windrush:
Tommy Babb’s two stroke mixer is in Heritage Commercials this month. Tom carted bags out of Ballidon quarry for many years (he used to get his spare parts from our scrap bin back in the 70’s, recyling existed even then ) and ran many different Fodens but strokers are his favourite he says. A good job he has made of it.
Pete.
Hi “windrush” Im a Foden man as you know, I never owned a stroker but I allways fancied one, The Foden 12 Speed box was designed for these IIRC, I had 150 Gardners , A Leyland 680 PP, & A ■■■■■■■ 220, The latter being a waste of time & money, Anyway getting back to the 2 Strokes, I loved the howl of them up hill & down dale, I recall Sam Longsons 6 wheeler S 18s on the M6 Preston bye pass when it first opened., They used to fly past me with sparks shooting out of the exhauset pipe, & I was cruising at 48 MPH, Flat out, The good old days of Fodens, Regards Larry.
windrush:
Tommy Babb’s two stroke mixer is in Heritage Commercials this month. Tom carted bags out of Ballidon quarry for many years (he used to get his spare parts from our scrap bin back in the 70’s, recyling existed even then ) and ran many different Fodens but strokers are his favourite he says. A good job he has made of it.
Pete.
Hi “windrush” Im a Foden man as you know, I never owned a stroker but I allways fancied one, The Foden 12 Speed box was designed for these IIRC, I had 150 Gardners , A Leyland 680 PP, & A ■■■■■■■ 220, The latter being a waste of time & money, Anyway getting back to the 2 Strokes, I loved the howl of them up hill & down dale, I recall Sam Longsons 6 wheeler S 18s on the M6 Preston bye pass when it first opened., They used to fly past me with sparks shooting out of the exhauset pipe, & I was cruising at 48 MPH, Flat out, The good old days of Fodens, Regards Larry.
Hi Lawrence ,having seen some of your posts saying you preferred S39 compared to S80/83 I,m curious to know why. For me the S83 were best drive. Always thought compared to 83 39s were a bit cramped n over power steered, if you know what I mean,n bending neck to look out drivers side window used to drive me nuts. My opinion but wouldn,t have jacked if they,d give me a 39 by far n away a better looker
I reckon the s80 cab was overrated , you needed to learn limbo dancing to get in , those huge headlights were useless and the 12 speed change on the gear stick was forever packing up when the pipes melted next to the gardner manifold . I personally preferred the s39 , ok the side windows were a bit low but i liked the driving position , everything close to hand and a nice handy window to rest your arm on in summer . We have some fair old winters up in the peak district but the s39 never baulked in the snow , whereas the s80s would spin out at the drop of a hat . I think that was down to the difference between the foden axle and the rockwell . Fodens were the main motors up here didn’t matter where you worked you would probably end up on one . Dave
rigsby:
I reckon the s80 cab was overrated , you needed to learn limbo dancing to get in , those huge headlights were useless and the 12 speed change on the gear stick was forever packing up when the pipes melted next to the gardner manifold . I personally preferred the s39 , ok the side windows were a bit low but i liked the driving position , everything close to hand and a nice handy window to rest your arm on in summer . We have some fair old winters up in the peak district but the s39 never baulked in the snow , whereas the s80s would spin out at the drop of a hat . I think that was down to the difference between the foden axle and the rockwell . Fodens were the main motors up here didn’t matter where you worked you would probably end up on one . Dave
Well Dave if I were to argue about it I,d be doing it just for the hell of it. Only gear change thing never had that prob. I remember coming out of Stavely steel works in snow storm went up that steep hill empty,in 39, while the other 15/20 drivers stuck having a smoke at the bottom. I also recall pulling up on hill in Banbury n walking down to laying gang n lorry keeping along side me, popped back in and put her in gear. Nigh on impossible not to end up on Foden my way as well, whats the problem. Still prefer 83 though.
