I had a Sed Atki Strato at John Dee not long after I past my test. It had a Twin Splitter in it. Best gearbox ever (once I got used to it!!)
I reckon the worst gearbox was them bloody Spicers in the T45 / Roadtrain
Got to agree with you Wheel-nut about the Spicer in the Roadtrain, had this one for a bit but couldnt take to it, she went well enough but just seemed to be a lot of hard work. Best gearbox ever the twin-splitter, had my Strato for 7 years on A.P. only used the clutch for pulling away & stopping, once you had the hang of it clutchless shifts like a knife thru butter, bloody good worker that old wagon!
Here are a couple to play a tune on.
A nice box in the Sed Ak, I preferred the gate that way around. Handiest gear was the one not marked ie crawler in high range! You could go from 5th across to “low” in high range and it would pull up a lot of banks without going into low range, when you needed to change back up you put the button into low range and whipped it back into 4th (low 4th was higher than crawler high) which gave you a quick change from there up into 5th in highrange. I also used crawler high when pulling away empty, it was smoother than using 3rd to 4th etc.
Pete.
greek:
For them that have never had the pleasure
Windrush…did you ever come across the Knowles(Alfreton)9 speed foden convertion.It was not as good as a 12 speed Foden.
John
3300John:
Windrush…did you ever come across the Knowles(Alfreton)9 speed foden convertion.It was not as good as a 12 speed Foden.
John
Come on John sort them out "they are all in one box " I can hear them crunching from here !! Dennis.
3300John:
Windrush…did you ever come across the Knowles(Alfreton)9 speed foden convertion.It was not as good as a 12 speed Foden.
John
I haven’t actually seen one John but I knew a couple of Hulland Products drivers who used them and they liked it. I think that Longcliffe Quarries had one as well. It was developed when Reg Knowles had the depot near Matlock (Tansley) and apparently used Foden gears, there was an article in Commercial Motor I recall.
A lad in Matlock tested one in a loaded eight wheeler, he stopped part way up Steep Turnpike (a hill about 1 in 7 in Matlock) and not only pulled away but changed up a couple of gears as well! Daren’t do that with the Foden box, propshaft would have been on the floor at the very least!
Reg told me that he had hoped that Fodens would produce it but being the “stick in the mud’s” that they were they had no interest in it, typical of them. He also produced a twin headlamp set up to replace the useless large single ones on the S80 models, again Foden ignored him, and this was the reason why he eventually switched to selling Fiat’s as their factory listened to the dealers.
Pete.
Would the Scammell box (gate change ) be the last crash box in production fitted as standard as they moved onto constant mesh gear boxes as I can’t recall anyone else using a crash box up to the late 60s as I know they changed to the thornycroft box in the later handyman and trunkers
Hiya …was’nt the Leyland Buffalo a crash box IICR no clutch needed but keep your ear on the motor.
John.