Willys Overland Crossley 'Manchester' Tipping Lorry

This lorry is a Manchester model B1 30/35cwt chassis built at the works of Willys Overland Crossley in Heaton Chapel, Stockport.
Willys Overland Crossley had been set up in 1919 as a joint venture between Willys Overland in the USA and Crossley Motors in the UK to assemble Willys Overland vehicles for the British market and sold under the name of "Overland". In 1928 the range of trucks was modified and the name "Manchester" was adopted. The main components used in the construction of all the trucks offered were the Lycoming CT four cylinder petrol engine, driving an Eaton bevel drive axle through a Brown Lipe three speed gear box and a Borg and Beck clutch. The ignition system was by Autolite and Stewart Warner supplied the speedometer. The main UK parts were the cab and bodywork, a cast aluminium radiator by Coventry Radiators and the lights by Millers. Complete vehicles or rolling chassis could be supplied.

HL 4911 was supplied as a rolling chassis in 1930. The cab and body were built by G.Westmoreland & Son of Alverthorpe, Wakefield. The truck is fitted with Clayton Dewandre hand operated rack tipping gear.
It was first registered to Percy Marsh, a haulage contractor in Wakefield, who sold it in August 1934 to J.W.Shaw & Son, coal merchants of Castleford. Shaws used the lorry on local coal deliveries until the late fifties when it was retired. It then passed through the hands of Horace Dean and Harry Parkin before being bought by Eric Walters who restored it and exhibited it for the first time at the Harewood House Traction Engine Rally in 1964.

It has travelled extensively in preservation, attending events as far afield as Lanark in Scotland and Leigh in Kent.

Manchester trucks were built from 1928 until 1933 when Willys Overland Crossley went into liquidation. A small number of trucks has survived; examples of models A1, A9, B1, B4 and BX being known to us.
We are attempting to build up a register of surviving Manchester and Willys Overland Crossley trucks; the list below is of the trucks we know of in existence if you have details of any other survivors please let us know.

Click on the small photographs below to obtain an enlarged picture.

20-25cwt model A1 in the Canary Islands.	(Photograph courtesy of John Wilkinson)
20-25cwt model A9 owned by Kevin Armstrong in Australia.	(Photograph courtesy of Kevin Armstrong)
B4 model which I believe is the same as a B1 but with a lower ratio differential gear giving higher road speeds.
B1 registration UX3937 owned by Graham Galliers of Shrewsbury.	(Photograph courtesy of Albert Smith)
B1 in the Grubb Shaft Gold Mine Museum, Tasmania.	(Photograph courtesy of Tim Keenan)
Overland 20-25cwt at one time owned by Dutton's Brewery in Lancashire, the registration number OBJ 1 being used for advertising purposes referring to the slogan on their beer bottles "Oh Be Joyful".
1927 Overland 20-25cwt YT5350 restored by John Fowler of Manchester in 1975. It is now owned by Malcolm Barker of North Luffenham, who is restoring the vehicle again after it had become derelict.	(Photograph courtesy of John Fowler)
A B1 chassis retrieved from Scotland. Note that the rear axle has been replaced with one from an early Bedford.
Our B1 tipping truck.
Model B1 of 1929, registration DX7800, at the Ipswich Transport Museum. For more details of this vehicle go to the museum's website: Ipswich Transport Museum	(Photograph courtesy of Derek Rayner)
Model BX 2 tonner registration WH3947 owned by Lynch Trucks, Accrington.	(Photograph courtesy of Chris Payne)
Model B1 registration NM2945	(Photograph courtesy of Nick Pyle)
Believed to be a Model B1 converted to a superphosphate spreader in Victoria, Australia.	(Photograph courtesy of M Lemmey)
Model B1 registration VO3141

If you would like any further details, have any comments on the above page or have any information I could use to improve this site please contact me (details on the Home Page).

Manchester Radiators

For a number of years we experienced problems with corrosion of the aluminium radiator top and bottom tanks caused by the elecrolytic action of the different metals used in the construction of the radiator. The ultimate solution was to produce new patterns and to have aluminium replacements cast. New top and bottom tanks can now be supplied in un-machined form to owners suffering similar problems.

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Copyright © Michael Walters
Last updated 09/08/2008