essexpete:
coomsey:
One of Whitwick quarries 680 ,they had 5. They spent a fair amount of time in the garage, the only Gardner one spent most of it’s time on the road, albeit a tad slower, NMP off FB
0What was the problem with the Leyland version?
I reckon it was head gaskets and Injectors ! 
Bewick
Bewick:
essexpete:
coomsey:
One of Whitwick quarries 680 ,they had 5. They spent a fair amount of time in the garage, the only Gardner one spent most of it’s time on the road, albeit a tad slower, NMP off FB
0What was the problem with the Leyland version?
I reckon it was head gaskets and Injectors !
That’s what the fitter,s saying Dennis, did you run any in your motors ? He was saying that the 680s were about par for the day but that the Gardner’s were exceptional which makes sense to me. Cheers coomsey
coomsey:
Bewick:
essexpete:
coomsey:
One of Whitwick quarries 680 ,they had 5. They spent a fair amount of time in the garage, the only Gardner one spent most of it’s time on the road, albeit a tad slower, NMP off FB
0What was the problem with the Leyland version?
I reckon it was head gaskets and Injectors !
That’s what the fitter,s saying Dennis, did you run any in your motors ? He was saying that the 680s were about par for the day but that the Gardner’s were exceptional which makes sense to me. Cheers coomsey
The only 680 I had 'owt to do with was when I was a Trailer mate on the Brady Octopus and I can recall the engine experiencing Injector trouble and also it started using water for a while but one snowy night running north from S. Wales it boiled it’s bolloxs off and we stopped outside Wolverhampton Nick so I had to go in and ask for some hot water which I got and from then on it never boiled up again ! Considering the work this Octopus got through it was very reliable during the time I was sat in the Passenger seat but it did have a great Driver the late Eric Postlethwaite. Cheers Dennis.
fodenway:
Taken on the fifth of January 2010, out playing with the Foden. Beats ■■■■■■■■■■■ any day.
Is there a like button 
Ron Barraclough’s Halfcab, often seen on glass bottle work out of Redfearns Glassworks at Monk Bretton. I heard that it was re-cabbed later, anyone got any evidence?
One of the reasons that Fodens used Leyland 680 engines was probably the fact that Leyland ( or British Leyland) held a substantial shareholding in Fodens IIRC. Cheers Bewick.
fodenway:
Ron Barraclough’s Halfcab, often seen on glass bottle work out of Redfearns Glassworks at Monk Bretton. I heard that it was re-cabbed later, anyone got any evidence?
What may I ask was the advantage of operating a motor like this ? 
Bewick:
fodenway:
Ron Barraclough’s Halfcab, often seen on glass bottle work out of Redfearns Glassworks at Monk Bretton. I heard that it was re-cabbed later, anyone got any evidence?What may I ask was the advantage of operating a motor like this ?
Cheaper to buy? Better heater!? I’m guessing…
The S50 half cab was introduced at the 1968 Comm Motor Show, Foden’s take on these cabs were, they had for sometime been considering a cab mainly for short haul or municipal heavy duty use where normally there would only be the driver occupying the cab. It was a more rugged and safer design that could be easily repaired compared to the standard saloon pattern glassfibre cab and it was lighter especially compared to the S40 full width steel cab. Service access was also improved on the nearside. Half cabs were not new to Foden they built previous ones but mainly to Dump Trucks or Airport vehicles. Hauliers however chose these too for whatever reason they might have had apart from the above but initially it seems they were not directed towards General Haulage use. Franky.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
At first the S50 cab was cheaper to insure, Tilcon must have bought hundreds of them and we had about 40 at our area, but later the insurance premiums rose as despite having an ‘escape route’ through the nearside window the insurers would only accept that there was just a single door in the event of an accident. Our 24 tonners were sold on after six years which was Tilcon policy but some of the 30 tonners were recabbed with the S40 cab. I took most of them to North Riding Garages at Middleton St George (part of the Tilling Group of course) for the engines to be rebuilt, new cabs fitted and a full repaint which gave them another couple of years life before being sold on. They were quite light and ours went well and were pleasent to drive, lets face it a driver rarely needs a passenger seat anyway and long distance coaches managed for years with single cabs so I could never see a problem. Ours used to do Derbyshire to Cornwall, Kent and the Isle of Wight without nighting out but Montrose was a two day run. At a push you could get a passenger in the cab, I rode from Ashbourne to Halesowen alongside the driver to collect another truck. The one in the pic is an early version with the nearside panelled in, our were J and K reg and the nearside was open.
