Brands - Commer

A Mk.5 Commer petrol artic with single axle tipulator of Burnett's Motors, Ashburton. It appears to be quite a long wheelbase tractor unit and is possibly a 741 model with 141" wheelbase-most artic Commers were 715 models with 115" wheelbase.

1913 chain drive Commer Car CC Colonial type outside the Albion Hotel at Luggate, Upper Clutha District.

Plenty of variety. Keith McLeod in a 1948 Ford F47 pickup followed by Clive Taylor's B model Mack and Noel Galloway's Perkins powered Commer V series.

Noel Galloway's VA series Commer and Tom Kiernan's White 2064D.

Don Julian from Auckland in his 1973 TS3 powered Commer CEGV841. This truck is getting towards the very end of TS3 Commer production with the all new Perkins powered, tilt cab, RG series Commer truck range debuting in 1974.

Don Julian from Auckland in his 1973 TS3 powered Commer CEGV841. This truck is getting towards the very end of TS3 Commer production with the all new Perkins powered, tilt cab, RG series Commer truck range debuting in 1974.

A TS3 powered Commer CC series of O'Malley's Transport, Ranfurly loaded with sacks of grain or seed.

A CC series Commer TS3 tipper has just been loaded by a Pelican clamshell loader mounted on a Fordson tractor.

O'Malley's Transport Commer CC series tipper getting loaded with small logs destined to be fence posts. The loader is a Michigan 35 with a log grab fitted.

O'Malley's Transport Commer CC series being loaded with gravel by a Michigan 35 loader.

O'Malley's Transport, Ranfurly c.1958-59 Commer CD715 tractor unit with single axle semi-trailer with double deck stock crate. This truck would have the Rootes TS3 3D199 105 horsepower opposed piston 3 cylinder 2 stroke diesel engine that was available in 7 ton Commer diesel trucks from 1954. The Rootes TS3 was a very simple design with no valves or cylinder head. It had 6 opposing pistons in 3 cylinders and was a durable and torquey engine. The original 105 horsepower 3D199 engine only displaced 199 cubic inches-(around 3.2 litres) and was used up to the early 1960s. Other variants were the 117 horsepower 3DA199 with rotary injection pump and mechanical governor-the early engines used an inline pump and vacuum governor. From the mid-1960s a slightly larger version was available, the 215 cubic inches-(3.5 litre) 135 horsepower 3D215 engine-also the de-rated 117 horsepower 3DB215. The last year for TS3 powered Commers was 1974 when the last CE series trucks were replaced by the tilt cab RG11 and RG13 models with naturally aspirated and turbocharged/intercooled Perkins 6.354 diesels. TS3 diesels were noisy, but willing workers and a common nickname for them was "Knockers" as they made a distinct knocking sound at certain revs.

O'Malley's yard on a cold frosty Ranfurly morning. 5 Commer 7 tonners are in attendance-a Mk.3, a Mk.4 and 3 Mk.5 models with the one piece windscreen.

O'Malley's c.1962-63 CA series Commer artic parked beside an International Mk.1 AACO 182 artic of McLaren Transport, another carrier based in Ranfurly. Over the years O'Malley's Transport ran Austins, Commers, K series tilt cab Dodges, Fuso/Mitsubishi, UD Nissan, Fiat V8s and finally Volvos following a tie-up with Holgate & Anderson at Omakau and Teviot Transport at Roxburgh. McLaren Transport mostly ran International trucks as they were the local IHC dealer in Ranfurly, although there were a couple of Seddon Atkinson 400 series artics also. In more recent years they have had Volvos, Isuzus and Hinos.

Kiwi Transport, Frasertown Commer C7 and 2 TK type Bedfords.

Max Bright Commer Superpoise model LB569 with double deck stock crate. The Europa fuel company sign is appropriate as the Todd family who owned Europa also controlled Todd Motors, importers and assemblers of Commer and Karrier trucks.

T.H. Hall from Wairoa trucks loaded with sheep at Te Tiki Station. A Jailbar Ford followed by a Q4 Commer, D series International and Chevrolet.

3 British trucks of the 1950s-early 1960s era reversed up to ramps at a stockyard or freezing works. From the right a petrol Commer 7 tonner of R.A. Daley, Wairoa, a Mk.2 Thames Trader and just sneaking into the photo an S model Bedford.

North Otago Road Metal Co., Oamaru, Dodge 300 series tipper with Commer Q15 or Q25 work van on the deck. The old truck in the background getting wrecked out appears to be a 1948-1950 Bonus Built Ford.