Strangely enough we never had any airpipe issues with the S80/83/s but the S39’s used to blow gearchange pipes when the asbestos lagging burned off of the exhaust downpipe and hot rust dropped onto the pipes, usually when crawling up Longcliffe on a hot day. I liked the S83 cab myself, though only drove them as a fitter, as the driving position suited me better than even the S80’s. Haulmasters I couldn’t get on with, the cab door and window position was wrong for leaning out of! When I went full time driving I had the choice of a Haulmaster or a Sed Ak 400 and I chose the Seddon as the cab was lovely to spend a day in even if the rest of the truck was crap. My S10 in my avatar pic was my favourite, I had it for ten+ years and it never let me down and I never had to call any fitters out to it, it was a sad day when the gaffer presented me with a new 3000 series as apart from the engine and gearbox it had BL build quality instead of Foden and I didn’t rate it much at all! Then I left to work for another haulier and was given an eleven year old Foden six wheeler, ex Smiths, and paradise returned once more for a couple of years until that was also replaced for a later version which came from a breakers yard!!
windrush:
Strangely enough we never had any airpipe issues with the S80/83/s but the S39’s used to blow gearchange pipes when the asbestos lagging burned off of the exhaust downpipe and hot rust dropped onto the pipes, usually when crawling up Longcliffe on a hot day. I liked the S83 cab myself, though only drove them as a fitter, as the driving position suited me better than even the S80’s. Haulmasters I couldn’t get on with, the cab door and window position was wrong for leaning out of! When I went full time driving I had the choice of a Haulmaster or a Sed Ak 400 and I chose the Seddon as the cab was lovely to spend a day in even if the rest of the truck was crap. My S10 in my avatar pic was my favourite, I had it for ten+ years and it never let me down and I never had to call any fitters out to it, it was a sad day when the gaffer presented me with a new 3000 series as apart from the engine and gearbox it had BL build quality instead of Foden and I didn’t rate it much at all! Then I left to work for another haulier and was given an eleven year old Foden six wheeler, ex Smiths, and paradise returned once more for a couple of years until that was also replaced for a later version which came from a breakers yard!!
Pete.
hi Pete longish time no see n you Dave. Never did Haulmaster or Seddys. MY luv were Akky but it had it,s bad bits. I spent 8 odd yrs on ERF ,Foden ,Atkinsons n never never ever had breakdown.Cept diff hotting up on S21 n that were down to tyre man. Fodens were the biz made for tippers.12spd ,Gardner Wilcox body 19/20t on your back n away you went, if you made no shilling at the end of it def not lorries fault.Young uns will say crap but for reliabilty none better, my 1st BAY 679 M M Foden 3/4 milllion mls n nearly same running gear! Liked a bit of oil mind n 2nd gearbox gaffer showing me how to work 12spd n bugard up 1 st low change, cracked box casing. They could not have been bad they sold so many, time did it,s business they didn,t.
windrush:
Strangely enough we never had any airpipe issues with the S80/83/s but the S39’s used to blow gearchange pipes when the asbestos lagging burned off of the exhaust downpipe and hot rust dropped onto the pipes, usually when crawling up Longcliffe on a hot day. I liked the S83 cab myself, though only drove them as a fitter, as the driving position suited me better than even the S80’s. Haulmasters I couldn’t get on with, the cab door and window position was wrong for leaning out of! When I went full time driving I had the choice of a Haulmaster or a Sed Ak 400 and I chose the Seddon as the cab was lovely to spend a day in even if the rest of the truck was crap. My S10 in my avatar pic was my favourite, I had it for ten+ years and it never let me down and I never had to call any fitters out to it, it was a sad day when the gaffer presented me with a new 3000 series as apart from the engine and gearbox it had BL build quality instead of Foden and I didn’t rate it much at all! Then I left to work for another haulier and was given an eleven year old Foden six wheeler, ex Smiths, and paradise returned once more for a couple of years until that was also replaced for a later version which came from a breakers yard!!
Pete.
I liked the S80 but I loved the 1980 Haulmaster I once owned but it did suffer from the range change pipe problem also. They once melted on a hot day pulling up Stokenchurch hill, I made into the DAF dealer in Heathrow and with some push fit fittings and a Stanley knife blade I was on my way. I put it down to the bunch of bananas manifold on the 201 Gardner so I fitted an ally heat shield after that.
