And some more ERF photos…
Inside a brand new early 2MV cab - dash design heavily based around the 1966 production 3 & 4LV fibreglass cabs…
And another view inside the 2MV…
The sill is not level with the floor, like a “normal” cab. I bet getting in and out was a ball-ache, possibly literally! Was the sill bit added by ERF, to the original MP cab structure? If so, was it a fibreglass section?
PS That split screen 4MV on trade plates looks identical to the one at the show in 1966, which I guessed would be a 2MV, given that it was one of the first. How can you tell which is which?
[zb]
anorak:
PS That split screen 4MV on trade plates looks identical to the one at the show in 1966, which I guessed would be a 2MV, given that it was one of the first. How can you tell which is which?
A bit ‘hit and miss’ I know, and not very scientific, but from the ones I have looked up the build details for, the 2MV cabs have either one (these are definitely 2 & 3MV), or the three bigger air intakes holes in the front upper panel. The 4 and 5 MV seem to have standardised on the 3 slightly narrower neater looking slots. The 2MV parts manual does seem to bear this out too, the later 3 & 5MV manual lists a different upper panel.
Unless I’ve got it the wrong way around, and it’s nothing to do with the 3 air holes at all! Quite possible!.
There are some pics here with the narrower slots and a single screen, so they must be earlier cabs surely as the Service Bulletin says the single screen was replaced in production by the split screen. But then the upper front panels are interchangable, so could have been updated…
Does 3300john know for sure…?
[zb]
anorak:
That looks the same as the one on trade plates to me.
Yes, it certainly is, but that 1966 Earls Court show vehicle is not a particularly early production vehicle.
If I recall correctly it’s recorded in the ERF press release as having “…a pressed steel 4MV glass fibre lined cab with ventilation system for hot climate operation”.
What I don’t know is if the 2MV and 4MV were produced together, or whether it replaced it as per the 3 & 5MW.
I’ll try to find out!.
That makes it a bit clearer. I got the impression from the CM article that the show one was a “Mk1”, as it were, so maybe the 2 and 4 were produced together, as you say.
MV cab with ‘works’ sleeper pod by JH Jennings…
A side view of the Shell MV…
And a line up ready for export…
ERF:
MV cab with ‘works’ sleeper pod by JH Jennings…0
A side view of the Shell MV…
1
And a line up ready for export…
2
The one with the Jennings pod looks like an incipient 8-legger, rather than a chinese-6. Robert
Hiya…some of this is getting harder…all of the doors and door frames was same as a guy big J…long doors and set back axle.
we cut the door pillar off at the very bottom and the rear of the frame was cut just above where the radius for the mudguard
was. whoosh that was gone. we then made a panel that fit into the area where the long door would have fitted. these was spot
welded in with plenty of strength. motorpanels didn’t do anything with the modifications.the reason why there is a high lip to
get your boots over is to do with where you can cut the door off at full width… the door needed to be level across the bottom edge.
reason been because the bending machines are flat and square we couldn’t guarantee a good straight equal distance in the time given.
the back edge of the door was 12mm longer than the Guy door this is because we used the turn over from the door skin to get
maximum length…
see where the cab door is open in the photo the radius at the bottom of the door is the same as a guy. it should then start to take the
radius of the mudguard…the door cards are the same as Guy.all across the bottom of the door where the door rubber fits is jennings.
Now see on the other photo where you can see the accelerator pedal. the Black panel under the door is jennings.
you can see the extra strength where the Black panel is painted blue behind the pedal with ERF on it ,that
flange goes right to the bottom of the door pillar.
someone mentioned fibre glass panel. on the MV all of the front panel was Jennings from door to door and windscreen to below
headlights was glass fibre…the cab front with one hole was maybe the first idea then changed to 3 holes to look like the LV range.
at a glance from the front all of the hole sizes changed so you could date the lorry ROUGHLY by the grill hole size on the LV range
John
Hiya you mention the steel cab with Jennings Pod…I ve never seen a pod like that in reality only photo,s
so if its Jennings or not i can’t say…
now the silly looking twin steer, i remember them.i think a crate was fastened on the back and the chassis
shortened at source…
John
A couple more I spotted on my travels around the internet.
gumtree.com.au/s-ad/the-coor … 1041377727
truck-photos.net/picture/number839.asp
The 6 wheeler is a 2MV, I hope! 
