Not to be confused with the 8 LXB but most certainly was G F!! So what sort of bhp would you get out of them?
Sort of surprised, I was half expecting Leyland engines for some reason. Cheers Coomsey
Well IIRC, The 8lw was 160BHP. The later 8LXB Was a 240, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Well IIRC, The 8lw was 160BHP. The later 8LXB Was a 240, Regards Larry.
No gear dodging then !!
coomsey:
Lawrence Dunbar:
Well IIRC, The 8lw was 160BHP. The later 8LXB Was a 240, Regards Larry.No gear dodging then !!
It would be interesting to find out what the final drive gearing was at those weights.
Rum looking tool!
Wow ! I want one!! Did she survive ?
coomsey:
0
Wow ! I want one!! Did she survive ?
Their other quarry , Hillhead still had 2 0f that vintage when I started in 1959 . they had been rebuilt by then , but still had the original running gear . Rod and vacuum brakes , 112 bhp gardners and a gearstick topped with a big iron knob on top , no wonder the drivers wore dispatch riders gauntlets all winter . Hughes Bros liked to get their moneys worth out of them , and they had a ready resale market when Hibble and Mellors fair came each year they bought any " retired " lorries probably just for the Gardners . My old man drove for Hillhead all through the war taking tarmac to the new airfields being built and his lorry was still in use emptying the bins to stock in 1959 .
coomsey:
0
They liked their Fodens, are they still going?
Was the CF cab lighter than the 4000 series or was it just a cost saving exercise ,( building 2 cabs for the same job ) . I personally don`t like the CF cab which I find cramped and those side windows are always in my line of vision . I had the 106 version and liked that and the 4000 series with the high roof was a good progression .
rigsby:
coomsey:
0
Wow ! I want one!! Did she survive ?Their other quarry , Hillhead still had 2 0f that vintage when I started in 1959 . they had been rebuilt by then , but still had the original running gear . Rod and vacuum brakes , 112 bhp gardners and a gearstick topped with a big iron knob on top , no wonder the drivers wore dispatch riders gauntlets all winter . Hughes Bros liked to get their moneys worth out of them , and they had a ready resale market when Hibble and Mellors fair came each year they bought any " retired " lorries probably just for the Gardners . My old man drove for Hillhead all through the war taking tarmac to the new airfields being built and his lorry was still in use emptying the bins to stock in 1959 .
Never supposed they were the best to drive but def a looker, what colour would they have been? Cheers Coomsey
Hi Coomsey , both fleets were chocolate brown . They had 2 5 pot flats , 4 lk flats and tippers , a petrol engined parrot nosed Dodge 4 wheel tanker , 2 Guy Vixen tippers with 4lk and while I was there they got 2 Bedford S type tippers ’ I can’t recall exactly how many 6 and 8 wheel tippers , all with 3 way tippers .All the new lorries were insulated and then hand painted in the paint shop by old Billie the painter and his sidekick Alf who had no fingers on one hand . I think the last 3 8 wheelers came with ordinary tippers . Oh I nearly forgot , they had 3 1942 gmc 6x6 lime spreaders which I learned to drive on , probably explains a lot , lol . When I started driving I worked for a subby at Hillhead . I figured out that you got paid more for bending em than mending em . Dave
Hi Rigsby, This is great info I must say, Very interesting indeed, Right up my street, Keep it comming its nice to see stuff from the old days 
, Regards Larry.
rigsby:
Hi Coomsey , both fleets were chocolate brown . They had 2 5 pot flats , 4 lk flats and tippers , a petrol engined parrot nosed Dodge 4 wheel tanker , 2 Guy Vixen tippers with 4lk and while I was there they got 2 Bedford S type tippers ’ I can’t recall exactly how many 6 and 8 wheel tippers , all with 3 way tippers .All the new lorries were insulated and then hand painted in the paint shop by old Billie the painter and his sidekick Alf who had no fingers on one hand . I think the last 3 8 wheelers came with ordinary tippers . Oh I nearly forgot , they had 3 1942 gmc 6x6 lime spreaders which I learned to drive on , probably explains a lot , lol . When I started driving I worked for a subby at Hillhead . I figured out that you got paid more for bending em than mending em . Dave
Biggish fleet then Dave! A working museum from our view point, good info. I’m liking Alf spect he wouldn’t have been masking up. Cheers Coomsey
coomsey:
0
They liked their Fodens, are they still going?
T Baden Hardstaff were based at Kingston upon Soar just off the A453 near the Ratcliffe upon Soar power station they ceased their haulage business a few years ago but carried on their safety barrier business
I think they still run a Alpha cabbed Foden I know there’s a 4000 series Foden on the vintage scene which was there’s from new
Cheers Gary
gazsa401:
coomsey:
0
They liked their Fodens, are they still going?T Baden Hardstaff were based at Kingston upon Soar just off the A453 near the Ratcliffe upon Soar power station they ceased their haulage business a few years ago but carried on their safety barrier business
I think they still run a Alpha cabbed Foden I know there’s a 4000 series Foden on the vintage scene which was there’s from new
Cheers Gary
That name Hardstaff rings a bell with me Gazza, did you know any of their drivers? I believe 2 of mine from Toray went there after I left and the transport fleet was farmed out, Johnny Hancock and Andy …■■■■, forgotten his surname, he became a very well accomplished drawbar (traditional) driver while with me, and once introduced me to his wife as ‘my mentor’ 
never have my phone with me when these boys go by my house every day, whole fleet of Foden alpha’s from r plate to 52 plate, think this one was on a y.This outfits got the whole spectrum as well , 6 wheel , 8 wheel , 3 axle tractor units , only copped this one as i was having the tyres changed on the car over the road from my house. i think their newest motor is a 59 plate DAF.
gazsa401:
coomsey:
0
They liked their Fodens, are they still going?T Baden Hardstaff were based at Kingston upon Soar just off the A453 near the Ratcliffe upon Soar power station they ceased their haulage business a few years ago but carried on their safety barrier business
I think they still run a Alpha cabbed Foden I know there’s a 4000 series Foden on the vintage scene which was there’s from new
Cheers Gary
Thanks Gary, retired now so don’t get out n about to see who’s who
Just a thought, I never recall seeing any other than Alpha cabbed were they a relatively short lived crowd ? Cheers Coomsey
Hardstaffs had a couple of artics in Ballidon Quarry but only for a short period of time. 
I think that taking almost an hour to load 26 tonne of tarmac, and then a similar, or longer, time to tip it when they could be rattling off a few loads of gravel from Uttoxeter pit daily rather put them off coated work! 
Some local companies running Fodens took their vehicles there for the annual test though, I think they were a long established company.
Pete.
windrush:
Hardstaffs had a couple of artics in Ballidon Quarry but only for a short period of time.Pete.
I can’t argue with you Pete,nor do I want to, it’s just because I don’t recall them. Cheers Coomsey