Boot Ornament and Hinges.

Every Rat Rod has some part on it that is a blast from the past.
Something that come of some vintage machine or vehicle.
The Zig Zag project is no exception to the rule.

On the Boot we placed a chrome 'radiator bonnet hood ornament' off an old Bedford RL truck.

While caring out a repair on a mobile crane the crane owner was disposing of his old Bedford RL crane truck. We asked  if we could salvage the small radiator cap bonnet and the hood ornament that was so popular in those days.

It reminded us so much of the cute tail on a bulldog that we stuck it on the rear where it looked at home straight away.

74,000 of these trucks were built between 1953 and 1970

Here is a picture  of the original truck the ornament comes off.

The RL was the main medium lorry for the British Military, introduced in 1953 to gradually replace the outgoing Bedford OY.

The RL was based on the civilian Bedford SCL 7 ton truck. The military version had all wheel drive and larger wheels to increase ground clearance. Originally conservatively rated at 3 tons, all RL GS (general service) trucks in British Military service were, at a late stage in their service lives, re-rated at 4 tons without any mechanical modifications; the weight referring to its rated cross country payload weight.

There were many specialised variants

If you look carefully you will notice the hood ornament on the small radiator bonnet just below the windscreen.

Here the ornament is removed and being cleaned  up.