THORNY PROBLEM

“We like Brian,” grins Ken Walsh. “Enough to break our rule. Normally we restore vehicles for ourselves, not for other people. It’s really all down to Susan, of course – Brian’s wife. She always feeds us a magnificent cooked breakfast whenever we visit their setup in Wales. Brian is lucky to get a brew and a Blue Riband when he comes over to ours in Manchester.”

Brian Owen had read about Ken and Ray Walshes’ distinctive approach to restorations and rebuilds in Heritage Commercials. In 2018, they completed the restoration of his Leyland Clydesdale. Brian’s family haulage business, Ivor Owen and Sons, ran the truck from 1986 on contract to Tarmac, hauling limestone from its Minera quarry near Wrexham. The quarry closed in 1993. Brian drove the Clydesdale from the day it entered service – and drove the last load out with it on the day the quarry closed.

The Leyland 16-tonner appealed to the Walshes. “We like a vehicle with a story behind it,” says Ken. Referring to the Bedford KM they fitted an electric tilt cab mechanism to as an example, he adds: “And if a vehicle we take on as a restoration project is bog standard, we like to give it a story.” The Owens do restorations themselves, but the Clydesdale was repeatedly put to the back of the queue.

You can imagine the Owens’ amazement when the Walshes returned it in mint condition after only eight weeks. “We’re only pensioners, but that’s no excuse. Once we get going, there’s no stopping us,” says Ken Walsh. “This is our hobby