Albion Delivery Van

Posted on December 5, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1924 Albion Type 24 30CWT Delivery Van

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | December 7, 2014

Photo – Bonhams

Albion is a rare Scottish-built automobile that was founded in 1899 by Thomas Blackwood Murray and Norman Osborne Fulton. In 1951 the company was acquired by Leyland but passenger car production had ceased in 1915. Commercial vehicles lasted until 1980.

The Albion Type 24 was built between 1924 and 1931 and was a mainstay of grocery delivery companies throughout the 1920s. The engine is a 3.9-liter straight-four. Albion vehicles were function-first: the cab is a bench seat with a steering wheel and brake and hardly any instruments. The rear compartment looks wonderful with its beautifully restored wood.

There’s a pretty good commercial vehicle collector community in the U.K. and this truck is well known in that arena. It’s a rare example of this kind of Albion and it can be yours for between $36,000-$44,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ lineup.

Update: Sold $55,919.

Update: Sold, H&H November 2021, $34,488

1929 Bean Omnibus

Posted on June 6, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1929 Bean 14HP 14-Seat 30CWT Omnibus by Birch Brothers

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | June 7, 2014

Photo – Bonhams

Here’s a bonus! It’s not from the Banfield Collection but from that collection of Bean automobiles we talked about in another recent post. The 14HP model was introduced in 1924. They were generally passenger cars.

But this is a commercial vehicle. It uses the 2.7-liter, 14 horsepower straight-four from the range, but the body was actually commissioned by an independent bus operator. The bus can seat 14 people and was displayed for a while at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum. It does run and drive and should sell for between $51,000-$59,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $42,574.

Leyland Dropside

Posted on June 6, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1914 Leyland S-Type 30CWT Dropside

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

Photo – Bonhams

This is a World War One truck. It is thought that this one served with the Irish Army. Leyland started commercial vehicle production in 1896 (steam-powered), moving to gasoline in 1904. The S-Type was new for 1912 and was available in two versions.

This is the “Subsidy B” version – which essentially means it has a smaller engine. In this case, it’s a 30 horsepower four-cylinder. About 6,000 of these were built during the war alone. Leyland bought many of them back after the war, recommissioned them, and sold that at a loss (it was a smarter strategy than it sounds). This this is 100 years old, and that means so is WWI. That is crazy.

This truck should bring between $25,000-$34,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $46,815.

Awesome Classic Commercial Vehicles

Posted on June 6, 2014 by classiccarweekly

The Michael Banfield Collection

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

1915 Peerless TC4 4-Ton Open Back

Photo – Bonhams

This sale from Bonhams includes quite a number of really awesome commercial vehicles. I don’t have enough time to feature them individually, but because they’re so cool (and you so rarely see them at auction), I thought I’d do two posts that cover the coolest among them (which is pretty much all of them).

This truck is from one of America’s premier luxury car manufacturers. They started building trucks in 1911 and the U.S. Army loved them. The British government bought 12,000 of them between 1915 and 1918, during the First World War. This thing uses a 6.8-liter four-cylinder and was in service with the British government until 1956. It’s beautiful. And it should sell for between $34,000-$42,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $72,173.