Fun and games with this shift pattern in a Seddon Atkinson 400
robert1952:
Certain Ford Cargos ended up with Fuller 9s. Page 97 of ‘British Lorries Since 1945’ shows six RHD Ford Cargo tractor units with ■■■■■■■ L10-250 engines and Fuller RT11609 9-sp ‘boxes in the service of West Transport of Ilkeston. Anyone got a picture of those that’s postable on the thread? Robert
2 cargo’s and a sed -ak 9 speed
fryske:
Fun and games with this shift pattern in a Seddon Atkinson 400
Not at all, it was a lovely gearchange as long as you didn’t have your hand over the stick and then hit a pothole! The lever would give you a clout across the knuckles! 
We had Foden’s with the same box, though the gear change was reversed of course as they had a one piece lever and the 400 one was in two halves (you pulled the lever back and it moved the stub the opposite way, this was to allow the cab to tilt).
Pete.
On the subject of Seddon-Atkinson 400s, I have found several references on these threads to the NTC 335-powered left-hand-drive ones operated by OHS on Middle-East work, having the standard 9-speed Fuller installed. There are also references to the Greek export version (same as the OHS ones, I believe) also having 9-speed Fullers. I add below a bit of evidence to jog some memories. Robert
FROM Commercial Motor 23rd Jan 1976. Seddon Atkinson to Amsterdam.
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.
While I’m on a bit of roll with Seddon-Atkinsons, here are some 401s, starting with a day-cabbed LHD military one - all with Fuller 9s, of course. Robert 
They had some L10-290 Cargos on Solstor for UK duties, they had Twin Splitters. A friend had a 6wheeler tipper cargo and that had a 9spd.
This Atkinson had the fuller box fitted and the shift through the lever was like a sports shift i used to look at it
often and try to figure out how/why it was so different to all the other 9-speed and 10-speed fuller boxes fitted to the other Atkinsons ■■■■■■■ and Gardner engines.
even after fitting new small u/j`s to the older motors and setting the linkage, could never get any of them as good as this motor what a beaut installation this motor had from new. 
.
The Atkinson in the little photo had a 9-speed fuller fitted to.
Some Seddon-Atkinson Stratos (the Cabtec mark 1 version) also had 9-speed Fullers. If the installation was anything like their Twin-splitter installation, I’m not sure I’d have been interested, but I keep and open mind and am prepared for good surprises if anyone has the memories. Robert
The press release read: - Seddon Atkinson aims to extend the operator apppeal of its Strato tractive unit range with the addition of a factoryfitted Petroleum Regulations package, and an optional ninespeed Fuller Roadranger gearbox in place of the Eaton Twin Splitter transmission…
From the beginning of March Strata buyers will also be able to specify a nine-speed Fuller RTX11609B gearbox, in place of the standard Eaton TS011612 Twin Splitter 12speed box. The Roadranger option covers all Stratos except for the most powerful 17.40C model fitted with the 298kW (400hp) ■■■■■■■ Super E 14litre engine. The nine-speed rangechange box saves 53kg in kerbweight and 250 on the chassis price. It is being offered in response to demands from rental fleets which feel that spotrental drivers will find it easier than the Twin Splitter to oper ate without any instruction.
8LXBV8BRIAN:
This Atkinson had the fuller box fitted and the shift through the lever was like a sports shift i used to look at it
often and try to figure out how/why it was so different to all the other 9-speed and 10-speed fuller boxes fitted to the other Atkinsons ■■■■■■■ and Gardner engines.
even after fitting new small u/j`s to the older motors and setting the linkage, could never get any of them as good as this motor what a beaut installation this motor had from new.
.
The Atkinson in the little photo had a 9-speed fuller fitted to.
I would have enjoyed that, I suspect. Is that a bit of a sleeper cab there? Another pic of one of Waugh’s Borderers below, this time with a Gardner and 9-speed Fuller. Robert
This Sedaki of ours had the 9 speed Fuller box, It used to go like the wind matched to its RR.295, rEGARDS Larry.
8LXBV8BRIAN:
This Atkinson had the fuller box fitted and the shift through the lever was like a sports shift i used to look at it
often and try to figure out how/why it was so different to all the other 9-speed and 10-speed fuller boxes fitted to the other Atkinsons ■■■■■■■ and Gardner engines.
even after fitting new small u/j`s to the older motors and setting the linkage, could never get any of them as good as this motor what a beaut installation this motor had from new.
.
The Atkinson in the little photo had a 9-speed fuller fitted to.
