Anorak, good research…and to me the step from LV to MV is understandably genuine.
Eric Vick’s fleet had quite some mixes of cab-fronts though when I proceed on flickr-link.
3300John:
Hiya …Robert the reason that the 4MW was on 6x4 chassis is because of the overhaul length,
i remember the front bumper bar should have been on the front end of the chassis of the A series
but that put the overall length over the limit. so ERF put the bumper under the chassis with the exposed
front cross member. the 4 MW isn’t a set forward axle its the 5MW is a set back axle. the 5MW cabbed
chassis has longer springs that give a better ride. i,am sure i,am correct with that. thats why the rear set
front axle A series chassis was such a good the ride and was not to hard like earlier models…
Ah-ha! Well explained John; thank you for that, it all makes much more sense now!
By the way, here’s a LHD MV to throw into the melting pot. Robert
IIRC, the Motor Panels cab was launched in 1964, and was designed for chassis with a set-back front axle. Did ERF use this cab first, or did it go to the trouble of modifying the cabs from the outset?
Herewith some input out of a 1965 Sales-leaflet, so pretty much all right about the cab-introduction.
[zb]
anorak:
IIRC,
robert1952:
3300John:
If it is true that ERF’s first Motor Panels cab had all of those forward-axle modifications, there must have been a strong incentive. The CM report says that the show vehicle was destined for Australia. In 1966, British vehicles still prevailed in that market, and Leylands had a set-back axle. Maybe ERF predicted the increase in sales of US trucks in Australia, so moved the axle forward to compete with them. Was there legislation in Oz which favoured forward axles at the time, for instance a 5 ton limit?
robert1952:
…By the way, here’s a LHD MV to throw into the melting pot. Robert0
I wonder where that lorry was destined for, with its LHD? Given that the 4MW came out in 1968/9(?), I would guess that the lorry in the photograph was earlier. Could it be the first “European” ERF?
[zb]
anorak:robert1952:
…By the way, here’s a LHD MV to throw into the melting pot. Robert0
I wonder where that lorry was destined for, with its LHD? Given that the 4MW came out in 1968/9(?), I would guess that the lorry in the photograph was earlier. Could it be the first “European” ERF?
ERF made a lot of LHD lorries for customers in the Middle-East, South America and some of the LHD African countries. If you look in Dai Davies’s recent ERF book, there are dozens of pictures of LHD MWs (and MVs) in these locations. These were not to European specifications and therefore I presume we cannot call them ‘Europeans’. Robert
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this appears to be the only LHD LV-cabbed ERF I have ever seen. It was a one-off for Cento, a cross-border Turkish-Iranian NGO. I’ve put the technical details on the picture itself. Robert 
3300John:
Hiya…3300 john here… yes thats a MV not as it said mw wrong. there is one MV out there with a home made sleeper that has got
someone mixed up perhaps.
John
Is this the one you mean, John? It’s on a NZ rigid, but it looks like a Jennings ‘pigeon loft’ job to me! Robert
These pics are from Dai Davies’s ERF history. Rather unusually, they show LHD 4x2 4MW-cabbed units working in Taiwan! Robert 
This Belgian ERF appears to be a 6x4 with a 4MW cab. However, the caption says ‘3MW’ but we probably needn’t take too much notice of that because a couple of pages earlier in Dai Davies’s book (from which this picture is reproduced) there are two photos of 7MW-cabbed NGCs with captions stating that they were 5MWs. I notice that this one is ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ and it appears to be in CDB’s assembly workshop - I wonder if this one arrived as a CKD kit. Robert
I’m pretty sure that is a 3MW as it has the smaller headlights with the chrome bezels and it also has the flatter windscreens,compared with the more curved 4MW.
Further back a couple of pages there’s another Kiwi 3MW 4x2 tractor with ‘Karamea Rescue’ on the door,this has the same smaller lights and flatter screens.
The 8x4 MV above is in OZ not NZ,it looks to be in pretty good condition.
NZ JAMIE:
I’m pretty sure that is a 3MW as it has the smaller headlights with the chrome bezels and it also has the flatter windscreens,compared with the more curved 4MW.Further back a couple of pages there’s another Kiwi 3MW 4x2 tractor with ‘Karamea Rescue’ on the door,this has the same smaller lights and flatter screens.
The 8x4 MV above is in OZ not NZ,it looks to be in pretty good condition.
Thanks for clarifying that, Jamie. Now we know that Dai Davies’s caption was at least correct! Robert
I am not familiar with the CDB 6x4 tractor nor its operator…next to the tractor is a tractor ex
WW2 M425 or M426 (respectively produced by International, Kenworth and Marmon-Herrington)
as a result of Ets. A. Denonville sales of ex-army-surplus.
The ERF is no doubt a 3MW…not stated out of arrogance, but I second Jamie NZ, but also do
recognize the set back axle, so a ‘clear’ step in the cab…
The registration 095.YF is from 1962-1971 and the vehicle was operational till 1982.
Would assume it was assembled in CDB just as the previous 6x4 which from Brussels 1969
robert1952:
NZ JAMIE:
I’m pretty sure that is a 3MW as it has the smaller headlights with the chrome bezels and it also has the flatter windscreens,compared with the more curved 4MW.Further back a couple of pages there’s another Kiwi 3MW 4x2 tractor with ‘Karamea Rescue’ on the door,this has the same smaller lights and flatter screens.
The 8x4 MV above is in OZ not NZ,it looks to be in pretty good condition.
Thanks for clarifying that, Jamie. Now we know that Dai Davies’s caption was at least correct! Robert
The Oz 8x4 has the same cab as the one in the CM show report, so that makes it an MV. The Belgian 6x4 has the wider cab, with the louvred vents either side of he grille. It also has the steps in front of the wheel, so it is a 5MW, like the majority of the Belgian ones.
@Anorak, I am not that involved nor specialised in 3MW or 5MW but agree with you!
Alex
Good old ‘Flourpower’ seems to be unearthing all sorts of goodies for our ERF LHD threads! Here is a picture, complete with caption he recently posted on the Scrapbook thread, showing a new image of the 50-100 LHD 4MW-cabbed 6x4s export ERFs supplied to Jordan in 1968 - impressive, eh! Robert
