GS OVERLAND:
Hi Ash
They look like Iranian reg…Happy New Year mate.
When’s part 2 coming out ■■ have you checked out my latest aquisition ? gibbsbayinn.com special TIR rates apply. But you have to have been past Suben !!
GS
thats it, they’re iranians
this poor old “bus” had been for a bath, we came across it nose-dived in a irrigation canal one afternoon, by the evening time they’d recovered it and pulled it to the nearby TIR parking. You can see in the pic the glass is gone and bits hanging off it
what a mean machine that looks.
cheers
gaz
Not entirely sure what the ATKVO’s background is, but I bet it’s bloody interesting!
hey glynn50
here you are mate resized it for ya
it looks like its an atki chassis with a 88 cab stuck on 
cheers
gaz
Thanks Gaz it looks so much better, your right it is an atkinson chassis with ■■■■■■■ engine judging by the badge and F88 cab, cant see anything wrong with it myself. Traditional radiator grill and engine to satisfy the old skool and a decent cab (in its day) for driver what more do you want■■?.
cheers Glynn.
p.s. how did you resize the photo??
I think i can shed some light on that beast. i will need to make alot of calls and seek out people ive not spoken to for ages. im 99% certain its uk built and know the person who built it. just need to get my facts right first i will report back 
r slicker:
I think i can shed some light on that beast. i will need to make alot of calls and seek out people ive not spoken to for ages. im 99% certain its uk built and know the person who built it. just need to get my facts right first i will report back
r slicker
great i would deffinitly like to know more 
glynn50
you have a pm, yep definitly nowt wrong with that mate, in fact i’d have been right happy to take that to the middle east
cheers
gaz
you have a pm gaz
its a pity my pops not around i think he knew the driver…
truckerash:
Richardjw1:
Here’s a couple more Mercs that were travelling thru Central Asia recently…
These old Mercs are timeless and just keep going and going… Did you take the pic? Where did you see them?
Any idea what age these ‘old girls’ would be now?
When did Merc stop making the bonneted models and were they made specifically for the ME market?
Thanks.
Davnic:
truckerash:
Richardjw1:
Here’s a couple more Mercs that were travelling thru Central Asia recently…
These old Mercs are timeless and just keep going and going… Did you take the pic? Where did you see them?
Any idea what age these ‘old girls’ would be now?
When did Merc stop making the bonneted models and were they made specifically for the ME market?
Thanks.
They are ageless! No, sorry about that…probably early/mid Eighties.
Mercedes at one point had an assembly plant in Saudi, only making these bonneted Mercs, which
were beefed up and mechanically as advanved as the wheel. I think they were also assembled in
Iran too, both when the Shah was in power, then the Ayatollahs. Could be wrong though…
back in the 60s I worked for a cousin who had a large breakers yard at hendon and we had a fella who used to pick up our heavy iron and take it to the steel works he was known as “fat eric” and he certainly lived up to his name he came out of holloway north london, he would drive various old stuff but one day in 66 I think it was he turned up with 2 of those bonneted mercs brand new he could not tell you enough how great they were , but I am sure they were in production before this time someone on here must know when they started making them. fredm
They started to make them about 1957-9ish, IIRC. There was also an unfortunate - looking cab over version. (Taunton Meat Haulage had a few.)
Endit:
They started to make them about 1957-9ish, IIRC. There was also an unfortunate - looking cab over version. (Taunton Meat Haulage had a few.)
Hi Guys
I came across the text below on www.trucksplanet.com
Not exactly the tractor units that we have been discussing but it was the beginning of that type cab.
In 1958 Mercedes introduced a new range bonneted trucks L323/L327. It was used a cabin with integrated front wings and lights in them. Short hood has a width similar to width of the cabin. There were 2 versions firstly: L323 with GVW of 7,5 t and L327 with GVW of 14 ton. The trucks were equipped with six-cylinder 110 hp engine. In 1961, L328 model was added to the family. Series included the next modifications: L - Chassis, LA - all-wheel-drive chassis, LK - tipper, LAK - all-wheel-drive tipper, LS - tractor, LF - fire truck, LAF - all-wheel-drive fire truck, LKO - for municipal purposes, LB - mixer
Hi Guys
I did seven years with Simon International and Cola Cowboys was a very good read however I do feel that the author had listened to other drivers and incorporated most of their tales into one trip. Most of what was written happened over many years although all the tales are true.
Had I read Cola Cowboys first I would never have done the first trip.
Much has been given to Astrans and rightly so as they were the first to start and the last to finnish but there were many other companies the did the Middle East and their drivers were top quality.
I have many happy memories and some not so happy like when the Turks would not let me out of the country with out the triptics for the two trailers I had ‘found’ so after Martin Oldman (OHS) told me I didn’t have the bottle to run the border, it was ‘stand back Martin’ and we crashed the gate doin 98 through the sheep dip and straight into bulgy…
Fortunatly the Bulgarians didn’t send me back.
Andrew Wilson Young, Mike Walker, Ricky Ellis and myself all loaded in holland for Qata I loaded Wednesday,Mike and Ricky loaded Thursday and Andrew loaded Friday…Andrew caught me up at the Hotel National Belgrade and I’m two days in front… Mike and Ricky caught me up in Adana Turkey and we set off together… Half way down the Tap Line by the Mirrors Cafe with still 1000km to go here comes Andrew on his way home… What a man.
To all the ex ME drivers keep the peddle down and for those that are not with us…We will remember you.
Couple of nice anecdotes there Electriclips. Got any photos you can share with us? Be great to see some 
electriclips what is your name i used work in the yard in hackney from 78 to 80 were you there or at hopetown street my name is paul
The first Astran driver I met was the late Trevor Long, who, as I was young at the time , was an absolute hoot, as he was a bit of a child himself in many ways, but hilarious company. I remember the last time I saw him must have being him departing Doha on 4th February 1984, and him having a New Zealander hitch-hiker with him, trying to blag a lift to the U.A.E.
Now, this may have been a Trevor Long special, and I certainly have no wish to speak ill of the dead, particularly of a man who I considered a hero, but I have a very vivid memot=ry of him telling me that he had met Paul McCartney, who had writen a song called ‘Cola Cowboys’. I’ve tried looking for it and never found any results, and it’s possible the book got confused after a few Heinekens at the old Euwbank camp in Doha, but another story I remember which has been aluded to early on in this thread was Trevor’s old Jaguar; the story he told me was that he won it in a race with an old Mercedes 280S.
Another memory. There were three trucks parked outside the Euwbank compound off the ‘C’ ring road circa 1983. A Scania, a Mercedes and an ERF (not Astran). I was asked which I thought was best. I veiwed it on a car basis ;Saab vs Merc. Answer: Merc. The bloke with the ERF said ‘I’ve got a Rolls-Royce engine!’ Naah! Still prefered Mercs…cars or wagons!
