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Old 19-09-2019, 04:51 PM   #14
GTLEGEND
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Default Re: Oldskool Ford Service School

Now that my friend had time to reflect more on the past and with names to assist, his reply is below:

Now that I have had further time and some names I can recall as I said Laurie Evans,. In the back row of the first photo I think R.Reynolds may be Bob Reynolds who is/was Service Manager at City Ford Mascot for a number of years.
Thinking further back Arthur Kidd was Hunt Bros. Transmission tech. Again I only think as the next photo shows another Hunt Bros. Tech named Peter McDonald who I did definitely worked with as he was the leading hand in PD. And I was working in PD when the XR model was released around late 1966/67. This photo also shows Arthur Kidd so I must have known him.
The second photo shows a guy by the name of Sid Hunt, who I think was the Garage Foreman at Homebush assembly and was responsible for the maintaince of the truck fleet as well as preparing the press test vehicles. I went to the plant in 1967 and was assigned to the press test vehicles and as such was one of the first to drive the XR GT ( Bronze Bomb).
This was an exciting time as Ford were the first to offer a V8 option and of course it was the 289 Windsor.
As for the other Hastings Deering people I would not know them as Deering’s were the largest dealer in Sydney at that time with branches in William St. Sydney, Bridge Rd, Camperdown Hume Hwy Yagoona, Blaxland Rd. Ryde , Pacific Hwy Waitara and of course Parramatta Rd. Lidcombe. They were the RJV of their day. Lidcombe alone employed 150 apprentices of all engineering trades.
Welder, machinists engine fitters, mechanics, earthmoving fitters as well as truck assemblers. They had the franchise for English AEC trucks and buses as well as building the bodies for these vehicles.
They also designed and built tow motors for Qantas as well as staircases to the aircraft.
The only function that could not be done at Lidcombe was Camshaft profiling.
The photos were taken at the Qantas museum at Longreach in 2009 the tow motors are stuffed but you can still see the outline. These were powered by 144 cid Falcon engine hooked up to the Fordomatic 2 speed transmission. These were capable of towing a 707 for short distance which Qantas found after numerous transmission failures. They were only ever meant for towing luggage trailers.
The staircases used Falcon engines early but switched to small diesels later. We made all of the rams and sheet metal at Lidcombe. I was not involved with staircases but was involved with the transmission failures as Laurie Evans and myself worked in the transmission room.

Qantas Truck.JPG
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