Regarding 3300John’s description of the roof of the MW cab- IE it was made by cutting up the smaller roof and inserting filler panels- why did ERF not simply take the standard Motor Panels wide/long roof, IE that fitted to the Crusader? The first Crusader was exhibited at Earls Court in 1968 (IIRC), so the panels would have been available in time for the introduction of the 3MW European.
ERF-Continental:
ERF-P…thank you very much for your time and post! Now everything is clear why the Delcon was pictured
in UK…as a preparation (with Gardner installed) for the Earls Court exhibition! By now we have 4 Delcon
ERF’s recognised!
Yet another breakthrough resulting from 'ERF’s research and 'ERF-contintental’s attention to detail. Good pics too!
Two things confuse me: we know that eight ERFs with 3 or 5MW cabs were supplied with NTC 335s. So were there more than 8? And did some of them have Gardner engines?
And were some Delcon units 3MW cabs and some 5MW? Robert
[zb]
anorak:
Regarding 3300John’s description of the roof of the MW cab- IE it was made by cutting up the smaller roof and inserting filler panels- why did ERF not simply take the standard Motor Panels wide/long roof, IE that fitted to the Crusader? The first Crusader was exhibited at Earls Court in 1968 (IIRC), so the panels would have been available in time for the introduction of the 3MW European.
The Crusader used the TALL version of the MP Mark 4 cab, as did the NGC 7MW and the French Mack. They were the only ones (as far as I know) to use that cab. Are you sure it shared the same roof as the 3MW or the 5MW or any other MW cabs? Just a thought. Robert
robert1952:
ERF-Continental:
ERF-P…thank you very much for your time and post! Now everything is clear why the Delcon was pictured
in UK…as a preparation (with Gardner installed) for the Earls Court exhibition! By now we have 4 Delcon
ERF’s recognised!Yet another breakthrough resulting from 'ERF’s research and 'ERF-contintental’s attention to detail. Good pics too!
Two things confuse me: we know that eight ERFs with 3 or 5MW cabs were supplied with NTC 335s. So were there more than 8? And did some of them have Gardner engines?
And were some Delcon units 3MW cabs and some 5MW? Robert
Till now (thank God ERF-P did his many posts) we harvested 2 3MW Delcon’s (the coloured picture in the UK yard and the B/W driving)
and 2 5MW Delcon’s (the TransitLiner with tilt and the recent given TransLiner) and to my opinion 335 powered, but mind NTK and NTC.
The confusion, correct me please when I am wrong, is in the Delcon pictured in the UK yard but as seen by ERF-P’s post and label…ERF
announced there were some on the continent but for exhibition purposes (Earls Court) one chassis was Gardner powered. Hence my very
strong doubts that Gardner powered chassis (as the rear 6x2 steer, despite RHD) were on the CDB Brussels exhibition.
The thick plottens?
robert1952:
[zb]
anorak:
Regarding 3300John’s description of the roof of the MW cab- IE it was made by cutting up the smaller roof and inserting filler panels- why did ERF not simply take the standard Motor Panels wide/long roof, IE that fitted to the Crusader? The first Crusader was exhibited at Earls Court in 1968 (IIRC), so the panels would have been available in time for the introduction of the 3MW European.The Crusader used the TALL version of the MP Mark 4 cab, as did the NGC 7MW and the French Mack. They were the only ones (as far as I know) to use that cab. Are you sure it shared the same roof as the 3MW or the 5MW or any other MW cabs? Just a thought. Robert
The width and length is the same, is it not? Maybe 3300John knows.
ERF-Continental:
robert1952:
ERF-Continental:
ERF-P…thank you very much for your time and post! Now everything is clear why the Delcon was pictured
in UK…as a preparation (with Gardner installed) for the Earls Court exhibition! By now we have 4 Delcon
ERF’s recognised!Yet another breakthrough resulting from 'ERF’s research and 'ERF-contintental’s attention to detail. Good pics too!
Two things confuse me: we know that eight ERFs with 3 or 5MW cabs were supplied with NTC 335s. So were there more than 8? And did some of them have Gardner engines?
And were some Delcon units 3MW cabs and some 5MW? Robert
Till now (thank God ERF-P did his many posts) we harvested 2 3MW Delcon’s (the coloured picture in the UK yard and the B/W driving)
and 2 5MW Delcon’s (the TransitLiner with tilt and the recent given TransLiner) and to my opinion 335 powered, but mind NTK and NTC.The confusion, correct me please when I am wrong, is in the Delcon pictured in the UK yard but as seen by ERF-P’s post and label…ERF
announced there were some on the continent but for exhibition purposes (Earls Court) one chassis was Gardner powered. Hence my very
strong doubts that Gardner powered chassis (as the rear 6x2 steer, despite RHD) were on the CDB Brussels exhibition.The thick plottens?
