Fodens.

[rigsby]

Did any of you of a certain age drive a foden with the 4 speed box , and how long did it take you to find crawler gear and crawler reverse ? Dave

[coomsey]

As you all may have seen maybes theres talk of a confession topic. This is a Foden confession I,m thinking Pete will put it to rest.
If you,ve read some of my posts a boss called Eric Tallis showed me his way around a Foden 12 sp. I stuck to his way ,right or wrong, no probs. Moved about a bit after n ended up on my next Foden, S39 for Tarmac. T M put me on it with no instructions whatsoever, struck her up ,wheres 2nd lever! oh on gearstick. Bit of a do going from park to weighbridge trying to suss low/direct/ high, but short lived, n away I went. I had a few more Fodens after that, my last one being a K reg 2 stick . But, n it,s a BIG but up till finding Trucknet bout 3 months ago I didn,t know there was such a thing as a Foden 9spd. Eric taught me his way n I weren,t about to argue with him,n his way worked, ran dan doody fine in 9 spd. So Pete were the 12/9 a similar box ? Paul

[coomsey]

rigsby:
Did any of you of a certain age drive a foden with the 4 speed box , and how long did it take you to find crawler gear and crawler reverse ? Dave

Dave if you,ve read my last post you,ll know my answer

[erf_man]

coomsey:
As you all may have seen maybes theres talk of a confession topic. This is a Foden confession I,m thinking Pete will put it to rest.
If you,ve read some of my posts a boss called Eric Tallis showed me his way around a Foden 12 sp. I stuck to his way ,right or wrong, no probs. Moved about a bit after n ended up on my next Foden, S39 for Tarmac. T M put me on it with no instructions whatsoever, struck her up ,wheres 2nd lever! oh on gearstick. Bit of a do going from park to weighbridge trying to suss low/direct/ high, but short lived, n away I went. I had a few more Fodens after that, my last one being a K reg 2 stick . But, n it,s a BIG but up till finding Trucknet bout 3 months ago I didn,t know there was such a thing as a Foden 9spd. Eric taught me his way n I weren,t about to argue with him,n his way worked, ran dan doody fine in 9 spd. So Pete were the 12/9 a similar box ? Paul

My Haulmaster had a 9sp but I always drove that as a twelve, made some bad noises sometimes but It was a good box

[windrush]

Yes, the nine speed could be driven as a twelve. Different boxes internally though, and the nine speeds also had syncromesh on the range change unit. Foden had ‘complaints’ from folk (like GOM! ) who struggled with the twelve speed so they simply renamed it and marketed it as a ‘range change’ instead of a ‘splitter’ and you changed from low 4th to direct 2nd and only used high range when it direct 4th. But realistically it wasn’t as good as using low 3rd to direct 1st and then splitting each gear like the twelve speed, all the gears were still there but (to paraphrase Eric Morecambe!) not neccessarily in the right order! There was also an eight speed and also seven speed (for dumpers) with direct 1st blanked off but still the same basic gearbox! Confusing aint it?

And then Reg Knowles from Matlock designed his version of it, using Foden internals. A brilliant gearbox apparently and simple to use, Hulland Products and Longcliffe Quarries had one each, but Fodens never liked change so it never went into production.

Pete.

[rigsby]

The 4 speed was a different animal . Straight 4 gears and for crawler into 1st , lift the clip push forward , then to the left and all the way back . low reverse , into reverse lift the stick up and then the same pattern as crawler . There were warnings to only engage at a standstill , although you wouldn’t have time to complete a change before you came to a stop anyway . It was a box that harked back to the 50s and the gardner LW . dave

[coomsey]

windrush:
Yes, the nine speed could be driven as a twelve. Different boxes internally though, and the nine speeds also had syncromesh on the range change unit. Foden had ‘complaints’ from folk (like GOM! ) who struggled with the twelve speed so they simply renamed it and marketed it as a ‘range change’ instead of a ‘splitter’ and you changed from low 4th to direct 2nd and only used high range when it direct 4th. But realistically it wasn’t as good as using low 3rd to direct 1st and then splitting each gear like the twelve speed, all the gears were still there but (to paraphrase Eric Morecambe!) not neccessarily in the right order! There was also an eight speed and also seven speed (for dumpers) with direct 1st blanked off but still the same basic gearbox! Confusing aint it?

