Classic lorries at the Spring Tractor World show

Posted by Chris Graham on 8th July 2022

We report on some of the interesting commercials spotted at this year’s Spring Tractor World show, in Malvern.

Spring Tractor World show: A typical, 1990s line-up, with a representative mix of the sort of British and European lorries that might have been seen at any half-decent truckstop back in the day.

Kelsey Media’s Spring Tractor World took place at the Three Counties Showground, in Malvern, over the weekend of May 21st-22nd; a slightly later date in the year than usual. As in the past, this two-day show was supported strongly by the local classic lorry movement, and we were pleased to see a number of newcomers alongside many old favourites.

An old lorry and an even older lorry; The Underhill Scania 143M giving a lift to a Cummins-powered Atkinson Borderer.

Though lorries are now welcome on both days, Saturday tends to be more for the hardcore tractor enthusiasts, with the HJ Pugh vintage auction among the big attractions. Sunday is the day when the classic car display takes place, and it’s usually also when most of the lorry people turn up. Here are some of the notable vehicles that we spotted this year…

A fair way from home; East Sussex-based Martyn Croft took along his 1983 Bedford TL 860 with Tiverton Livestock body. Bought in 2010, and restored as a tribute to his late father.

Richard Thomas’s superbly-restored 1977 Mercedes-Benz 1626 tractor unit is now a far cry from the condition in which it was acquired; it was rescued from the back of a garage in Kent, having been used as a recovery vehicle and then effectively abandoned.

This one was inside. A 1950s Bedford, displayed alongside tractors by the Monmouth-based Border Counties Vintage Club.

Many tractor owners who attend this event have transporters which are of interest in their own right. This 1983 Mercedes-Benz 813 was new to a scrap metal merchant in Keynsham, near Bristol. It worked until 1998 and was then parked for two years, and has been used for tractor transport ever since.

A smart Volvo line-up, with Carpenters of Crudwell’s preserved F89 in the foreground. A lorry that we have featured in the past.

One autojumble purchase that we really wouldn’t recommend buying as a gift…

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