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Some Bedford OY / OX questions


RecyMech

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Hello all,

I wonder if anyone can point me in the right direction with a few queries on wartime & post war Bedford OY & OX please.

 

Firstly, should there be a vacuum tank on the NS bulkhead under the bonnet ?....I have 1 very grainy pic that appears to show something like a Champ wiper vac tank there. Would the OY wipers be vac or electric ?

 

Secondly, rear lighting.....did wartime OY/OX carry any rear lights at all ? I have pictures of the post war lighting set up from Duxford. Any guidance or advice welcome though, cheers.

 

Next, I believe there was a post war VRN list on here somewhere & now I can't seem to locate it. Just wanted to get some accurate post war VRNs for the conversion kits I'm working on. Could anyone offer me a link please ?

 

Finally (really), would anyone know how long the OY & OX soldiered on for ?.... one source suggests at least 1974 (??)

 

Many thanks in advance chaps. :thanx:

 

Howard @ KFS

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Yes a vacuum tank for wipers on all the Bedfords except QL

A small red rear light incorperating a number plate light. 1 only

reg nos were issued mostly in the rebuilt range _ _ RA_ _ to _ _ZZ_ _

but there was always exceptions to any rules

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see attached sale of OYs late 1950s selection of post war numbers also yy was used both the oy and ox in the museum

had vac wipers fitted the last of the OYs in service was sold in BAOR IN early 1970s 73/74 do not have to hand the post war numbers for the OXs but if you would like me to dig them out let me know

REGARDS WALLY

yy.jpg

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Retriever;

Many thanks for confirming the rear light & vac tank questions. I can deal with that aspect of it now, sorted :thumbsup:

Wally;

Cheers for the scan of the sales list, most useful & a great start, plenty to choose from on there for the OY :thumbsup:

 

Richard;

Thanks & sounds like 74 was perfectly possible then. :thumbsup: The 74 picture I have is 57BF76, a SWB refueller with twin rear wheels (would that make it an OW?) it also has the civilian style round nose not the wartime flat front.

 

Wally's list though made me realise there was another question.....& I think this will be a tricky one to answer without some 'in service' pictures. The 'flat fronted' bonnet of the wartime OY & OX went back to being the civilian type round nose type at some point post war. I'm wondering if any of the post war '57BF76' type VRNs were issued to any 'flat fronted' vehicles or had they all been disposed of & replaced with new round nose types.

 

Why do I always choose the can'o'worms ?

 

Cheers lads......Howard.

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as far as l know no flat front bedfords were made after the end of the war the mw/oy/ox what you are describing is the ol/os/ ob type the BF range of numbers did not come in until after 1949 l have never seen a wartime bedford carrying any other registration number than those mentioned

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Retriever;

Many thanks for confirming the rear light & vac tank questions. I can deal with that aspect of it now, sorted :thumbsup:

Wally;

Cheers for the scan of the sales list, most useful & a great start, plenty to choose from on there for the OY :thumbsup:

 

Richard;

Thanks & sounds like 74 was perfectly possible then. :thumbsup: The 74 picture I have is 57BF76, a SWB refueller with twin rear wheels (would that make it an OW?) it also has the civilian style round nose not the wartime flat front.

 

Wally's list though made me realise there was another question.....& I think this will be a tricky one to answer without some 'in service' pictures. The 'flat fronted' bonnet of the wartime OY & OX went back to being the civilian type round nose type at some point post war. I'm wondering if any of the post war '57BF76' type VRNs were issued to any 'flat fronted' vehicles or had they all been disposed of & replaced with new round nose types.

 

Why do I always choose the can'o'worms ?

 

Cheers lads......Howard.

 

 

hi Howard,

the truck you mention was built around 1952 and was an OL petrol tanker. A number were still in storage in 70's. not an OY these were basically civvy models.

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Thanks Wally, Richard

 

I love the knowledge on this forum, you can always get an in-depth answer:thumbsup:

 

The model numbering (lettering) system for these vehicles I've always found slightly confusing (OX.OY.OL.OS etc).......but I think I'm getting the hang of it now, with your input.

