I am starting this new thread before the ‘Left-Hand Drive B-series’ thread gets contaminated with LHD C-series. I’m doing this for two reasons:
However, I can find little evidence of them. Here are some pics to get us going. Robert:)
I consulted Jerry Cooke about LHD C-series ERFs and he had this to say:
‘Thinking about it, I can’t recall anyone operating a left hand drive one in the UK and a lot went to a firm called TASECO, who i think were owned by United Transport, the large tanker firm from the UK, and they were based in Damman. I seem to remember they had around 100 units and started up around 1982/83. They were a mix of 6x2 day and sleeper cabs, and I would think that they would have been 14ltr 350 with 9 speed fuller, probably the same spec as the earlier B Series supplied to Saudi.
The thing about the C series was it only had a production run from late 1982 to mid 1986 when the E series was introduced. It was also a very bad time for the road transport industry, as I think at that time ERF were probably only working a 3 day week . Really I think that the C series was one of the best looking trucks ERF ever built. The cab was basically a B series with a new grill and headlight panel but the chassis was lighter, the braking system upgraded, with the later models having larger brake shoes on the front and rockwell rear axles. They were also fitted with parabolic springs. It was all to do with the proposed weight increases. I don’t know exactly how many C series were built but they must have been good for export as a second life because not many have survived into the preservation scene.’
Robert
I can guEss what’s coming next! 
[zb]
anorak:
I can guEss what’s coming next!
Naughty naughty! Just wait and see about the E-series. In the meantime if you can find one single LHD E-series that had Fuller 9-speed or 13-speed box you’ll make my day and I’ll start a thread immediately!! Robert 
robert1952:
[zb]
anorak:
I can guEss what’s coming next!Naughty naughty! Just wait and see about the E-series. In the meantime if you can find one single LHD E-series that had Fuller 9-speed or 13-speed box you’ll make my day and I’ll start a thread immediately!! Robert
Difficult to identify the gearbox from a photograph of the vehicle, but start that thread! IIRC, ERF’s E-series European foray was centred on France. There is one here:
camions-passion.net/t1239-erf
Let’s be/remain nice for Robert…after C-series an obvious (Ford claimed D-series) jump to E-series and much later perhaps M-series?
ERF-Continental:
Let’s be/remain nice for Robert…after C-series an obvious (Ford claimed D-series) jump to E-series and much later perhaps M-series?
Don’t worry, I’ve now created a parallel thread for LHD E-series ERFs. Robert
Is there no more intelligence out there about these fabbo beasties! Observers of my Left-hand-drive B-series ERF thread will have noticed that a real live example has come to light and is being preserved. Probably all of the C-series LHD ERFs went out to the Gulf to undertake ‘internals’: does anyone know anything more about these (than is already on the thread)?
We may not be wetting our boiler-suits or dungarees in anticipation, but we’d all be jolly interested to hear of any news about these mythical creatures! Robert 
Glancing through an old French FRANCE ROUTES magazine my well-tuned eye spotted this picture of a LHD C-series with a day-cab, taken in Kuwait! There’s another one in the distance. Robert
Good thread
Seem to remember an order of C series 8 wheel mixer chassis’ going to Kuwait in the 80’s.
Evening Gentlemen, well, there we were, well on top of the baling, up to date with the spraying, (and the ■■■■ looks very good this year), and I decided to do the last 40 acres as “little bales”…
So I was cruising along in neutral, the old Deere purring away, the rhythmic swaying and musical clicking of the New Holland, (like myself, of advancing years), and my mind turned to that so underrated lorry the ERF Serie C, just as a fresh bale popped into the sledge…came that ominous crack…so well known of those who use kit of advancing years…and my peacefull day was turned upside down, (yet again).
An unforgettable journey into that centre of real manufacturing excellence…Bilston…where the folks can still turn out precision work for a very reasonable fee…discovering a yard with two 111 cabs, and a very rotten 110 sitting in it, (worth further investigation I think)!!! Then back home, and a few long hours in the depths of Mr New Hollands insides…and then it B well starts raining!!!
But perhaps I can throw a little light on the LHD Serie C ERFs, that came into my head whil`st engaged in my endeavours .
Now as a “non ERF man” I can only report from the “outside”, but I think that it was 1982 when ARAMCO were talking about a potential big haulage contract in Saudi Arabia. Two of the US big boys became very excited about this, and surprisingly Mack were approached about tendering for a number of very basic spec 4x2, & 6x4 tractor units. At the same time “our man”, (M RVI), fresh from the big deal for TR350s in Turkey, and the substantial order for TRs, (the big 350 6x4s that inspired the knobbly tyred publicity demos in black, red and yellow)…no they did look good …honestly… and were taken by Total, became aware of the “deal” .
