Two more of Henley vehicles SYF 400N when brand new showing (just about) the engine poking out the back of the cab.
windrush:
cav551:
The big end diameters were increased by nominally 1.5 mm and the mains by nominally 8mm.B/E 3.1875" to 3.2500"
M/B 3.6250" to 3.9375"The 8 LXB also introduced a ‘tuned’ exhaust manifold referred to as the bunch of bananas.
Also used on the (not particularly successful) 201/LXC engines, but at least they didn’t crack the manifolds like the older one piece ones!
Pete.
I had to change the tuned exhaust manifold on this when it was not that old great job 
- was the only
one that gave any trouble exhaust/downpipe wise no more after new part fitted plus this was the last Atkinson to come to Waughs.
8LXBV8BRIAN:
windrush:
cav551:
The big end diameters were increased by nominally 1.5 mm and the mains by nominally 8mm.B/E 3.1875" to 3.2500"
M/B 3.6250" to 3.9375"The 8 LXB also introduced a ‘tuned’ exhaust manifold referred to as the bunch of bananas.
Also used on the (not particularly successful) 201/LXC engines, but at least they didn’t crack the manifolds like the older one piece ones!
Pete.
I had to change the tuned exhaust manifold on this when it was not that old great job
one that gave any trouble exhaust/downpipe wise no more after new part fitted plus this was the last Atkinson to come to Waughs.
Great shot of “Cracker” Bates, Brian. Pity about that bloody Gardner though!! 
Regards Kev.
I Kev great bloke was Doug never had a bad word with him daft as a brush, 511P was in for service went to put it over the pit
the throttle pedal was as heavy as owt as you know you needed the Gardner boot to press the pedal anyway 
-
the crossover shaft under the footbrake 1 of the bearings was starting to go sorted it when he got it back the reply was have you put a ■■■■■■■ pedal in it.
The best one was did the door pins and new brass/inserts nice amount of grease and oil,1st trip after Doug phoned up Ian to say i have an oil leak on the top and bottom of me doors
great times kev some great great times. -
Atkinson Borderer 4x2 tractor unit Reg No XTB 850L Fleet No 18 ‘Leviathan’ was the first Borderer fitted with a Gardner 8LXB 240 engine in line with a David Brown 8-speed range-change gearbox to enter service with Riding’s in 1973.
Costing £6,095.47p, ex works, the photograph above was staged for Atkinson publicity purposes with XTB 850L being driven at the time by Ronnie Joyce who was employed by Atkinson to do all their demonstration driving.
When joining the fleet it was driven from new by Tony Freeman who spent most of his career with W & J Riding eventually finishing up as shift foreman.
Pictured above coupled to one of Riding’s ‘Bulk Haulage’ powder tankers XTB 850L never actually pulled tankers during it’s working life as it was assigned to the general haulage fleet.
8LXBV8BRIAN:
I Kev great bloke was Doug never had a bad word with him daft as a brush, 511P was in for service went to put it over the pit
the throttle pedal was as heavy as owt as you know you needed the Gardner boot to press the pedal anyway
the crossover shaft under the footbrake 1 of the bearings was starting to go sorted it when he got it back the reply was have you put a ■■■■■■■ pedal in it.
The best one was did the door pins and new brass/inserts nice amount of grease and oil,1st trip after Doug phoned up Ian to say i have an oil leak on the top and bottom of me doors
great times kev some great great times.
Tough as old boots was Dougie, Brian. As you know he only had one lung after being badly wounded in WW2. The moaners on the Professional thread could learn a lesson from Doug’s work ethic. He was definitely a breed on his own. Regards Kev.
Hi Kev, Can remember the reg of the one the late Parky Denholm had I think it was a L reg ?, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Hi Kev, Can remember the reg of the one the late Parky Denholm had I think it was a L reg ?, Regards Larry.
Larry, Parky had L126 LTY Gardner8lxb-9-speed roadranger- kirkstall rear axle then he had LBB 815P A DAY CAB 4000 sed/atk-8-SPEED d/brown-kirkstall rear axle
then a P-REG 1418 Merc. 
