Jazzandy:
Here’s a couple of brand new ones.
I think OHS had ten in all. The first one was painted Royal Blue which was my mistake as I ordered it!
Cheers mate! You were clearly a man of taste! Robert 
robert1952:
[zb]
anorak:
Just had another read- of the F12 again, the text says “…noise levels a lot higher than we expected…”, while the table shows it to be the quietest of the five vehicles tested! I guess that the tester could be forgiven for marking the Volvo down for a heavy gearshift, given that it was the only synchromesh-equipped vehicle in the group.Elsewhere, the MAN is marked down for low wind resistance, because this meant more brake use on downhill sections! Bizarre.
Upon re-reading this test, I didn’t get the overall impression that the writer(s) were ‘doing down’ one lorry or another. In a few places they eulogise about the Volvo’s performance and abilities. I agree with you (and them) about the gear-shift: I used to hop in and out of F10/12 Volvos and Seddon-Atkinson 400, ERFs, Fodens, Fords etc and I always found the Fullers much nicer to use than the Volvo synchro box (or any other synchro boxs of the period). They are very complimentary about the MAN throughout, much more so, indeed, than they are about the Leyland Marathon; so I certainly don’t detect a protectionist agenda here. I get the impression, in all these old tests, that in general they remain truthful to how they found things at the time. After all, the fact that the F12 went on to become an iconic favourite was at that time beyond their (or our) imaginings. At the time, I preferd B-series ERFs to F10s so a lot of it is down to personal preference: just look at Jeremy Clarkson!! Robert
Tut tut Robert you should know by now us British built lorry lovers aren’t allowed to cuss or say anything nasty about Swedish built lorries it’s not the done thing old boy
gazsa401:
robert1952:
[zb]
anorak:
Just had another read- of the F12 again, the text says “…noise levels a lot higher than we expected…”, while the table shows it to be the quietest of the five vehicles tested! I guess that the tester could be forgiven for marking the Volvo down for a heavy gearshift, given that it was the only synchromesh-equipped vehicle in the group.Elsewhere, the MAN is marked down for low wind resistance, because this meant more brake use on downhill sections! Bizarre.
Upon re-reading this test, I didn’t get the overall impression that the writer(s) were ‘doing down’ one lorry or another. In a few places they eulogise about the Volvo’s performance and abilities. I agree with you (and them) about the gear-shift: I used to hop in and out of F10/12 Volvos and Seddon-Atkinson 400, ERFs, Fodens, Fords etc and I always found the Fullers much nicer to use than the Volvo synchro box (or any other synchro boxs of the period). They are very complimentary about the MAN throughout, much more so, indeed, than they are about the Leyland Marathon; so I certainly don’t detect a protectionist agenda here. I get the impression, in all these old tests, that in general they remain truthful to how they found things at the time. After all, the fact that the F12 went on to become an iconic favourite was at that time beyond their (or our) imaginings. At the time, I preferd B-series ERFs to F10s so a lot of it is down to personal preference: just look at Jeremy Clarkson!! Robert
Tut tut Robert you should know by now us British built lorry lovers aren’t allowed to cuss or say anything nasty about Swedish built lorries it’s not the done thing old boy
By jove, 
I appear to have inadvertently skidded over the protocol red line on that one! What a gaffe, indeed 
By way of penance I’ll spend tomorrow driving my car as if it were an ERF. Robert 
Haha may I ride shotgun with you
In the export pile to Africa on Southampton Old Docks, is a 6x4 401 Ex RAF in green and from a distance it doesn’t look to have been used at all!!! I can’t get close enough to take photo any sense. Someone will be getting a bargain.
robert1952:
gazsa401:
robert1952:
[zb]
anorak:
Just had another read- of the F12 again, the text says “…noise levels a lot higher than we expected…”, while the table shows it to be the quietest of the five vehicles tested! I guess that the tester could be forgiven for marking the Volvo down for a heavy gearshift, given that it was the only synchromesh-equipped vehicle in the group.Elsewhere, the MAN is marked down for low wind resistance, because this meant more brake use on downhill sections! Bizarre.
Upon re-reading this test, I didn’t get the overall impression that the writer(s) were ‘doing down’ one lorry or another. In a few places they eulogise about the Volvo’s performance and abilities. I agree with you (and them) about the gear-shift: I used to hop in and out of F10/12 Volvos and Seddon-Atkinson 400, ERFs, Fodens, Fords etc and I always found the Fullers much nicer to use than the Volvo synchro box (or any other synchro boxs of the period). They are very complimentary about the MAN throughout, much more so, indeed, than they are about the Leyland Marathon; so I certainly don’t detect a protectionist agenda here. I get the impression, in all these old tests, that in general they remain truthful to how they found things at the time. After all, the fact that the F12 went on to become an iconic favourite was at that time beyond their (or our) imaginings. At the time, I preferd B-series ERFs to F10s so a lot of it is down to personal preference: just look at Jeremy Clarkson!! Robert
Tut tut Robert you should know by now us British built lorry lovers aren’t allowed to cuss or say anything nasty about Swedish built lorries it’s not the done thing old boy
By jove,
Or as Clarkson might say Swedish trucks were built to be driven like a car not a truck. 