PFM 21V always got me home. Dougie
I thought i was king of the road in '79 . came off an s39 , gardner , 12 speed to a brand new fleet master unit 290 ■■■■■■■ , 9 speed fuller . that thing would climb a house side . At 6 months old the locking nut on the mainshaft let go and the box was scrap . I believe it was a common thing at the time . They couldn’t find a replacement so the gaffer went to Paul Sykes at barnsley and got an overdrive box , it was insanely fast with that in it , change up into overdrive at70 mph , would cruise all day at 75 mph . When the weights went up in '83 it got a standard 9 speed and i had to crawl round at 65 mph . Good old motor though , I had it for7 years and it earned me a good wage . Dave
rigsby:
I thought i was king of the road in '79 . came off an s39 , gardner , 12 speed to a brand new fleet master unit 290 ■■■■■■■ , 9 speed fuller . that thing would climb a house side . At 6 months old the locking nut on the mainshaft let go and the box was scrap . I believe it was a common thing at the time . They couldn’t find a replacement so the gaffer went to Paul Sykes at barnsley and got an overdrive box , it was insanely fast with that in it , change up into overdrive at70 mph , would cruise all day at 75 mph . When the weights went up in '83 it got a standard 9 speed and i had to crawl round at 65 mph . Good old motor though , I had it for7 years and it earned me a good wage . Dave
B in law had Scammel that were good for 75, one Sat morn coming up M1 giving it some wellie to get back to pub for a couple. Gave Rover 2000 some headlights to get him out of middle lane n on he went ,in the pub for 12. 1/2hr later boss comes in n says to him “Goffy I,m having your wagon cut down, I were doing 70 when you give me the lights” Never did though.
I had MM Foden for 9 months ,first lorry, 49mph never overtook anything, went onto ERF good for 59, warp speed ,took me a couple of weeks calm down.
Unbeknown to me the gaffer followed me down the M6 one morning and I was passing the paddies down from junction 10 as usual , i used to enjoy seeing their faces as i went past . When i got back to the yard the gaffer buttonholed me and said he’d clocked me at 92 mph . He just said " It nips on a bit , keep an eye on the tyres " . Most of the time though i kept it in the 70s especially loaded . It could be handy , when there was a breakdown at Llanwern , got away at 6pm and back to buxton in two and a quarter hours . Dave
rigsby:
Unbeknown to me the gaffer followed me down the M6 one morning and I was passing the paddies down from junction 10 as usual , i used to enjoy seeing their faces as i went past . When i got back to the yard the gaffer buttonholed me and said he’d clocked me at 92 mph . He just said " It nips on a bit , keep an eye on the tyres " . Most of the time though i kept it in the 70s especially loaded . It could be handy , when there was a breakdown at Llanwern , got away at 6pm and back to buxton in two and a quarter hours . Dave
Only got as far as S83 n came off the road. Fodens had their faults like all. Yes climbing into cab from behind,same as Akky, no limbo for me ,head first. Two stick box ,odd times you,d let wheel go to sort, never drove any similiar. How can a headlight so big give out less than sidelight.And the joy of air operated wipers as to be experienced to fully appreciate. M Mouse 2 wipers but couldn,t reach nearside to put on,floorpan like a collander,side window either up or down, spare wheel carrier two wheel studs welded to chassis.S39 Engine hump so big needed periscope to look left, steering wheel like a dustbin lid with power steering on mine you could go lock to lock loaded n stood still, if your boot weren,t on pedals no where much to put em. Can,t think what else bugged me but didn.t mind em.Could knock a list up for everything I,ve ever driven, couldn,t we all
Spare wheel carrier Coomsey, what’s one of those? Ours were taken off on delivery to save weight, though the powder tankers kept them as they weren’t weight critical like the tippers and were of the winch type so easy to use. I both repaired and drove Fodens for almost thirty years and they were very simple to work on with no special tools needed, the Foden 12 and 8 speed gearboxes were a weak point but easily mended and the old worm and wheel back end was virtually indestructable, though hub seals leaked until Stemco replacements cured that problem. Less said about the old transmission handbrake the better though! Chassis wise they were tough, a far better tipper chassis than the Sed Aks we had, and the old Foden seven inch wide brakes were both simple to replace and stopped you well whereas the Seddon ones wore unevenly, plus they also broke road springs on a weekly basis, needed an acre to turn in and carried over half a tonne less payload! The later Paccar models were OK as well, the rubber rear suspension developed from the earlier Norde and Rydwell versions was maintenance free and the Fuller gearboxes and Rockwell (and later Eaton) diffs didn’t give many problems either, however by then Foden were just assembling components from outside manufacturers but the 4000 series was still a cracking motor for eight legger work with a spacious cab as well.