-
L126 LTY was the most reliable Atkinson at waughs in it service bar normal bits it had a complete wiper linkage as it had
worn the spindles down which let the rain in ,which filled the cover inside up, ask mister Pepper as he got a shower every time he went round a corner -
till they got fixed if i remember it was about 6 year old by then. 
-
MJR 195P was the reg of the 1418 i think. 
-
8LXBV8BRIAN:
Lawrence Dunbar:
Hi Kev, Can remember the reg of the one the late Parky Denholm had I think it was a L reg ?, Regards Larry.Larry, Parky had L126 LTY Gardner8lxb-9-speed roadranger- kirkstall rear axle then he had LBB 815P A DAY CAB 4000 sed/atk-8-SPEED d/brown-kirkstall rear axle
then a P-REG 1418 Merc.
L126 LTY was the most reliable Atkinson at waughs in it service bar normal bits it had a complete wiper linkage as it had
worn the spindles down which let the rain in ,which filled the cover inside up, ask mister Pepper as he got a shower every time he went round a corner
till they got fixed if i remember it was about 6 year old by then.
MJR 195P was the reg of the 1418 i think.
Thanks for the info Brian, Regards Larry.
Just thought I’d better bring you’s Hinney’s back down to earth with a shot of a “mans motor” still was going strong even after its grafting days was over, shot here at the Leyland motor museum which would have enhanced the whole day’s experience for the visitors that day I reckon. This Atky gave us 100% trouble free operation during it’s time on the fleet ! Cheers Dennis.
this belongs to a friend of mine and is driven by another ,it still has the tipping gear on and was until recently still used for straight bar towing in duties .
Punchy Dan:
0this belongs to a friend of mine and is driven by another ,it still has the tipping gear on and was until recently still used for straight bar towing in duties .
Now as an Atky operator from years ago Dan’l that is a very interesting shot because that D85 drive axle ( if it is 100% original) must have been one of the very first fitted as at the time of the “K” reg 70/71 they were still fitting BDR axles with under slung springs unless you ordered an Eaton axle, very interesting 
Cheers Dennis. PS and looks like it isn’t a 10’ 8" WB either so if it summat to do with Dan’l it may be a bit “iffy” 
I’ll see them at the bank holiday I’ll get the full info for you 
Bewick:
Punchy Dan:
0this belongs to a friend of mine and is driven by another ,it still has the tipping gear on and was until recently still used for straight bar towing in duties .Now as an Atky operator from years ago Dan’l that is a very interesting shot because that D85 drive axle ( if it is 100% original) must have been one of the very first fitted as at the time of the “K” reg 70/71 they were still fitting BDR axles with under slung springs unless you ordered an Eaton axle, very interesting
Look at the photo cav551 posted Henlys has a D85 rear axle fitted. -
8LXBV8BRIAN:
Bewick:
Punchy Dan:
0this belongs to a friend of mine and is driven by another ,it still has the tipping gear on and was until recently still used for straight bar towing in duties .Now as an Atky operator from years ago Dan’l that is a very interesting shot because that D85 drive axle ( if it is 100% original) must have been one of the very first fitted as at the time of the “K” reg 70/71 they were still fitting BDR axles with under slung springs unless you ordered an Eaton axle, very interesting
Look at the photo cav551 posted Henlys has a D85 rear axle fitted.
Bewick:
Punchy Dan:
0this belongs to a friend of mine and is driven by another ,it still has the tipping gear on and was until recently still used for straight bar towing in duties .Now as an Atky operator from years ago Dan’l that is a very interesting shot because that D85 drive axle ( if it is 100% original) must have been one of the very first fitted as at the time of the “K” reg 70/71 they were still fitting BDR axles with under slung springs unless you ordered an Eaton axle, very interesting
Wasn’t ‘K’ reg 71/72?, dunno if that makes a difference.
windrush:
cav551:
The big end diameters were increased by nominally 1.5 mm and the mains by nominally 8mm.B/E 3.1875" to 3.2500"
M/B 3.6250" to 3.9375"The 8 LXB also introduced a ‘tuned’ exhaust manifold referred to as the bunch of bananas.
