Just found this spec sheet for Marathon.
Click on page twice to view.
280hp in 1973,and a decent bed,what more could you need after as been said the vast majority of drivers were used to sleeping on a piece of wood across the doors and probably a lot still did.
There have been some intresting comments made on here over the last several days. Like everything
people will never all agree on subjects like these. Most members are pro british trucks on this
thread in my opinion,which is fine. However like i said in my post a few days ago the foreign trucks
overall had superior cabs which if you are sleeping in them all week is a major factor to the driver.
The Marathon did have very good across cab access to be fair.
I have another roadtest of the Marathon versus the Volvo F10 where once again Truck magazine are
totally biased in my opinion which i can post if people want to see it.
I was surprised no one commented on which truck they would drive out of the F10/12 or Marathon
if given the choice by the boss ■■ Mind you i have probably answered that myself as i feel most
members on this thread are pro british trucks. 
ERF-NGC-European:
This bloke seemed to prefer the Marathon to the ‘opposition’. robert
That looks familiar Robert, was that from my LDD thread ? 
He also did another trip in a roadtrain.
Click on pages twice to read.
DEANB:
ERF-NGC-European:
This bloke seemed to prefer the Marathon to the ‘opposition’. robertThat looks familiar Robert, was that from my LDD thread ?
He also did another trip in a roadtrain.Click on pages twice to read.
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Thanks for posting a clearer version of it! Yes, I have the original article in my files but I seem to have used your scans so must have come from your LDD thread
Re your comments above about folk on here preferring UK trucks: it may be more complex than that. I, for example, loved the driving environment (position, the cab etc) of the Volvo F10/12 but much preferred the constant-mesh 'boxes of the UK-assembled / built lorries. Never liked the boy-racer driving position in 2-series Scanias but loved the sit-up-and-beg commanding position of an ERF. Conversely, I loved the V8 lump in those Scanias. To complicate matters more, many of us are great fans of the American drive-lines (■■■■■■■■ Fuller, Rockwell) which were pretty bullit-proof. Even by the 1970s, it was getting hard to describe a truck as a ‘UK’ one because many were assembled from parts built elsewhere in the world. Badge-engineering was already commonplace.
Those who actually enjoyed driving lorries often start with a single element. It might be the cab, or the engine or an actual manufacturer. It might even be the type of gearbox. So sitting round a table in Toddington services one driver might choose ‘anything with a big comfortable sleeper’. Another, ‘anything with an 8LXB in it’. Or, ‘any premium sleeper with a 9-speed Fuller in it’ (sounds a bit like me, that one ). Or, ‘anything with a Mercedes badge on the front’ (really? 
). But you see what I’m getting at!
Robert 
DEANB:
There have been some intresting comments made on here over the last several days. Like everything
people will never all agree on subjects like these. Most members are pro british trucks on this
thread in my opinion,which is fine. However like i said in my post a few days ago the foreign trucks
overall had superior cabs which if you are sleeping in them all week is a major factor to the driver.
The Marathon did have very good across cab access to be fair.I have another roadtest of the Marathon versus the Volvo F10 where once again Truck magazine are
totally biased in my opinion which i can post if people want to see it.I was surprised no one commented on which truck they would drive out of the F10/12 or Marathon
if given the choice by the boss ■■ Mind you i have probably answered that myself as i feel most
members on this thread are pro british trucks.1
0
Im not so sure its a pro British thing Dean but more of many drivers on here who drove British vehicles regularly getting fed
up reading how crap they were . Everyone knows the cabs were never as good as the Swedes but the new generation were a large leap forward compared with what they replaced. Would I prefer a F10 or a Marathon ,it depends on what job I was doing and more importantly the wage .Like for like I wouldn`t be too bothered to be fair because they were both good lorries ,both had faults both had good points.
ramone:
DEANB:
There have been some intresting comments made on here over the last several days. Like everything
people will never all agree on subjects like these. Most members are pro british trucks on this
thread in my opinion,which is fine. However like i said in my post a few days ago the foreign trucks
overall had superior cabs which if you are sleeping in them all week is a major factor to the driver.