Great excitement in Venissieux, and also in Allentown…but just as in the fiasco over potentially taking over Foden, while the “management” were engaged in politics…the cat slipped out of the bag!!!
How so?
Well United Road Transport were aware of the potential margin that could be made from the ARAMCO deal, if kit could be sourced cheaply enough. URT ran a considerable number of ERFs in the UK, and had good relations with Sun Works. If we go back to 1982, and remember just how dire was the state of the market,and when URT approached Eric Green, then Marketing Director, and Derek Bill who if I remember was Export Sales Director…(Im sure that I met him at a Dinner hosted by Igor Machraine of MABO in Paris around 81 ish)…anyway a deal was done.
The deal, the client Taseco-TMS, (Tamimi), based in Damman. The vehicles Serie C, 290 ■■■■■■■ 9 speed Fuller, day cab 4x2s in the main with Rockwell back ends. Total volume was 220 units total. I would think that that would represent well towards the maximum of ERF Export sales from Sun Works in 1982. Specification was basic, no a/c, but the cabs had European trim. From memory there were some 6x4s but very few in relation to overall volume. The main point, and the reason ERF clinched the deal, was that the price was right. Probably close, if not right on “Factory Gate price”. That is only the cost of production, with no margin added, but it kept the factory working…and I would not criticise ERF for it at all, for I well remember the deals “we” did with Paekas, and Hungarocamion when Veissieux was stuffed with product!!
If we look at the spectacular Serie C that Robert shows at the start of this thread, her specification, and reason for existence was that ERF following the Taseco- TMS deal created an awareness within ERF that here was a market that could perhaps be receptive to the robust product that they could offer. I believe that an export office was opened in Damman, with a brief to establish outlets for product in other Gulf States. To that end a product was prepared, being a C60, 60 tonne rated 6x4 serie C, 350 ■■■■■■■■ Fuller multimesh RTX14609A, driving to a Hendrikson walking beam bogie with inter axle locks on the Rockwell axles. Glam, was added by the roof mounted Kysor…(what unreliable things they were)! sump guard, double bumper, and the cab had full European type trim. I seem to remember her at a couple of European shows before she was sent out to the Gulf…and judging by your second picture Robert, some sisters were obviously sold.
Does anyone know just how many??
Ah well back to my Bollinger, (just hope that I have done a good job on the baler, for I kept thinking about these ERFs!..mind you the rain is hammering down outside)…
Cheerio for now.
Saviem:
Evening Gentlemen, well, there we were, well on top of the baling, up to date with the spraying, (and the ■■■■ looks very good this year), and I decided to do the last 40 acres as “little bales”…So I was cruising along in neutral, the old Deere purring away, the rhythmic swaying and musical clicking of the New Holland, (like myself, of advancing years), and my mind turned to that so underrated lorry the ERF Serie C, just as a fresh bale popped into the sledge…came that ominous crack…so well known of those who use kit of advancing years…and my peacefull day was turned upside down, (yet again).
An unforgettable journey into that centre of real manufacturing excellence…Bilston…where the folks can still turn out precision work for a very reasonable fee…discovering a yard with two 111 cabs, and a very rotten 110 sitting in it, (worth further investigation I think)!!! Then back home, and a few long hours in the depths of Mr New Hollands insides…and then it B well starts raining!!!
But perhaps I can throw a little light on the LHD Serie C ERFs, that came into my head whil`st engaged in my endeavours .
Now as a “non ERF man” I can only report from the “outside”, but I think that it was 1982 when ARAMCO were talking about a potential big haulage contract in Saudi Arabia. Two of the US big boys became very excited about this, and surprisingly Mack were approached about tendering for a number of very basic spec 4x2, & 6x4 tractor units. At the same time “our man”, (M RVI), fresh from the big deal for TR350s in Turkey, and the substantial order for TRs, (the big 350 6x4s that inspired the knobbly tyred publicity demos in black, red and yellow)…no they did look good …honestly… and were taken by Total, became aware of the “deal” .
Great excitement in Venissieux, and also in Allentown…but just as in the fiasco over potentially taking over Foden, while the “management” were engaged in politics…the cat slipped out of the bag!!!
How so?
