Longwayround:
Sorry,i’m not much up on Seddon Atkinson,what was the reason for pushing out the bonnet,I am guessing a longer engine.
I have an image burned in my brain of passing a Benfields coal truck laboring up Deddington Hill on the A45 circa 1970.Any one have any pictures of coal trucks from that time.
Not sure what you mean by “pushing out the bonnet” - you mean the shape of the front end of the Krupp cab? If so, that is just something that Atki were stuck with when they bought the cabs in.
The longer engine issue came in 1970 with the straight-8 Gardner - the solution was to lengthen the wheelbase and have the back 2 cylinders sticking out of the back of the cab - a rain-cooled engine!
A much better idea than the Foden solution for the 8LXB which was to make the S80/3 cab stick further out at the front!
What a pig-ugly thing that was, and a nightmare to drive. Our neighbour had one briefly (ex-W Baybutt) and although the acoustics every morning were sublime, the thing was just horrible to look at and his drivers hated it with a passion.
I believe the hand of mischief played a part in its demise, although it was never proved…
marky:
A much better idea than the Foden solution for the 8LXB which was to make the S80/3 cab stick further out at the front!
What a pig-ugly thing that was, and a nightmare to drive. Our neighbour had one briefly (ex-W Baybutt) and although the acoustics every morning were sublime, the thing was just horrible to look at and his drivers hated it with a passion.
I believe the hand of mischief played a part in its demise, although it was never proved…
The hand of mischief?? Like the Guy Invincible IN Hartlepool dock??
marky:
A much better idea than the Foden solution for the 8LXB which
was to make the S80/3 cab stick further out at the front!
What a pig-ugly thing that was, and a nightmare to drive. Our neighbour had
one briefly (ex-W Baybutt) and although the acoustics every morning were
sublime, the thing was just horrible to look at and his drivers hated it with a
passion…
Got to disagree here Marky, when I started for Econofreight in 1979 they gave
me a ‘stub nose’ Foden and I thought it was a great motor, to look at and to
drive. Mind you there was a big advantage with the Atki ‘rain-cooled’ version, if
you transferred the the oil filler cap to the rear of the engine, as I did, you could
both dip and fill from behind the cab - saving all that business with shifting
layers of bedding from the bonnet and risking oiling up the interior.
carling That looks like the Boro` Market to me. There used to be a Customs clearing house right at the other end of the market by the Thames. Went there a lot to clear wnen I started TIR. I liked clearing there ( It made me look clever ) But I was young…
I suppose its already been mentioned that the Krupp Silver Knight had a RR engine. Silver Knight Transport had 3 or 4 of them…They used to do Italy & ran day & night. One of the drivers reckoned he got nightmares in the daytime thru lack of sleep. Like driving at midday on a French autoroute & see people walking across a zebra crossing in front of him…(.Silver Knightmares… ) Looking at the pic I can see it was one of the SK fleet. The bosss name was Ray Scutts,,? He left Malta Cross & I took his job. Nice job too. London to Marsielles with contaners. He used the same customs clearance as us in the Boro We had lifting axle F88s ,Lovely.
This is a 1934 Krupp.Notice the twin mirrors & the fisheye. At the time UK trucks had one small round one on the drivers side… Also that rad is not unlike an Akti
harry:
I suppose its already been mentioned that the Krupp Silver Knight had a RR engine. Silver Knight Transport had 3 or 4 of them…They used to do Italy & ran day & night. One of the drivers reckoned he got nightmares in the daytime thru lack of sleep. Like driving at midday on a French autoroute & see people walking across a zebra crossing in front of him…(.Silver Knightmares… ) Looking at the pic I can see it was one of the SK fleet. The bosss name was Ray Scutts,,? He left Malta Cross & I took his job. Nice job too. London to Marsielles with contaners. He used the same customs clearance as us in the Boro We had lifting axle F88s ,Lovely.
I didn’t know that they had 3 or 4 of them - presmably from the batch of 10 that Comberhill Commercials were trying to shift.
There was a Krupp-cabbed 6x4 rigid that is depicted with a ■■■■■■■ badge - I’m told that it worked in Jamaica
Spardo:
Got to disagree here Marky, when I started for Econofreight in 1979 they gave
me a ‘stub nose’ Foden and I thought it was a great motor, to look at and to
drive. Mind you there was a big advantage with the Atki ‘rain-cooled’ version, if
you transferred the the oil filler cap to the rear of the engine, as I did, you could
both dip and fill from behind the cab - saving all that business with shifting
layers of bedding from the bonnet and risking oiling up the interior.
Perhaps I should elaborate.to explain the situation.
The other motors were 2 x DAFs (2800 & 3300) and an F12. Would you want to drive an S83 with no interior trim given the choice?
Its worth noting that in those days when you bought a new truck it was delivered in grey undercoat. It was up to the buyer to arrange the paint job… I often went to Italy in grey undercoat until there was time to paint it…
harry:
Its worth noting that in those days when you bought a new truck it was delivered in grey undercoat. It was up to the buyer to arrange the paint job… I often went to Italy in grey undercoat until there was time to paint it…
240 Gardner Sorry , but I was driving F88s at the time & the only time you saw the Silver Knight boys was when they had run out of diesel or something like that… They were in competion with us but with the drivers it was freindly enough They didn`t last very long… 2 years at the most…
240 Gardner No I was driving F88s at the time. The Silver Knight boys were day & knighting it so was not often you saw them. The firm didn`t last long. About 2 years I think…? Marky Thanks for that. So I started continental 1970 ish… It was down hill fast from there on in…
Sorry I’m replying to an old thread here but I’ve just found the site and I’m playing catch-up.
Harry: Was that the same Ray scutts who had driven for Asian Transport which later became known as Astran?
The ‘H’ reg question: Wasn’t H the last full calender year of the letters? Did they not change them with J and K, at the insistence of the motor trade, so that the change of letter took place in June and it spread out the sales better over the year. If I’m right - and I by no means garentee it - that made H 1970, J Jan to June 1971 and K June 71 to end April 72 etc.
David Miller I stand to be corrected. Ray Scutts from Asia Transport started his own outfit with about three trucks. It may have been called Silver Eagle or something…the trucks were silver. The Krupps were owned by another Ray, a Londoner. He left Malta Cross before it became known as that, & I took his job.
) But I was young…
) Looking at the pic I can see it was one of the SK fleet. The boss
They didn`t last very long… 2 years at the most…