Bewick:
windrush:
No new design of engine would have converted ‘stick in the mud’ operators in the fifties/sixties away from tried and proven engines like Gardner and perhaps Leyland (■■■■■■■ were not big here in the fifties/early sixties which is when the Foden 'stroker was being offered in reasonable numbers) as they tended to stick with what they knew and trusted Dennis. I doubt that even makers like Detroit, which were well proven in the USA and other countries, would have made any impact with their products in the UK? You ran a ‘radical engine for the time’ yourself, a ■■■■■■■ V8, and they didn’t have a good reputation either, our local Ford dealership was awash with them having warranty problems and Ford gave up with them in the end.Pete.
I totally agree with what you say Pete. However I can say that the sole V8 ■■■■■■■ I ran was driven exclusively by me for the length of time I ran it which was circa 3 years and in that time it never put a foot wrong ! I treated it with respect and changed the oil every 2 weeks , filter every second change. I very rarely drove it over 50 mph on the M/ways and it purred away as smooth as a sewing machine ! My first two units were 26 & 28 ton Mastiffs with Perkins V8 as they were all I could s-t-r-e-t-c-h to at that time !! Again I had a very decent Driver on the 26 tonner and I mainly drove the 28 tonner. The Perkins got the same oil changes as the ■■■■■■■ and apart from a fuel starvation problem in the early days of the 28 tonner, which we solved by incorporating an upturned “jam jar” attachment fitted in the “V” which gave the pump a constant head of fuel that was the extent of our problems. I also recall that later on there started to be a slight whiff of burnt oil from the 26 tonner but it was nowt to worry about. Both Perkins also gave faultless service but I would stress they were treated with care ! I finally got to able to purchase the Borderers and sold off the V 8’s which in way could they be classed as front line fleet motors IMHO ! Cheers Dennis.
The way you drove and serviced the motors would go a long way to how a vehicle becomes almost faultless. My dad always reckoned he could have made a V8 AEC last because he would have been careful how he drove it i’m not too sure about that one, but regular oil and filter changes have got to be a good thing.Our company very rarely do either because they can’t see further than the end of their nose. Clean filters and new oil regularily will surely
prolong an engines life and it will run at its optimum .Lack of regular servicing works the engine harder and puts the fuel consumption up. It’s false economy not to keep up wirh regular maintenance and couple that up to bad driving and you have a fleet of disasters just like we have