Evening all,
Well its a sad old saviem writing tonight…I`m sitting on the manger in Jakes Stable, the poor old lad is asleep, pan out, with his head resting on my leg, not at all good, (but in no pain…so the Vet, (and she is very good), tells me), and my Daughter has given me her electronic device to keep me occupied…so if I suddenly go, well my lad needs me.
Maggie D, thank you for that post. I cannot say that I like the Pickfords “faux” livery, but someone else owns her…but her wheels, and the 1973 step rings remain), as I put them together…wonder if she sold? Lovely old lorry, and she had the original RTITB drivers log with her originally, every mile run, every gallon, or pint used up, and every job that she did. Hope that is still with her.
Johnnie, that was some lorry to drive. When I delivered my Viewline to Roberts Bros, they had a 6x4 Viewline in their yard. I do not think that it was a Pickfords unit, perhaps ICI, wonder where she went after their sale? That cab had real potential, but the structure needed work, a bit light the Bernard Television cab by G Pelpel, the concept was right, but it was ahead of both the materials used, and the techniques to produce the product…
A bit like the Berliet V600, and V800 serie engines, that harmon asks about. But really their conceptualisation, and manufacture, and failure, was really ■■■■■■■ with far greater traumas suffered by their instigator Berliet.
Why a “little” V8 of 6.9 litres?..lets go back to the 1960s…and forget Mersey Beat, and the Beatles…remember FFK BMCs, and Bedford TKs,the first Serie D from Ford, and in France little Saviems, and Italian, (OM), Unics…The Common Market was coming, Europe would open, (except for GB), and France`s finest, Berliet, (employer of 24000 souls), needed to be ready…
So she prepared a revolution…across all of her ranges…invested money, (that she really did not have)…already Saint Priest, and Venissieux, together, over 300 hectares of covered production space were bursting to capacity, so Paul Berliet looked further afield, 60 odd kilometres to Bourg en Bresse and acquired 100,000 hectares of ground, and between 1963, and 1964 40000 hectares were converted into covered production space for the Military, Special Types, and Fire Appliance production…as well as new factorys in Africa, and the East!..By 1968 over 1220 staff produced 40 odd units per day from this plant alone!
New ranges…well we have the Relax Cab, forward control, (because the European market would change, overall length would be the criteria, and the comfortable, long bonnets would be of the past), so a comfortable cab over a “big” 12 litre straight 6, (Berliets 06.35.40 range in natural, and eventually Turbo, then intercooled ranges), became the projected winner! But what of the rest? Berliet has developed their new 5.8 litre, 120x130 4 cylinder, (Man combustion), Magic 04.20.30. seroes of moteurs, 120/140, (potential) horsepower to revitalise their GAK serie range of lightweights.
Berliets design and engineering studio, created by Paul himself, in the early ``1960s excelled themselves by creating a “Meccano” range of lorries…the Stradair…(Strada …road…Air…because front and rear axles were air suspended, located by metal leaf springs, Berliets “AIRLAM” suspension. The chassis were notable because there were no cross members, simply an enormose X cross member…oh, and because driver comfort was paramount, the engine was out in front of the front axle by a good 1.8 metres…comfortable cab…but empty little rear axle traction!!!..and of course Air Bag technology was a little…“early” so the bags could puncture quite easily…But what a world beating design…no one could match it…and it was destined to stretch from 5 tonnes…to 35 tonnes…Oh Dear!!!
The success of the Stradair was to be limited by French fiscal policy…the creation of the Zones Bleu, et Vert…limiting the square metre footprint of vehicles delivering into French cities…remember the Stradair had a long “capot” sticking out front, (even if the later ones reduced it somewhat…by 600 mm)!..so Berliet carried on building the older GAK range in parallel!
Then of course came the V engines! Now when Stradair was conceived, and the design studio were working with Phillipe Charbonneaux to create a spectacularly comfortable driving environment…those earnest engineers were creating a serie of V6, and V8 engines, which used common components, to power the larger vehicles…right up to 25, then 35 tonnes gtw.