The Marathon did have very good across cab access to be fair.I have another roadtest of the Marathon versus the Volvo F10 where once again Truck magazine are
totally biased in my opinion which i can post if people want to see it.I was surprised no one commented on which truck they would drive out of the F10/12 or Marathon
if given the choice by the boss ■■ Mind you i have probably answered that myself as i feel most
members on this thread are pro british trucks.1
0
I
m not so sure its a pro British thing Dean but more of many drivers on here who drove British vehicles regularly getting fed
up reading how crap they were . Everyone knows the cabs were never as good as the Swedes but the new generation were a large leap forward compared with what they replaced. Would I prefer a F10 or a Marathon ,it depends on what job I was doing and more importantly the wage .Like for like I wouldn`t be too bothered to be fair because they were both good lorries ,both had faults both had good points.
Aye,Ramone.
Bottom line ruled me,it’s what you drew at end of week that counted. 
I’m saying no more on the Marathon subject except that if some drivers had been driving MK3,MK5 and AEC Mandators for years and then got a Marathon it would have been best wagon int world.I know from experience.
ERF-NGC-European:
DEANB:
ERF-NGC-European:
This bloke seemed to prefer the Marathon to the ‘opposition’. robertThat looks familiar Robert, was that from my LDD thread ?
He also did another trip in a roadtrain.Click on pages twice to read.
3
2
1
0
Thanks for posting a clearer version of it! Yes, I have the original article in my files but I seem to have used your scans so must have come from your LDD thread
Re your comments above about folk on here preferring UK trucks: it may be more complex than that. I, for example, loved the driving environment (position, the cab etc) of the Volvo F10/12 but much preferred the constant-mesh 'boxes of the UK-assembled / built lorries. Never liked the boy-racer driving position in 2-series Scanias but loved the sit-up-and-beg commanding position of an ERF. Conversely, I loved the V8 lump in those Scanias. To complicate matters more, many of us are great fans of the American drive-lines (■■■■■■■■ Fuller, Rockwell) which were pretty bullit-proof. Even by the 1970s, it was getting hard to describe a truck as a ‘UK’ one because many were assembled from parts built elsewhere in the world. Badge-engineering was already commonplace.
Those who actually enjoyed driving lorries often start with a single element. It might be the cab, or the engine or an actual manufacturer. It might even be the type of gearbox. So sitting round a table in Toddington services one driver might choose ‘anything with a big comfortable sleeper’. Another, ‘anything with an 8LXB in it’. Or, ‘any premium sleeper with a 9-speed Fuller in it’ (sounds a bit like me, that one
Robert
I here what you are saying Robert and you make some good points. That is why it is an intresting
thread as like you say everyone obviously have there favourite trucks. Yours as everyone knows is
ERF,Dennis and 240Gardner and a few other’s loved there Atkinsons,Graham i believe liked his
AEC’s, i like Volvos, Gazsa likes his Seddon Atkinsons,etc,etc.
Back in the 1970s Volvo built there own engines,gearboxes and rear axles which was pretty
impressive as there were not many building all three components. You mention the Mercedes
trucks and i agree they were a good truck,reliable and were very comfortable.
Whilst the Marathon was it appears a reliable truck i do think it was a bit rugged and dated
compared to the European trucks as a whole back in the 70’s.
Just seen your post ramone and i agree that all trucks had there good and bad points. When
you compare the across cab access for instance the Marathon beats the Volvo by a mile.
A couple of drivers have mentioned wages in relation to what truck they drove.Its amazing
that drivers would accept lower wages just to drive a truck they preferred.
Chris Webb:
ramone:
DEANB:
There have been some intresting comments made on here over the last several days. Like everything
people will never all agree on subjects like these. Most members are pro british trucks on this
thread in my opinion,which is fine. However like i said in my post a few days ago the foreign trucks
overall had superior cabs which if you are sleeping in them all week is a major factor to the driver.
