bubbleman:
Heres a couple Robert,Cheers Bubbs,
Wonderful Bubbs, cheers! Such magnificent ERFs. The first one has that Gardner 300 in, I believe. Robert 
Heres a couple of shots of a rare old girl taken about 30 years ago at Gammonds Transport,Hereford,Cheers Bubbs, 
bubbleman:
Heres a couple of shots of a rare old girl taken about 30 years ago at Gammonds Transport,Hereford,Cheers Bubbs,
Can you stick them on the Welsh Border thread Marc, for John Blue-Eyes-Middleton.
Cheers Dave.
Good pics Bubbleman, Cheers! Do you know if the air-con was for long-haul work, or did it just work on off-road sites a lot? Unusual in those days to have a mid-lift wasn’t it? Here’s another picture of it either before or after it’s time with Gammonds. Cheers, Robert 
Hi Robert,I believe the Gammonds ERF was used previously for a racing car outfit,Im sure they told me it was black in colour and was liveried in John Player Special writing,Cheers Bubbs,
Another shot of Vermeulen’s ERF in its ballasted tractor guise. Robert
[quote=
Mick Jones kindly sent me these two pics of LHD B-series ERFs with 6x4 he took in the Gulf. They belonged to Tasceco of Dammam. The second picture shows their workshops. Robert
Now here is some astounding news. I had lost hope of ever finding a LHD B-series still alive. Well, just look at this beautiful machine! 
Mick Jones sent me these pictures today with a message saying:
‘My LHD undergoing some work I went to Paris to view this truck filled it full of Diesel and drove it straight back with no aggro at all. Ive just had the pump overhauled, its a 290 ■■■■■■■ 13 speed fuller with a Jake will sound a treat when my Eminox stack goes on it. Regards, Mick.’
Fair takes your breath away doesn’t it, that a treat like this can suddenly emerge from nowhere! If you look on page 2 of this thread you can view two more of Zucconi’s B-series ERFs. Here are the pics. Robert
Cunard Arabian Middle East Lines (C.A.M.E.L.) ran 18 ERFs out of Jeddah container port in Saudi Arabia. Among them were two LHD NGC 420s, described in the ERF European (1975) thread; a handful of LHD day-cabbed B-series with ■■■■■■■ NGC 250s and 9-speed Fullers; and six double-drive sleeper-cabbed LHD B-series with ■■■■■■■ 350s and 9-speed Fuller gearboxes. Ian Tyler (not Ian Taylor who blogs on TNUK!) drove one of these 6x4s and took some wonderful pictures (see below). What a fabulous fleet! Here, below is the evidence. Robert
Robert is that the left ■■■■■■ that jona had for sale a few years ago ,could have been in truck trader?Dan
Here are some more of Ian Tyler’s brilliant LHD ERF 6x4 ■■■■■■■ 350 Fuller 9-speed Middle-East photos! Robert
Here are some more B-series 6x4s in CAMEL livery, posted by Backsplice on the Astran / Middle-East drivers thread. Robert
CAMEL ERF parked up with a SARAMAT Volvo. Robert
Evening Gentlemen, look , I do not wish to be a “bore”…and having spent the bulk of the hours provided by the last few days, urgently “drilling” Maize into Shropshires remarkable soil,…and rejoiced at the fact that I may yet grow and harvest some thing from our rapidly changing climatic conditions…but…
Well, one gets to contemplate as one grinds up and down the wonderfully undulating fields … (while serenaded by the glorious undulating notes of Mr Deeres wonderful engines ),at the resilience of the ground to the aquariate assault opon its integrity…(its drained well, having been well P…d upon)!!! Even to the degree of only slight consolidation as my “caterpillar tracked” Deere glides across its burnished surface,
But I am a little sad…why…well here we have three threads, diverse, but of neccessity interlinked through their subjects parent ,ERF Holdings. The 5MW, the 7MW, and the subject of this thread the Serie B, in LHD form. Three threads that delve deep into the areas of these products operational life, and via some quite remarkable research give a factual operational, and market specific background to the products, supported by some quite breathtaking photographs.
Yet in some of the threads there are “petty squabbles”, “copyright”, “I said that first”, “Im going to delete it”…please, Gentlemen…“grow up”…for we are all learning, and all from each other…that is the best thing about these threads, its the shared experience…and sharing is good fun…for we all, (and me probably more than most), do not know it all, but we can all contribute and share…and rejoice in the “growing” picture!
So may I contribute a little background to these products? And although this thread concerns the Serie B, the other products, 5MW, and 7MW, are interlinked to the creation of the Serie B, (in both LHD,&RHD forms).
