A Yellow, 1974 Bedford TJ J3, Recovery Truck, part of the AA Heritage Fleet, on display at the 2023 British Motor Show
The Bedford TJ is a truck that was produced by Bedford and their successors from 1958 to 1998, as a replacement for the earlier Bedford A series of medium-duty trucks that were built between 1953 and 1958. The TJ was the last bonneted truck produced by the company, and the last vehicle to be produced to have a relation with Bedford Vehicles. Production of the Bedford TJ began in 1958 as the company's new bonneted truck model, and was a modernised version of the Bedford TD series, modeled after the Advanced Design US truck. The TJ truck was produced in many versions, ranging from light pickups to heavy-duty vehicles, with payloads up to 6-8 tons. Unfortunately, due to their relatively dated styling and presumably since bonneted trucks were falling out of favor these years, the TJ series was not very popular in the UK and did not sell in big numbers, with the exception of the AA and Post Office Telephones. In particular, Holland's Pies in Lancashire used a large fleet of TJ vans well into the 1980s, being notable for being kept in very clean condition and this resulted in the TJ being often called a 'Holland's pie van' around Lancashire.[1] The lightest versions (J0) shared the same petrol engine as the Vauxhall Cresta, which offered relatively good performance, although it could not cope very well with loads over 800-900 kg.[2] Heavier variants used the same engine as on the Bedford TD series. In export markets, specifically in countries such as India, Pakistan, Africa, and other developing nations, the TJ sold in great numbers due to its reliability and relatively low price compared to the competition. In 1975, the TJ was withdrawn from the UK market and was replaced by the Bedford CF.[3][4][5] After 1975, the TJ was offered only for export where it was pretty successful, however, during the 1980s, exports to countries such as Australia and New Zealand stopped since it was clear that these trucks were very outdated, and couldn't compete in the market anymore.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Farnborough International Expo Centre, Farnborough,
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1974, 2023, 3519cc, 4ton, aa, association, automobile, bedford, british, car, fleet, heritage, j3, medium-duty, motor, recovert, recovery, show, tj, transporter, truck, yellow