Blimey, yes! But thanks for clearing up my confusion about the pictures. I must say it does seem highly unlikely that Delcon would have taken a Gardner ERF or indeed that one would be exhibited anywhere other than at Earls Court. Robert
ERF:
0
It seems as if ERF had made a conscious decision to keep the Gardner engine out of Europe, having “standardised” on ■■■■■■■ for that market. If the things were in short supply for the relatively small (compared to the rest of Europe) GB market, you cannot blame them.
def
robert1952:
I reckon I missed a trick here when I saw this photo earlier on. Look at this picture now; it is from Dai Davies’s book and notice the caption that goes with it. I had assumed, on the evidence that I had, that all the late '60s and very early '70s 5MW exports to Belgium were rigid tippers and tar-sprayers. However, the caption to this photo clearly states that it was a tractive-unit. It was supplied for heavy haulage, so it is anyone’s guess whether it fell into the category of ‘European’ or not. Probably not. In any case, I rather suspect that ERF had no more clue as to what qualified as a ‘European’ than we do now 40 years later! Nonetheless, it is a LHD 5MW-cabbed ERF and it deserves a place on this thread. Robert0
We might expect that this 6x4 tractor (for André Lecoq with a NHK220) also was shipped to UK for exhibition purposes, but the Earls Court
1977 brochure says that a similar model as this export model had a NTK310 installed. So no physical move of chassis then.
Terrific interior pics, ‘ERF’ - makes me want to jump in drive it! Robert 
Usually the ERF motor show trucks had white steering wheels (the Delcon 3MW above is an exception though!).
Here is another LHD 3MW in motor show finish - I’m not sure where this one was heading, there are no details.
Anybody know?.
It’s not Earls Court 1970 as that MW exhibit was a 6x4 with a 4MW cab, although it would have been painted in these same colours.
def
robert1952:
Terrific interior pics, ‘ERF’ - makes me want to jump in drive it! Robert0
You will probably know but the script with this picture says “Luxemburg”
but it is the Delcon TransitLiner from which we have the color-picture
alongside the Antwerp-road.
ERF-Continental:
Good post! Attached a page of the REVS-magazine by Wobbe Reitsma…at Earls Court 1970 (as per the
relevant brochure of which Robert showed the cover with left above the 5MW European) a similar chassis
(also 6x4 as tractive unit) was shown, however not with the NHK220 but the NTK310. The Belgian version
was sold to André Lecoq as we know meanwhile.The tractor (very nice pictures) was also on the cover of the Belgian (export) leaflet and I have been told
that this chassis went to Thibaut of Stree. Correct me when I am wrong though…
Would that be the unit registered 9.B.491 of Thibault that originally you thought might be an NGC, A-J?
If it isn’t that one, might it be one destined for Calor Transport? Robert
Indeed that Thibaut-5MW Robert. I however am ‘strugling’ with the fact on the total of 25ckd’s…and where
the tractor-pictures of ERF-P were made…it was on 1971 Brussels show
Thanks A-J.
Here are the original colour photos of the (1969?) 6x4 3MW Brussels motor show truck.
Taken on a damp and foggy morning in Sandbach (so it says on the back!).
Many times these photos and others have been reproduced in books and magazines with incorrect 5MW cab descriptions.
We now know for sure that the first 5MW cab was despatched on the 18th January 1973, so all set back axle MW cabs built before that are without doubt 3MW’s. As we have said before, the 5-3/4 inch headlamps are indicative of 3MW cabs, as the 7 inch headlights are of 5MWs.
Amazing pics, thanks ‘ERF’. Have a good weekend! Robert
[zb]
anorak:robert1952:
[zb]
anorak:
Regarding 3300John’s description of the roof of the MW cab- IE it was made by cutting up the smaller roof and inserting filler panels- why did ERF not simply take the standard Motor Panels wide/long roof, IE that fitted to the Crusader? The first Crusader was exhibited at Earls Court in 1968 (IIRC), so the panels would have been available in time for the introduction of the 3MW European.The Crusader used the TALL version of the MP Mark 4 cab, as did the NGC 7MW and the French Mack. They were the only ones (as far as I know) to use that cab. Are you sure it shared the same roof as the 3MW or the 5MW or any other MW cabs? Just a thought. Robert
The width and length is the same, is it not? Maybe 3300John knows.
Hiya…1966 there was no full width cabs was there■■? the crusader come later… the big J wasn,t full width or the Seddon.
when i posted last time. i said the first ckd cabs we got was like on a 13/4 Seddon 4 wheeler(skinny little thing)in Day cab form.
we drilled out the spot welds and fitted the spacer which we had made then we modified the roof.(sorry you missed the fun, it was
serious at the time but thinking back it must have been like a panel shop full of a jig saw) if we made a interior panel it was taken away
to the trim shop 8ft away and covered in Ambler(leather cloth) then sneaked away into the fiber glass EXP shop 100 yards away (top floor of
the green shed behind the Blue 5MW)… after prep a mould would be taken with a paten in the glass fibre.just for another day.
John