Bedford Barn Find - Coffee truck Project

Virgin post: Have recently joined after acquiring a barn find Bedford truck.

Sold to me as a 1963 J1 (per NSW rego forms) but after a bit of investigation, it now appears to be a 1969 C model update of the J1 according to the ID numbers.

Seller had it for 40 years near Canberra, running it as vineyard and farm truck until it was rested some 10 years ago, with rego renewed up to early 2018. Seller purchased off "Tom" in Cessnock who had painted it green from original maroon and ran it on historic club plates. Seller was told Tom had bought it off local glazier in Cessnock area. I think I have tracked down original glazier business, Burnbridge Glass, who apparently ran a fleet of 4 maroon coloured Bedford trucks in the 60s and 70s.

My plan is just to get it running and registered again for now, creating some sort of canopy on the tray so I can operate it as a coffee roasting truck at farmers markets and road side stalls. Resprayed green paint is getting a bit rough but will clearcoat for patina effect for now and look at more robust resto down the track. I didn't get enough of my dad's resto nouse (1927 Buick roadster by hand, 67 mustang, Triumph Thunderbird) but keen to give it a go and learn along the way.
Cheers

Sorry, realise this should belong in Restoration Topic but don't know how to move it.

Welcome mate.. I've Moved It to the Resto section for You.....

I reckon If It's In the N.S.W . as a '63.? I would let sleeping Dogs Lie.. will be more trouble than It's worth dealing with the RMS (or whatever they call themselves Today)..
Just my 2 cents worth..

Looks to be a very Good basis for any type of Project from the Pics you've put up..!!

Welcome to the forum, sounds like a good plam you have of just fixing it up and getting it registered


Paul

Snidely, welcome from me also. It looks like a very straight truck and should be straightforward getting it on the road. As with all hydraulic braked vehicles, the brakes need doing up as you cannot take those two wooden "handbrakes" everywhere.

Next time I am in NSW I will look for you because I love coffee and markets. (I should be in Dubbo this Easter for the bi-annual Morris rally but my truck is not ready)

Morris.

Welcome Snidely to this great friendly Forum.
What a great starter as a project and a brilliant plan for its future. Are you planning on full rego or Club? As suggested your brakes will need attention and after that it should be just a good servicing before making an attempt to start up.

Bedford in their wisdom changed the model identities mid stream, so the TJ series became the C series with suffix letters and numbers denoting GVM, engine, etc
You will find a lot of info including all the factory colour codes in a back issue of Vintage Trucks and Commercials magazine. It was a series of modelling articles so doesn't jump out of the page but actually has more information relevant to restorers than modellers.

Thanks mammoth,
Any idea of year or edition? Craig from ACW has helped immensely with ID info which has been much appreciated.

Thanks all, yes a pretty straight truck and reasonable nick, hence my usage plan. Thks for moving my post Hayseed. Cobbadog, going for full rego as it will be used for markets and roadside stalls around Canberra. Morris, look forward to roasting some coffee beans for you.
Cheers for the welcome.

So the wife's name is Penelope then?

Looks neat.

As mentioned, first thing to do is overhaul the brakes. Stainless steel sleeve the master and slaves.
Sounds expensive but isn't and you'll not have a leaky cast iron brake.