I drove an F86 once. I made it from the workshop to the trailer area in one hit! Even got into 2nd gear. 
It was a yard shunter… 
The truth will out, twas the baby Volvo that earned the safe driving badge, not Carryfast, after all. 
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Did that slow synchro box hinder your progress with the changing up
Well, Ramone: not so much ‘hinder’ as ‘reduce quality of life’ 
. 1st to 2nd is much the same anywhere, but assuming the 'box was the same as in the F88, I’d have the Fuller any day for the rest of the gears! It’s not that they were better, or quicker, or that much slicker in the Fuller; but it is a completely different way of driving and a matter of preference for individual drivers; and I just happen to prefer a good constant-mesh. 
How the hell did he get it out and i thought the Aussies were very innovative.Not suprised it’s a Merc though. He’d have been better with a F86 the engine would have been lighter
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It’s a Merc! Probably came out itself once he braked harshly!
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And to neatly bring the Leggett and long-haul Borderer themes together, here are Leggett’s Atkis abroad!
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Sorry ramone but you’re wrong there. The dry weight of a Volvo TD70 is 1041kg. That Merc is a V6 by my counting of the cylinder heads and exhaust manifold, so an 1834 to have an LE cab, therefore an OM441LA which has a dry weight of 825kg. Vee engines are always light, short block, short crank only 4 mains in a V6.
No wonder ours are off the road more than they are on.Main dealer serviced from new and utterly useless.They would bankrupt an owner driver within 6 months
Note the Aitkinson (Viewline?) and ERF in the background.
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Re: V engines and lightness, it depends on the application. In heavy vehicles, the difference in weight of two banks of cylinders vs an inline six might not matter that much (I presume, I’m no expert), but in lighter vehicles, two separate cylinder heads (and all the gubbins for each bank) adds weight. Nonetheless, I love the sound my Honda VFR 750 makes and V8/ V10 Maggie-Deutz diesels sounded.