 

Re the VRN question....I did a bit more overnight reading in a Warpaint volume & found the background answer. :readbook:

What I was getting at revolves around `when` the "1949 numbering system" came in (1949 obviously !).

 

If I understand this correctly then, prior to 1949, a flat fronted wartime build of say an OY or OX, which served on after the war & possibly ended up in deep bronze green, would have still had its original cencus number. If it served on after 1949 it was given a post war VRN.

 

Then, any vehicle built after 1949 would be OL, OS, round nose type & have a post war 1949 system VRN anyway.

 

Can'o'worms but I think I'm getting there now.

 

Thanks gents.

Howard

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My 1940 OXC was in service until 1966.

The lights had been upgraded at some point to accommodate full lighting with convoy lights etc. the rear lights are mounted using 432 front side light brackets!

It also has the vacuum tank for the wipers.

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Hi Sean,

I do remember one coming into workshops around that time having been restored by a TA unit in Surrey, It was there for a new canopy to be made over the petrol tank.

 

That may mean there were at least two, then. The one I was thinking of was at the fuel depot at West Moors, and was in very good condition. Not sure what happened to it.

 

Somewhere I have a photo, I'll try to find it and get the registration.

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That may mean there were at least two, then. The one I was thinking of was at the fuel depot at West Moors, and was in very good condition. Not sure what happened to it.

 

Somewhere I have a photo, I'll try to find it and get the registration.

 

I wonder if that was the one I saw 2 years ago in a storage shed at the Tank Museum?

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RMS

Thanks for that. That little snippet is more useful than you might think :thumbsup: many thanks.

 

Nik

Yes mate. A series of conversion kits for the Emhar Bedfords to back date them to wartime spec. As usual though I'm trying to cover as many bases as possible. Hence the questions about post war use, VRNs & all that. Its a bit of a can'o'worms due to all the different specs, theatres, periods of use. Already covering both types of flat bonnet sides & 4 different bodies. New wheels & tyres & road springs, fuel tanks........the list goes on.

 

Many thanks

To all who have replied & helped so far. All the little snippets add up to a bigger better picture.

 

Wally

If you happen to come across those OX auction VRNs, they would be very useful also, many thanks.

 

Cheers everyone.

Howard @ KFS

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I've just dug out a couple of sales catalogues (Elstow, 1950; Ruddington, 1967) but they're not actually terribly helpful as all the O types are civvy or RN numbers in the first one and later build vehicles on XX BX XX registrations in the second.

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I wonder if that was the one I saw 2 years ago in a storage shed at the Tank Museum?

 

Quite possibly, Richard. I've found a photo:

 

Bedford tanker.jpg

 

It turned up at the Great Dorset Steam Fair in 1992 or '93. The guys with it were from (and said it was from) the MoD fuel depot at West Moors, and that it didn't normally do anything but sit in a shed as it didn't comply with the fuel regs they had to work to. It was very low mileage, 4000 miles or something like that. It had the canvas tilt as well. They got the CO's permission to bring it to GDSF. I haven't seen it anywhere since then and there have been a lot of changes at the fuel depot, so it wouldn't surprise me if it's been cast since.

 

Amazingly after 20+ years I'd remembered it was a BF registration, though not the rest of the number! I must admit if it re-appeared it's one I'd love to own.

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Great picture Sean....have saved that one to refer back to. Picture worth a thousand words & all that :thumbsup:

 

Amazing to think it was still on strength (albeit doing nothing) in 1992. Makes you wonder what else is forgotten about & gathering dust in far flung corners of MOD depot sheds.

 

Cheers....H

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When I was going to vehicle sales at Aston Down in the '90s quite a lot of '50s and early '60s stuff was still turning up - you could reckon on something interesting every sale. I can remember three or four K9s, several Bedford J type ambulances (most 1970s but an unusual 4 stretcher one from the early '60s which we bought and still have), a couple of RLs, Mk 1 Militants, a Thornycroft Nubian, an airportable Mk V AEC tanker, a Bedford J6S tipper, a Bedford J1 pick up, an Explorer, an early Austin FG, Bedford S types and others.

 

I haven't paid as much attention recently but I bet there are still odds & ends tucked away, though a lot of it seems to get passed to places like the Tank Museum, Science Museum or IWM.

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