Rare 1955 Foden FE heads to the Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show

One of only around half a dozen surviving examples of Foden’s short-lived FE will make its Newark debutr, as a Kent family swaps steel wheels for a lorry in the show’s commercial classes.

When Oliver West and his family make the 180-mile trip from Canterbury to the Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show on 7–8 November, they will be bringing something rather different from their usual entry.

Regulars at the show for at least 10 years, the family has always exhibited tractors, including a Caterpillar and a Holt in 2025’s celebration of all things Caterpillar. 

This year, for the first time, they are entering the commercial classes with a 1955 Foden FE, registration RGP 965.

“It’s a very rare vehicle,” says Oliver. “I think there are only about half a dozen left in existence out of about 200 or so made.”

New to Hovis at Andover, Oliver’s FE was Foden’s attempt to compete at the lighter end of the market against the likes of Bedford and Austin. Unusually, it was powered by a two-stroke diesel rather than a regular diesel engine, at a time when Foden was experimenting with the technology.

“It was made in 1955 which was the second year of production,” says Oliver. “They only made them up to late 1956 or early 1957, and then they were gone. They were too expensive, and there was an element of unreliability with their new two-stroke engine. They were probably half as much money again as a Bedford or an Austin, so they weren’t successful.”

Little is known of the lorry’s history until it was restored in the 1980s, and it was restored again in the 1990s. It has had around three owners since, all of whom have rallied it around the country, and it has worn various colour schemes over the years.

The West family bought it in 2024 from a collector who lived closed to Newark. “We’ve done a few jobs to it, tidied up a bit of the paintwork, got the brake lights working and serviced it,” says Oliver. "Generally, we’ve made sure it was roadworthy, and we’ve been rallying it and taking it on road runs ever since. It’s painfully slow to drive, though.”

The FE joins a collection that includes half a dozen Fodens. The family’s aim is to own one of each of the wooden-framed cab models Foden produced, from the start of its diesel lorry production in 1931 through to the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the company moved to fibreglass cabs.

Join us at the Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show this weekend by getting your tickets here: https://newarkvintagetractorshow.ticketsrv.co.uk/tickets/Admission