ERF, late 60s, deeply conservative in its market approach, but in 1968 recruited an ex Chrysler, Dodge man, Alan Turner. 1970 he replaced the “old guard”, Ernest Sherratt, as Chief Engineer.
Alan Turner began to turn ERFs focus towards the “emerging” markets outside the UK, whil`st re-aligning the product line up to respond to the “European” Importers into the UK. But Alan Turners career at ERF was short lived , for…
1971 saw the appointment of Jack Cooke, as Chief Engineer. Jack had “walked away” from Atkinson, when the Redmond Brothers took control via Seddon…and he had an “axe to grind”.
ERF already used the Rubery Owen Motor Panels Mk111 steel cab in export markets, (South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia), and some UK examples of the MK111, designated 5MW were produced. But more was needed to rival the offerings coming from the vertically integrated European manufacturers…so ERF design and engineering worked closely with Rubery Owen Motor Panels, (and do not forget the very close working relationship that Rubery Owen, and ERF enjoyed, for Rubery Owen produced the chassis frames for ERF, and cab structures),to realise a tilt cab version of the Rubery Owen Motor Panels “Transcontinental” cab, the 7MW, or colloquial name, European.
But Jack Cooke, (and many at Coventry), saw this as a "stop gap"cab…better was needed…
But how to produce it?
GRP, hand laid, with a minimum 8 hour “cure”, was rejected. The “in house company” , ERF Plastics, based north of Stoke on Trent, at Biddulph simply did not have the resource without significant capital investment to move away from GRP panel production, nor did Jennings…(ERF Plastics began pressing SMC panels around 79…by 90, they were sold to Hollands DMB, but continued to work with ERF).
Anyway, as the disasters encountered in structural integrity when trying to make a GRP cab “tilt”, such as suffered by France`s Pelpel, and Cottard, were well known to Cooke, and the management at Motor Panels, so another course was chosen…
A strong, (but light), steel core, and around this hung smooth panels fabricated from “Sheet Moulding Compound”, (SMC). A composite material, mixing Polyester Resin, Glass Reinforced Plastic, and a catalyst, produced as a sheet of around 4ft cross section, with each face protected by a plastic film.Scott Bader the chosen producer of the raw SMC.
So how do you produce the many panels to create the finished cab , "hung "on the Motor Panels steel frame…and also produced by GKN Sankey at Wellington…(did the Shropshire rain make them rot quicker)■■?, and of course later by Northamptons Airflow Streamline…(a really interesting company indeed)!!
First you strip the protective plastic coating from each side of the chosen, (hand cut), portion of roll. Then you place it into the press mould, whose precision dies were created by Manchesters JJ Harvey, and at approx 140 degrees centigrade, your smooth finished both sides panel is produced!
The chosen producer of the panels, Bifort Engineering of Blackpool, part of the Duple Grouping.
The cab launch was delayed, despite the sensational reception at the 74 Earles Court Show, (anyone there at the time remember the hoards of Camera clicking Japanese, photographing anything with wheels)■■? due to problems with door aperture integrity. I seem to remember ERF continuing the Serie A tractors to compensate.
Really full production did not really get started untill 75, spearheaded by the 8 wheelers on a total of 8 per day…but by 78 it was 16 per day, and 75% of production being tractors.
76 ERF showed a "sectioned " Serie B cab, so strong was the design…the first UK cab ever to meet EEC crash test results, even with 17 tonnes on the roof there was only slight distortion on the pillars, and she met the “swing impact” tests as well.
68degree tilt, warm, reasonably quiet, but no proper sleeper untill 78 with the roomy high roof version, (prior to that you had the various Jennings versions). Some problems…gear linkage…rectified by 77.
Yes there were CKD examples into Belgium, and of course South Africa loved the Serie B, (even if Mr ■■■■■■■ was a second option to the Mercedes designed, South African produced Atlantis diesel…(and some ran here from the works, and did well on trials at MIRA)!
Best model, well Im no expert, but I would hazard a guess that the 40C2, (■■■■■■■ NTCE290, or 350), with Mr Fullers 12513, and KirkstallD85.13.2 would be a front runner…
Now that was a MABO specification if Im not mistaken…and that ex Christian Zucchoni example looks to be the same…and of course the Zucchoni family has the real pedigree when you talk about heavy haulage in France…
Please do not remove the livery…for that is part of the provinence of a very rare beast indeed…(but it is your lorry after all)!!
Amazing the memories a bit of Maize drilling brings out…
Cheerio for now.
