It was Continental Express that supplied Morrisons in Gibraltar on double msn teams, on the build up to Christmas the store was getting 30 loads per week.
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We used to fill up with cheap diesel in the marina, we all had to go to a shipping office down the main street to get running money from Sorek Shipping Services, ran by a Danish man.
You weren’t allowed to park a lorry overnight in Gib. I’m one of the rare birds who did! It was on one of those M&S runs at Easter during a foot-and-mouth scare. I cleared customs on the Spanish side but the Gib customs wouldn’t clear me because my Easter Eggs carried no certificate to say the milk in the chocolate was foot-and-mouth free! I wasn’t allowed to park overnight in ‘no-man’s land’ so they arranged for me to park overnight in the central bus station. That turned out to be an excellent excuse to visit a good Indian restaurant and quaff beer till bedtime. I was cleared mid-morning, tipped before lunch and shipped out to Morocco that evening.
Both these trucks are ex Davies International but this thread is completely of piste got nought to do with GUY Big J 8LXB Gardener tractor units or is it just me 
Buzzer
nmp
When the mad cow disease was kicking off the Douane in the French ports were turning away lorries that anything with beef as an ingredient, the Pot Noodles had artificial beef flavouring, they were not accepting that.
The tallow that’s a polymer on bank notes also caused entry problems, as those loads were going to Malta.
I would park overnight outside the customs parking yard but you had to get there the night before or if not you could be waiting for hours waiting to get in and get cleared when they opened the gate the next morning.
I would walk around the Spanish town on the border for a decent Chinese meal or walk in to Gib to kill a few hours, there was a small cinema in Gib.
La Linea, was the town.
When I was on Maroc work, we’d park up in Algeciras or in the Campsa filling station at La Roqua and all scramble into one tractor unit and pile over to La Linea, leave the unit by the courseway and walk in as foot passengers. We’d have a leisurely liquid Sunday lunch and they even stamped our passports with a novelty stamp on departure. The driver had to stay reasonably dry of course. All very pleasant and civilised in the summer!
They were certainly good days and happy times.
To cut a long story short I had a delivery to a private house before getting to Gib, I knocked the door and this fit blonde lass had just come out of the shower, it was furniture from England, she said if I would like a shower and her husband was out for the day,but I politely declined the offer knowing about the queue to get in to Gib.
When back at the office I told the lads about the shower offer and as you can guess the innuendo jokes were coming in at one a minute.
They basically said I was offered it on a plate and didn’t take the opportunity for some intimate moment, back then I was very naive and young.
The rumour in Gib was there was a flat and the lass that lived there offered the use of her shower for drivers to use.
Totally agree. Most threads get somewhat derailed when Tobes gets involved
It’s possible that the 8 LXB option found its way onto the sales brochure and then onto SOM’s order.
But the tape measure then said sorry it ain’t gonna fit in that wheelbase without some serious cab and radiator location modifications ?.
The conditions of sale said we reserve the right to change an order to meet design requirements ( like the specified motor won’t fit ) wer’e going to have to give you a Cummins instead ?. Everyone except the guvnor and fleet engineer and workshop and GUY sales dept typist writing out the altered sales invoices, still ‘thought’ they were 8 LXB powered BigJ’s ?.
9’6’’ wheelbase.
The 8LXB is over 6’ long.
The Fuller box over 2’ long ?.
The diff input flange is ahead of the drive axle centre line by around 6’’ ? , + propshaft length ?.
How much of the engine length would need to be ahead of the front axle and how much chassis and cab front overhang is there allowing for fan and radiator clearance ?.
I’m replying through you as I refuse to reply to Alf. This is taken from the May 25 1973 edition of Commercial Motor.
“Experience has shown, however, says Seddon, that operators now want the full power as well as the fuel economy which the Gardner 8LXB offers for its substantial extra price. Seddon can now raise the power of the eight-cylinder Gardner to its full rating, married to a bigger David Brown gearbox. The 8LXB 34:Four has a recommended retail price of £8262.”
I’m sure if Seddon could do it then Guy could manage to fit a different box as well.
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Which neatly circumvents any arguments about the presence of a Fuller. We know that some 8LXBs were matched to Fullers, but we already know that DB 'boxes were also used.
Wouldn’t all units at the time be of similar length?
No, most units were offered with a choice of wheelbase. Generally, UK-built units had shorter wheelbases than on the Continent but as today, you could order longer wheelbase units to cope with European tilts.
We know that Atki at least needed an extended 10’> wheelbase tractor unit for the 8LXB to fit.
Which leaves the question could GUY also do and offer it for the BigJ ?.If so why does the order sheet say 9’6’’ ?.
But nowhere in the list of ‘recorded’ orders provided does it say DB box it says 9 speed Fuller ?.
Meanwhile the 8 LXB and Fuller obviously ain’t going to fit in a 9’6’’ wheelbase according Atkinson.
Ironically I went looking for confirmation as the photos of Seddons and Atkis fitted with 8 pot Gardners just didn’t look like 9’6’’ wheelbase regardless.
Luckily I found it.That clearly says a 10’ something wheelbase needed for it to fit.
My guess is that Bewick was on a wind up he knew it wouldn’t fit in a BigJ all along.Because someone in the land of hills and sheep had told him that SOM were given the choice of Cummins or lose their deposit on their order.
