A whole year since anything was posted on this thread! Well, we have some more LHD C-series 6x4 sleepers on here today that were spotted working in the Middle East. Not my pics. Notice the Trilex wheels! Ro
Those are on 24" wheels. Looking at the clearance to the arch, it adds more certainty to ERF MAN’s explanation for the odd cab step.
Nice bit of ERF film on youtube:
Plus, some excellent footage of LHD 4x2 export B-series ERFs with sleeper cabs, bound for Abu Dhabi right at the end of this ERF video:
youtube.com/watch?v=QHgRkdKApK8
EDIT to add that the footage described ^^ kicks in at 12:44 mins on the clip 
Last night, when I discovered those two films (the links to which I posted above ^^^); I viewed a 3rd film, which I cannot re-find. It wasn’t relevant enough to post here, but one line in the ERF promotion patter stated that the SP3 cabs on the production line (being shown at that moment) were exports to the Middle-East and were of full European spec. If anyone can locate that for us, I’d be grateful.
The reason that ‘full European spec’ claim is important to me, is that I’d always assumed that as by the time the C-series came out ERF had left the European market and wouldn’t be re-entering it for several more years, export models to the M/E would be more basic and wouldn’t be required to meet the exacting standards of the EEC/EU. It wasn’t clear whether the whole tractive unit would be Euro-spec or just the cab. To muddy the waters a little, we already know (on this thread) that quite a number of Middle-East export C-series units went out with left-over LHD B-series parts and that almost certainly included cabs or cab shells. So perhaps the promo film was being a tad disingenuous!
To un-muddy those waters, it also seems likely that by that time all ERFs were Euro-spec anyway (post 1974) and that by the time the CP-series was out 10 years later, the common-parts philosophy meant that having Euro-spec and non-Euro-spec would have been unnecessary and expensive; bearing in mind that the whole point of CP was to try to narrow down all the possible permutations to ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ and to standardise everything else as much as possible.
ERF-NGC-European:
Plus, some excellent footage of LHD 4x2 export C-series ERFs with sleeper cabs, bound for Abu Dhabi right at the end of this ERF video:youtube.com/watch?v=QHgRkdKApK8
EDIT to add that the footage described ^^ kicks in at 12:44 mins on the clip
Aren’t they B series Ro?. Blue interior, and no stainless trim around the grill.
colinwallace1:
ERF-NGC-European:
Plus, some excellent footage of LHD 4x2 export C-series ERFs with sleeper cabs, bound for Abu Dhabi right at the end of this ERF video:youtube.com/watch?v=QHgRkdKApK8
EDIT to add that the footage described ^^ kicks in at 12:44 mins on the clip
Aren’t they B series Ro?. Blue interior, and no stainless trim around the grill.
OMG! You’re right, of course 
! I’d better re-post the link on the B-series thread. 
PS: I’ve edited my original post, so as not to confuse readers on here. You can still see my original post encased in Colin’s post above
Love this thread! If I could do a last stint of international, using the old roads; this would be my steed of choice - LHD C-series with big cam 290 ■■■■■■■ and the slick RTX 11609 Fuller box. Perfect!
Les Sylphides:
Love this thread! If I could do a last stint of international, using the old roads; this would be my steed of choice - LHD C-series with big cam 290 ■■■■■■■ and the slick RTX 11609 Fuller box. Perfect!0
Yeah I’m with you there. With all road-going NGC tractive units gone, this would be my choice too. 
Its rescuer and owner, Nick Bull, took it to Gaydon about six years ago. I sat up in its cab; and I lusted and craved . Nick, who knew I wrote about ERFs on Middle-East work muttered – almost to himself: ‘this one’s got your name written all over it’. I totally agreed! Alas, even though I could just have afforded to buy it at that time - and it was up for grabs - I lacked mechanical knowhow, the restoration skills, the storage facilities and the means with which to maintain such an expensive project. And though it was complete, it did need restoring. I wonder where it is now.
Actually, I’d probably go for one of these ERF factory Middle-East spec 6x4s with its Euro-spec cab. The 6x4s came with ■■■■■■■ 14-litre NTCE 350 with Fuller RTX 14609 gearbox. Yes I know, I’ve read all the stuff about them not being cost-effective on general haulage etc etc, but if I’ve only got to drive them, then gimme one of those ! – Ace machine!
