Mystery Machines

[XS650]

Some unidentified machines from the film 1957 British film Hell Drivers .The small bulldozer 2nd pic maybe a Fiat . Any ideas on the loader and crane in top pic? From the facsinating site
http://www.imcdb.org/

711a.jpg

[martyn williams]

I have got the DVD of the film,Yes I think the loader was a Fiat also there is a new BTD6 Drott in one of the clips and a D8.Some of the quarry footage were shot in Essex but most of the lorry footage were shot in middlesex.
There is a Helldrivers website.
Martyn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rxdn8n1Vsw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JUGYpoExoo

[XS650]

Thought the loader in top pic had a Cat look about it. This is the still that made me think dozer was a Fiat ,but looking closer its not the same one Loader is on horizon again.

[DaveS]

I think the loader might be an Allis Chalmers.

Both dozers are likety to be Fiats, as they both have signs for Mackays, who IIRC were agents for Fiat around that time.

One of the classic truck mags had a two-part article on the Hell Drivers, giving details of the locations and what companies the trucks came from.

The film has a huge following - and I thought it was only me!

I had it on VHS, then got the 'special' DVD edition lately.

Dave. S.

[v64paul]

Anyone got a link to the Helldrivers website?

[XS650]

Ah so 'Mckays of Feltham' were a real company then. On the IMCD site the tracked loader is identified as a Krupp-Ardelt (never heard of them)which seems unlikely on a UK site. (suppose Fiats were as well!).

[DaveS]

IMCD?

A further bit of searching has produced that Mackay Industrial Equipment Ltd of Feltham were indeed the agents for Fiat, and ........ Allis Chalmers!

What points me towards A-C is the way the bonnet line rises toward the radiator. This was a typical A-C feature on many of their crawlers.

Fiats were around in Scotland too waaaaay back in the late '50s/early '60s. But were of a more distinctive design than that one. Especially in the loader arms.

Scottish Land Plant (SLDC of AEC 'Dumptruk' fame) were the Fiat agents up here if I remember.

Dave. S.

[XS650]

IMCD -International Movie Car Database hours of timewasting fun ,
http://www.imcdb.org/
members post stills of all vehicles from a movie with id or not .Great library of vehicle images. Loads of different search options by movie or vehicle make.
Try going to homepage ,then clocking on Caterpillar under makes, there are currently 6 unidentified and pictures of dozens of others in films ( bet lots of them are wrongly id'd)
Or you can click on 'Unidentified' then 'Others' which lists all our type of vehicle not id'd yet.

[DaveS]

Thanks for that! I'll have a look.

Back to the Hell Drivers loader - further web trawling points to it being an A-C HD 5.

Now I'm off to look for a brochure .......................

Dave. S.

[XS650]

Yes back to Hell Drivers ,should rename the topic , further trawling by me makes me think the little Dozer is a Fiat 25c like this;-

711e.jpg

and also another picture from Hell Drivers seems to be same loader as mentioned above, weren't drivers well turned out in those days !

711t.jpg