Chris Webb:
Agreed Malc,I had a “D” 1986 ERF E14 with the Twin-splitter in 1994 on tanker work and it never gave me an ounce of bother.Bags of power and not too thirsty if you handled it right.
Mind you I’ve not had the opportunity to drive some of the newer stuff.
But it must be a bind having 500bhp + and only 56mph.
Me neither, never had anything more than 420 / 440. Don’t see the point when a 290 was considered a big motor 20 years ago
We ran a 113-360 Scania on Heavy haulage for a few years on Stacey Contracts, it wasnt designed for the job, it was just a tag lift 38toner that was re-plated and put on 1200 tyres, but that old motor done everything asked of it, including hauling a 53ton CAT up Resolveden Mountain in Wales. Im not a massive Scania fan but she was totaly reliable and never let us down, the problems we had just being chassis flexing and a lack of power on the hills. She was replaced with an ex-Baldwins 144-530 150tonner, which, unfortunatley, never lived up to its spec. Busted springs, ■■■■■ electrics, unreliable, a retarder that constantly needed attention, seats that made you ache all-over and a chassis that has got a terminal rust problem!!
After the 113 and the totaly reliable 112-305 before it, we were shocked at just how bad the 144 was! I realise that there not all like this, we just got a bad one, but i do say that the 4 series was not a patch on the 3 series it replaced, not by a long chalk!!! 
Has anybody had any experience of Detroit 2-strokes in days gone by? Apart from being louder than my mother-in-law, what were they like?? Used to love hearing Franklin-Jays Crusader going up the road, loverly music!
There was a brand new Detroit V12 2 stroke sitting on a pallet in the tank wash where me and Plasticbag load,for the longest time. It was a spare for the two cranes they’ve got for unloading the ships,but has disappeared so one of the cranes must have gone bang.Anyway they make a tremendous racket when both cranes are going flat out.
The smaller V6 2 strokes units where very common in coaches right up until the late '80’s,but by then they had figured out how to quiet them down .
When i passed m class 1 in 2001 i was given a h reg 143 450 double drive on bulk rubbish work and despite 10 years of hard graft behind it there was plenty of life left in it. I drove it for two years and had no major problems and was probbaly better than the 124 470 that replaced it in 2003
STRAIGHT EIGHT:
We ran a 113-360 Scania on Heavy haulage for a few years on Stacey Contracts, it wasnt designed for the job, it was just a tag lift 38toner that was re-plated and put on 1200 tyres, but that old motor done everything asked of it, including hauling a 53ton CAT up Resolveden Mountain in Wales. Im not a massive Scania fan but she was totaly reliable and never let us down, the problems we had just being chassis flexing and a lack of power on the hills. She was replaced with an ex-Baldwins 144-530 150tonner, which, unfortunatley, never lived up to its spec. Busted springs, [zb] electrics, unreliable, a retarder that constantly needed attention, seats that made you ache all-over and a chassis that has got a terminal rust problem!!
After the 113 and the totaly reliable 112-305 before it, we were shocked at just how bad the 144 was! I realise that there not all like this, we just got a bad one, but i do say that the 4 series was not a patch on the 3 series it replaced, not by a long chalk!!!
I think sania done the same as mercedes cars did in the mid 90s and skimpked on the quality of enginering to reduce costs and later models never quite had that real solid feel of earlier models
The AEC AV760 has to be among the best of them all from an engineering point of view, it’s the starting point for a lot of the 11/12 ltr engines used in lorries throughout the world.
For me though it has to be the 14ltr Scania V8 @ 450hp, the ultimate mechanically controlled engine.
Another favorite of my farthers, he had an AEC Marshall that was re-engined with a 760 from a Mandator, totaly reliable bit of kit, and a good torquey puller.
itv digital monkey
anyone remember foden with
a leyland 680 to a can not remember if it was 7 and odrive or 9 and overdrive, flying machines
Malcolm Sample still has a Foden with an O.680 in it. It was featured in a magazine a few years ago covering the restoration.
My three all time favourites were the F16 470 i had for European work, usually groupage to Italy, made short work of gradients, my old MAN 462 with the 18.3L V10,and a F12 400 i had for a while. All great trucks but the best of the three has to be the F16.
