Economic SAE 140 source: Northants, Beds, Herts & Leics

[40TPI]

The plethora of bottled down SAE140 oil in 500ml plastic containers available across the web should have convinced me that it wasn't going to be a simple trip to the motorfactors when I wanted some more oil. Grandpa's old can of Wakefield SAE140 was now empty. Web searching instantly found all the local distributors and agents for Fuchs, Shell, Lucas, Mobil etc. and also confirmed that SAE 140 was readily available across the world in all other countries where tractors and other big diffs and gearboxes roam the countryside and plough the waves. Not the case in the counties north of London. Whilst there are many outlets none carry SAE 140. I drew a blank at the local plant hire companies. I even tested SOS John's intelligence report that Ford commercial vehicles use it. Untrue,at least, in Milton Keynes. I even investigated marketing claims from one oil manufacturer that Volvo still use SAE 140 in their manual gearboxes. The local Volvo main service centre was unable to confirm or deny but that is an even longer story. I will spare them embarasssment here. I supect that many other readers have trodden this path of despair in search of SAE140 so I am pleased to be able to share my new found source. A company called Barton Petroleum (www.bartonpetroleum.co.uk) stock Morris' AG140 in 5 and 25LTR cans. They have fuel depots at Bedford, Watford, Leicester and Wellingborough. Mark, at their Oakley Bedford depot could not have been more helpful. ( I have no connection with this company whatsoever nor hold any stock in it) The cost of 5 LTRS? A very reasonable 9.34 GBP inclusive of Value Added Theft! (Please note that without an account they only accept cash sales; leave the cheque book at home. ) So yesterday was a very pleasurable and sunny drive through the Bedfordshire countryside to collect a can; pity it wasn't later or lunch at the Swan With Two Nicks would have been irresistable!