Malaysian CMP Look Alikes

[chalky]

Moseying through the net came across these pics of the Construction of Senai airport , but what are the trucks ? cabs obviously copies of CMP 's

[Ryan]

Wow, they do look remarkably similar.
Can't help you on an ID though.

[Keith Webb]

Bit like our AACO trucks.

You used to see CMPs and their derivatives in a lot of Asian countries, sometimes patched up CMP cabs on Isuzus and other chassis. I suppose some of these hybrids are still around.

[chalky]

Apparently they are called Lori Hantu or Lorry Hantu or Ghost Lorry in Malaya and as far as I can gather are special builds for off road use and still common .
The later ones look to have GRP copies of CMP cabs .
Putting any of these terms into google images brings up some interesting pics .

[sth65pac]

Originally Posted by chalky

Moseying through the net came across these pics of the Construction of Senai airport , but what are the trucks ? cabs obviously copies of CMP 's

Cheap to make cheap to operate and cheap to run.
The CMP hallmarks.

Ian

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Alex Richards explains the various types of “Lori Hantu”

Hi guys,

Just noticed this video posted earlier today on the page and I have a few comments on it which you may (or may not) find interesting.

I grew up in Malaysia and understood a bit of what the guys were saying so I can tell you that the footage was taken in the Pahang region of Malaysia which roughly occupies the middle third of peninsular Malaysia.

The vehicle seen here is one of possibly three versions of the famous Malaysian "Lori Hantu" which literally translates to "Phantom Lorries" or "Ghost Trucks" The reason for the nickname is because they are site trucks and are not road registered.

I'm not an expert on them, but there are three "generations" of sorts which have evolved over the years. The earliest version simply being military surplus Blitz/CMP trucks that were auctioned off to logging and haulage companies after the war.

Some of these genuine veteran trucks were later upgraded to modern running gear with all sorts of bush engineering used to mate up various engines and drivetrains but retained the Blitz/CMP cabin like the one in the video. Many would have been heavily re-engineered with a motor or transmission swap-out, so it would have only been a Blitz cab and chassis hiding a custom job.

Later on, the "Blitz" type cabin was re-fashioned in a latter-day remake to sit on top of a current day chassis and mechanicals. These would have been made relatively recently as a generic version, using the Blitz/CMP cabin as a styling reference, but its all modern stuff underneath.

There's a facebook page called Lori Hantu and the one in the video appears to be an original cab with who-knows-what powering it.

There's also fleets of original Series I, II and III Landies still in operation in Malaysia, but that's another story :-)

[Keith Webb]

That's an excellent summary by Alex, it is clear the vehicle in the video owes it's design cues to CMPs but without any CMP parts.

[Igor Shadrin]

Taken in KL, days before the new airport opening. April 1998.

[Mike K]

Not lookalikes, the real deal. CMPs in Malaya with the 8th Div AIF ca. 1941

Home movies in Singapore and Malaya relating to the service of VX39973 (V85761) Corporal (Cpl) Henry Clements, 4 Reserve Motor Transport Company. Cpl Clements died as a Prisoner of War of the Japanese in Thailand on 3 December 1943. He is interred in Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Burma. Footage includes local village scenes; street scenes in Singapore; vehicles of the 4 Reserve Motor Transport Compan

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1128768