Well United Road Transport were aware of the potential margin that could be made from the ARAMCO deal, if kit could be sourced cheaply enough. URT ran a considerable number of ERFs in the UK, and had good relations with Sun Works. If we go back to 1982, and remember just how dire was the state of the market,and when URT approached Eric Green, then Marketing Director, and Derek Bill who if I remember was Export Sales Director…(Im sure that I met him at a Dinner hosted by Igor Machraine of MABO in Paris around 81 ish)…anyway a deal was done.
The deal, the client Taseco-TMS, (Tamimi), based in Damman. The vehicles Serie C, 290 ■■■■■■■ 9 speed Fuller, day cab 4x2s in the main with Rockwell back ends. Total volume was 220 units total. I would think that that would represent well towards the maximum of ERF Export sales from Sun Works in 1982. Specification was basic, no a/c, but the cabs had European trim. From memory there were some 6x4s but very few in relation to overall volume. The main point, and the reason ERF clinched the deal, was that the price was right. Probably close, if not right on “Factory Gate price”. That is only the cost of production, with no margin added, but it kept the factory working…and I would not criticise ERF for it at all, for I well remember the deals “we” did with Paekas, and Hungarocamion when Veissieux was stuffed with product!!
If we look at the spectacular Serie C that Robert shows at the start of this thread, her specification, and reason for existence was that ERF following the Taseco- TMS deal created an awareness within ERF that here was a market that could perhaps be receptive to the robust product that they could offer. I believe that an export office was opened in Damman, with a brief to establish outlets for product in other Gulf States. To that end a product was prepared, being a C60, 60 tonne rated 6x4 serie C, 350 ■■■■■■■■ Fuller multimesh RTX14609A, driving to a Hendrikson walking beam bogie with inter axle locks on the Rockwell axles. Glam, was added by the roof mounted Kysor…(what unreliable things they were)! sump guard, double bumper, and the cab had full European type trim. I seem to remember her at a couple of European shows before she was sent out to the Gulf…and judging by your second picture Robert, some sisters were obviously sold.
Does anyone know just how many??
Ah well back to my Bollinger, (just hope that I have done a good job on the baler, for I kept thinking about these ERFs!..mind you the rain is hammering down outside)…
Cheerio for now.
“Saviem”,your wit and wisdom is “priceless” on the TNUK site it truly is and long may it continue,the John Deere can’t be that noisy surely!! 
Bewick.
Saviem:
Evening Gentlemen, well, there we were, well on top of the baling, up to date with the spraying, (and the ■■■■ looks very good this year), and I decided to do the last 40 acres as “little bales”…So I was cruising along in neutral, the old Deere purring away, the rhythmic swaying and musical clicking of the New Holland, (like myself, of advancing years), and my mind turned to that so underrated lorry the ERF Serie C, just as a fresh bale popped into the sledge…came that ominous crack…so well known of those who use kit of advancing years…and my peacefull day was turned upside down, (yet again).
An unforgettable journey into that centre of real manufacturing excellence…Bilston…where the folks can still turn out precision work for a very reasonable fee…discovering a yard with two 111 cabs, and a very rotten 110 sitting in it, (worth further investigation I think)!!! Then back home, and a few long hours in the depths of Mr New Hollands insides…and then it B well starts raining!!
But perhaps I can throw a little light on the LHD Serie C ERFs, that came into my head whil`st engaged in my endeavours .
Now as a “non ERF man” I can only report from the “outside”, but I think that it was 1982 when ARAMCO were talking about a potential big haulage contract in Saudi Arabia. Two of the US big boys became very excited about this, and surprisingly Mack were approached about tendering for a number of very basic spec 4x2, & 6x4 tractor units. At the same time “our man”, (M RVI), fresh from the big deal for TR350s in Turkey, and the substantial order for TRs, (the big 350 6x4s that inspired the knobbly tyred publicity demos in black, red and yellow)…no they did look good …honestly… and were taken by Total, became aware of the “deal” .
Great excitement in Venissieux, and also in Allentown…but just as in the fiasco over potentially taking over Foden, while the “management” were engaged in politics…the cat slipped out of the bag!!!
How so?
Well United Road Transport were aware of the potential margin that could be made from the ARAMCO deal, if kit could be sourced cheaply enough. URT ran a considerable number of ERFs in the UK, and had good relations with Sun Works. If we go back to 1982, and remember just how dire was the state of the market,and when URT approached Eric Green, then Marketing Director, and Derek Bill who if I remember was Export Sales Director…(Im sure that I met him at a Dinner hosted by Igor Machraine of MABO in Paris around 81 ish)…anyway a deal was done.
The deal, the client Taseco-TMS, (Tamimi), based in Damman. The vehicles Serie C, 290 ■■■■■■■ 9 speed Fuller, day cab 4x2s in the main with Rockwell back ends. Total volume was 220 units total. I would think that that would represent well towards the maximum of ERF Export sales from Sun Works in 1982. Specification was basic, no a/c, but the cabs had European trim. From memory there were some 6x4s but very few in relation to overall volume. The main point, and the reason ERF clinched the deal, was that the price was right. Probably close, if not right on “Factory Gate price”. That is only the cost of production, with no margin added, but it kept the factory working…and I would not criticise ERF for it at all, for I well remember the deals “we” did with Paekas, and Hungarocamion when Veissieux was stuffed with product!!
If we look at the spectacular Serie C that Robert shows at the start of this thread, her specification, and reason for existence was that ERF following the Taseco- TMS deal created an awareness within ERF that here was a market that could perhaps be receptive to the robust product that they could offer. I believe that an export office was opened in Damman, with a brief to establish outlets for product in other Gulf States. To that end a product was prepared, being a C60, 60 tonne rated 6x4 serie C, 350 ■■■■■■■■ Fuller multimesh RTX14609A, driving to a Hendrikson walking beam bogie with inter axle locks on the Rockwell axles. Glam, was added by the roof mounted Kysor…(what unreliable things they were)! sump guard, double bumper, and the cab had full European type trim. I seem to remember her at a couple of European shows before she was sent out to the Gulf…and judging by your second picture Robert, some sisters were obviously sold.
Does anyone know just how many??
Ah well back to my Bollinger, (just hope that I have done a good job on the baler, for I kept thinking about these ERFs!..mind you the rain is hammering down outside)…
Cheerio for now.
I echo ‘Bewick’ in his praise for yet another wonderful ‘Saviem’ insight into the trucks we used to love (and still do, of course!). Thank you ‘Saviem’ for this contribution to the thread. I’d happily drive a LHD C-series ERF with a 350 ■■■■■■■ and a 9-speed Fuller to the moon and back, given half a chance. Bless you, Saviem. Robert
Dan Punchard:
01
Excellent work, Dan! Nice one. Robert
In such a short time-frame, 10-15 years, the take-up of ERF’s new ‘Europeanised’ trucks appears to have changed quite dramatically. I know we’ve already rehearsed the multiple reasons for this ad nauseam (adverse economic conditions coinciding with UK’s entry into the Common Market, poor back-up infrastructure by ERF, arguably unreliable product etc etc) but the metal-cabbed ERF ‘Europeans’ enjoyed only a slight hey-day with low numbers going to the Continent, followed by the B-series which again was sold in low volumes (20 or so) on the Continent.
As far as we know, no LHD C-series ‘Europeans’ were ever sold on the Continent at all - yet here we have 220 of them going out to the Middle-East, plus further batches of 6x4s. This trend is especially dramatic given that the C-series enjoyed such a very short production run, simply bridging the gap between the B-series and the E-series. I suppose in the end, ERF just moved where the take-up was, like anyone else. I wonder why it suddenly dried up, then! Why weren’t high volumes of E-series ERFs (a highly successful model at home) exported to the Middle East? I don’t know of any that even went there as overlanders! Robert 
FLOURPOWER:
MIXER ORDER FOR SAUDI
A good find! And I’ll bet they all ended up retiring as stretched tractor units! Robert
robert1952:
0I consulted Jerry Cooke about LHD C-series ERFs and he had this to say:
‘Thinking about it, I can’t recall anyone operating a left hand drive one in the UK and a lot went to a firm called TASECO, who i think were owned by United Transport, the large tanker firm from the UK, and they were based in Damman. I seem to remember they had around 100 units and started up around 1982/83. They were a mix of 6x2 day and sleeper cabs, and I would think that they would have been 14ltr 350 with 9 speed fuller, probably the same spec as the earlier B Series supplied to Saudi.
The thing about the C series was it only had a production run from late 1982 to mid 1986 when the E series was introduced. It was also a very bad time for the road transport industry, as I think at that time ERF were probably only working a 3 day week . Really I think that the C series was one of the best looking trucks ERF ever built. The cab was basically a B series with a new grill and headlight panel but the chassis was lighter, the braking system upgraded, with the later models having larger brake shoes on the front and rockwell rear axles. They were also fitted with parabolic springs. It was all to do with the proposed weight increases. I don’t know exactly how many C series were built but they must have been good for export as a second life because not many have survived into the preservation scene.’
Does anyone know the outcome of this truck or where in the Middle East it is? JonaRobert
