STRAIGHT EIGHT:
Yeah it certainly was a nice job, I think ERF’s take on the Motor Panels cabs were definitely better than most for style and looks, although the Crusader will always take some beating in that department! I think the interior fit out of those NGC Europeans took them to another level compared with the Scammell, Seddon, Foden, FTF versions, and definitely compared well with the likes of the 111/140, and surpassed the F88/89. Think the SP Cab was based around the general shap and layout of that cab, if you look at the pair together there are similarities between the two. It done the job for ERF, a good alternative to the LV/A series and gave ERF a half decent big cab to offer those who required a long distance cab, of course without having to design and build their own, a massive budget slasher! Bought them a lot of time to get the B series Sleeper sorted. I don’t think anybody was expecting the B series Sleeper to be as good as it was, they certainly wasn’t expecting a raised roof and proper amount of room for two bunks! I always admired what ERF could do with a small budget, they never really disappointed, it was always up there.
That’s a very good summing up of ERF’s situation in the context of history. I think ERF were a bit too slow to get the big sleeper up and running, especially the LHD version which didn’t come out until 3 years after B-series production had started. That’s a good point about the similarities in NGC / B-series cab lay-out 
. Cheers, Ro