ERF:
A bit ‘hit and miss’ I know, and not very scientific, but from the ones I have looked up the build details for, the 2MV cabs have either one (these are definitely 2 & 3MV), or the three bigger air intakes holes in the front upper panel. The 4 and 5 MV seem to have standardised on the 3 slightly narrower neater looking slots. The 2MV parts manual does seem to bear this out too, the later 3 & 5MV manual lists a different upper panel.Unless I’ve got it the wrong way around, and it’s nothing to do with the 3 air holes at all! Quite possible!.
There are some pics here with the narrower slots and a single screen, so they must be earlier cabs surely as the Service Bulletin says the single screen was replaced in production by the split screen. But then the upper front panels are interchangable, so could have been updated…
I,d say that upper front panel has had a jigsaw round it…its not rocket science is it. with the cabs been hand made
its not guaranteed you can change a f/glass panel without doing some filing or sanding.
The lads on the LV line got panels rough cut, they all had surforms with good blades and an air sander(that never stopped)
it was up to whoever fitted the door or front panel just how it fitted there was marks to drill and screw but for 100% exact
fit to another cab NO chance. these was coachbuilt.
3300John:
I,d say that upper front panel has had a jigsaw round it…its not rocket science is it. with the cabs been hand made
its not guaranteed you can change a f/glass panel without doing some filing or sanding.
The lads on the LV line got panels rough cut, they all had surforms with good blades and an air sander(that never stopped)
it was up to whoever fitted the door or front panel just how it fitted there was marks to drill and screw but for 100% exact
fit to another cab NO chance. these was coachbuilt.
Yes- the owner wanted a bit more cooling, so he did the easy thing.
[zb]
anorak:3300John:
I,d say that upper front panel has had a jigsaw round it…its not rocket science is it. with the cabs been hand made
its not guaranteed you can change a f/glass panel without doing some filing or sanding.
The lads on the LV line got panels rough cut, they all had surforms with good blades and an air sander(that never stopped)
it was up to whoever fitted the door or front panel just how it fitted there was marks to drill and screw but for 100% exact
fit to another cab NO chance. these was coachbuilt.Yes- the owner wanted a bit more cooling, so he did the easy thing.
When I was a little boy, I didn’t count lorries and buses with ‘tin fronts’ as authentic - I didn’t think it’d catch on: they had to have exposed radiators and split windscreens! Robert
Hiya now you can see why jennings never had a jig to assemble. only for the bonnet sides and top frame.that model
mv would have had a glass fibre front scuttle (dashboard).
john
3300John:
Hiya now you can see why jennings never had a jig to assemble. only for the bonnet sides and top frame.that model
mv would have had a glass fibre front scuttle (dashboard).
john
How did the ever hold any sort of production tolerances? How did the doors ever fit properly, or did they not?
Hiya…on M Ps part everything was so simple you just couldn’t go wrong…where it said CKD the doors and frames would
have been modified at jennings.before been crated up…the dash and front panel would be made to fit along with the
bonnet/sides and frame all very simple…
Doors closed just like a seddon or big J. the doorframes could only sit in one place of the back panel
when the frames was in position there was 2 top hat sections that fit from front of the door pillar to each side there
was flaps pressed out of the frame that these located into(arc welded)the screen frame had a flap from the door frame
that located. with a dozen pair of special mole grips the cab was all in place there was a weld on the location flaps and
all round the door frame was spot welded and all round the roof. the actual front panel was bolted to the front of the
door frame. the roof interior panel was glass fibre on the MV range the back inside panel was hardboard like the lv range
as was the window finishers…in fact the LV range back quarter glass was the same as seddon guy lv mv mw…
John
Thanks for the info John. The MP cab sounds like a very well-designed job.
[zb]
anorak:
Thanks for the info John. The MP cab sounds like a very well-designed job.
i was trying to sketch a plan of the cab parts but it doesn’t look right. i was asking to look at the cabs that
have come from New Zealand so i can point out where the location points are and why it was easy to assemble.
i’ll try another sketch but just sections.
John