Driven various ERF’s with Rolls 265’s, Gardner 300’s, ■■■■■■■ 14L and 8.3L,and can honestly say didnt rate any of them…
Waits for the flack 
… 
Drove various 143 450’s in my time, and yes they were quite a tool, but it has to be a 14 ltr ■■■■■■■ for me if you want real old fashioned horse power. The NTE’S were a fantastic range of engines that could cover many many thousands of miles without any bother.
Many of todays trucks to me have “virtual” horsepower, for instance Ivecos Cursor 350. Its certainly a different animal compared to a ■■■■■■■ NTE350, and longevity will not be one of its strong points i dare say. Three legged horsepower is the phrase i think.
My mate and i own a 1983 ERF C series fitted with an NTE 290, and for a 25 year old motor that old ■■■■■■■ still sounds awsome, and pulled a fully freighted test trailer to the mot station with ease! No european engines sound as good as a ■■■■■■■■ not even v8 Scanias with those silly side pipes.
Ive had much experience of all things ERF working for Jack Richards of Fakenham and absolutely no disrespect to your motor ERF ECX but ive always found ■■■■■■■ to have strange torque characteristics and combined with ancient gearboxes did nothing for the Brit brand. Indeed, with overall poor quality of the cabs and bitsa engineering theres no competition with in house developed and built ‘European’ trucks. Although its a long while since ive driven an ERF i cant say any ■■■■■■■ engined versions whether the 8.3L 265, 10L 325’s, or the 14L 320’s they had at the time left any lasting impression. Rolls and gardner versions were even worse though i will say that…
Did have good brakes though
I drove a “V” reg Foden S10 on Shell,it had an Allison 6 speed automatic gearbox and was rated at 32 tons. Put it in “D” and drive it all day. Without a trailer on it,it left four tyre marks on the road as I pulled away. It was soon sidelined as it only did 4 MPG,but what a machine to do a day’s work with.After that, I was put on a Seddon Atkinson 401 with a RR 265 engine,Spicer splitter.It was one of the best units I ever had.Happy Christmas everybody,may you all prosper,900X20. 
Sorry folks,the Foden S10 I mentioned had a ■■■■■■■ 290 in it - hence the speed of it. All the best, 900X20.
900X20:
I had a Sudden Accident 400 (UGC 844W) that had the same set up, it would only do 65mph but I could beat my mate away from the lights in his 141, it was like ■■■■ off a shovel, I was doing a lot of work around London at the time & this was when it was sometimes quicker to go through the middle, the auto box made it real easy work.
AndrewG:
Ive had much experience of all things ERF working for Jack Richards of Fakenham and absolutely no disrespect to your motor ERF ECX but ive always found ■■■■■■■ to have strange torque characteristics and combined with ancient gearboxes did nothing for the Brit brand. Indeed, with overall poor quality of the cabs and bitsa engineering theres no competition with in house developed and built ‘European’ trucks. Although its a long while since ive driven an ERF i cant say any ■■■■■■■ engined versions whether the 8.3L 265, 10L 325’s, or the 14L 320’s they had at the time left any lasting impression. Rolls and gardner versions were even worse though i will say that…
Did have good brakes though
Why did our 144-530 150tonner spend more time in the workshop ( our’s and them pretenders, SCANTRUCKs) than out on the road then■■? Biggest waste of a lot of money Phil Stacey ever spent, costs more than the poxey thing earns!!!
Yeah, that Scania left an impression on us, the worst impression!!
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ its the only way to go, ERFs are built for the job in hand, not just to sit in fields at weekends lookin pretty.
Scania, Volvo, Daf, Merc etc all have in house designed axles/ gearbox’s to suit each individual engines power/torque characteristics. ERF for one have always used bought in components of all makes which compromises things somewhat. Cab quality is also another contensious point, it wont rust but has very poor shut lines, will craze and crack and strength/fire hazard in an accident is another issue. Sure, ERF have their place in the market but being a long haul durable truck with driver appeal is never going to be a strong point.
I worked for Richards a long while ago now and old man Jack was a die hard ERF man but bought four Volvos in 85 and these were rarely in the workshop other than servicing.
Dont know much about Richards now but theres not an ERF left on the fleet.
There must be a reason for this (unless im missing something here) but i do know an FH12 isnt a cheap purchase…
Ps-nothing personal meant in the above to any ERF fan just purely M.O
it was the best thing that happened when ERF FODEN LEYLAND and all the rest of the british attempters called it a day and left it to Scania.
V8 Passion:
it was the best thing that happened when ERF FODEN LEYLAND and all the rest of the british attempters called it a day and left it to Scania.
Let battle commence