Some NZ Commers

the D3F used the commer "hiline" cab .. actually quite a nice truck very comfy with many gauges on the dash .. i just got rid of my D3F last month (318 powered)

the D2F cab as you state if diesel used the cummins donk ..for the petrol they used the 361.. .. i hate to say it ..the D3F was a major upgrade ! & was even sold as a renault in france until well into the 90s

Hi All, Thanks for comments, Great history lesson there Redbeard. I served my time with Gills as a petrol mechanic in the car division. The Auckland truck shop was set up a couple of years after I started, mid to late seventies, there were still plenty of commer vans to work on then, Brian repowered a commer van with a Mitubishi diesel which ran parts between Huntly and Auckland daily. Dodges and Hi Line commers were being repowered with V8 3208 cats by then and even one 3306 cat fitted to a Fuso for Pearses along with 6v92's fiited to Fuso's for RFL. Brian flew his own plane then to ensure parts got where they were needed and to fly drivers to Porirua to pick up new trucks etc. Brian is in his eighties now, still at work. We even had a commer ute, cut down right behind the cab, factory job, real light in the back as you could imagine, lot of fun.

maybe this dodge started life in NZ ?
truckworld.com.au/Trucks/DODGE/DF3/7739.aspx

What happened to all the D3F's? .. or were numbers low, because that not many were sold?? They all just seemed to have vanished years ago .. you never see one anywhere, now. I haven't seen one for years.
I got the impression those D3F cabs were a POS, like so many Chrysler bodies.
The Valiants had a great drivetrain, but it was shame the door handles fell off in your hand, or the door fell right off, if the doorhandle didn't?? ..

i think the to Xf fords were the cars where everything went wrong .. the D3Fs i guess mostly sold in the late 70s had to compete against jap trucks . . the D3F 650 sold in OZ was ok factory 6 speed box/2 speed diff turbo perkins .. but probably twice the price of a isuzu ? lol

. .

Thanks for all the feedback. I caught up with Bryan Gill a few years back on a trip to Auckland but last I heard, he wasn't too well. There would not be anyone in NZ that was more knowledgeable on the TS3 than Bryan. Did lots of development work with tricks to make them produce more HP, better braking, etc.
John H, if the Commer ute you speak of is a 1500, possibly it is with a well known Rootes Group collector in Auckland. I took a photo of it which had been with Gills. Will send when I can work out how. Not too many of the utes around. I had two vans and they were light enough in the back end, let alone a ute with less bodywork. The same place where the ute was stored also had the ultimate in Commer van repowers - a Holden 308 V8. Not too sure how they got it in there, let alone steer it. They were heavy enough at low speed without the weight of a V8!. And I stupidly never got a photo of it!
Re the D3F. I have a copy of the plans for the cab for the TS4 powered Commer and I will swear this is the cab that ended up as the RG / D3F. I would agree with your assessment of them onetrack, but it was not surprising if you read The Commer Story and read of the Rootes Diesel engine / truck divn problems with their Chrysler managers. They couldn't understand that a truck was something more than a car with a big boot. They made them as cheap as possible with things like car type connectors used in the throttle linkage, which broke very quickly in service, and car door handles etc (although the first large cab CA Commers had Super Snipe door catch assemblies as well. Talk to anyone who used these on rough roads and what happened to the doors all the time!)
Cheers
H

Redbeard,is that you Howard?Have I blown your cover?

Who else could write about Commers like that, Cam? I've met Howard and he has a red beard so it must be him alright!

Well spotted BigCam.............I can hear the kiwi accent from here.

Redbeard,is that you Howard?Have I blown your cover?

Who else would include his email address as howard.pettigrew...