South African ERFs

I’ve started this thread, not because I know much about South African ERFs, but because they keep cropping up on the other ERF threads! There is clearly some interest in them out there. Much of this interest appears to be in the home-spun Santini cabbed units with their Aerodyne double-bunk sleepers and 3- (sometimes 4-) axle chassis.

Big ■■■■■■■ and 9-speed Fuller seems to be the staple diet; but locally produced ADE (Atlantis Diesel Engines) engines were produced in an effort to beat the Apartheid sanctions. A good reference book for this subject is Dai Davies’s book called ERF - The Inside Story which, because he was once in charge of ERF ZA, includes some detail about the South Africa (Zuid Afrika) operation.

I’ll kick off with a few pictures I’ve found (like I always do when I start a thread) and throw it open to the floor. Robert

To give you a clue, the South Africans call a unit a ‘horse’ and double-drive, ‘double-diff’. Robert

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What about the merc powered ones Robert ? And I’ve been offered a badge which reads 'E Series ’ for the grill as seen above is this a export model badge ? Or was it used on the early E series before they showed the engine size ?

Dan Punchard:
What about the merc powered ones Robert ? And I’ve been offered a badge which reads 'E Series ’ for the grill as seen above is this a export model badge ? Or was it used on the early E series before they showed the engine size ?

No idea! Like I said at the top, I know little about these South African jobs, which is why I am opening the floor. Perhaps someone reading these will come up with some answers! Merc-powered ERFs? Whatever next? Robert

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Another ADE (Atlantis Diesel Engines) engined ERF above. I know I posted this piece on another thread, but the tale bears retelling. ADE was, I believe, formed of necessity because sanctions against apartheid South Africa were starving it of engine parts. One of my favourite stories of that period was this: during apartheid, South Africa, which makes exceptionally good wine, off-loaded vast quantities of surplus vino to countries that were not signed up to the sanctions. One of those was Bulgaria. Now you may remember that during the '80s we were all swilling mega gallons of really superb Bulgarian ‘village’ wine (red) from UK off-licences and supermarkets, blissfully unaware that it was strongly blended with South African pinotage and the like. This story appeared in one of the Sunday papers some years later. Just goes to show there’s a way round everything! Robert

hiya… with 10 miles of Joburg airport are some huge breakers yard for trucks. there are cabs lined up
for sale. in SA they have a motor trader book its like what out yellow pages was and half full of ads for spares.
there are some cleaver lads out there who marry all sorts of engines to chassis. merc engine ERF chassis
not a problem. the thing is they have no construction and use law like the uk.plus the drivers will drive any
truck that pays money.
John

The Atlantis 442 seems to be a licence-built Merc 442 engine, hence the confusion above. How about that, Robert- an ERF with a 9-speed Fuller and a V8?

3300John:
hiya… with 10 miles of Joburg airport are some huge breakers yard for trucks. there are cabs lined up
for sale. in SA they have a motor trader book its like what out yellow pages was and half full of ads for spares.
there are some cleaver lads out there who marry all sorts of engines to chassis. merc engine ERF chassis
not a problem. the thing is they have no construction and use law like the uk.plus the drivers will drive any
truck that pays money.
John

That would explain Dan’s reference to Merc engines. I’ve had a look through Dai Davies’s book again and he doesn’t once mention Merc engines, so I imagine that they were retro-fitted as you suggest. Cheers. Robert

[zb]
anorak:
The Atlantis 442 seems to be a licence-built Merc 442 engine, hence the confusion above. How about that, Robert- an ERF with a 9-speed Fuller and a V8?

Sorry Anorak, I somehow missed this post of yours when answering John’s post . You have illuminated the murk! This explains a lot. And yes, I could be coaxed into an E-series with a Merc V8 and Fuller 9. Oh, and here, conveniently is a picture of one!! Robert

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PS Last time I drove a V8 Merc it had a poxy EPS attached to it - aaaahhhggg! Robert