite different designations. Most people, however, soon started to call both Austin and Morris trucks by the Morris letters although officially this was incorrect.
Howard, did you notice that Stan's Crusader has been fitted with twin headlights from a Commer? They don't really look out of place and were probably more effective than the original rectangular headlights shown on the old 8-wheeler Crusader in the lower photo.
Ciber pies from Ray Jay.. Bob! ..when I was a little fella I would have sleep overs with Stan and Netta Willimson their three sons and one girl. At this time he ran a spread of heavy modified International trucks most having the petrol engines refiited with two stroke Detriots AR/ ACCO and F 2010A I can recall. The F2010A's and their was three of them brand new maybe (this is forty years ago) one ran the IHC V8 petrol engine and two had a Cat 1674 T diesel and a air shift Spicer 16 speed and a Telma frame mounted retarder Pretty cool stuff for 1976 so I rode in these trucks from time to time hauling fresh cut logs as was Stans trade at that time.
Leyland became the prominent lorry as Stan had used Beaver and such along with the Inter's in the early days and I think his first truck was a beaver with a 4 53 GM repower.
The Crusader's had V 8 71 Gm's that served well and the boys learnt how to keep them going as the collection grew, input to both Leyland and GM was taken on board by the makers from Willimson's use of the products and the red yellow paint on the Crusaders was seen in all parts of the industry.
His son Alf ran another fleet ( Oregan Haulage I think) with some impressive engineering of the Ero cabbed Leyland stripped down to bare frame and improved for use in the timber haulage, GM 6/71's and roadrangers new pipping and electric.
Great to see Stans picture along with the Leyland he was so well known for...
Ciber pies with gravy!!
Ray Jay
Thanks Vic - points duly noted and stored away in my anorak pocket! And fortunately, I've never had the misfortune to drive an FG!
Hey Vic well noted the headlamp "upgrade" you will find all sorts of set up modifcations keep the Leyland on the go line and Stan and his boys knew about all of them..Is that a Mk 1 with the hand wheel below the radiator? for the folding way radiator?? thus it would have had the big rectangle headlite from new.
Timber sales levels where extra jumpie and when things got hectic the Leylands where pressed into off highway service at Kinleth NZFP log plant with varying levels of sucess..these are old trucks and Leyland/Scammel support had gone.
Bill Richardson of southern haulage was a large IHC ACCO owner and the Crusader was his companies first step into bigger iron. Bills comment was along the lines ..." the Crusader was a big step forward having had an order at International for an American transtar DCF 400 delayed we took the Leyland with similar drive line with the exception of the F41 Leyland rears ( the only part on the truck made by the british and the the one that was the sole main cause of repairs and down time)
AT the point where the International V8 Petrol engines where due for major attention/ overhaul the Detriot V8 needed the rubber fan belts adjusted as the first repair to be done. The Crusader delivered two loads of 26 ton with ease where the C 1850 ACCOs burnt up fuel and componets to deliver 15 ton once hence the effectivence of the "correct gear" a big lesson that was from that point never lost to Bill. At the point of Bills passing the southern group had 1500 trucks and 2300 peaple turning up everyday, a large spread of US sourced Mack product and Ozie Ford.
Anywho I will try and find some batteries for my digi camera Vic and get ya some images of the mine and the super size coal trians posted..
Parsties for all
Warm Regards
Ray Jay
Vic one thing to note ..time line these Crusaders no tilt cab?? what where they thinking fold away raditor and lift the floor!! get with the program chaps!! my rattie old Atkinson ( that the mother country didnt want) had a tilt cab three years before all this mayhem.
I worked on the beasties for Alf Willimson and noted a few things ..one wiring harness for all models including left and right hand drive so the right hand drives that I worked on had a "spare" set of cables tryed up on the left hand side of the cab..made fault finding lots more "Fun".
Leyland at this time was trying to make less parts and make them do more jobs ..to this endz the front axle rear shackle pin rear engine mount and exhaust elbow and rear engine mount was all one casting .......the hot gas would melt the grease outta the pins and make a warm part on the frame thus it would crack around the prewarmed section.
The steering shaft was solid down to the frame mounted steering box so with a huge alloy cast steering wheel transfered shock directly to your hands.
Willimsons made these trucks work and last the test of time and best of all the new breed of drivers kept them hauling...
It was all so long ago now we collect and restore this treasure
A follow-up to the top photo of Stan Williamson's Crusader. I was driving back to Auckland from Napier today with a B-train full of wine on what is called the Napier-Taupo road, when I saw coming around a corner towards me this very truck, and the driver certainly wasn't wasting any time. Because of the way the sun was reflecting in the Scammell's windscreen I couldn't see who was driving, but we passed each other with great waving of arms and blasting of air horns.
It was great to see it being driven on the road again as I used to see so many of Stan's Crusaders not that many years ago.