Windrush did you ever come across foden with leyland 680 power plus and I think it was a nine speed box with overdrive ,absalute flying machine could pull also .
DAF95XF:
Wheel Nut:
This will start dotty off again,IVECO = Industrial Vehicle Corporation. comprised of UNIC Fiat Magirus Deutz and eventually Ford
Or more commonly known as It Vibrates Everything Comes Off
ERF stands for “Either Roasting or Freezing”
give me either tommorow,twin splitter/brown plastic trim/ropey heater/door pockets too narrow for anything/no good earth for a cb aerial…if you take the furkin axor away!
Being a humble “rigid” driver, and therefore not worthy of the luxury of “Space Cowboys”, “Clodhoppers” or whatever else you call the latest penthouse suites that drivers are still moaning about even though they’ve got more mod cons than a space shuttle, I spent many a happy day in an ERF. For a “flat-top” it was reasonably spacious, much better bunk than a lot of more modern cabs, comfortable seat and good storage space. In a lot of ways it put the Volvo FM with which my boss replaced it to shame. Gaffer’s trucks they might have been, but the comments above regarding their popularity with showmen are spot on; they were simple and straightforward to work on and there’s a lot to be said for that.
Our mill use a haulier in Swansea, Walters Transport, who still run an all-ERF fleet. Slowly now creeping towards the MAN-cabbed models but they’ve still got a fair few EC11’s which seem to go on forever; bulk tippers take a fair bit of hammer and these things seem to just come back for more. Rarely hear their drivers complaining either.
fuse:
Windrush did you ever come across foden with leyland 680 power plus and I think it was a nine speed box with overdrive ,absalute flying machine could pull also .
Hi Fuse, we did have a Foden (S39 cab I guess) with a 680 in it at our quarry but when I started there in 1975 it had recently been sold. Couldn’t say what g/box it had (they were all 12 speeds in my time) but the driver had been pleased with it, probably had a decent heater compared to the Gardner engined ones, and said that it went well. I am guessing that it was a little on the thirsty side though so that probably put paid to them having any more!
Thinking on, it was possibly run at 24 ton gross as well so it would bloomin fly!
Pete.
I drove an ERF for a week about two years ago and it was the first time ever, in over 20 years that I had driven a truck with a wind-up driver’s window. It was absolutely horrible. The interior was finished in this awful brown plastic which just screamed “Austin Allegro”. It was by far the worst truck I had ever driven and that’s saying something.
ERF deserved to fail, they didn’t learn from the mistakes of the British car manufacturing industry in the 1960s, that people won’t buy crap just because it’s British crap. So unaware of this were ERF that in their death roll, they decided to put little Union Jacks on the sides of their plastic crap (if plastic was such a good idea, how come nobody else ever copied the idea?), with “Built in Britain” beneath them.
Like Wow, that’s going to make anyone buy one
My only contact with a Foden, was an engine on a boat I used to run from Hartlepool. A reliable, powerful ex-naval craft converted from steam to diesel. The batteries, however, that turned the 6 in-line Foden over, were borrowed, by the previous owner, from a 125 train… This, I hasten to add, was about 28 years ago! I now drive an articulated '07 IVECO (about as comfortable as a force 8!)
Only by drivers who cant bunny hop a twin splitter
Bunny hopping- can do and did do, and only those who who knew how to play the twin split wil know what we mean… a craft in its self…
No-one is denying the twin split wasn’t an easy gear box to learn, cos it wasnt, but once you had it, its was a dream
ahhhh. had a few ERF’s to drive over the years , a twin split EC10 , 9 speed roadranger EC12 awfull bus & E10 with a 9speed roadranger brilliant drive , got to say i loved the twin splittter, when you had a good one it was a joy & unbeatable , but if you had a bad one you’d have a pig of a day… especially a liquid load on hills !
Spent my formulative years spannering + working on and driving the old Fodens .
"Mickey Mouse " cabs with range change up on the dash - - now that was an art to change gear
All run by Gardner 6LX + later fibreglass jobbies with 6 LXB`s engines , did have some with ■■■■■■■ too .
The old Gardner engines loved by boat builders and fairground stationary engines.