Two Mk.3 CD series TS3 diesel powered Commer 7 ton tippers from the early days of North Otago Road Metal Co., Oamaru. The front end loader on the back of one of the trucks appears to be based on a Fordson Major tractor with a heavy industrial loader fitted.

Certified Concrete, Auckland branch, Commer CA model TS3 diesel with forward discharge mixer.

Firth Concrete Products Commer CC type TS3 diesel 6 wheeler with hydraulic chassis mounted crane and 3 equally spaced axles trailer loaded with concrete water troughs. If this truck was a factory 6x4, it would be a Commer-Unipower with the conversion engineered by Universal Power Drives of Perivale, Middlesex, England-(Unipower). Commer-Unipowers used tandem Eaton 30DT 2 speed axles and Hendrickson walking beam suspension. That load would surely have provided a good workout for the TS3 diesel.

This Commer tipper was operated in their quarry by the Golden Bay Cement Co. at Tarakohe near Takaka. Fitted with a heavy duty quarry type body it is an early Mk.1 R7 model. It can be identified as a Mk.1 by the flat and dangerously slippery when wet cab steps, single rear window and windscreen wipers pivoted from the bottom of the screens. The face shovel loading the Commer is a Marion.

Winstone Ltd. Bedford S model furniture van with Certified Concrete Commer ready mix trucks and a Winstone's Bedford J2 in the background.

Certified Concrete, Blenheim Rd., Christchurch, Mk.4 Commer CD series TS3 diesel artic and tandem axle tipulator.

Two TS3 diesel powered Commer Mk.5 concrete mixer trucks of Certified Concrete, Wellington. Certified Concrete trucks with their red cabs and yellow bowls were a distinctive sight and sound if they were TS3 powered Commers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in the later 1950s-1970s era.

5 Certified Concrete Mk.5 mixer trucks. The 3 closest to the camera are petrol engined trucks with Commer's 290 cubic inches sloper/slanted 6 cylinder engine rated at 111 horsepower in this model. Notice the different methods of powering the bowls, the first truck appears to have an engine powered bowl, while the truck next to it seems to have a hydraulic setup using hydraulic rams.

A Certified Concrete CA series TS3 Commer 6 wheeler mixer truck. The CA series-(introduced in 1962) were the first to use the new 4 headlight cab manufactured for Commer by Joseph Sankey of Birmingham. The smaller cabs used on the earlier 7 tonners was manufactured in house by B.L.S.P.-British Light Steel Pressings, a division of the Rootes Group.

2 Commer Mk.5 petrol mixer trucks of Certified Concrete, Auckland branch.

A Mk.4 Commer petrol of Certified Concrete, Auckland delivering concrete to a building site.

A Mk.1 Commer R715 of Certified Concrete. The R7 series was introduced in 1948 and was a modern and distinctive design for a British truck of the time. The R7 series was built until 1953-54 through Mk1 and Mk.2 models. There was no diesel engine option for these earlier 7 ton Commers, all had the 109 horsepower 290 sloper petrol motor. In 1954 the C series or Mk.3 7 tonner was introduced with the same cab. The introduction of the C series coincided with the release of the 105 horsepower Rootes TS3 diesel engine in CD models. The C, CX, CY, CD, CDY series were built through Mk.4 and Mk.5 models until c.1962. The second or third letter referred to the gearbox fitted with the Y indicating a 5 speed constant mesh gearbox.

A Mk.5 Commer petrol ready mix truck of Certified Concrete. The Mk.5 7 tonners with a one piece windscreen and raised roofline were the last to use the B.L.S.P.-British Light Steel Pressings cab.

Winstone Bedford RL recovery truck and tilt deck trailer loading a 6 wheel Commer concrete block truck. It would have been a good workout for the 300 petrol shifting this lot.

A Gore based c.1953-54 Commer TB467 5 tonner with double deck Cyclone stock crate. Although using the same Briggs Motor Bodies cab as the earlier S series trucks, the T and TB series had an improvement under the bonnet-a 252 cubic inches overhead valve 6 cylinder petrol engine. The earlier Q and S series trucks had the old 249 cubic inches side valve 6. The TB series-(with 3 windows in the rear of the cab) was the last to use this cab, being replaced by the B/LB series in 1955. The engines in these trucks were the same as fitted to contemporary Humber Super Snipe cars.

