rigsby:
the 12 speed was a great gearbox , but a ■■■■■ if you got chucked in at the deep end with one . it must 30 years since i drove one , but i still remember the gear change sequence as if it were yesterday . i used to get lumbered with the new blokes that hadn’t driven one before , and it wasn’t easy to feel them how to go through the box , most of them had driven david brown 6 speeds and couldn’t get their heads round the change pattern .
That’s me. A DB box? easy peasy, a Fuller? as good as it gets IMO, but that Foden…
your telling me that lorries used to have other types of gearboxes that weren’t EPS or fully auto or I-shift systems? you’ll be telling me next that there was more to it than tapping the stick forward and back next ?
don’t forget the knackered knees from pressing a none assisted clutch pedal a thousand times a day . it must strengthen your fingers though wrestling with those auto boxes all day !
Passed my test on one of those 'boxes, 1967 Foden S34 eight legger. If you drove a tipper in the Peak District you needed to know your way around a Foden box!
Oh yes, and I continued to do that right up until I finished driving in 2002. A tank half full of oil/water doesn’t leave much room for air! Never relied on air dryer’s and condensor’s to do the job.
The Foden pictured above with the split screen and raised roof was an S39 A and would be a fairly early one as there was only a few of the upgraded ones on H reg the raised roof made a difference especially to taller drivers. And aye the twelve speed sorted the men out from the boys it took me 3 weeks to tame it but once mastered they were a great box. I drove three the first was an S21 mickey mouse/sputnick cab Breg and 150 Gardner. Then was given an S39 Greg with a 180 Gardner. Then a brand new S39 A Lreg again with the 180. Oh and no where in Fodens brouchers or spec.sheets will you find mention of SABRINAS. Eddie.
Oh dear, that’s just given me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I used a 2 stroke Foden with one of those boxes for about 2 weeks long ago, never got a clean gear once and when I handed the motor back I still had no idea how to handle the gearbox. I’m embarrassed to say that it’s the only box that ever beat me.
I was only about 22, not much experience then so I’ve no idea how I would go on now and frankly I’ve no desire to find out.
Hey, I think that it was a difficult wagon to drive with this box. Always up and down with the auxiliary box,but at the first look of the ratios it looks that it had good steps. But between 11th and 12th was the step to big maybe ■■? But surely better as only 6 speeds.
I think that the Mack boxes we a bit the same to change,so mostly to use the two sticks.
Had to Foden 2 sticks or was it an air switch.
I think nowadays no one of the younger can drive such box,and never never would learn it.
the early 12speeds had the auxiliary stick between the engine cover and the seat , they were pre select so it was easy to use . later ones had the air switch on the right of the dash , and later still the 3 position switch on the gearstick . the latter ones were prone to melted air pipes as the gear stick was close to the manifold.
Hello Eric, no thed Fodewas two sticks…4 on the floor…and 3 ranges on the right side of the dash board, Early ones, (the sort I learned on with a big wire cable going from the lever down behind the dash board into the gearbox), were mechanical, bit of a slow range change, and if you study the photographs of the later range change, you can see that the ratios overlapped each other). The later air change was much faster, and a delight to use. Gosh I used to “out drag” those Frenchmen up Cennis, and Petit Grand St Bernard with my S21 Foden Gardner 150 hp, purely down to the speed of gearchange…If only I had realised that those Berliets, and Bernards were carrying 4tonnes more than me!
The Mack boxes were far more logical, and easier to use, (even if you could have 24/48 ratios to (try to), use. But the worst I ever encountered were the US fanatics who pushed a 6 speed spicer in between the engine, and a 13/15 speed double overdrive Fuller box…Talk about double ratios!!..But so fast…I never achieved 2100 rpm in top…top gear!!!
No the best drivers box ever, I would personally recommend M Fuller, whatever the ratio spread, the best gearbox ever…I would say so!!!..and I love my Fodens.
Sadly today the lads cannot improve their skills…I have sat with a loading shovel inside the Grain store while a young lad tried to reverse inside…but the gearbox of his DAF would not give him a ratio to “get in”. Gave up in the end, and loaded him outside…(D`ont tell the EEC)…but sadly this Grain is going for Bi-oFuel…now that is really obscene, when children starve!!
Regarding worn out knees with a Foden.I fitted a type 16 air pack on the clutch,shame my knee was already worn out Muckshifting in Brum my S80 needed it.
leylandlover:
Regarding worn out knees with a Foden.I fitted a type 16 air pack on the clutch,shame my knee was already worn out Muckshifting in Brum my S80 needed it.
Evening leyland lover, I have to get all the corn cut …for on Friday, 0.730, I have to report to the Hospital…for a “new” knee…was it Mr Foden, or Cycling, or just about every make of lorry and trailer known to man…or just plain “old age”…but I a`int looking forward to it!
Hello Foden fans,
I drove a Foden 32 ton tractor unit VJR546H for several years with the 12 speed Micky Mouse Gearbox and
Leyland 600 engine and never had any problems,Loved it.
Then i was giving a AEC Mandator tractor unit.
One of the more experienced drivers asked me did i ever,
When going up a very steep hill in 4th low or 3rd low or 2nd low and you would have to eventually select 1st low,
Just keep the accelerator pressed fully down and it would select first gear automatically when the the
revs die right down.
Have asked many drivers and no one knows if this is correct.
