I’ve had a couple of 360 Turbostars and (looking back) they are amongst the best trucks I’ve owned and always got me home, the first was a 1987 E reg which didn’t need a speed limiter and would indeed go ‘off the clock’ with ease. The other, a ‘J’ reg ex Bairds Malt with a full deflector kit (defo better looking) which I painted in Rove Nightfire red (full pearlescent ) & Saab Rose Quartz and it looked the bogs dollocks.
In fact, in 1998 that J reg took me on 34 round trips to Spain, mostly tipping no further south than Elche, and normally re-loading onions at Pola de Valbona, a few times I did a ‘turn around’ and go straight back so regularly spent 2 weeks away in it with no problems whatsoever. The air-con could be a bit unreliable, I had it fixed & re gassed once in Spain and it continued to work right up to the day it was sold to be shipped to Africa. (where I’m certain it’s still pulling like a train) In fact, I would regularly run back with a mate who drove a new 420 FH Gobstopper if we’d loaded together and I’d always overtake him up Teruel, then wait for him at Carinena. (360 BIG horses)
The best way to make the metalwork last was to have them painted from new, (a fat lot of use that info is now!! ) I do belive that the white paint they finished tham in went very pourous, which, with the awfull metal they used conspired to make a real rot box!! when my last one went, you’d have thought the drivers seat was a rocking chair. (the cab floor was that rotten)
I’ll see if I can find some pics of them and scan & post them on here.
Ross.
PS, they were a much better truck with the 13 speed Fuller than the ZF 16 speed syncro. IMHO
steptoe:
A company I worked for had 2 of them, a 360 4x2 and a 420 4x2 with an after thought axel stuck on the back making it well long. The 360 was a cracking motor, 6 cylinder through a 16 speed ZF and it went realy well. The 420 was the thirstiest truck I have ever known, it didnt go much better than the 360 but it sounded amazing, a 17.2 liter V8 in it, through a Fuller box. Niether truck had good brakes. At the time and as a fairly fresh young driver these were the business.
Here is the one of the beastie 17.2 liter V8 motors
As Ferrari used to say all you’re buying is the engine the rest is free and does’nt matter.They were built for hammering over mountain passes at Italian weights which is why Italy was the main market for the Bedford TM 4400 with the turbocharged 8V92 Detroit in it which was just about the only competitor for the beast.
G’day fellas,
Here’s the artice with the first UK Turbo stars. Nice looking trucks.
I love artices like this that talk about the first ones,all about how great they are and how nothing will touch them. 1985 doesn’t seem that long ago really and sadly you’d be very hard pressed to find a couple of them still working in the UK today.
Cheers Jamie
nice article , …over £3,300 for a mobile phone & 85p for the mag nowadays you can buy a phone cheaper than the mag
chap i know loved his iveco’s he had 2 TurboStars but they were gone before i could drive them , he also then ran the ford iveco turbo tech & euro tech versions , now moved to the stralis , but he still maintains they’re not a patch on the old turbostars
NZ JAMIE:
G’day fellas,
Here’s the artice with the first UK Turbo stars. Nice looking trucks.
I love artices like this that talk about the first ones,all about how great they are and how nothing will touch them. 1985 doesn’t seem that long ago really and sadly you’d be very hard pressed to find a couple of them still working in the UK today.
Cheers Jamie
The ‘first’ ones Think these were ‘first’ before the IVECO versions.
glenman:
well it does say the man has always had fiats/ivecos.
But in this context it seems to forget that they could have had the Fiat with the same 17.2 Litre V8. which at that point had been around for at least the previous 8 years in the UK and probably longer elsewhere.But the British were always a bit behind when it comes to using decent trucks.
jerry truckartist:
the big V8s sounded lovely, typical Fiat though, chronic tinworm, dodgy electrics, and cheapo interior materials…
Jerry
Absolutely bang on in my limited experience, we had a couple of 190-38s on medium term rental from Graylease in Hull while waiting for new 2800s to arrive in 1984 - they’d catch pigeons bobtail, not quite as fantastic fully freighted but still no slouches though
hi all, i had one once on merske contract,it did about 85mph and mrken kept giving me bollickings and telling me to slow down.he took it off me eventually and gave me a ■■■■■■■■ as punishment(no hard feelings ken)shame i was never that interested in it to take any pictures.
cheers steve.
steptoe:
A company I worked for had 2 of them, a 360 4x2 and a 420 4x2 with an after thought axel stuck on the back making it well long. The 360 was a cracking motor, 6 cylinder through a 16 speed ZF and it went realy well. The 420 was the thirstiest truck I have ever known, it didnt go much better than the 360 but it sounded amazing, a 17.2 liter V8 in it, through a Fuller box. Niether truck had good brakes. At the time and as a fairly fresh young driver these were the business.
Here is the one of the beastie 17.2 liter V8 motors
As Ferrari used to say all you’re buying is the engine the rest is free and does’nt matter.They were built for hammering over mountain passes at Italian weights which is why Italy was the main market for the Bedford TM 4400 with the turbocharged 8V92 Detroit in it which was just about the only competitor for the beast.
With the V8 Turbo stars, the 420s anyway, the engine and gearbox was the best bit of them. the rest needed to be free as it usualy either fell off or rotted off, and when it did fall off the dealer never had the bits to put back on. Still like em though.
some turbostar pics i have
and the cowboy special edition
theres a vid on ebay called on yer bike and it follows ownerdriver alan barlow from stoke to germany delivering raleigh bikes for brit european in his 420 turbostar
malc step:
Hi Folks,
My brother drove this one for Lishmans Ingleton a long time ago
Would it be a Turbostar?
0
Cheers Malc.
no mate thats a turbotech, … first look at the front wheel arches they was diffrent for the turbostar as well as the roof and grilles on the side windows of sleeper
) & Saab Rose Quartz and it looked the bogs dollocks.
) I do belive that the white paint they finished tham in went very pourous, which, with the awfull metal they used conspired to make a real rot box!! when my last one went, you’d have thought the drivers seat was a rocking chair. (the cab floor was that rotten)
& 85p for the mag 
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