“A lot of people I speak to at shows, their father, uncle or grandfather drove one – this one has done its work, and it can now just be appreciated.”
For Ian Woodward, his 1970 Commer harks back to the days when Commer was a player on the Australian transport scene, with the brand a common sight on Australian roads in a variety of applications.
Ian, better known to all and sundry as ‘Woody’, along with daughter Emma, had brought along the Commer to the Rocklea Heritage Truck Show at Rocklea earlier this year, just a short drive from their home base at Forest Lake.
Over its 55-year life, which began at the Chrysler plant in Adelaide, Woody is only the third owner, with the Commer having had a full working life prior to its retirement and restoration.
“It was built in South Australia, and it is plated as August 1970 – it made its way up to Breakfast Creek and we think it was a demo unit as it got moved around the Chrysler dealer yards a bit and it was bought in 1971 by John and Betty Potter,” Woody explained.
Based at Gladfield and fitted with a tipper body, the Potter family worked the truck hauling grain, sand and gravel around the Allora region up until 2010 when John Potter passed away.
The truck then stayed in a shed for a decade before its restoration began.
“A fellow by the name of Barry Bruce found it and did the restoration. He painted it blue and white which were his colours,” explained Woody.
“He had it for two years and wanted another project so put it up for sale. I went and had a look at it as I was looking for a truck to show and I got it on Australia Day in 2021.”
Back in the 1960s and 1970s the Commer brand was made famous for the TS3 ‘Knocker’ motor, but with Perkins also an option for motive power, it is a Perkins 6/354 which powers Woody’s Commer, which is married up to an Eaton 5 speed/2 speed driveline.
“The Knocker was a brilliant motor, and a lot of people assume it’s a Knocker, but this is a Perkins – as far as we can tell everything in this is original – engine, diff and gearbox,” Woody said.
“The Perkins is a very slow old motor – she likes a drink of oil and makes a bit of smoke, but she fires up well though.
“They weren’t built for speed, but she pulls pretty well. You can hook a van on and wouldn’t know it was there. It’s pretty basic inside – no power steering, no air-con , not even a radio, so she keeps you on your toes!”
Since taking on the Commer, Woody has done a few modifications and put his own stamp on the truck changing the guards on the body and putting a gantry up with the exhaust and air cleaners. The Commer has also been named ‘Jessie Margaret’ in honour of his mother who passed away in 2021.
While the Commer is usually parked in Woody’s front yard at Forest Lake, the Perkins is fired up fairly regularly for a bit of a spin around the neighbourhood.
With the truck purely a show vehicle, it is a regular sight at a number of events around south-east Queensland, including a trip ‘home’ to the Commer’s old stomping ground over the dividing range at the Allora Heritage Weekend.
“We took it out to Allora which was a nice steady run which took about two hours out through Gatton. I would take it up the range over the Cunninghams Gap, but I wouldn’t bring it back down there,” Woody said with a grin.
This year has been a successful one for the Woodward team, bringing home trophies including Best Old Rig at the Scenic Rim Truck Show and multiple awards including Big Rig of the Show and Best Rig of Yesteryear at the Mt Gravatt Show.
Emma has also started a Facebook page, ‘The Old Blue Commer’ which documents the truck’s activities and event schedules.
Running on club registration, Woody is a member of the Heritage Truck Association and reckons that it is a great way to connect with other like-minded people and share their knowledge.
“There’s a TS3 here today – it has 10-stud wheels whereas mine has 8-stud wheels, so if you bought one of each you wouldn’t be able to swap between the two; I never realised they were different across the two models.”
He continued: “I also learnt from a bloke at one of these shows about the meaning behind the Perkins badge with the square and four circles – it means ‘a square deal all round’.
“That’s why I like coming to these shows, you pick up little things like that and being part of the association gives us places to take the truck, and they are all a great bunch of people.”
With the Commer a popular member of the historic truck show community, it would be fair to say that Woody will be tinkering away and keeping the old truck ticking along for the foreseeable future with his own retirement on the horizon.
“I have a couple of years left until I retire and I will have something to play with – I won’t be stuck at home driving the wife crazy, I can be down in the shed!” he laughed.