I had an A reg with a 290, supposedly breathed on by ■■■■■■■■ it was one of the later ones put together in Fodens at Sandbach, if youre really sad, the way to tell is the Sandbach built ones had roof marker lights. It was one of them motors that everyone had a 2nd look at, it went like stink but bad brakes & no exhaust brake made coming down the mountains exciting!
I remember hopping out in the middle of the night to answer a call of nature & shutting the door behind me only to find i couldnt get back in, to lock the doors you had to lean out the window & use the key, the doors didnt actually lock but the handle did, making getting back in a bit difficult! to get back in i had to jack the cab over & lean through the gearstick hole to get the keys out from, luckily, the middle of the dash, not much fun when your in your boxers & its -20c!
The windows in the back made them either freezing or like a sauna, depending on the time of year, if you used the top bunk for storage it used to whack you in the back of the head if you had to slam em on & the electrics were a total abortion, but did come in handy at Calais, heater on full blast, headlights on, foot on the brake & hey presto the diesel guage showed half full, meaning cafe not cognac for the boys in blue with red stripes!