1967 Bedford KM lorry superbly restored as tribute

Nick Larkin reports on Kerry Allen’s 1967 Bedford KM, created as a wonderful tribute to his dad and the lorry he drove back in the day.

‘I just couldn’t believe it. There was my dad’s old lorry, which I hadn’t seen in more than 50 years,’ said Kerry Allen. Sadly, the 1967 Bedford KM, registration MRY 864F was a picture in a magazine rather than the real thing, but Kerry was inspired. Extremely inspired.

After a complex and meticulous three-year restoration, he now has a superb replica of the lorry, just looking resplendent in W Smith (Haulage) Ltd. colours. Kerry’s late dad, Bill, worked for this Leicester operator for 35 years. “He always said the KM was his favourite lorry,” Kerry remembered.

The re-creation was no small project, not only restoring a KM from a rotten wreck but turning it from a long to short wheelbase model. This a long and fascinating tale, but first a quick look at the Bedford KM range which was unveiled at the 1966 Commercial Motor Show as the manufacturer’s long-awaited entry into the 16ton market after new legislation allowed four-wheelers of this weight.

Though the slightly-modified TK cab made the KM look like a TK variant, it was actually new almost throughout with the exception of that cab. A new 7.6-litre Series 70 engine was allied to a five-speed gearbox with synchromesh on the top four and optional overdrive. A two-speed axle was also on the options list.

According to manufacturer’s launch publicity film: “For years hauliers and others have been asking when Bedford would join the heavies and now they’ve done it, Done it in a big way and in every sense of the word.” The missive continues: “Hours and hours of computer programming have gone into this momentous effort by Bedford to claim its share in the world of heavy commercial vehicles.”

The range covered three standard lorries, a trio of tippers and two tractor units.  A heavy-duty chassis, strong front bumper and twin headlamps, strong chassis, power assisted steering, tight turning circle and an alternator were among the many KM features. No wonder Bill Allen was so impressed.

The lorry would be generally well received and would remain in production until the launch of the TL1630, after whch it was only available to special order and rebadged TK1630. Post-1980 models had the TK style single bumper and headlights. It was another world from the Scammells driven by Bill when he started his driving career in the army during WW2, one of which was badly damaged when in the blackout he hit a dead cow lying in the road. “The police initially thought he had killed the cow for food” revealed Kerry. After the war, Bill worked for family-owned Leicester haulier W&LT Shipman. Historic details are a little vague here, and we would appreciate any information that can fill gaps.

The Inspiration
Step forward now the man who caused this whole story to happen, Colin Chesterman. This name may well by familiar, as Colin has contributed to a number of magazines, including Classic & Vintage Commercials, over the years. It was a piece by Colin in February 2014’s issue of our late sister publication Vintage Roadscene that featured the picture from his extensive collection of the W Smith KM. “I suppose you could say I’m to blame, but I’m hardly feeling guilty with such a wonderful lorry Kerry has produced,” said Colin, who from 1950 worked for a Vauxhall, Bedford and Seddon dealership in Leicester, before in 1962 working in the same capacity for a certain well-known organisation called WH Smith – no confusion then when discussing Leicester haulier W Smith!

Colin tells us that the family-owned Shipman business was set up in the mid-1920s and, in common with many hauliers became nationalised after the war, Colin reckons in 1949, with the assets passing to British Road Services. The Shipmans took over W Smith, then a small coal and haulage company, in 1950. Ten years later the coal side of the business was sold off and the company renamed W Smith (Haulage) Ltd. Expansion included the takeover of W Burrows Ltd’, operations moving from Humberstone Road Wharf via Abbey Gate and Barkby Road to Devonshire Road.

Members of the Shipman family were well-known in their home city, Len having been chairman of both the Football League and Leicester City, his son, Terry, at one point being chairman of this club. Let’s now go back to 1965 and another wonderful photo of a W Smith vehicle, this time a 1964 Bedford J-Type, registration BBC 128B, with Bill Allen at the wheel and son Kerry sitting behind him. “I used to go out with my dad in his lorry every Saturday and in the school holidays,” recalled Kerry. “I used to like to sit on the cab roof and polish the name board”

Bill drove S-Type Bedfords and J-Types before, to his joy, taking over the KM, which was a year old when he was allocated the vehicle, and retained it until 1970.  The sides had been lowered for its new normal duty – taking casting sand from Beadles Sand & Gravel at East Goscote to the Ashwell & Nesbit foundry in Barkby Lane, Leicester. Talking of driving, a situation that just might raise an eyebrow today. At the delicate age of 12 Kerry was allowed to take the wheel of the KM on private roads and do the tipping. “I’d learned to drive the J-Type when I was eight, again off road.”

