PART of Gloucester’s transport history will be on display at the Gloucester Auto Show being held at the Gloucester showground on Saturday 26 September.
The show, hosted by the Gloucester Auto Club, will feature a beautifully restored 1962 model J2 Bedford truck previously owned and operated by long time Gloucester resident Ted (Bear) Crawley.
Ted, who was born in Gloucester in 1938, was destined for a life involving trucks because his father Max drove an ex-army NR Mack, hauling logs, while his grandfather supplied goods to locals by horse and cart.
At 20 years of age Ted purchased his first truck, a 1958 Morris to cart milk cans but after some time decided it was too small so he then purchased a 1960 model 771 series Dodge.
Over the years Ted owned many trucks.
Ted, who still lives in Gloucester, retired from trucking in 2009 as an owner driver with 50 years of transport experience, a gold licence and a lifetime of memories.
During Ted’s trucking career several of his trucks and equipment were serviced by diesel mechanic Stephen Preece.
When Ted was retiring, he agreed to give Stephen the Bedford, which was then very run-down and in need of hours of loving attention.
“Ted said if I paid to get it towed to my place at Maitland I could have it,” said Stephen.
“My son and I worked on it for about one hour and we had it running – a rat came out the exhaust.
“We drove it around my small yard, lots of smoke and no brakes.”
Stephen explains that he stripped the truck down and that the more he removed the worse it got.
“I ended up with two chassis rails and rebuilt the brakes and the suspension,” adds Stephen
“Next, I repaired the cab, cut out rust, welded new plates in the floor and replaced dash panels and repainted the whole cab.
“I made a new steel frame for the tray and fitted and Estapoled the tallowwood boards.
“I then re-assembled the whole truck and added a bit of chrome.”
The restoration, which took five years, was finally completed in August 2015, just in time to take it to Alice Springs, which timed with Ted being inducted into the National Road Transport Museum Wall of Fame.
Ted explains that the Old Beddie, as he calls it, was used for carting fertilizer and various other jobs.
“I eventually left it in my yard for so long that the tarp rotted off it, and Steve, a top mechanic, asked if I knew where he could find an old truck to do up and I agreed to give him the truck.”
Ted says that during his trucking career he travelled millions of kilometres to many parts of the country and never lost one point from his licence.
“I enjoyed my life as a truckie,” he says.
“I’ve met a lot of good people on the road, made some good friends, and been to some nice places.”
Ted is looking forward to catching up with his Old Beddie at the Auto Show.
By John WATTS
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