rigsby:
I thought i was king of the road in '79 . came off an s39 , gardner , 12 speed to a brand new fleet master unit 290 ■■■■■■■ , 9 speed fuller . that thing would climb a house side . At 6 months old the locking nut on the mainshaft let go and the box was scrap . I believe it was a common thing at the time . They couldn’t find a replacement so the gaffer went to Paul Sykes at barnsley and got an overdrive box , it was insanely fast with that in it , change up into overdrive at70 mph , would cruise all day at 75 mph . When the weights went up in '83 it got a standard 9 speed and i had to crawl round at 65 mph . Good old motor though , I had it for7 years and it earned me a good wage . Dave
B in law had Scammel that were good for 75, one Sat morn coming up M1 giving it some wellie to get back to pub for a couple. Gave Rover 2000 some headlights to get him out of middle lane n on he went ,in the pub for 12. 1/2hr later boss comes in n says to him “Goffy I,m having your wagon cut down, I were doing 70 when you give me the lights” Never did though.
I had MM Foden for 9 months ,first lorry, 49mph never overtook anything, went onto ERF good for 59, warp speed ,took me a couple of weeks calm down.
Have looked all over for pics of Paul Sykes at Barnsley.He bought all Butlers of Maltby Fodens when they were worn out & took the engines out & sent them abroad,spent hours in the S36 in the foreground of this pic & later the S39 had some great times as a lad going all over the place,all long gone taken over by Tarmac in 1979.
windrush:
Spare wheel carrier Coomsey, what’s one of those? Ours were taken off on delivery to save weight, though the powder tankers kept them as they weren’t weight critical like the tippers and were of the winch type so easy to use. I both repaired and drove Fodens for almost thirty years and they were very simple to work on with no special tools needed, the Foden 12 and 8 speed gearboxes were a weak point but easily mended and the old worm and wheel back end was virtually indestructable, though hub seals leaked until Stemco replacements cured that problem. Less said about the old transmission handbrake the better though! Chassis wise they were tough, a far better tipper chassis than the Sed Aks we had, and the old Foden seven inch wide brakes were both simple to replace and stopped you well whereas the Seddon ones wore unevenly, plus they also broke road springs on a weekly basis, needed an acre to turn in and carried over half a tonne less payload! The later Paccar models were OK as well, the rubber rear suspension developed from the earlier Norde and Rydwell versions was maintenance free and the Fuller gearboxes and Rockwell (and later Eaton) diffs didn’t give many problems either, however by then Foden were just assembling components from outside manufacturers but the 4000 series was still a cracking motor for eight legger work with a spacious cab as well.
Pete.
