I met Eddie Grinstead for the first time when he and some of his fellow members from the Surrey & Sussex region of the Series Two Club paid a visit to the Dunsfold Collection, bringing with them the club’s Children in Need fundraising bonnet to get a Dunsfold sticker and a donation.
I took a shine to Eddie’s V8-powered Series II 88in truck cab, all the more so when he told me he’d bought it in 1984 at the age of 16 and has owned if for almost 40 years. I thought LRM readers might appreciate the story as well, so Eddie and I arranged to meet for a longer natter and a photoshoot.
At that first meeting, Eddie told me how reliable the Series II had been after he’d dealt with the engine blowing up in 1985, which we’ll come back to shortly. It’s been a workhorse, a greenlaner and a trialler as well, and has been re-engined three times and had a replacement rear chassis. But