No, deffo 4x2 for me! You could get a ■■■■■■■ 14-ltr 320 in a C-series (I drove one) so I expect you could ask for one in a M/E spec 4x2 unit. That’d do me 
I’m surprised to see that it’s nearly two years since I last reported on here!
Just a couple of items - nothing very new really. Yet another shot of the re-imported 4x2 sleeper, seen at one of the rallies.
And a pic I’ve not seen before from p.57 of Carl Johnson’s handy little book ERF Lorries.
I can’t help wondering whether a C603 would have been viable on the Middle-East run itself, as opposed to running ‘internals’ like the ones shown.
Unless you happened to pick up a real bargain with double-drive and set it on Middle-East work, it was hard to justify running a 6x4 between London and the Arabian Gulf; even an ERF 60C3. However, these magnificent beasts are hard to ignore as a possibility.
The Americans traditionally ran 6x4s on general haulage as a matter of course, if only because their grandfathers did. Most Middle-East countries, especially Iran, used them all the time. Indeed, most companies running trucks on ‘internals’ on the Arabian peninsula used 6x4s and dozens of these were ERFs.
I should add that of the two double-drive units from that era that I drove with tilts on UK general haulage, one was a C-series (but with NTE 320 and RHD). I encountered no problems during the short time I drove them.
Many companies and owner-drivers on Middle-East work used 6x4, including Astran which ran a handful of double-drive Scanias; and some of their subbies, including one who ran a 6x4 Scammell S26. Several companies used 6x4 Mack F700s, like HG Brown, Polar Express and OHS. Some, like Afghan, Centrum and Eskside used 6x4 DAF 2800s. Oryx had 6x4 F88s; Fridirici used 6x4 Kenworths. There were even some 6x4 Scammell Crusaders on the TIR trail.
If a third axle is required because of constant heavy running, a 6x2 is a sensible alternative to permanent 6x4. The Scandinavians generally run with 6x2 because they are more effective in snow and ice. There are financial penalties too, because of the extra weight of a double-drive bogie, extra maintenance and four more tyres to worry about. Then there is the potential problem of keeping a 6x4 on course when cornering in wet or slippery conditions.
As a rule of thumb, it is generally considered that 6x4 on hard-top metalled roads is only justified for gross weights of over 60 tonnes. However, double-drive is considered a ‘must’ for off-road work; and that can mean anything from landfill sites and construction sites to desert routes in the wilderness.
As a driver, I would have been quite happy to reverse an ERF C-series 60C3 under an Astran tilt and head southeast for the Gulf. You’d certainly get a better ride!
EDIT. Just a footnote to add that this RHD 6x4 C-series Avonline unit did regular Middle-East runs, so it was clearly doable!
Further EDIT to add: they badged the export model C60 in the end
…and anyone who ever drove a lorry with the combi of NTE 350 and Fuller 9-sp will remember that it pulled like a train (the Transcon I drove with that driveline certainly did!).
EDIT to add a question. Somewhere at the back of my mind is a memory of some reference to these 6x4 Middle-east spec C-series C60s being dubbed the ‘Overlander’ - a great and apt title; but I can find no reference to this anywhere, least of all in ERF literature. Can anyone shed a light on this?
Morning chaps & chapesses! I’m currently doing a special study (it’s like a half term assignment at school 
, except I’m in my '70s 
). I’m looking in much more detail at the ERF C-series LHD 6x4 unit, called the C603 (C57, then C60). I’ve already bunged a few bits about it on this thread, but I’m now cross-referencing info and coming up with some good findings about this beast. Most, if not all, were variously exported to Saudi and the Gulf States.
If any of you out there have spec-sheets, brochures, photos, articles, first-hand experience of these beasts, I’d be grateful if you would bung them on here or PM me. Cheers!
ro
Someone must have taken some interior shots of these units during the 1982 motor show. ERF don’t seem to have any in their publicity material (that I know of). Do please bung any images on here if you have them, however fuzzy or vague. Ta!
Later:
Well, I’ve had one response from Truckerash who actually took this picture himself at the 1982 show! So this fine picture is curtesy of Ashley Coghill.
