(^100) Summer 2019 Truck & Driver
RETRO TRUCK
A simple workhorse, yes, but it has a warm cab and a dash full of instruments
It’s a bit low on oomph but the 10 ratios in the synchro ’box help compensate
The 92 was fitted with
an 8.5-litre engine
generating 245hp.
Doesn’t sound like much these
days, but in the ’80s there were
plenty of rough fleet motors
around – not to mention plenty of
relics from the previous decade
- so the little Scania, with its full
dash and instruments, warm cab
and 10-speed synchro ’box, was
just the job. It’s a truck that a lot
of drivers cut their teeth on; a
simple workhorse yes, but one
that means something to many.
House deposit
Aaron’s father Ralph bought the
truck in 1989 from Haydock
Commercials for the sum of
£6900 plus VAT (of 15%) – or “a
substantial house deposit” (oh
how times have changed). The
truck was two years old and had
covered 144,000km, having been
returned to the dealer from a
business that was wound up.
Ralph used it to haul his own
trailer to markets and shows all
over the country, selling
agricultural clothing. The truck’s
simple livery was chosen to
match that of logistics giant
Wincanton, Ralph wisely figuring
it would do no harm to blend in
rather than stand out!
One thing that did make him
stand out at the time was his
German Shepherd dog. ‘Bear’
travelled with Ralph in the cab,
which displayed a ‘Beware of the
Bear’ sign in the window. No
Ministry man in his right mind
was ever stopping this truck...
He ran the truck through the
1990s and beyond, until the foot
and mouth outbreak of 2001
caused most of the events he
worked at to be cancelled. The
sector never recovered, so Ralph
needed to change his business
and moved into chilled foods.
A bit too heavy
To begin with, the 92M pulled a
fridge trailer, but that was a bit
too heavy; it could manage it but it
would probably not last too long.
Wary of this, Ralph invested in a
Scania 113, sourced from the
Royal Signals Motorcycle Display
Team, but this truck was nowhere
near as tidy as the 92M and it
lasted only until 2005 when it
was finally sold on for export and
replaced by a Volvo FH12.
Eventually, Aaron and his
three brothers all joined the
family business, today known as
Catley Chilled Foods: Taran (32),
works in planning, Aaron (28) is