Also used on the (not particularly successful) 201/LXC engines, but at least they didn’t crack the manifolds like the older one piece ones!
Pete.
We always knew the 8LXB manifold as ‘The Bagpipes’!
The LXC (in both 6 and 8 cylinder engines respectively) shared identical crankshaft dimensions with the LXB’s.
The larger crankshaft journals of the 8LXB, 8LXC and 8LXCT, and their matching new connecting rods, were utilised on the later turbocharged 6LXDT 230 engine.
The naturally aspirated LXC was really Hugh Gardner’s swan song, and proved a very successful and reliable engine in service, although criticised for lacking in power output in an age then dominated by turbocharged engines. Paul Gardner’s turbocharged 6LXDT, designed to address this criticism, did unfortunately give service ‘issues’.
8LXBV8BRIAN:
…The A series had a sort of little visor/peak thing fitted on the 8lxb from what i remember…
Some very early vehicles had this, but it was soon deleted as drivers were using it as a step-up to the sheet rack on the cab roof, with predictable consequences!.
The PetRegs engine enclosure is probably where the ‘chicken shed’ comments first came from!.
ERF:
windrush:
cav551:
The big end diameters were increased by nominally 1.5 mm and the mains by nominally 8mm.B/E 3.1875" to 3.2500"
M/B 3.6250" to 3.9375"The 8 LXB also introduced a ‘tuned’ exhaust manifold referred to as the bunch of bananas.
Also used on the (not particularly successful) 201/LXC engines, but at least they didn’t crack the manifolds like the older one piece ones!
Pete.
We always knew the 8LXB manifold as ‘The Bagpipes’!
The LXC (in both 6 and 8 cylinder engines respectively) shared identical crankshaft dimensions with the LXB’s.
The larger crankshaft journals of the 8LXB, 8LXC and 8LXCT, and their matching new connecting rods, were utilised on the later turbocharged 6LXDT 230 engine.
The naturally aspirated LXC was really Hugh Gardner’s swan song, and proved a very successful and reliable engine in service, although criticised for lacking in power output in an age then dominated by turbocharged engines. Paul Gardner’s turbocharged 6LXDT, designed to address this criticism, did unfortunately give service ‘issues’.
I had always understood that the LXC engine incorporated chrome alloyed liners in conjunction with chrome plated rings which resulted in severe bore polishing and consequent high oil consumption, especially if series 3 engine oils were used. This oil consumption issue being the reason for overhaul becoming necessary at very significantly increased intervals. The new exhaust manifolds on the 6s may not have cracked but the 8s certainly did. The spring/damper fixing at the crankcase level of the manifold needed regular inspection, adjustment and replacement of the bobbins to prevent this. Without wading through pages of technical I can’t be precise about time scale, but IIRC this was the period when there was some messing about with different compression ratio pistons being used.
We had a fleet of 6/LXC powered Fodens (off topic I realise!) and they gave more problems than the 6/LXB’s. From new they suffered overheating issues, Gardner supplied us with different waterpump impellers, a larger water rail and thermostat plus radiators with a different core and we had to change the top and bottom tanks over, a boring job if there ever was one! Then they had excessive oil consumption, the LXC heads were returned to Gardner and LXB ones supplied in their place which we fitted and of course the LXB injectors had to be used as LXC ones were totally different, and the oil consumption improved slightly. We did have the usual overheating and siezing on one pot which affected the whole fleet, we kept a replacement block in the stores as at one time I was fitting one a week, plus one put a rod through the crankcase and at the same time twisted the gearbox primary shaft and cracked the camshaft chainwheel. I fitted a new crankshaft, block, secondhand chainwheel and crankcase to it and it gave no more problems until it went on internal duties a few years later.
Pete.