The return of Foden? Here’s the story of how a new DAF XF 530 was transformed into a one-off special edition “Foden XL 5000” for Terry Seaman Transport!

Terry Seaman (left) and Guy Whitwam of Ford and Slater at the handover of the “one and only” Foden XL 5000

Bulk tipper operator Terry Seaman has been synonymous with Foden trucks for decades. He’s run loads of them over the years, including the final 4000 to come off the production line. The company still has some Alphas in service today, but it’s now fifteen years since the last Fodens were built and time waits for no truck.

Terry’s Fodens have provided many years dependable service, and this new DAF XF has been fully Fodenised in tribute

Terry moved to running DAFs when Foden production ended, but he’s made no secret over the years of how much he misses his marque of choice; some of the fleet are adorned with slogans such as “I wish I was a Foden!” One day, during a conversation with Ford and Slater DAF salesman Guy Whitwam, who used to sell Fodens back in the day, Terry happened to mention how much he’d like a new Foden. An idea sprung into Guy’s head. He responded and said “Well, what if I could build you one?”

The truck is bound to cause a huge amount of speculation and rumour as it gets spotted on the roads!

The concept was simple; would it be possible to take a new DAF and re-imagine it as a modern Foden in 2021. After putting together some images on Photoshop with the assistance of Ford & Slater colleague Darren Swan, Guy presented them to Terry and asked him what he thought. “I said, if you’re willing to give me carte blanche on the project think I can do something convincing and unique” explained Guy. Terry gave it the green light as a special one-off, on the basis Guy was so confident it could be done to look “factory”.

It’s a convincing take on what a Foden may look like if the marque was still in production today

The base truck is a DAF XF Space Cab FTP 530 with 12-speed TraXon auto box. All the DAF silver trim on the front has been changed to black, and the grille has been filled in and fitted with a new-old-stock Foden badge from an Alpha. There’s also Foden mudflaps, door badges, chrome wheel trims and steering wheel logo.

Guy gave a lot of thought of what to call the truck and decided upon XL 5000, as a successor to the 4000. The L on the badge comes from a DAF LF, while the 5 comes from a 530 badge.

Terry and Guy are both delighted with how the truck turned out. The driver better get used to answering questions…

The overall result is completely convincing. It’s by no means the most extensively customised truck out there, but that wasn’t the aim. There were always rumours floating around that Foden would one day get to use DAF’s XF cab, but it never happened. So it’s really interesting to see this project come together to give us an impression of what a Foden would look like if they were being produced today and using the XF cab. The driver of the XL 5000 had better prepare for a barrage of questions once it’s on the road. This truck is sure to create a lot of interest and curiosity wherever it goes! Check out the video on our Facebook and YouTube pages, and be sure to pick up a copy of September’s Truck & Driver for the full story!

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