He recalls the lorry being driven on to the weighbridge and found to have a 21-ton gross weight as opposed to the legal 16, which explained why the handling was a little different to normal. Kerry also remembers the KM pulling into the yard and the lorry losing drive. “A halfshaft and wheel hub assembly had come out of the axle.” That incident aside the KM proved extremely reliable. “My dad always said this was the best lorry he ever drove. The Ford D-series he had afterwards had a tilt cab, which the Bedford didn’t, and had a more comfortable ride but the KM had far more power and would do 70mph.”

Bill Allen retired from W Smith in 1981, and there’s a photo with him on his last day at work with his final lorry, Ford D-series, OBC 300P. He passed away in 1999. Kerry revealed: ‘’I had always wanted to drive lorries but sadly I couldn’t get an HGV licence as I had diabetes, though the rules have changed and I now have a Class 2.” Kerry served an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer at Daynight Electrical and retired in 2021 as maintenance, health and safety manager at Rutland Plastics.

In 2009 W Smith was merged into Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire-based S&J European Haulage, which sadly ceased trading earlier this year. No-one knows what happened to MRY 864F, the fondly remembered Bedford KM but thanks to Kerry, it’s been lovingly recreated. We must mention how he actually saw the above-mentioned magazine photograph which inspired him. “It must have been about six years ago when I visited my neighbour in hospital and he just happened to have that copy of Vintage Roadscene which he thought, being a lorry fan I might like to look through. And there was my dad’s lorry!”

Added Kerry: “I had restored a Triumph Stag and built a Lotus Seven-inspired Robin Hood kit car. I wanted a retirement project so started to look for a KM.” Finally he found UFE 402R advertised on eBay by scrap dealer Glen Allsop, who he knew. A trip to Nottingham to view the lorry followed and a deal was struck. “The cab and bodywork were totally rotten and the brakes were seized on,” Kerry remembered. The engine ran well however, the lorry having only covered around 100,000 miles. UFE402R, had one previous owner, market gardeners RS Fowkes Ltd of Coleby Hall, Lincoln, taking to the road in May 1977.

Work began with stripping the Bedford down to the chassis, which had survived in good order. Now if any major restoration of a lorry isn’t hard enough, wait for this. “I wanted this KM to be an exact copy of the one my dad had. His was a short wheelbase but the one I bought had been an LWB so I cut 76 inches from the chassis. The wheelbase was now reduced from 208 to 132 inches,” said Kerry.

The chassis, axles and suspension components were shot-blasted and primed. The angle grinder was once again employed when the subframe of the tipper body was shortened. Kerry rebuilt the body, which consists of tongue and groove on a steel frame to replicate the specification the W Smith lorry had when new.

The tipping rams were shortened and the hydraulics stripped and rebuilt. MJC Engineering of Leicester made a new propshaft. An ex-military Bedford M cab, identical to the KM apart from the floor mounts for the pedals, was acquired from Dave Crouch of Kibworth, Leicestershire-based Crouch Recovery.

Kerry decided to equip the cab to deluxe spec using spares from Rush Green Motors, so the KM boasts a padded dash and upgraded headlining, plus the available but rarely taken-up option of a rev counter. The seats, door cards and floor covering had survived well. The brakes needed major work with new shoes and overhauled chambers, actuators and handbrake valve. The 8.2 litre Bedford 500 series engine, with which later KMs were fitted, benefited from an overhauled cylinder head and a new crankshaft oil seal.

Amazingly the Bedford’s wiring had survived in good order, so could be re-used. “I think that surprised everyone,” said Kerry. Painting was carried out in two pack, with etch primer, Al Scott signs did the superb sign-writing. The wheels were shot-blasted and painted before new tyres were fitted.

Finally, the Bedford was ready for MoT, which it passed second time after a brake valve was renewed. Despite being a preserved vehicle, the spec changes meant it had to be replated, coming in with an unladen, often known as tare weight of 5tons 13cwt. Finally it was time for the Bedford to make its public debut, at the Classic & Vintage Commercials Show at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon on 8-9 June this year. Not surprisingly UFE 402R created much admiration with people marvelling at Kerry’s attention to detail. He concluded: ‘I must admit I did get a little emotional seeing the lorry there after all the effort. It really brings back so many memories and is a great tribute to my dad!’

This feature comes from the latest issue of Classic & Vintage Commercials, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE