Just to update this list, as I only positively identified one of the unknown Air Products vehicles yesterday.
This is my list of surviving V8’s, and their state as of 2015.
VTG4R 024 - RKJ 512G - Johnson Bros - Derelict (cut in half, front end complete).
VTG4R 026 - PJU 365G - J Brindley (then Rosser) - Derelict (spares source).
VTG4R 030 - RKL 799G - Johnson Bros - Converted to recovery vehicle. Stored.
VTG4R 033 - GBH 93G - Scott Meats - Stored.
VTG4R 050 - NOD 906G - Bradleys - Under restoration.
VTG4R 054 - LET 472G - Wilf Harrison - Derelict (photo on TN).
VTG4R 084 - FFP 998G - Trumans Brewery - Restored.
VTG4R 137 - CGX 259H - R.T.I.T.B. - Stored.
VTG4R 208 - NJE 514H - Boon Bros - Under restoration.
VTG4R 209 - OJL 284H - Benton Bros - Rolling chassis only. Under restoration.
VTG4R 225 - RWO 533G - Alcan - Stored (N Ireland).
VTG4R 329 - WYM 134H - Hays - Derelict (No cab - RGM).
2VTG4R 355 - SCA 841J - R.T.I.T.B. - Restored.
VTG4R 357 - VRF 497G - Air Products - Derelict (RGM).
VTG4R 386 - XRF 474H - Air Products - Derelict (RGM).
VTG4R 405 - OCE 829H - R.T.I.T.B - Restored.
VTG4R 406 - LVL 164H - Clayton Dewandre - Restored
VTG4R ■■? - RNW 634G - Restored by M Wiltshire (replacement AV801 engine?).
2VTG4R7E ■■? - DN 3744 - Mobil Oil (New Zealand) - AV801 engine - Reimported to UK 2014.
ERF:
gingerfold:
…Having said that I don’t know if the AEC cabs had different sound proofing because the Mercury’s I was familiar with were much quieter than the Ergo cabbed Super Comet that was in the same small fleet…I just wonder if the Super Comet you refer to was a basic fixed cab variant? It seems possible, as these had no sound proofing at all!.
No it was a tilting cab version.
Now to open up another can of worms. I wasn’t quite sure if I agreed with you about AEC only being allocated the basic cab, and I don’t think they were. Now that you’ve described the de-luxe version I can categorically state that the four Mercurys I knew very well had what you describe as the de-luxe version, and they were double skinned, as was my Spiers of Melksham Mandator cab, which had a brand new replacement cab fitted by John Hudson at Bawtry shortly before Amoco disposed of it. The replacement date was stamped on the inside of the offside door panel. There were also three types of seat available, basic, standard, and de-luxe. I can vouch that the de-luxe seat was actually very comfortable. I still contend that the Ergomatic switch and instrument binnacle was the best installation of its era.
[zb]
anorak:
0Ramone- how could you possibly prefer the Marathon dashboard to this?
Ha ha , i think 12 hours driving that compared with the Marathon which was much quieter would answer that 
But ive mentioned this before , the Marathon was virtually a walk thru cab so lowering it wouldnt have been too much of a problem would it? It was much quieter and overall a better environment for the driver … imagine the bosses faces up in Lancs if the Southall lads had built 1 in secret
gingerfold:
ERF:
gingerfold:
…Having said that I don’t know if the AEC cabs had different sound proofing because the Mercury’s I was familiar with were much quieter than the Ergo cabbed Super Comet that was in the same small fleet…I just wonder if the Super Comet you refer to was a basic fixed cab variant? It seems possible, as these had no sound proofing at all!.
No it was a tilting cab version.
Now to open up another can of worms. I wasn’t quite sure if I agreed with you about AEC only being allocated the basic cab, and I don’t think they were. Now that you’ve described the de-luxe version I can categorically state that the four Mercurys I knew very well had what you describe as the de-luxe version, and they were double skinned, as was my Spiers of Melksham Mandator cab, which had a brand new replacement cab fitted by John Hudson at Bawtry shortly before Amoco disposed of it. The replacement date was stamped on the inside of the offside door panel. There were also three types of seat available, basic, standard, and de-luxe. I can vouch that the de-luxe seat was actually very comfortable. I still contend that the Ergomatic switch and instrument binnacle was the best installation of its era.
Now that is interesting.
I was in RGM yesterday where there are still circa 50 Ergomatic cabbed lorries in various states of disrepair, but that are untouched and in original condition. Every one of the AEC’s has the standard cab with the single skinned rear panel. Every one of the Leyland’s has the deluxe cab. There is even an Albion with the fixed cab in there (the panels of which look to be manufactured in the usual gauge of steel to me).
I have to be honest, I have never seen a Mercury or six cylinder Mandator with a deluxe cab. In fact the only six cylinder AEC I have ever seen with one fitted at Southall was the Marshal CLT 300M that ran on the works internal transport fleet. This was actually an export specification vehicle built in 1968, but not registered until 1974. Don’t ask me why it had the early lower grille together with a later bumper, I have no idea!.
This vehicle carried the last of the residual production line vehicle components away from Southall after closure, and (although fire damaged at the rear) it survived until about five years ago when it’s cab was used on a two-pedal Leyland Turbo Beaver restoration.
All Ergomatic cabs are partially double skinned at the rear (perhaps that is where there is some confusion?), the lower internal rear panel is double skinned upto the level of the engine bonnet. The deluxe cab is double skinned with fully welded in steel pressings right up to the roof, all around the inside of the rear cab windows.
It would be intriguing if the replacement cab fitted to your Spiers lorry was double skinned, as I was not aware of any of the later replacement cabs supplied by Leyparts being to deluxe specification. By that time money talked, and everything supplied was built to the cheapest specification they could get away with. The late replacement cabs (most of which went to the MoD) can be identified by the GKN build plate riveted to the inside top of the drivers side door aperture. The cabs fitted during production all had the Sankey or GKN plate riveted to the panel at the rear of the drivers seat.
I do know of a 1968 Leyland Beaver tractor unit that Esso Petroleum rebuilt as a rigid in the late 1970’s for internal use at one of their oil terminals. This had a brand new deluxe cab of the correct specification fitted, but I believe it was an unused cab already held in their stock.
Memory can play tricks but I had always understood that AEC, and indeed Leyland, offered a choice of Ergomatic cab specifications, certainly until about 1972 / 3. The more basic version was aimed at tipper operators, or those tightwad hauliers who wouldn’t pay an extra £50 for the de-luxe variant. I remember the ashtrays in the Mercurys I used to drive because being a non-smoker emtpying the ash tray was the first thing I did when I got into the cab. They were all late 1960’s models run by my mentor. JTB 148F was a rigid bought new, NLG 443H was a tractor unit also bought new, HUB 311E was a tractor unit bought second hand ex-BRS Leeds, and NUB 345F was a rigid boxvan bought second hand ex- Timothy Whites and Taylors (chemists taken over by Boots). If there had been a basic cab among those four then it would have been the ex-BRS one, but from what I can remember at this distance of time it was the same as the others. The boxvan was the one with the de-luxe seats. There was also a very early D plate Mercury Ergo tractor unit bought in about 1971 for spares, that had the original grab handle lever type of cab release, which was found wanting in service and replaced by the double bolt fixing arrangement. There had been at least one driver fatality as a result of the cab release bar failing under heavy braking and the cab tilted onto the unfortunate driver.
I think that in those days it was a petrol regs requirement for a double skinned cab and that is why that option had to be available.
ERF suggested that AEC would probably have used a version of the Motor Panels cab had they remained independent, an opinion I concur with. In fact the Motor Panels cab was an option on the AEC Mammoth Major Six heavy duty tipper, model 4G64RB, a strengthened Mammoth Major Six for site work in production from 1966 until 1974. The MP cab was an option as well as the Ergomatic, or the traditional Park Royal coach built cab.
It is just possible to make out that the cab on the nearest two lorries rides higher than the rest in the picture. These two early (C & D) tilt cab Mercuries had a different front axle to later vehicles, but the gap between the wheelarch and tyre was slightly greater as well.
The reason why the AEC version of the Ergomatic cab had the wider wheel arch was because AEC had originally planned to fit 12.00 x 20 size tyres on the front wheels. It had been thought that such a tyre size would be necessary for a 6 ton front axle rating, but in the end it was found that 10.00 x 20 tyres would suffice. Some hauliers did specify 11.00 x 20 front tyres on Marshals with D20s on the rear axles rather than the standard 9.00 x 20 size. My Marshal Major grain tipper had D20s on its rear axles.
The power assisted steering axle fitted by AEC to Mercurys and Marshals was also wider than the contemporary Leyland front axle.
cav551:
It is just possible to make out that the cab on the nearest two lorries rides higher than the rest in the picture. These two early (C & D) tilt cab Mercuries had a different front axle to later vehicles, but the gap between the wheelarch and tyre was slightly greater as well.