Saviem:
Hello Eric, no thed Fodewas two sticks…4 on the floor…and 3 ranges on the right side of the dash board, Early ones, (the sort I learned on with a big wire cable going from the lever down behind the dash board into the gearbox), were mechanical, bit of a slow range change, and if you study the photographs of the later range change, you can see that the ratios overlapped each other). The later air change was much faster, and a delight to use. Gosh I used to “out drag” those Frenchmen up Cennis, and Petit Grand St Bernard with my S21 Foden Gardner 150 hp, purely down to the speed of gearchange…If only I had realised that those Berliets, and Bernards were carrying 4tonnes more than me!
The Mack boxes were far more logical, and easier to use, (even if you could have 24/48 ratios to (try to), use. But the worst I ever encountered were the US fanatics who pushed a 6 speed spicer in between the engine, and a 13/15 speed double overdrive Fuller box…Talk about double ratios!!..But so fast…I never achieved 2100 rpm in top…top gear!!!
No the best drivers box ever, I would personally recommend M Fuller, whatever the ratio spread, the best gearbox ever…I would say so!!!..and I love my Fodens.
Sadly today the lads cannot improve their skills…I have sat with a loading shovel inside the Grain store while a young lad tried to reverse inside…but the gearbox of his DAF would not give him a ratio to “get in”. Gave up in the end, and loaded him outside…(D`ont tell the EEC)…but sadly this Grain is going for Bi-oFuel…now that is really obscene, when children starve!!
Cheerio for now.
Hey Saviem, yes the Fuller was the way for me,but with the Volvo 16 speeder at high weights and in those days not a lot of power the Volvo box gave you a bit more at low speeds. you could split in the low range.
Yes that in the 21th century people die of hunger is a shame,but who are we,money runs the world was still and will stay so even in the 25th century.
But for one thing I can understand the use for bio fuel,but here lots of produce is trown away if there is too much and not given to the starvelings.
Once a Clochard or a poor one was jailed for a night because he was stealing expired food out of a supermarket dustbin.
leylandlover:
Regarding worn out knees with a Foden.I fitted a type 16 air pack on the clutch,shame my knee was already worn out Muckshifting in Brum my S80 needed it.
Evening leyland lover, I have to get all the corn cut …for on Friday, 0.730, I have to report to the Hospital…for a “new” knee…was it Mr Foden, or Cycling, or just about every make of lorry and trailer known to man…or just plain “old age”…but I a`int looking forward to it!
Cheerio for now.
Nowt to the job matey. Ask em for an Epidural anesthetic, I was chatting to em while they were hammering and sawing away when I had mine done, sounded like he was building a road. Takes about an hour and a half. They get you up on your feet the next morning, a few steps at a time. It will be swollen and the swelling will take about 6 months to clear but, here’s a tip, THEY know best. I tried to rush things along a bit and it didn’t help, so work it, but don’t do too much. Oh, and you MUST wear the compression socks for a few weeks.
My car is automatic, I drove again in 2 weeks.
The end result is great, mine clanks a bit but they say that’s normal, NO pain
f troop:
Hello Foden fans,
I drove a Foden 32 ton tractor unit VJR546H for several years with the 12 speed Micky Mouse Gearbox and
Leyland 600 engine and never had any problems,Loved it.
Then i went onto drive a AEC Mandator tractor unit.
One of the more experienced drivers who had driven the Foden asked me did i ever,
When going up a very steep hill in 4th low or 3rd low or 2nd low and you would have to eventually select 1st low,
Just keep the accelerator pressed fully down and it would select first gear automatically when the the
revs die right down.
Have asked many drivers and no one knows if this is correct.
if you were to select low first on a foden 12 speed box , the most likely result would be the prop shaft snapping with the torque . i never heard of one that went in automatically . i never found a hill that needed any other than low 2nd . as an aside , i believe sam long sons fodens had 1st gear blanked in the main box due to the amount of damage done by drivers using low 1st .
f troop:
Hello Foden fans,
I drove a Foden 32 ton tractor unit VJR546H for several years with the 12 speed Micky Mouse Gearbox and
Leyland 600 engine and never had any problems,Loved it.
Then i was giving a AEC Mandator tractor unit.
One of the more experienced drivers asked me did i ever,
When going up a very steep hill in 4th low or 3rd low or 2nd low and you would have to eventually select 1st low,
Just keep the accelerator pressed fully down and it would select first gear automatically when the the
revs die right down.
Have asked many drivers and no one knows if this is correct.
Regards
F Troop.
I very rarely used the clutch when changing up with a Foden 12-speed air shift box, nor on any other gear box for that matter. If you pre-selected the air shift and backed off the throttle, it changed by itself. If you weren’t climbing a hill, you could do the same down shifting. Normal changing down was accomplished by keeping your foot down until the revs had dropped to the level to change down into the next cog, dip the clutch and slip the lever through. You could do the same with the air shift lever The only problem with the Foden main 4-speed box was changing down from 2nd to 1st. This change was a crash change, not a constant mesh change and it was quite easy to chew a few teeth off the cog. If you were driving a Mack with a quad box, you couldn’t use the clutch when using the joey box as the ratios were too close together. When you were doing a split shift on a Mack, I used to hold the steering with with my right elbow and then twin-stick it using both hands. That’s the problem with syncromesh boxes in trucks, they are not as easy to make fast, clutchless changes with. Now, to go back to those photos of the Foden gear shift charts, they only show the chart for an overdrive epicyclic box. The earlier Fodens had a double underdrive box which meant that a truck with a Gardner 150 had more pulling power than anybody can imagine. I once pulled a bogged 8- wheeled ACCO International tipper that was fully loaded out of a site with my old Foden, also fully loaded using double under drive reverse without even raising a sweat. Nobody believed it possible.