The Marathon did have very good across cab access to be fair.I have another roadtest of the Marathon versus the Volvo F10 where once again Truck magazine are
totally biased in my opinion which i can post if people want to see it.I was surprised no one commented on which truck they would drive out of the F10/12 or Marathon
if given the choice by the boss ■■ Mind you i have probably answered that myself as i feel most
members on this thread are pro british trucks.1
0
I
m not so sure its a pro British thing Dean but more of many drivers on here who drove British vehicles regularly getting fed
up reading how crap they were . Everyone knows the cabs were never as good as the Swedes but the new generation were a large leap forward compared with what they replaced. Would I prefer a F10 or a Marathon ,it depends on what job I was doing and more importantly the wage .Like for like I wouldn`t be too bothered to be fair because they were both good lorries ,both had faults both had good points.Aye,Ramone.
Bottom line ruled me,it’s what you drew at end of week that counted.
I’m saying no more on the Marathon subject except that if some drivers had been driving MK3,MK5 and AEC Mandators for years and then got a Marathon it would have been best wagon int world.I know from experience.
That’s exactly what Im getting at , you like my dad Chris were driving the old stuff which when you see them at shows now its difficult to imagine doing a full shift in one never mind 10 - 12 years on hard work. The ergo was a step forward from the MKV which was also step forward from the mk111 , the Marathon was a different class again . There werent any rough motors by 76 compared with what was being produced just over a decade earlier. … There were and still are drivers who will work for less to drive a fancy one ,let em have em
Yes, I agree with all the last few previous posts. What one was brought up with also greatly influences the choice. The formative years of one’s life influence many aspects of one’s later life. Yes, I was “weaned” on Seddons, Leylands, and AECs, the Seddons being either AEC or Leyland powered. So I liked all three marques, and in the 1950s and early 1960s we had no interaction at all with European marques. (Europe was that strange place across the English Channel). There was the occasional Mercedes car to be seen and that was about it back then, and Volvo cars were coming here from the early 1960s. In fact my uncle bought a new Volvo B18 in 1964. Interestingly one of Volvo’s advertising and marketing ploys for its cars was to stress the high content of British made components they used.
In about late 1969 when I was 21 I came into the family yard one day with Dodge tractor unit and four-in-line trailer that had a ■■■■■■■ V8 engine (it was only kept for about 12 months until a new AEC Mercury tractor unit was delivered, long waiting lists in those days). In the yard delivering some goods was a new Volvo F88, it was owned by John Erswell from the Grimsby area. There were not many F88s in service here but their comfort levels were already being talked about. I’ve never forgotten that moment as John Erswell proudly showed me his truck. The cab of the F88 was a revelation compared with that of the Dodge where you could catch your knuckles on the parking brake assembly when changing gear if you weren’t careful. So I had seen the future with the F88 but I never got to drive one.
ramone:
Im not so sure its a pro British thing Dean but more of many drivers on here who drove British vehicles regularly getting fed
up reading how crap they were . Everyone knows the cabs were never as good as the Swedes but the new generation were a large leap forward compared with what they replaced. Would I prefer a F10 or a Marathon ,it depends on what job I was doing and more importantly the wage .Like for like I wouldn`t be too bothered to be fair because they were both good lorries ,both had faults both had good points.
You’ve missed the point that the ‘best’ of the Brits were actually at least as good as if not better than the Euro/Scan imports and other than cab/chassis design were basically in large part American trucks not Brit anyway.On that note the SA 400,Bedford TM and ERF NGC were all second to none or at least had the potential to be.Also bearing in mind that those state of the art examples were actually competing with primitive foreign stuff like the F88 not the F12 for a considerable period.