I were on scrap n coal, brave man that did that without spare, guaranteed 2/3 flats a month. Best bit carrier were on offside not for the faint hearted when on hard shoulder. Nothing wrong with Fodens, did what they were built for, more than the Octopus n others ever managed, how many showmans lorries were other than ERF,Foden n Akky?
windrush:
Spare wheel carrier Coomsey, what’s one of those? Ours were taken off on delivery to save weight, though the powder tankers kept them as they weren’t weight critical like the tippers and were of the winch type so easy to use. I both repaired and drove Fodens for almost thirty years and they were very simple to work on with no special tools needed, the Foden 12 and 8 speed gearboxes were a weak point but easily mended and the old worm and wheel back end was virtually indestructable, though hub seals leaked until Stemco replacements cured that problem. Less said about the old transmission handbrake the better though! Chassis wise they were tough, a far better tipper chassis than the Sed Aks we had, and the old Foden seven inch wide brakes were both simple to replace and stopped you well whereas the Seddon ones wore unevenly, plus they also broke road springs on a weekly basis, needed an acre to turn in and carried over half a tonne less payload! The later Paccar models were OK as well, the rubber rear suspension developed from the earlier Norde and Rydwell versions was maintenance free and the Fuller gearboxes and Rockwell (and later Eaton) diffs didn’t give many problems either, however by then Foden were just assembling components from outside manufacturers but the 4000 series was still a cracking motor for eight legger work with a spacious cab as well.
Pete.
I were on scrap n coal, brave man that did that without spare, guaranteed 2/3 flats a month. Best bit carrier were on offside not for the faint hearted when on hard shoulder. Nothing wrong with Fodens, did what they were built for, more than the Octopus n others ever managed, how many showmans lorries were other than ERF,Foden n Akky?
Showmen bought them for the fibreglass cabs more than anything else. The Vovlo FH has become their B Series now and they won’t rust away like the F10’s did when they tried them in the past
windrush:
Spare wheel carrier Coomsey, what’s one of those? Ours were taken off on delivery to save weight, though the powder tankers kept them as they weren’t weight critical like the tippers and were of the winch type so easy to use. I both repaired and drove Fodens for almost thirty years and they were very simple to work on with no special tools needed, the Foden 12 and 8 speed gearboxes were a weak point but easily mended and the old worm and wheel back end was virtually indestructable, though hub seals leaked until Stemco replacements cured that problem. Less said about the old transmission handbrake the better though! Chassis wise they were tough, a far better tipper chassis than the Sed Aks we had, and the old Foden seven inch wide brakes were both simple to replace and stopped you well whereas the Seddon ones wore unevenly, plus they also broke road springs on a weekly basis, needed an acre to turn in and carried over half a tonne less payload! The later Paccar models were OK as well, the rubber rear suspension developed from the earlier Norde and Rydwell versions was maintenance free and the Fuller gearboxes and Rockwell (and later Eaton) diffs didn’t give many problems either, however by then Foden were just assembling components from outside manufacturers but the 4000 series was still a cracking motor for eight legger work with a spacious cab as well.
Pete.
I were on scrap n coal, brave man that did that without spare, guaranteed 2/3 flats a month. Best bit carrier were on offside not for the faint hearted when on hard shoulder. Nothing wrong with Fodens, did what they were built for, more than the Octopus n others ever managed, how many showmans lorries were other than ERF,Foden n Akky?
Showmen bought them for the fibreglass cabs more than anything else. The Vovlo FH has become their B Series now and they won’t rust away like the F10’s did when they tried them in the past
Big plus then E Man, rot free. Read a few posts on here about safety issues with plastic cabs. Chap called Pete went round bend ,40ish mph, hit herd of roaming cattle killed 2 n couple others put down. He had few cuts n covered from top to bottom in cow s**t but lived to tell tale. Cousin Brian in S39 going up road 6 whl mobile crane came round bend over fast n hit him head on , totalled cab wrote off crane n killed driver, he had a few cuts on his hand n the shakes
) and ran many different Fodens but strokers are his favourite he says. A good job he has made of it.
Then I left to work for another haulier and was given an eleven year old Foden six wheeler, ex Smiths, and paradise returned once more for a couple of years until that was also replaced for a later version which came from a breakers yard!! 
Chassis wise they were tough, a far better tipper chassis than the Sed Aks we had, and the old Foden seven inch wide brakes were both simple to replace and stopped you well whereas the Seddon ones wore unevenly, plus they also broke road springs on a weekly basis, needed an acre to turn in and carried over half a tonne less payload! 