What a great line-up. AEC must have had the lion’s share of business from Kent hauliers back in the day.
gingerfold:
…There was also a very early D plate Mercury Ergo tractor unit bought in about 1971 for spares, that had the original grab handle lever type of cab release, which was found wanting in service and replaced by the double bolt fixing arrangement. There had been at least one driver fatality as a result of the cab release bar failing under heavy braking and the cab tilted onto the unfortunate driver.I think that in those days it was a petrol regs requirement for a double skinned cab and that is why that option had to be available.
The more we dig, the more confusing it gets, doesn’t it!
I think it’s fascinating, but we are probably boring everyone else to tears! 
The early lever type of rear cab release mechanism was horrendous. From what I can gather a few drivers were killed by the cab becoming unlocked and tilting under heavy braking. With the drivers seat staying in place, the cab hit the poor drivers on the back of the head as it tilted. Only a couple of years ago I witnessed an uninitiated chap, who had just removed the cab from an early Ergomatic Leyland leaving the rear lifting crossmember in place, leaning over the fully tensioned tilt arm, hammering at the catches to try to realease them!. It doesn’t bear thinking about what would have happened to him if he had succeeded.
Some of the individual fittings of the deluxe cab were available as an option on the standard cab, including the ashtrays, so that probably adds to the confusion. I have a full options list brochure for the cab somewhere, I’ll try to find it later and post here.
All the petrol regs AEC’s I have seen (including the MoD refuelers) were single skinned cabs, but as usual they did have the rear windows held in place with aluminium strips rather than rubber seals. Incidentally, the pet regs rear cab glass differs in size from standard glass, as I found out after spending hours removing the alloy strips!.
I think some photos might help demonstrate the difference in these cabs.
This is an unused (ex Royal Navy reserve) standard AEC cab, single skinned rear…
This the double skinned rear panel of a deluxe cab…
And these two photos show the blanked off front fresh air vents of the standard cab, and how the vents look in the deluxe cab, along with the ashtrays…
The more you lot dig, the more interesting this becomes. Keep up the good work lads.
Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk
Yes, that’s the vent and ashtray. I don’t think that they would have been ordered as extras, my uncle was also a non-smoker. I did have the chassis build sheets for those Mercurys but they were discarded a few years ago when I had a massive clear out.
I was thinking of the double-pole electrical thingy myjig for the Pet Regs, so the double skinned cab was a red herring. Senior moment. 
This photo of a 1966 Mercury appears to have the de-luxe seats, if you look at the thickness of the passenger seat back rest.
There’s a V8 on here:
youtube.com/watch?v=HIYK7ee4dTA
As a partial aside, the interior of the GT is astonishing in its modernity. I wonder if the restored GT has been trimmed yet?
At about 2:50, some pretty luxurious Ergo seating on show here (was this the Ergo’s launch?):
youtube.com/watch?v=EEY2lx5ALxY
[zb]
anorak:
There’s a V8 on here:
youtube.com/watch?v=HIYK7ee4dTA
As a partial aside, the interior of the GT is astonishing in its modernity. I wonder if the restored GT has been trimmed yet?At about 2:50, some pretty luxurious Ergo seating on show here (was this the Ergo’s launch?):
youtube.com/watch?v=EEY2lx5ALxY
Yes, 1964 Commercial Motor Show was the launch of the Ergomatic cab models, but as was the norm back then it was 12 months later when the new models went on general sale, and then only in small numbers. It was 1966 before they readily became available.
I suspect that the Ergo cab seating was cheapened after 1966. The 1966 Mercury tractor unit bought for spares that I mentioned a few posts ago had different seating to the others, and from memory very reminiscent of the seat visible in Turners’ 1966 tractor unit. The most uncomfortable seats I ever sat on from that era were in a former BRS Leyland Super Comet that had a Holmes cab. Now they were bum numbing of the highest order, dreadful things.
The Turners’ Mercury also has the mirror arms attached to the doors rather than the windscreen pillar. That was usually done when the pillar rotted out.
cav551:
The Turners’ Mercury also has the mirror arms attached to the doors rather than the windscreen pillar. That was usually done when the pillar rotted out.
That was the original position, but the aerodynamics of the cab were so poor that in wet weather the mirrors were plastered in grime and it was impossible to see anything in them. That was why they were re-located to the windscreen pillar, not that it made a lot of difference to the dirt and grime problem. Ask any Ergomatic cab driver from back in the day how often he had to clean his mirrors on a wet day.
The Turners Mercury also has the original type of direction indicators.
cav551:
The Turners’ Mercury also has the mirror arms attached to the doors rather than the windscreen pillar. That was usually done when the pillar rotted out.
Was it not a production modification to reduce fouling? I may be wrong, as usual .