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Graham Heath (below) regards the 1994 Foden as the best wagon he has driven; despite the 4380 badge, its current engine is a 325 Cummins L10

ou tend not to notice a vehicle becoming 'classic'. Then one day you blink and realise there are very few of your model left in service and you are seeing more and more on the rally field. Foden made big trucks. Apart from a few brief attempts at lighter wagons, the manufacturer always made the heavy stuff. Foden produced a range of iconic lorries until the name was culled by Paccar in 2006, the last vehicle having been produced at Elworth in 2001. By the 1990s the plastic cahs, wide range of engine options and idiosyncratic gearboxes had largely disappeared and the vehicles had become relatively homogenous. Until the end though, Foden offered operators a degree of customisation not seen today. The sight of a proper working Foden, fitted with the composite cah and a Cummins/Fuller driveline, is sadly

A still-working Foden is a rare sight these days - and Graham Heath's 4000 series tipper is in excellent nick, despite its 17 years of hard graft. Steve Holmes meets the ownei^driver in the Black Country
becoming a rare sight these days. Graham Heath regards his 1994 Foden to be the best wagon he has driven. High praise indeed, for a 17-year-old wagon. from such an experienced driver; Blackcountryman Graham is 65 and has been an owner-operator for the past 15 years. He started out as a fitter and welder at a gasworks but after being made redundant he became a driver for Palthorpes. He mainly found himself at the wheel of a FordThamesTrader, a vehicle he rates \ery highly: 'They were like go-karts. A hit awkward to get into hul really comfy and easy to drive.' HIGH PRAISE INDEED He then drove a 'Parrot Nose' Kew Dodge tipper for Bealts Transport of Tipton - just like the ones from the iconic British trucking movie Hell Drivers. Graham then moved on and for 20 years he worked for E J Howell of Dudley Port, driving Fodens in the main and spending lots of time working out of the now-closed Rowley Regis quarry. During this period he also drove what he regards as the worst lorry of his career: a Seddon Atkinson 400 eight-wheeler

4380
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tipper. This vehicle was basically just an Atkinson Defender with a more modern cab and, by the time Graham got his hands on it, it was well worked. 'It had a 180 Gardner engine, which smoked really badly when it was cold, and had a six-speed David Brown gearbox. It was all right on the road but it really struggled in quarries - a few times 1 had to complete loading at the top of the access road as the lorry couldn't make it out.To be fair it was transformed once the range-change 'box was fitted.' TWO LEYLANDS Prior to running his current Foden, Graham operated two Leyland Constructor eight-wheelers, one badged as a Scammell. 'They were cracking wagons - I sold the first and immediately bought another one! They had Rolls-Royce 265 engines, which you could listen to all day. The cab panels
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This is what you'd call a lived-in cab; Graham's Foden has the simple nine-speed 'box, 'the best gearbox in the world' he says

would rust in front of you though and they were a bit thirsty.' The Leylands were well up to the task asked of them but they both eventually went for export. ICONIC KITE OMITTED Graham's Foden is a 1994 4000 series, more specifically the S108R model, which followed on from the basic S104/ S106/S108range. l^he latter were the first Paccar models, essentially major facelifts of the old Fleetmaster and Haulmaster wagons. This range was also the first to controversially leave off the iconic Foden kite symbol from the front of the cab; this was, of course, reinstated later on. Although L679 AFE has the model number 4380 on the front, its current engine is a 325 Cummins LIO. At 32 tonnes the 380 lump pulled like a train but was rather thirsty in use and many operators, especially owner-drivers, installed the much more frugal 325. Graham sings its praises: 'Most of my driving is in stop/start traffic but with a

light foot I can get up to 1 Ompg, which, when you consider I only got around 5mpg from my Leyland Constructors, I am well pleased with.' It has to be said that this engine does sound superb and nothing like the more refined but boring note of more modern engines. Whilst many Fodens of this vintage were fitted with the famous/

in stop/start traffic but with

ft I ^ I

infamous Eaton Twin Splitter box, Graham's vehicle features the simple nine-speed (4 over 4 with crawler gear). 'A good set of ratios,' says Graham; 'best gearbox in the world. Nothing like the old straight 'boxes - and I don't know anything about the latest ones!' We all bemoan the spread of boring white vehicles and the loss of traditional liveries but this is one white lorry with serious visual impact. Foden never really went for the softer cab styling like the Leyland range and, with the spotlights and simple signwriting, this wagon cannot be missed. BASIC CABS RECALLED L679 AFE is in excellent condition with only a few battle scars around the tipping body giving away its 17 years of hard graft. The cab interior is immaculate, although it is always a surprise to be reminded how basic the fittings are in these older designs. The rest bed, for example, is somewhat thin and cramped. Graham is into his speedway (motorcycle racing around an oval track) and the

get returns of up to 10mpg

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driver's side of the cab bears the name of'Sudden" Sam Ermolenko, the famous speedway rider who rode for WolverhamptonWolves in the '80s and '90s. Most of Graham's work is urban, working within the Black Country and tlie environs of Birmingham. 'The traffic isn't as bad as people think but most car drivers have no idea of the space we need to get through. I don't have any problems with visibility from this lorry and despite its age it's not too tiring to drive for a full day.' BLACK STUFF Much of Graham's time is spent in road preparation and construction on the seemingly endless array of road projects inflicted upon the long-suffering residents of the Black Country. Graham is usually to be found working next to a road planing machine, collecting the surface layers as they are removed. The planings are shaved off the road prior to resurfacing work commencing. 'We collect the planings and take them for recycling - we go to the

Midland Quarry products facility in Wednesbury. There's a fair bit of standing about and early starts.' The old road planings are sorted and resold to be used for further surfacing applications. They are particularly sought after for levelling rough farm tracks and the like. EASY TO FIX 1 ippers need to be tough and easy to fix. Some operators hang on to their older lorries for giwd reason: they don't have the sort of engine bay that discourages repair and adjustment, as opposed to replacement with new parts. Maintenance of Graham's Foden is done by local mobile mechanic Ken Bristow, who trades as Bromley Mobile. The Foden name was associated with transport for 150 years and such a history and heritage will not be forgotten quickly. Working lorries like Graham's show that despite it now beingfiveyears since the name was lost, it will fortunately be a long time before the name disappears from our roads.
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