And then Reg Knowles from Matlock designed his version of it, using Foden internals. A brilliant gearbox apparently and simple to use, Hulland Products and Longcliffe Quarries had one each, but Fodens never liked change so it never went into production.

Pete.

Thanks Pete I thought you,d know. I was lucky by the sound of it, Eric showed me his way I never deviated from it n luckily it worked on the rest. When I went on 39 she were 5yr old n gear pattern had wore away. when on new 83 why would I read the gear knob. Everything went well on the road so no need to discuss g/box with others so 40yrs of ignorance.Living n just about learning. Paul

[gazsa401]

ERF MAN:

coomsey:

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

You also forgot to mention the another main reason the Gardner engine
In my home town of Nottingham there’s a yard full of fairground lorries mostly newer makes
But the main man Mr Mellor won’t part with any of his Gardner powered generators even though some purpose built generators are starting to appear

[coomsey]

Of course Gaz possibly the main reason.
S39 load of ballast for Rutland Water before they filled it up. Never been before chap behind says to follow him,sound. ERF 180 n DB 6, both 30t n he were under my feet all the way there. Foden 12sp n Gardner a match made in heaven ? I only ask cos only had Fodens with Gardners in em.

[paul_motyka]

Found these on net NMP

[coomsey]

paul motyka:
Found these on net NMP43210

Top pic the thing I needed 40 odd yr ago P M. Good photos, wonder who thought bright blue good colour for inside though, matter of opinion I suppose. Chap had my Akky after me n painted everything including dash P O red, he thought it were great ■■!! Boss didn,t but it were checkmate for driver, no way back barring new cab

[bewick]

rigsby:
The 4 speed was a different animal . Straight 4 gears and for crawler into 1st , lift the clip push forward , then to the left and all the way back . low reverse , into reverse lift the stick up and then the same pattern as crawler . There were warnings to only engage at a standstill , although you wouldn’t have time to complete a change before you came to a stop anyway . It was a box that harked back to the 50s and the gardner LW . dave

This far too complicated for me Dave, aren’t I glad I never got involved with Fodens Cheers Dennis.

[erf_man]

gazsa401:

ERF MAN:

coomsey:

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

You also forgot to mention the another main reason the Gardner engine
In my home town of Nottingham there’s a yard full of fairground lorries mostly newer makes
But the main man Mr Mellor won’t part with any of his Gardner powered generators even though some purpose built generators are starting to appear

James mellor is running a lot of DAF XFs now although he still uses at least One 4000 with big crane.
John and Peter at Sandbach cleared and cut most of his fodens 2 years ago

[paul_motyka]

paul motyka:
Found these on net NMP43210

The S36’s that Butlers had were blue inside,the later S39’s I can’t remember what they were.

[coomsey]

paul motyka:

paul motyka:
Found these on net NMP43210

The S36’s that Butlers had were blue inside,the later S39’s I can’t remember what they were.

Grey I think, ain,t 2nd pic down a 39 ?

[windrush]

coomsey:

paul motyka:

paul motyka:
Found these on net NMP43210

The S36’s that Butlers had were blue inside,the later S39’s I can’t remember what they were.

Grey I think, ain,t 2nd pic down a 39 ?

Yes, grey for S39 cabs as in the 2nd photo. The other pics are of the early tilt cab versions with the fixed engine cover the same as the one that I passed my test in.

Pete.

[rigsby]

They were a joy to drive Pete , every time you hit a bump in the road the cab moved and let a blast of cold air in round the seals . When they got a bit older and the seals were worn the " ventilation " was continuous , oh happy days . Dave

[muckaway]

I liked the Foden with the old Daf 85 cab (like Dans). The seating position was just right, and I liked the fold out notepad on the steering wheel boss. I never got one full time (asked for an 8w one during the recession but it was sold off).

[pete_smith]

Ex Horace Kendrick?

[coomsey]

pete smith:
Ex Horace Kendrick?

Brum reg I reckon but obviously not Kendrick body.
Putting my head on the chopping block here but from memory, would have thought O/D in it. Seem to think that sort of time Bardon didn,t run any of their own.I used go into quarry with cousin, co pilot for Emmersons, mid 60s. Loads of Selbys ,6 whl Dodges n lots of O/Ds mostly T Ks.
Good old days summed up in 1 photo