The issue is the opposite type of deluded bias which paints junk like the Marathon as being good based on silly comparisons with even worse more obsolete older generation Brit junk.All of which had no place on the roads of the mid-late 1970’s.In addition to those other Brit products obviously being deliberately crippled in what could only have been a conspiracy to help the competition.But to clarify this isn’t about Brit v Imports it’s all about actual specification regardless of which country it was made with the Marathon being obsolete by the mid-late 1970’s.With designs like the F12 being a bench mark in their combination of comfort and power.In which case it’s also clear that the TL12 couldn’t compete at that level regards torque requirements v ■■■■■■■ or Rolls or the Detroit 92 series,not surprisingly being crippled by its short stroke motor.While even the following T45 cab wasn’t exactly a competitive design either. 
gingerfold:
Yes, I agree with all the last few previous posts. What one was brought up with also greatly influences the choice. The formative years of one’s life influence many aspects of one’s later life.
That might explain my liking for the Bedford TM but I was then brought down to Earth by working with vehicles like the Leyland WF,Bedford TJ,old Atkinsons and even a war vintage Matador in the early 1980’s.In which the Clydesdale let alone Foden S85 was a treat to drive.What I also remember during those formative years is the TM rightly being viewed as superior to the F12.Which isn’t something I could ever say about the Marathon.
DEANB:
A bit about the Marathon from 1976.
■■■■■■■ 250.That seems to be the version which I drove.Seems like yet more confirmation of an agenda of bigging up obsolete junk to the advantage of the foreign competition.Surely an objective view would have been that the thing was obsolete since the introduction of the SA 400 and Bedford TM which were much better products to spend the money on instead. 
DEANB:
I was surprised no one commented on which truck they would drive out of the F10/12 or Marathon
if given the choice by the boss ■■ Mind you i have probably answered that myself as i feel most
members on this thread are pro british trucks.
Missed that.
Which lorry would i choose? well as said it depends on the job, but generally i’ll choose the one with the best pulling engine every time…note headline HP figures sometimes mean the square root of bugger all here…but also i’ll choose the gearbox that allows the driver to drive the lorry, so for me that puts Volvo out of the frame because synchro boxes are pants compared to constant mesh.
So yes, i’d have chosen the Thong and been quite happy whether it had a TL12 or a ■■■■■■■ under the bonnet.
I was more than happy with a Rolls 290 engined Crusader at that time, the only reason i gave that up was the Sed 400 was a sleeper cab (my first sleeper as it happens), but the Scammell was a more enjoyable drive because the engine and box were a perfect match, plus exhaust stack up the back of the cab helped with dust on farms.
Crusader was probably the closest relation the Marathon had.
My job changes have always been about the money or fewer hours/days, or both, result , until i packed the car transporters in (cos it really aint a job for old men), lorry choice has never been an influence, to be fair i usually end up with something decent because i work the tackle but look after it, but things have changed so much now that its getting difficult to keep your lorry in good nick, cos they let any idiot out in it when you’re off shift, and they don’t make the idiots put right the constant damage they cause, hence the idiots don’t learn and don’t suffer any inconvenience so guess what the result is?
And by hell there are some idiots out there now, i wonder if the retired TMs on the Old Timer’s forum realise just how bad its getting.
DEANB:
ERF-NGC-European:
This bloke seemed to prefer the Marathon to the ‘opposition’. robertThat looks familiar Robert, was that from my LDD thread ?
He also did another trip in a roadtrain.Click on pages twice to read.
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That was a great LLD from quite a few years back , thanks for posting it Dean/Robert .Im sure Ive read it before as I remember bits , obviously the driver knew nothing about proper motors as he preferred his pile of junk Marathon to the MAN and Daf 2800 he had been driving previously… Seriously though it is down to individual taste or as mentioned before having a bad experience with a certain make . Harry Gill with his Scania 80 , mine was the G290 GT ,give me a Marathon any day with a TL12 than an 18 speed G290
Carryfast:
ramone:
Im not so sure its a pro British thing Dean but more of many drivers on here who drove British vehicles regularly getting fed
up reading how crap they were . Everyone knows the cabs were never as good as the Swedes but the new generation were a large leap forward compared with what they replaced. Would I prefer a F10 or a Marathon ,it depends on what job I was doing and more importantly the wage .Like for like I wouldn`t be too bothered to be fair because they were both good lorries ,both had faults both had good points.You’ve missed the point that the ‘best’ of the Brits were actually at least as good as if not better than the Euro/Scan imports and other than cab/chassis design were basically in large part American trucks not Brit anyway.On that note the SA 400,Bedford TM and ERF NGC were all second to none or at least had the potential to be.Also bearing in mind that those state of the art examples were actually competing with primitive foreign stuff like the F88 not the F12 for a considerable period.