Pete.
Bewick:
fodenway:
Ron Barraclough’s Halfcab, often seen on glass bottle work out of Redfearns Glassworks at Monk Bretton. I heard that it was re-cabbed later, anyone got any evidence?What may I ask was the advantage of operating a motor like this ?
Be no good for you Denzil you’d not get your head in 
i
windrush:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^At first the S50 cab was cheaper to insure, Tilcon must have bought hundreds of them and we had about 40 at our area, but later the insurance premiums rose as despite having an ‘escape route’ through the nearside window the insurers would only accept that there was just a single door in the event of an accident. Our 24 tonners were sold on after six years which was Tilcon policy but some of the 30 tonners were recabbed with the S40 cab. I took most of them to North Riding Garages at Middleton St George (part of the Tilling Group of course) for the engines to be rebuilt, new cabs fitted and a full repaint which gave them another couple of years life before being sold on. They were quite light and ours went well and were pleasent to drive, lets face it a driver rarely needs a passenger seat anyway and long distance coaches managed for years with single cabs so I could never see a problem. Ours used to do Derbyshire to Cornwall, Kent and the Isle of Wight without nighting out but Montrose was a two day run. At a push you could get a passenger in the cab, I rode from Ashbourne to Halesowen alongside the driver to collect another truck. The one in the pic is an early version with the nearside panelled in, our were J and K reg and the nearside was open.
Tilcon tacos must have had bigger discs than normal on those runs Pete . Lot of ex Barlows drivers ?Pete.
Not my pic
rigsby:
iwindrush:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^At first the S50 cab was cheaper to insure, Tilcon must have bought hundreds of them and we had about 40 at our area, but later the insurance premiums rose as despite having an ‘escape route’ through the nearside window the insurers would only accept that there was just a single door in the event of an accident. Our 24 tonners were sold on after six years which was Tilcon policy but some of the 30 tonners were recabbed with the S40 cab. I took most of them to North Riding Garages at Middleton St George (part of the Tilling Group of course) for the engines to be rebuilt, new cabs fitted and a full repaint which gave them another couple of years life before being sold on. They were quite light and ours went well and were pleasent to drive, lets face it a driver rarely needs a passenger seat anyway and long distance coaches managed for years with single cabs so I could never see a problem. Ours used to do Derbyshire to Cornwall, Kent and the Isle of Wight without nighting out but Montrose was a two day run. At a push you could get a passenger in the cab, I rode from Ashbourne to Halesowen alongside the driver to collect another truck. The one in the pic is an early version with the nearside panelled in, our were J and K reg and the nearside was open.
Tilcon tacos must have had bigger discs than normal on those runs Pete . Lot of ex Barlows drivers ?Haha, they were long gone when tachos came in Dave!
Actually we had some drivers leave to go to Barlows!
Pete.
Pete.
Was the big rad on the last yellow cab for extra cooling or would that have a bigger engine?
Assume it is an Oz truck?
Was the big rad on the last yellow cab for extra cooling or would that have a bigger engine?
Assume it is an Oz truck? Essexpete.
It could either originally have been an FGTU 8/40 which pulled semi-trailers, or the FGHT 8/40 designed to haul separate trailers up to 80Ton, whichever they both had the Straight 8 Cylinder Gardner 8LW of 150bhp, the only Gardner developing that power at the time. They had the newly produced 12 Speed box which also went into the Foden 8 cubic yard Dump Truck with the Foden FD6 engine or Gardner 6LW, this was back in 1952. The FGTU/HT needed a 1ft 4.5in partition built on the back of the cab to cover the rear of the engine. The Dump Truck didn’t have the large radiator as it didn’t have the 8LW fitted. Franky
