Got my artic licence in 1977 at Croydon test centre after a 5 day course through Blox training centre in Fountain Rd Tooting in SW London - Couldn't get a job anywhere without gaining 6 months experience, until I rang a yard off the Old Kent Road that ran a 'fleet' of KM Bedford units and one 1967 TS3 tractor unit which had just had an engine rebuild by their elderly fitter. I was put on it and given £52 a week plus 50 pence a day extra for the noise it generated. I loved it for over 3 years into mid 1980. All loads roped & sheeted, it pulled like train fully freighted, 75mph on the clock easily, only log books back in the day. As a kid in late 1950s/60s I was addicted to that GMC in 'Cannonball' with Mike & jerry, it had that same sort of rasp - Great memories.
Hi,remember them well was the first lorry I was given a wee shot off was a van boy reg was ryy 281f was an artic unit pulling trailers for IBM in greenock many yrs ago still remember that whine 😂regards
With you there I remember buses powered by these engines. In the sixties they were becoming unreliable and you could spend a long time on a county verge waiting! The sound, however, is very evocative and of course the long trace of smoke as it approached you!
Hey! it's Mr Rose!. I see you still have a thing for the commers. You still got any 6.3's? . In recent years I was working in a resto shop where one of the Jobs was a 1914 Vulcan car. Vulcan the car and truck makers were very successful and made a fortune selling trucks to the military during WW1 .Another company bought them out and that was Tillings Stevens, the TS in TS3. Opposed piston engines were a common thing, the Americans have Fairbanks Morse diesels in naval applications and the poms also had the Napier Deltic,an overly complicated device but which had the most amazing sound under load. The German Luftwaffe even had opposed diesel air craft engines in some of their bombers.
@@Mercmad unfortunately all the 6.3s and 6.9s are gone. I had every model of the 300, 6.3 sel, 3.5 300 sel, 6cyl 300 sel, coupe 300se and two 6.9’s. Just bought this old commer’s and engine recently again.
I remember these from when I was a child, the distinctive scream from those engines was unmistakeable but I wonder what the noise level in the cab was like, those drivers must have been hard of hearing by the end of a shift.
Send those clutch cylinders up to Contract Auto Engineering at Stourport. They'll fully renovate them including a stainless steel liner and reassembly with new guts and seals
Anyone who drove these old bangers has a hearing problem I guarantee. I drove one in the early 1980s when I was a chicken catcher at Steggles poultry. No hearing protection in those days. When the gearshift got a bit of wear in it you had to avoid bashing your elbow on the back wall of the cabin. No wonder the steering wheel attendants these days are a bunch of sooks.
The idling noise does not do it justice, hearing this engine at full noise is something to behold, also watching them de-coking under load The Alfred Hitchcock movie “FRENZY” has a scene with a Commer knocker truck. The movie is worth watching, but here is the scene ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n7HkTn_tcEM.htmlsi=nEYsl-WwN2GWT4FL
Wow..haven't seen these in the UK since the late 70's very early 80's..I remember them as a child. I suppose it survived because of the dry hot climate
@@phantomrose1999Rootes Group. There was also a TS4 in development when Chrysler took over the Rootes Group, but it was cancelled as it was too efficient and would have taken sales away from Chrysler supplied truck engines then in production. The 7 or so prototypes were supposed to have been destroyed, but at least 2 of them survived and were at the London Science Museum.
My dad had one of these with the TS3 engine. Was converted to a six legger by Yorks. Had a 6 speed with a range change. 12 gears. I've still got the workshop manuals somewhere.
Cool old truck! Unbelievable engine, waaaay advanced for their time, the 4 cylinder evolution version would of destroyed the competition if were allowed to be developed and produced 👍
First HGV I drove after passing my class 3 it was a box wagon made into a gritter you hade a mate in the cab with you he would work the spreading and amount of salt that was put down it’s a one man job now with automatic stop start for the spreading
My oldest cousin had a Commer "Knocker" in the late 1960's and had a long flat tray with a lazy axle, he carted wood for many years in that, I just loved the sound of the motor, he loved that truck and had it for many years. The Commer was common and much liked in Australia back then.
Had lots of these when I grew up as a kid in NZ , years later I drove 2, one was set up with a pull on rubbish skip , the other had big winch to load and unload 5 tonne concrete water tanks up on the Hibiscus coast in NZs North island
@@johnfellows2867 It was a roots supercharger driven by a shaft from the rear of the engine. I took an engine apart, 3 cylinders 6 pistons, one crankshaft. 6 pistons driven by rocker shafts, one at each side of the engine. The engine was a two stroke. Cylinders had holes each side, allowing the supercharger to blow out the glasses when the two pistons were out at max.