The issue is the opposite type of deluded bias which paints junk like the Marathon as being good based on silly comparisons with even worse more obsolete older generation Brit junk.All of which had no place on the roads of the mid-late 1970’s.In addition to those other Brit products obviously being deliberately crippled in what could only have been a conspiracy to help the competition.But to clarify this isn’t about Brit v Imports it’s all about actual specification regardless of which country it was made with the Marathon being obsolete by the mid-late 1970’s.With designs like the F12 being a bench mark in their combination of comfort and power.In which case it’s also clear that the TL12 couldn’t compete at that level regards torque requirements v ■■■■■■■ or Rolls or the Detroit 92 series,not surprisingly being crippled by its short stroke motor.While even the following T45 cab wasn’t exactly a competitive design either.
I think I missed the point a while back , I dont think you have ever been a lorry driver , more like youve worked in a factory listening into conversations in the canteen at break times dreaming of driving but not having the nous to do it.
ramone:
Carryfast:
ramone:
Im not so sure its a pro British thing Dean but more of many drivers on here who drove British vehicles regularly getting fed
up reading how crap they were . Everyone knows the cabs were never as good as the Swedes but the new generation were a large leap forward compared with what they replaced. Would I prefer a F10 or a Marathon ,it depends on what job I was doing and more importantly the wage .Like for like I wouldn`t be too bothered to be fair because they were both good lorries ,both had faults both had good points.You’ve missed the point that the ‘best’ of the Brits were actually at least as good as if not better than the Euro/Scan imports and other than cab/chassis design were basically in large part American trucks not Brit anyway.On that note the SA 400,Bedford TM and ERF NGC were all second to none or at least had the potential to be.Also bearing in mind that those state of the art examples were actually competing with primitive foreign stuff like the F88 not the F12 for a considerable period.
The issue is the opposite type of deluded bias which paints junk like the Marathon as being good based on silly comparisons with even worse more obsolete older generation Brit junk.All of which had no place on the roads of the mid-late 1970’s.In addition to those other Brit products obviously being deliberately crippled in what could only have been a conspiracy to help the competition.But to clarify this isn’t about Brit v Imports it’s all about actual specification regardless of which country it was made with the Marathon being obsolete by the mid-late 1970’s.With designs like the F12 being a bench mark in their combination of comfort and power.In which case it’s also clear that the TL12 couldn’t compete at that level regards torque requirements v ■■■■■■■ or Rolls or the Detroit 92 series,not surprisingly being crippled by its short stroke motor.While even the following T45 cab wasn’t exactly a competitive design either.
I think I missed the point a while back , I don
t think you have ever been a lorry driver , more like youve worked in a factory listening into conversations in the canteen at break times dreaming of driving but not having the nous to do it.
Blimey so all the old pay slips I’ve still got and the class 1 entitlement on my licence must be someone else not me and I’ve stolen their identity.
While it seems obvious who’s actually driven the Bedford TM,F10 and the Marathon here including nights out with the latter two and it obviously ain’t you.As for an article suggesting a preference for the Marathon over the 2800.Isn’t this the same magazine that also trashed the Volvo F12 cab while just calling the Marathon’s less spacious let alone somehow ending up with a road test result in which a Marathon supposedly outran an F12 ?. I’d guess it’s more likely that anyone who believes that bs would be the ones who’ve never driven a truck in their lives,not me.