Another OHS in ‘United’ guise!
Jazzandy:
Another OHS in ‘United’ guise!
Taken at Rainham, I assume! Robert
Just bumped this up for Hopey! robert
Report from Commercial Motor 23rd January 1976, page 21. Robert
'Seddon Atkinson to Amsterdam
23rd January 1976, Page 21
THE first three Seddon Atkinson 400 series tractive units built to Continental specification will be exhibited at the 1976 Amsterdam Motor Show (February 5-14). The truck was shown in prototype form at the last Amsterdam Show in 1974.
■■■■■■■ engines power all :three trucks. Two use the turbocharged NTC-335 which produces 233kW (313bhp) at 2,100rpm while the third has the naturally aspirated NHC. 250 with 170kW (228bhp) available. All three use identical drive-lines through Lipe-Rollway twin-plate clutches and Fuller RTO 9509A gearboxes to Seddon 13-tonne rear axles.
Two of the trucks have sleeper-cabs, each with two bunks, and other standard features include an alarm clock and an overnight case in its• own compartment.
Seddon Atkinson claims that the 3.5m (lift 6in) wheelbase gives excellent trailer matching even with the sleeper-cab models. Kerb weights including fifth wheel, 363 litres (80gal) of fuel, spare wheel; and carrier are 6.67 tonnes (6.56 tons) for the 335-engined unit with the short cab and 6.78 tonnes (6.67 tons) with the sleeper-cab.
The vehicles will be displayed on the stand of Ets Hocke SPRL which represents Seddon Atkinson throughout the Benelux countries.’
robert1952:
Report from Commercial Motor 23rd January 1976, page 21…Seddon Atkinson claims that the 3.5m (lift 6in) wheelbase gives excellent trailer matching even with the sleeper-cab models…
This makes their decision to send a sleeper-cabbed 3.1m-wheelbase tractor on the Truck Magazine Eurotest even more baffling, given the faffing about it caused, finding a compatible trailer. Maybe they were concerned about the unladen weight. Who knows?
Typical of the attitude from the British manufacturer’s management at the time, it was the primary cause of their demise as the lorries themselves were more than competitive in everything but badge appeal.
Perhaps they didn’t have one in stock (he said lamely!). I agree that it defies reason to get the wheelbase wrong for a Euro Test. After all, they had two and a half years to get it right (January '76 to July '78). Robert
Continuing in this derisory vein , did the other 400 “characteristics” carry over into the LHD models? I refer to the unequal steering lock, the air filter housing filling up with road dirt and the gear linkage coming apart when cornering. All of these faults were mentioned on the general 400 thread.
[zb]
anorak:
Continuing in this derisory vein
Not to mention the back-to-front, inside-out and upside-down gear-shift arrangement! Though I have to say that as long as you didn’t drive anything else, you did get used to it!Robert
Here is an excellent find that ‘ERF-continental’ posted on the 9-speed Fuller thread. It is a Belgian brochure for a SA 400 ‘International’. We know from this thread that some were exported to Greece, but I did somewhere wonder if any went to the Benelux countries; and now we have evidence that the 400 was at least advertised there. Like the rest of them, this has an NTC 335 lump connected to a 9-speed Fuller. Robert
It`s a Seddon not a Seddon-Atkinson 
note the front and front mudflaps.
OH how i wish they had kept the badge like that and not put the Atkinson name on . -
8LXBV8BRIAN:
It`s a Seddon not a Seddon-Atkinson
OH how i wish they had kept the badge like that and not put the Atkinson name on .
I think the picture may be a prototype that they used for most of their early LHD promotional literature. Further back on the thread there is a more ‘mature’ example in a brochure (posted by En-tour-age) in full OHS livery. Robert
Well, Seddon and Atkinson merged 1st of January 1971 and were taken over by International Harvester
in 1974, then belonging to the same group as DAF Trucks then was into.
Perhaps the mudflaps were intended for the Belgian market as Seddon was represented by Hocké since
very long then. To me that 400 (as well as nice range with 200 and 300) was a promissing lorry, more
or less undervalued by operators as for the lack of a servicenetwork again.
ERF-Continental:
Well, Seddon and Atkinson merged 1st of January 1971 and were taken over by International Harvester
in 1974, then belonging to the same group as DAF Trucks then was into.Perhaps the mudflaps were intended for the Belgian market as Seddon was represented by Hocké since
very long then. To me that 400 (as well as nice range with 200 and 300) was a promissing lorry, more
or less undervalued by operators as for the lack of a servicenetwork again.
You make a good point there, and some nice research. I agree that it was a promising lorry, and the cab was good; but in the early '80s I was jumping in and out SA 400s, ERF B-series and Foden S106 (all of the same age, and all with almost identical drive-lines) and the gearbox installation in the Sed-Atki was significantly poorer than the other two - in fact, of the three models the ERF was head-and-shoulders above the rest IMHO. Nonetheless, I rather suspect that the LHD Internation version of the SA 400 was probably better specced than the domestic work-horse. Robert