Anyone else like old lorries?
Discussion
BruceV8 said:
Indeed. 11 litre Cummins turbo & 12 speed Eaton twin splitter. Absolute b
d gearbox to get used to, but once you do, what a joy to use!
Must have been hard turning down a Foden 4400. I love Fodens (and Scammells and AECs etc). But I remember seeing a prototype Magnum (although I didn't know what it was at the time) in the High Wycombe area in 1990. It was painted olive green to look military and perhaps deflect some attention, but to a young bloke used to Bedfords and AECs it looked like the Martians had arrived in HGV form. Never been in one, but I'm told they are great trucks, even now.
Yeah the Eaton TS is certainly one to sort the drivers from screwdrivers :-) I got thrown in at the deep end in '82, had a brand new 5 speed Dodge Commando 7.5t from the age of 18 & when i passed my class1 my (old skool) Dad bought me a foden with a 201 gardner & that lovely foden 12 speed box :-) played a few tunes on that one for a while ! As time went on I did all the Volvo, Scania, Mercs etc & then in the late 90's went back part time to do a bit for a mate with an Iveco + T/Splitter :-) Funny how after 20 years it all came back to me & i soon got to like it !d gearbox to get used to, but once you do, what a joy to use!Must have been hard turning down a Foden 4400. I love Fodens (and Scammells and AECs etc). But I remember seeing a prototype Magnum (although I didn't know what it was at the time) in the High Wycombe area in 1990. It was painted olive green to look military and perhaps deflect some attention, but to a young bloke used to Bedfords and AECs it looked like the Martians had arrived in HGV form. Never been in one, but I'm told they are great trucks, even now.
Magnums: I too saw my first one in 1990, on the Whitechapel road in London, my immediate thoughts were WTF is THAT !! From that day on, i wanted one & never got one as a driver ;-( But after building 3 race coaches, i decided I wanted a real toy & bought that Magnum. 12 years old at the time, 900,000+ clicks & she still drove as well as any Volvo or Scania of similar age (in fact better). I hear so many drivers tales of bad experiences with them, but if i were to buy another toy unit, it would be a magnum - no question.
AEC etc. i have a soft spot for them, my list of wants includes most of the ones we had in the yard in 60's, 70's + 80's, mercury, DAF 2200, Traders, Commer TS3's, and MM foden S39's. Call me sentimental but i'm sure the old boy would look down proudly to see his name on a trader again ;-)
Talking of Commer TS3's - i would love to hear one of those screaming b
ds again :-) 3 cylinders, 6 pistons, horizontally opposed & a Roots blower pumping the air in ......... bloody masterpiece of engineering (apparently designed to get the engine slung low & hence a flat floor cab !)Edited by unclegrouch on Wednesday 5th November 21:09
BruceV8 seems interested, so here's a few pics, if you others are bored, don't look at a truck thread 
found a pic of the mag with the trims fitted ...
This is the inside of that trailer as we lined the sides, fitted electrics & dropped the ceiling level
A pic of the front section (living area) after it was painted. the room on the right is the loo & shower room. Behind the camera is a kitchen area & separate bedroom with a bed over the bonnet of the race car 9free central heating !)
The tail lift couldn't be extended enough in one section because we needed 10' to get a small car on, so i made a sliding section with foldover ramps to keep the folded height within the 8' high box.
found a pic of the mag with the trims fitted ...
This is the inside of that trailer as we lined the sides, fitted electrics & dropped the ceiling level
A pic of the front section (living area) after it was painted. the room on the right is the loo & shower room. Behind the camera is a kitchen area & separate bedroom with a bed over the bonnet of the race car 9free central heating !)
The tail lift couldn't be extended enough in one section because we needed 10' to get a small car on, so i made a sliding section with foldover ramps to keep the folded height within the 8' high box.
Edited by unclegrouch on Wednesday 5th November 21:29
funk odyssey said:
they are a genius bit of kit - the overlapping ranges caught lots of people out though!
Yep, i was one of them. Through the four, into direct & impossible to engage 1st again !!i nealry always used to drive mine L2,L3,D1,D2,O2,D3,O3,D4,DO
but a guy I worked with always used L2,L3,L4,D2,O2,D3,O3,D4,DO
i don't suppose either way is right or wrong, personal choice i suppose.
interestingly, I later had a Scania 81 witha 5 speed range change & 5L was higher than 1H, so you could actually go L1,2,3,4, D1, L5, D2
Pretty sure the same *could* be done in the Foden although lack of power & timing made it a worthless excersize
Gotta say the 16 speed Volvo synchro box was way ahead of it's time !!
funk odyssey said:
unclegrouch said:
Dad bought me a foden with a 201 gardner & that lovely foden 12 speed box :-) played a few tunes on that one for a while !
they are a genius bit of kit - the overlapping ranges caught lots of people out though!