A Mk.1 Commer R7 ready mix truck of Certified Concrete, Auckland branch delivering concrete to a job site with the Auckland Harbour Bridge in the background.

Mossburn Transport Co. Commer S467 ot T467 used to bring sacks of lime or fertiliser to keep the Ford F30 4x4 working.

There must have been a large number of sheep for O'Malley's Transport, Ranfurly, to shift that day. One of their Perkins V8 powered Dodge K series artic units with 3 deck stock crate has just pulled out loaded while another one is backed up to the ramp awaiting loading. There are 6 other trucks waiting to load on the road-most of which appear to be TS3 Commers.

Southern Transport Co., Invercargill, 1966 Commer VAKS762 with double deck wooden stock crate with cab pen. It had the 122 horsepower 290 cubic inches upright 6 cylinder petrol engine, 4 speed synchromesh gearbox and Eaton 16802 2 speed diff. The first petrol engined Commers to use this cab were the 4 headlight CAH series with the old 290 sloper motor. This model was superseded by the 2 headlight VA and subsequent VB and VC series trucks offering either an upright version of the Commer 290 petrol motor or Perkins 6.354 diesel.

Southern Transport Co., Invercargill, 1966 Commer VAKS762 with double deck wooden stock crate with cab pen. It had the 122 horsepower 290 cubic inches upright 6 cylinder petrol engine, 4 speed synchromesh gearbox and Eaton 16802 2 speed diff. The first petrol engined Commers to use this cab were the 4 headlight CAH series with the old 290 sloper motor. This model was superseded by the 2 headlight VA and subsequent VB and VC series trucks offering either an upright version of the Commer 290 petrol motor or Perkins 6.354 diesel.

Southern Transport Co., Invercargill, 1965 Commer CBEW815 artic with double deck stock crate on single axle semi trailer. It had the 117 horsepower 3DA199 TS3 diesel engine, 5 speed synchromesh gearbox and Eaton 18802 2 speed diff. The Commer model coding system used from post-World War II era to the mid-1970s consisted of up to 5 prefix letters followed by a 3 or 4 digit number. In the case of this truck it can be decoded as CB=series-(CA series was the first with this cab), E=117 h.p. 3DA199 engine, W=5 speed synchromesh gearbox, 8=8 ton payload, 15=last 2 numbers of the wheelbase in inches-in the case 115 inches. For no.29-it works out as-VA=series, K=290 upright petrol motor, S=4 speed synchromesh gearbox, 7=7 ton payload, 62=162" wheelbase.

Southern Transport Co., Invercargill, 1965 Commer CBEW815 artic with double deck stock crate on single axle semi trailer. It had the 117 horsepower 3DA199 TS3 diesel engine, 5 speed synchromesh gearbox and Eaton 18802 2 speed diff. The Commer model coding system used from post-World War II era to the mid-1970s consisted of up to 5 prefix letters followed by a 3 or 4 digit number. In the case of this truck it can be decoded as CB=series-(CA series was the first with this cab), E=117 h.p. 3DA199 engine, W=5 speed synchromesh gearbox, 8=8 ton payload, 15=last 2 numbers of the wheelbase in inches-in the case 115 inches. For no.29-it works out as-VA=series, K=290 upright petrol motor, S=4 speed synchromesh gearbox, 7=7 ton payload, 62=162" wheelbase.

Mid-1950s advertisement featuring letter to Tatton Motors, Commer dealers in Tauranga from Tauranga Wallboard Co. operator of 1951 Commer Mk.1 R7 petrol truck which regularly hauls 16 tons over the Kaimai Range.

Advertisement for the Mk.3 7 ton Commer with either petrol or TS3 diesel engines. It shows the option of Eaton 2 speed axles-16500 in petrol models and the big 18500 in TS3 diesels.

A Mk.1 Commer R7 logger being push loaded off a bank by an International TD14A bulldozer with Hamilton hydraulic blade. It appears that the truck has taken quite a whack in the front bumper, fortunately it seems to have protected the cab from any damage. This truck is a slightly later Mk.1 R7 as it has the wipers pivoted from the top of the screens-the Mk.1 was built 1948-1951. The Mk.2 R7 model had a few improvements over the earlier trucks-much safer steps with more grips, small quarter windows in the rear corners of the cab, pressurised cooling system. Mk.2 models were built 1952-1954 and were still powered by the well regarded 109 horsepower 290 cubic inches sloper 6 cylinder petrol motor-the TS3 diesel option wouldn't arrive until 1954 with the Mk.3 models.