In the early days of the Stradair concept Berliet had approached ■■■■■■■■ who were already licence building the Vale Vs in Germany for Krupp, and who were also talking to William Lyons in the UK regarding building the V serie at Guy/Meadows, as a possible suitor for the big Stradairs with their V6…but the Bureau D`Etudes proposed a flat version of the 9.5 litre…then a similar version of the 04.20.30…and finally, (totally in keeping with 1960s engine theory), a V6, and V8 engine of 6.9 litres, with a potential in V8 form of circ 200 hp @3000 rpm. Little Vs ruled in the 60s designers heads!
Achieving a viable hp per cylinder across the proposed range, (V600, V800, V825…the latter to power the new TR300 design), was proving expensive, and difficult. On these grounds alone Paul axed the V600 around 1967. The V8s continued in development. 1968 and the first trial running examples of the V800 entered the Berliet works fleet. Untill I saw, this evening, michels picture of one example I was unaware that any had survived, because Berliet, (and later RVI with Berliet engineering control), always, always destroyed test/prototype chassis! Now michels example , if you look closely at the chassis would seem to be the same vehicle that I have a picture of, in the Venissieux works fleet fitted with a tipper body, and crane behind the cab…How on earth did she survive. The two tractor versions, sold/trialed, to Henri Gauthier, of Saint Pardoux La Riviere, down in the Dordogne, certainly did not! But Henri`s son Paul had worked at Saint Priest in the Demonstration area back in the 70s…perhaps that is why those two, (and there were only two), V800, TRS819 , 25 tonne, 190 hp, @3000 rpm MAN Magic direct injection 6.9 litre V8 , with BDSL 6 speed gearboxes, and P821 hub reduction rear ends went down there!
The V800 190 hp, (and its sister the larger capacity V825 300 hp, (sae) engine ), were not Berliets best designs. Paul himself pulled the designs, and development in 1967, the grounds were cost, and the realisation that this design, and its performance would be, and were exceeded by cheaper to produce, and more economic in line designs, both 4, and 6 cylinder. Plus Berliet were trying to stay afloat, the cost of the real estate expansions, plus design and launch of new products had depleted all their cash!..For the first time Volvo, and Fiat came to look at this gem of European lorry manufacture…But in rolled Michelin, owner of Citroen, and literally bankrolled Berliet, (to take under their wing the lorry side of Citroen), and simply carry on with little direct managerial control, just funding, and build the little Citroen lorries at Venissieux.
So Berliet did just that…the range expanded, duplicated, became confused, became unsaleable, and the ship hit the rocks again in the 70s!..But now Volvo wanted that KB 2400 cab, to replace the serie L, and the F88/89…and they had cash available…But that is another story for another night, perhaps when I am not so sad as tonight!
The V800, yes she went into buses, (Cruisair, with Airlam suspension), and the VB armoured range…but with the revs cut down, and 140/150 hp max…and they were terrible, 1973, only sub 300 Cruisair/ P100 Berliet buses had the V800 rear mounted…overall its replacement the UK built V8.510 Perkins, …over 1100 examples!
Main problems…oil consumption, excessive fuel consumption, and sheer noise …and oil leaks…6.9litre 90 degree V8, Man Magic direct injection,3000 rpm…design 1962, produced 1967/1978…
But if you could see the cab design proposed by Charbonneaux, then Jullien of Bureau d`Etudes for the heavy Stradairs, boy, they would set any drivers pulse racing…but then came the European superstate, and cabovers became de rigor…sad, all individualism went away on that day…
And Im away right now, its getting cold, my lad is resting on a deep bed of shavings, its warm for him, he is comfortable…and sadly nearing his end…so Im away for a quick Café Calvados, then back to my pal…
Adieu, mes braves.
