Leyland600:
Hi Froggy’ Great photo of a preserved Leyland Super Beaver, not a Hippo, that is the six wheeled version and yes it would have had the 0/600 engine fitted then with 0/680 models coming along a couple of years or so later.
Cheers, Leyland 600
Hi,
That’s exactly what I was told, but I changed my mind after having zoomed on that plate which is just above the front bumper. Clearly “Hippo”, but perhaps the radiator grille was taken on another truck during its restoration?
This plate is on the left side of the bonnet, and means “The English Truck Leyland”. During my stay (1965-73) in England, I never saw such a truck; were they produced only for export? I love its design, somewhere half way between the Berliet and the MAN of the 1950s!
Hi Froggy, Here are some scans of of a Leyland Motors 1954 publicity brochure that I have had in my possession since about 1955 apparently the O/680 150 bhp engine was available for export models then but the UK models had the 0/600 125 bhp model. There were a few UK operators of both models , they did carry the Spanish worded logo on the bonnet sides. Two operators fairly near to me were Siddle C Cook transport of Consett and Tom Carruthers of Carrutherstown, Dumfrieshire who used an ex Siddle Cook Hippo as a heavy recovery vehicle. Possibly the lorry in your photo has had a new radiotor fitted or perhaps has had the second driving axle removed.
Cheers, Leyland 600
Thanks Leyland600, for these instructive documents!
I see that the Gross Laden Weight for a 6x4 in UK was 21.6 tons, when it was 26 tons (metric) in France.
The O600 engine had similar performances to the 9.5 litre MDZ engine (6 x 120 x 140; 9.5 litre; 150 bhp at 2100 rpm) used by Berliet in the 1950s, and also to the MB6 used at the same time by Bernard (6 x 130 x 152; 12.105 litre; 150 bhp at 1700 rpm), which was in fact a rebored 6LW Gardner.
Leyland600,
Thanks for posting the 1954 brochure.
For those interested in the Super Beaver/Hippo models, here are the performance data sheets for the Leyland range around 1968 giving gradients and top speeds for each gearbox and diff ratios:-
gingerfold:
Leyland Octopus with demountable tanks of dangerous chemicals. No ADR in those days.
0
HELLO GINGER FOLD the octopus with demountable tank could this be an HKR motor? I’m only asking cos as you know Bill Heap had an octopus very much like the one in the picture but with YD papers on the name board and HKR transport Little Lever on the doors and it had smarter wheels (he painted the wheelnuts white and the mudflaps as well. ) I can’t quite make the three initials on the door but I can see it comes from Little Lever Bolton… The reg is a Bury reg and the one Bill drove for a considerable time was AEN can’t remember the number. Ta ra ginge
gingerfold:
Leyland Octopus with demountable tanks of dangerous chemicals. No ADR in those days.
0
HELLO GINGER FOLD the octopus with demountable tank could this be an HKR motor? I’m only asking cos as you know Bill Heap had an octopus very much like the one in the picture but with YD papers on the name board and HKR transport Little Lever on the doors and it had smarter wheels (he painted the wheelnuts white and the mudflaps as well. ) I can’t quite make the three initials on the door but I can see it comes from Little Lever Bolton… The reg is a Bury reg and the one Bill drove for a considerable time was AEN can’t remember the number. Ta ra ginge
The letters on the door are ACC = Associated Chrome and Chemicals which was an Albright and Wilson subsidiary. Potters, as it was always known in Little Lever was part of ACC along with the Eaglescliffe Chemical Company, which was another specialist chromium chemicals manufacturer. Potters and Eaglescliffe amalgamated in the mid-1950s. The Octopus was definitely owned by Potters and they also had some Leyland Beavers that pulled drawbar trailers. They were meticulous with these Leylands and Philip Potter, the grandson of the founder, and last Managing Director, lived somewhere near Preston. When they bought a new Leyland he would use it as his own personal transport for a month driving it from the works to his home daily to run it in. About 7 years ago one of the Potter family, now living in Surrey, contacted me for information and the lady and her husband came to Bolton one weekend and I showed them around the former site of the chemical works. I had discovered that one of my forebears had sold Edmund Potter 30 acres of land for him to expand his business. My great grandfather had been the stable manager for Potters in the days before they had motor lorries and at their peak they kept over 25 horses. HKR Transport did spot hire for Potters carrying sacks and drums of chemicals.
gingerfold:
Leyland Octopus with demountable tanks of dangerous chemicals. No ADR in those days.
0
HELLO GINGER FOLD the octopus with demountable tank could this be an HKR motor? I’m only asking cos as you know Bill Heap had an octopus very much like the one in the picture but with YD papers on the name board and HKR transport Little Lever on the doors and it had smarter wheels (he painted the wheelnuts white and the mudflaps as well. ) I can’t quite make the three initials on the door but I can see it comes from Little Lever Bolton… The reg is a Bury reg and the one Bill drove for a considerable time was AEN can’t remember the number. Ta ra ginge
The letters on the door are ACC = Associated Chrome and Chemicals which was an Albright and Wilson subsidiary. Potters, as it was always known in Little Lever was part of ACC along with the Eaglescliffe Chemical Company, which was another specialist chromium chemicals manufacturer. Potters and Eaglescliffe amalgamated in the mid-1950s. The Octopus was definitely owned by Potters and they also had some Leyland Beavers that pulled drawbar trailers. They were meticulous with these Leylands and Philip Potter, the grandson of the founder, and last Managing Director, lived somewhere near Preston. When they bought a new Leyland he would use it as his own personal transport for a month driving it from the works to his home daily to run it in. About 7 years ago one of the Potter family, now living in Surrey, contacted me for information and the lady and her husband came to Bolton one weekend and I showed them around the former site of the chemical works. I had discovered that one of my forebears had sold Edmund Potter 30 acres of land for him to expand his business. My great grandfather had been the stable manager for Potters in the days before they had motor lorries and at their peak they kept over 25 horses. HKR Transport did spot hire for Potters carrying sacks and drums of chemicals.
I think it’s time you changed your handle from gingerfold to the Oracle I feel I could talk with you for hours.
Two Super Beavers bulkers from Israel. Both are from the Leyland Ashdod production - the first is an interim type having the Israeli GRP cab but British tin front. The second is I suppose can be termed as the MkII with all-Israeli bodywork (pic by Moshe Shemesh). Those were fitted with the 200 hp 680 Power Plus, Leyland 6sp+splitter box or the SCG semi auto. Some operators replaced the Leyland boxes with Fuller or Mack ones to gain better ratios. These were very popular in Israel in the 60s (not surprising given the monopoly Leyland had on the market).
More from Israel. Leyland Ashdod also assembled Ergomatics, those are Super Comets. The first pic was taken after the cease fire accords between Israel and Egypt after the 73 war - those lorries are leaving Egypt. There’s a second Leyland in the pic - a bonneted IDF Clydesdale, a style not available anywhere else. The second pic is of a “Tiulit” (which can be translated as “travelette”), an Israeli method to bay-pass the need to have a driver with a bus licence (it was registered as a lorry). I spent many hours at the back of these things back then as a secondary school pupil Pics from the Israel Sun archives.
Pics from the Israel Sun archives.