I could rebuild those babies in my sleep many moons ago.
I did happen to see a fairly new badged up Foden the other day , and for all intent and purposes it was and looked exactly as a re-badged DAF .
Looking at it , all the hubs and axles all had DAF stamped on them .
I remember as an apprentice , of an Indian fella OD who had a "Mickey Mouse " that blew its engine whilst up on the heap one day at the local quarry, mid winter.
That guy must have so loved his truck , cos he rebuilt it and repaired it in situ
in 6 inches of mud and clay up on that heap… such committment .
We did offer to help by giving him a bale of straw and some matches to put under it, to keep it warm – but he declined .
Harry Monk:
I drove an ERF for a week about two years ago and it was the first time ever, in over 20 years that I had driven a truck with a wind-up driver’s window. It was absolutely horrible. The interior was finished in this awful brown plastic which just screamed “Austin Allegro”. It was by far the worst truck I had ever driven and that’s saying something.ERF deserved to fail, they didn’t learn from the mistakes of the British car manufacturing industry in the 1960s, that people won’t buy crap just because it’s British crap. So unaware of this were ERF that in their death roll, they decided to put little Union Jacks on the sides of their plastic crap (if plastic was such a good idea, how come nobody else ever copied the idea?), with “Built in Britain” beneath them.
Like Wow, that’s going to make anyone buy one
Spot on Harry…
E R F WITH TWINSPLITTER LEAVE YOUR LEFT FOOT AT HOME . what about J Dickinson from Darlington he must still have a few ? seems to be buying M A N now is it just a badge job or do they still assemble at sandbach ?
JFC999:
E R F WITH TWINSPLITTER LEAVE YOUR LEFT FOOT AT HOME . what about J Dickinson from Darlington he must still have a few ? seems to be buying M A N now is it just a badge job or do they still assemble at sandbach ?
AFAIK Dickinson hasn’t got any left, as I have seen some in his colours, but without the logos on.
As for the Sun Works at Sandbach, I would suggest you go back and read my earlier post about the last ERF’s registered in this country, and ask yourself then if the Sun Works still exists. (I know it doesn’t as it’s now houses.)
Ken.
This might be of interest, bearing in mind that MAN have dropped the ERF name since it was written:
Ken.
Windrush it is coming back now, they were 8 speed with over drive ,hydrolic throttle they were 32 tonne units ,the exhaust went across the front and had fishtail end pipe that came out on driver side what a sound…those were the days my friend EPY 836C WAS ONE NUMBER so that would be 1965 I think ,I was only a kidd .
sorry for the dumb question about Sun works Quinney , not paying attention ! im sure I saw an E R F badged one of Dickinsons on A1 recently .Livestock hauliers and straw men still got a few though , maybe a new British manufacturer will rise from the ashes of Toyota at Burniston ? ! ? ! JIM
I think in the mid 90s if you had a EC14 with a 500 ■■■■■■■ and an Olimpic cab, you had a pretty good motor. Would of needed a new cab going forward but MAN took the easy option,and then thought whats the point and put a stop to it.
Thing that gets me though is everyone complains about broken Britain but nobody buys British. When you go to France its Renaults,Citerons and Peugeots as far as the eye can see (and they aint perfect either). All the big British companies, public sector vehicles should have been British, Royal mail should have had a full fleet of ERFs/Fodens
Their strong points outweighed their weak ones, big cab (for the time) ■■■■■■■■ engine( up to 14 litres) twin splitter, easy to fix cheapish to run braked steered and handled quite well. Bad points draughty cab, hot in the summer cold in winter, felt like the drivers door would fall off, I am reminded of these things when I drive a DAF XF.
I didn’t hate Fodens either. I got around in them with Gardner 180’s and 240’s and that lovely 12 speed box. If you knew what you were doing, they were great for everything. The 240’s had an air assisted clutch that never liked anything but in or out… could make you look a right ■■■■■■.
I also had quite a few runs in Erf’s, in the 60’s. Once again, a 180, but with a David Brown 6 speed box. Only problem I had with that was knackered gear linkage, so you had to bash the ■■■■■■■ lever against the engine cover to get reverse.