I saw this and quite fancied the idea of it - a v8 van converted to gas. Hmm..
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/765721.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/765721.htm
falcemob said:
God how I wish I'd have had that plate in the cab of the Foden I used to drive 30 years ago. I could manage to find a new gear every time I drove it, not helped by the fact that no one else at work knew how many gears it had. I was never sure whether it was a 12 or 16 speed box.
Same for me at the tender age of 21 !!!We bought the Foden in Barnsley & as it was "my" machine, i told the old boy I was driving it home & he could drive my Cortina
Made it as far as the first hill & it all went horribly pete Tong He got it out to Retford for me & i blundered home with it (nice long sections of A1 to worry about the next roundabout No plate on mine either & it was Dad that told me it was 4 over 4 with OD on the top 4, i had to sork out for myself the low hig arse upwards bit !
Ever driven the older version with 4+4+4 ? Brought a early 70's mickey home from a show for my mate & that had 4 on the floor, 3 on the dash & it was a L,D,OD on each gear, then into the next, so the change from 1OD to 2L ANd getting the timing right was real fun !
unclegrouch said:
funk odyssey said:
they are a genius bit of kit - the overlapping ranges caught lots of people out though!
Yep, i was one of them. Through the four, into direct & impossible to engage 1st again !!i nealry always used to drive mine L2,L3,D1,D2,O2,D3,O3,D4,DO
but a guy I worked with always used L2,L3,L4,D2,O2,D3,O3,D4,DO
i don't suppose either way is right or wrong, personal choice i suppose.
interestingly, I later had a Scania 81 witha 5 speed range change & 5L was higher than 1H, so you could actually go L1,2,3,4, D1, L5, D2
Pretty sure the same *could* be done in the Foden although lack of power & timing made it a worthless excersize
Gotta say the 16 speed Volvo synchro box was way ahead of it's time !!
funk odyssey said:
compared to the dinosaur spec David Brown 6sp boxes most Brit operators still chose coupled with a clunky 2 speed axle, they were really ahead of their time
Not sure i had the pleasure of a DB box?? the only ones i can remember driving with a 2sp axle were the A series ERF, whichi think was 5 speed & maybe one of the TS3 commers.I see you're in Worcs, did you know any of the old metal Box crew, used to speak to a couple of them regularly in the late 70's (CB) when they trunked from Worcester to Wisbech. leyland Buffalo's no less !
that Scammell S21 box looks like a 112 / 113 Scania box !
Edited by unclegrouch on Wednesday 5th November 22:06
unclegrouch said:
funk odyssey said:
compared to the dinosaur spec David Brown 6sp boxes most Brit operators still chose coupled with a clunky 2 speed axle, they were really ahead of their time
Not sure i had the pleasure of a DB box?? the only ones i can remember driving with a 2sp axle were the A series ERF, whichi think was 5 speed & maybe one of the TS3 commers.I see you're in Worcs, did you know any of the old metal Box crew, used to speak to a couple of them regularly in the late 70's (CB) when they trunked from Worcester to Wisbech. leyland Buffalo's no less !
that Scammell S21 box looks like a 112 / 113 Scania box !
Edited by unclegrouch on Wednesday 5th November 22:06
The DB 6 speed was a nice box for motorway work -- it's fairly high ratio but each gear is so widely spaced that acceleration is fairly glacial! basically you need to rev the arse off the truck in each gear.
Or buy one attached to a Gardner 180 which didn't rev anyway and just use the torque!
john2443 said:
dilbert said:
ronj said:
or this
There are lots more on there.....
I've not seen one on the road actually working recently. I do remember seeing the odd scammell tractor doing "heavy haulage" with a "many wheeled" steerable low loader. I guess it would have been on the motorway when I first passed my test in the early nineties. I seem to remember thinking that it was some sort of turbine, or alternator.
I'd also guess they still get used from time to time.
Not form the nineties, but you get the idea!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94tajprCCFQ
Perhaps closer;
Edited by dilbert on Thursday 6th November 01:05
Right then guys had a quick scan through `tinternet and these are the ones that spring to mind straight away. Just love the way they look, real tough looking things ! Any other info on any of then would be great as i know pretty much nothing other than the way they look ...
Early steam powered Sentinel.
The mighty Antar. Now i am fairly sure that this is `the truck` that i hada ride in some years ago - circa 1990. Was then owned by a chap called John Presswood and he also had a Scammell Super Constructor but with a Crusader cab ! I'll have to go round to my parents and dig out the photo's to show you all.
Early steam powered Sentinel.
The mighty Antar. Now i am fairly sure that this is `the truck` that i hada ride in some years ago - circa 1990. Was then owned by a chap called John Presswood and he also had a Scammell Super Constructor but with a Crusader cab ! I'll have to go round to my parents and dig out the photo's to show you all.
Edited by M3John on Friday 7th November 10:24
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