“I couldn’t find original headlights for the machine but Ferguson had some which looked exactly the same. I decided to buy them to see if they fitted and they did. They are also much brighter than the original lights, giving me improved visibility in low light.” As Paul intended to put the machine to work, he also added some other modern touches for improved safety. “As there is a footpath which runs through the yard and visibility looking backwards is poor, I decided to add a reversing camera to the machine as well as a blue beacon and white noise alarm which improves safety to the public, and gives me confidence when reversing.” Paul purchased an excavator bucket online and then manufactured brackets himself to attach the bucket to the machine. He also added steel plates to increase capacity. Paul says, “Unfortunately I could see that the bucket was bending in the middle and I was worried it wouldn’t be strong enough. After looking online at Volvo’s larger buckets I could see that they add a rib in the middle so I welded one in myself to give the bucket extra strength.” While working on the BM621, the drive shaft broke
on Paul’s Thwaites loader which suddenly made completing the machine a much more urgent task. “I was reduced to using our Dextor tractor and it took ten passes to load one of our trucks,” Paul says. Jeni adds, “I hardly saw Paul in that time, he would be in the workshop often until after 11pm. I’d hear him banging around a lot of the time!”
The rebuild has been a family affair with son, George (10) learning and helping his dad in the workshop. Daughter, Darcy (8) is also showing an interest – working with machines is not just for boys in the Bacon family – Jeni works on the family farm and Paul’s Mum Mary has been driving lorries for 32 years in the family’s haulage
20 THE VOICE MAGAZINE No30 2017
business E. & M. Bacon and also operates a backhoe loader. Paul’s father Eddy who sadly is no longer with them, would regularly service the trucks and carried out all repairs himself, teaching Paul in the process. Both of Paul’s children have their own ride-on lawnmowers which they help Paul to cut the grass with and he’s teaching them to repair the mowers themselves when needed. Looking at renewing the cab, Paul decided to refurbish the existing seat after struggling to find a replacement. “I took it apart and then glued a new piece of foam to the seat. I took the original leather cover apart and cut around the old pieces on new leather. I then dug out my Gran’s old sewing machine and sewed the new leather up myself. It wasn’t that difficult really, it’s the same as fabrication, but I’m just stitching the pieces together rather than welding them!” Paul welded an additional plate into the cab to house the screen for the reversing camera and replaced all the switches which he’d bought on a Vintage Truck website. Paul found that some of the parts he tried to track
down were obsolete, such as the exhaust and rain protectors for under the windows. He’s therefore created a vertical tail-pipe as the original was leaving a black residue on the back of the machine. He is also missing the side panels which the eBay seller has said they can provide, but if this doesn’t happen, Paul is planning to make them himself. The machine has now been given a fresh coat of paint – brush painted by Paul - and has now finally been brought into service in the family business. Paul has kept a log of all parts bought and where he purchased them, along with part numbers just in case he needs to replace anything in future and he says the benefit of having to completely strip the machine means he now knows exactly how everything works. “Should anything go
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