Bedford J1 Tray Top

History of this Vehicle:

This J1 Bedford was donated by local Alice Springs businessman, the late Mr Ron Thompson. Ron operated a sheet metal business in town and had owned this vehicle all its working life. It was restored in the Hall of Fame workshops by volunteers and Doc Wilson.

Bedford was a subsidiary of Vauxhall Motors, itself the British subsidiary of General Motors (GM), established in 1930. By 1960 Vauxhall had introduced styling to its car range and Bedford did the same with some of its truck range from 1953. The TA Series of that era (T designating truck) were better known as the A Series. When this model was updated in 1957 it became the J (or TJ) Series and featured a new Chevrolet inspired cab design. The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 designated the weight rating so this truck was a one tonner. This truck is fitted with a Bedford 6 cylinder engine but it was also offered with the option of a factory fitted Perkins diesel engine