This shot was taken at the Leyland museum long after this unit had retired and become a “pet”,it was the only ■■■■■■■ 220 Borderer we ran that had the big Fuller 9509 box.Apparently,it started life in a big N.East fleet 
and I bought it secondhand at 12 months old out of Atkis at Club St.Bamber Bridge,and when I enquired as to why it had a “big” box the service manager,Joe Wharf, told me that they were such rough ■■■■■■■ drivers in “geordie land” they had to build the motors “over spec” as they weren’t fit to be let out doon the A1 with a normal spec motor,well thats what I was told no doubt I’ll soon get disabused of the theory very shortly,or should that be re-frazed as “abused” very shortly.Cheers Dennis.
Lawrence Dunbar:
This Sedaki of ours had the 9 speed Fuller box, It used to go like the wind matched to its RR.295, rEGARDS Larry.0
Just cast your eyes on that tidy sheeting and roping over the headboard,tight as a drum,just like the owner 
Cheers Dennis.
Evening all, Gentlemen, Robert has a winner with this thread…its got us all going, has it not?
It must be my age, or perhaps a day spent squinting through the increasingly dirty John Deere windscreen at the Shropshire mud, but I cannot make out the registration on that Calor liveried E series ERF Robert posted this morning. Mine, on the Calor job were, (the later ones), E671VKB, then ran down to E876VKB, all reg OCT `87. All totally reliable, and all on ERF buyback via their dealership in Stoke on Trent. Never ever any transmission woes!
NMM, is right, the UK TR305s either Berliet, or Renault, had 9 speeds, and not a bad installation at all. But I recall that the R310s had “our” in house B serie box…goodness it had cost a fortune to engineer…so it had to be used!
Really the 9 speed was a “fleet” specification, just a simple uncomplicated change procedure, that was easy to use, in a lightweight package, incorporating a torque capability far in excess of the norm at its introduction.
All my Stratocruisers, G608DEH, through to G612DEH, were specified with the 9 speed rather than the Twinsplitter, for exactly the reasons shown in Roberts post on Seddon Atkinson. The box was acceptable in the market place, and despite the proliferation of synchro boxes, most drivers could still drive a Fuller. Lovely lorries, but the quality was failing generally, and the Dealer support was becoming poor.
A standard modification by operators using the French 8x4 Willeme TR250 250 tonne PRP produced heavy haulers, when fitted with the V10, or 12 Detroit, was to ditch the Clark Autobox in favour of a 12 + 1 Fuller, as it was more effective behind that engine. The changes could be made quicker as the torque ran out, than with the auto box! Rather important at the weights that these boys ran at!
When I was indulging myself in importing various bits of US iron, back in the 90s, my standard spec was always ■■■■■■■■ 9 speed Fuller, whatever name was on the front of the cab. Later as I found a niche, then I was importing all sorts of weird and wonderful specifications, many with twin gearboxes…producing so many unusable and duplicated ratios that when driving them all your concentration was called for not to totally “neutralise” yourself. One monstrosity had a 15 speed double overdrive Fuller, with a six speed Spicer right behind it…I never did find out just how fast this 600hp, (showing at the drive end, according to the Dyno sheets that came with her from my pal in Kansas city ), could go…but it was far faster than anything of that size had ever gone with me behind the wheel!!!
Those excesses made one realise just how good that lightweight 9 speeder really was…in its day perhaps the best gearbox available to any manufacturer, or assembler!
I shall away to my Bollinger, for it has been a long day, and it would have been far more satisfying had my Deere have had a Fuller…or perhaps not…Horses for courses…
Cheerio for now.
A 90spd transmission 
I’m guessing the top three in the Spicer were all overdrive so that would need all 600 gee gees just to have enough power to turn the back wheels 
clydesdale wae a 9spd fuller hehe… now iirc i came across a Reiver with a 9spd …Bathgate bombers not bad horses for courses!.
My last motor when I was on McMurdo’s 250 ■■■■■■■ and the backside-formost Fuller she was ex Malcolms and needless to say had seen a bit o service. Eddie.
PS. I took the passenger seat out, made a locker along the back, set o settee cushions and curtains and it was a tidy wee sleeper.
Retired Old ■■■■:
Bewick:
I can recall that when the Fuller 610 box first appeared in the ■■■■■■■ engined Atki Borderer some of the “dyed in the wool” older operators derided the box (and the engines !)as a new fangled gimmick and it would never surpass the DB6.600 box.How wrong could they have been,at Bewick Transport the only boxes we had problems with were the DB6.600’s and the only odd problems we had with the many Fullers we ran was with the range change valve sticking occaisionally otherwise the Fullers were bombproof,and oh! the Eaton axles were trouble free also.Cheers Bewick.I refer the gentleman from ■■■■■■■ to my previous post!
One of the subjects on which we agree.
Now, just to clear up a small point, was the Big J/240 fitted with the Fuller 9?
Yes, with a 2-speed axle to the Bewick specification.