Mal:
i dont think youre mad at all! like you say, the bark is terrific, and it aint the same unless theres a good dollop of weight on, those engines were born for hard work and they need it im sure even in retirement! it was nice having a look at thos pics again 240!
It all started in 1989 when I went down to the CCMS, then held at George’s at Crick, and borrowed a Volvo dealer’s modern test trailer to put behind Bowker’s Mk.1 Atki. Now that was a heavy trailer!
When the opportunity came up to buy my own 33’ test trailer, I jumped at it, especially as it was new to the same RTITB training school as the Viewline, and they were the same age within a month.
A couple of years ago, I did read a column by a preservationist in one of the classic mags, in which he condemned at some length the idea of putting any kind of weight on preserved vehicles. I have to say that I disagree quite strongly.
Apart from the issue of ride quality (and the potential for damage to the lorry), some motors are prone to glaze the bores if not worked hard - e.g. the 12 litre ■■■■■■■■ In any case, if the lorry is properly maintained, then you’re not asking it to do anything it wasn’t designed for.
The main issue is avoid being anti-social, such as not grinding up hills at 15 mph on roads where other traffic (especially lorries) can’t overtake.
well, i can gaurantee 240 that if ever i manage to get one for myself, it will have to pull the odd load, i wouldntr be able to bear it just running it about empty! theyre workhorses at the end of the day.
i can see why some are against it, in case the motor gets ruined, and therefore lost to all. but when you think of the thrashing they get in real haulage situations, they would never come near that in preservation, unless there was somebody riding round every day of the wekk loaded!
Can I be a big Scottish rascal here? I’ve drove a few Gardeners in my time, guys. As far as I’m concerned they are only fit for powering Chinese junks! Give me a hummin’ ■■■■■■■■ anytime!
The only time I ever had an engine run backwards on start up, it was a Gardener.
Give them their due, you cant kill them, I KNOW! I TRIED! OFTEN!
Now I feel better!
Alex
You’ve just described the typical driver’s view - the trouble was, the owners went with the motors that made them the most money.
Gardners were so much more thermally efficient it was foolish not to use them - until their competitors wised up and improved their product enough to make them as economical.
A Gardner 180 cost 0.24p per mile to run
A ■■■■■■■ 220 cost 1.127p per mile to run.
If you were paying for them - which one would you have chosen?
marky:
You’ve just described the typical driver’s view - the trouble was, the owners went with the motors that made them the most money.
Gardners were so much more thermally efficient it was foolish not to use them - until their competitors wised up and improved their product enough to make them as economical.
A Gardner 180 cost 0.24p per mile to run
A ■■■■■■■ 220 cost 1.127p per mile to run.
If you were paying for them - which one would you have chosen?
AND the Gardner is a ■■■■ sight faster across country off the motorways- we’ve proved that one!
I would have picked the one that kept me warm, ■■■■■■■■ If you guys lived in my climate you would too!. I never drove one that kept any heat in the cab.
I always found them slow. The one exception was a Guy Big J when I worked with Smith of Maddiston out of their Glasgow depot. The fleet number, if I remember correctly, was ND999. This unit was like a guided missile, apart from being cold inside, you would have thought it was a ■■■■■■■ instead of a Gard 240. It went like hell! When Smiths bought ERF ‘B’ series units with the Gard 240 it was like it reverted to form. SLOW!
Alex
alexsaville:
I would have picked the one that kept me warm, ■■■■■■■■ If you guys lived in my climate you would too!. I never drove one that kept any heat in the cab.
I always found them slow. The one exception was a Guy Big J when I worked with Smith of Maddiston out of their Glasgow depot. The fleet number, if I remember correctly, was ND999. This unit was like a guided missile, apart from being cold inside, you would have thought it was a ■■■■■■■ instead of a Gard 240. It went like hell! When Smiths bought ERF ‘B’ series units with the Gard 240 it was like it reverted to form. SLOW!
Alex
If you look at the bigger picture, it’s what pays the bills that counts. Owners went for what cost less and drivers had to get a thicker coat; harsh fact of life.
Guy never fitted the 8LXB 240 in any of their vehicles, so I’m not quite sure what you had in your’s at Smiths.
This was just before the demise of Guy. I only drove it occassionally, its regular driver was a guy by the name of Irwin Watt. Perhaps Smiths were taking part in tests. It was a 240.
Alex
alexsaville:
The only time I ever had an engine run backwards on start up, it was a Gardener.
So what are you saying Alex , you had one forward gear and six in reverse . Interesting.
I always found them slow.
Isn’t that down to the gearing, rather than the engine, although as 240 has said, on cross country routes it may have been a different story?
Give them their due, you cant kill them, I KNOW! I TRIED! OFTEN!
Thought that was a drivers’ myth, I heard it many times in those days, how drivers ran them for miles and miles with no oil or water in. You are right though, they were bloody freezing (unlike all the others which were just very cold) which is why radiators were completely muffled by cardboard - when the boss wasn’t looking that is.
Give them their due, you cant kill them, I KNOW! I TRIED! OFTEN!
Thought that was a drivers’ myth, I heard it many times in those days, how drivers ran them for miles and miles with no oil or water in. You are right though, they were bloody freezing (unlike all the others which were just very cold) which is why radiators were completely muffled by cardboard - when the boss wasn’t looking that is.
Salut, David.
[/quote]
Well David, two examples I can think of:
Despite our all-Volvo fleet, we bought a second-hand, albeit low-mileage, 400 Series with an 8LXB for a local shunting job for a customer. As there was a lot of idling involved, in between some serious hills, the F7s were struggling a bit.
Although I loved the lorry, the drivers were not impressed. We never did discover who, or whether with malicious intent, filled the sump with huge amounts of water, but it pressurised the poor thing in quite a big way.
It never stopped running, but developed a bit of a knock! When we drained off the huge volume of oil/water mix from the sump and replaced a bent valve stem, it was fine, and was later sold on to Killingbeck for another life.
In another case, a Preston haulier had a driver take out an Atki that had been drained of oil - he manged his local round trip without looking at the oil pressure gauge. A sumpful of oil cured it, and it survived for some years afterwards.
i managed to kill a gardner 150, BUT, after the severe bollocking died down, i was informed that a previous driver had seized the motor up by running it with low watere to the isle of skye and back. so really it had been dealt a mortal blow, i just finished it off!
you can wound one by going down hill over running the engine in top, they will drop a valve, i have never done this, but a mate of mine got the sack for doing it twice to 2 different 8lxb’s!
. Interesting.