Sepo:
Just kick start this one again… with some Atkis
What a good idea 
HBO 753N Atkinson Venturer T7566C by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
HEH 739N Atkinson Borderer T3446C by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
Atki Down Under by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
POG 183M Atkinson Borderer T3446C by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
GFV 819N Atkinson Borderer T3446C by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
And some more
KEITHERIC29:
1973 atkinson 240 gardener straight 8 good in its day
IMHO the Atky Borderer was the finest chassis ever to use the 8LXB engine,far better than the “A” Series ERF and definitely a lot better than the Foden,the Big “A” miles better than the rest !! Cheers Bewick.
i always reckoned the fodens were too low geared for a 12 speed , 55mph flat out and never used the bottom 3 gears . the front suspension wasn’t up to the 240 gardner either very negative feel and a tendency to oversteer on bends . slightly off thread , but points out why the atki was better . dave
rigsby:
i always reckoned the fodens were too low geared for a 12 speed , 55mph flat out and never used the bottom 3 gears . the front suspension wasn’t up to the 240 gardner either very negative feel and a tendency to oversteer on bends . slightly off thread , but points out why the atki was better . dave
I only ever had experience of Atky and “A” Series 8LXB’s Dave,but from what I saw and heard about the Foden you are right they weren’t in the same league as the Atky or the ERF.Cheers Dennis PS I’ll proably get a Bollocking off Larry,but I’ll have had worse!!
Bewick:
rigsby:
i always reckoned the fodens were too low geared for a 12 speed , 55mph flat out and never used the bottom 3 gears . the front suspension wasn’t up to the 240 gardner either very negative feel and a tendency to oversteer on bends . slightly off thread , but points out why the atki was better . daveI only ever had experience of Atky and “A” Series 8LXB’s Dave,but from what I saw and heard about the Foden you are right they weren’t in the same league as the Atky or the ERF.Cheers Dennis PS I’ll proably get a Bollocking off Larry,but I’ll have had worse!!
Dennis I only ran 150s which served me very well, I did drive a Scammell tractor unit PVM 508 G, It was a decent motor to drive, But the gear box was a 6 speed but badley spaced out too big of a gap between 4th & 5th, I never had the pleasure of driving a motor with the 8LXB In it, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Dennis I only ran 150s which served me very well, I did drive a Scammell tractor unit PVM 508 G, It was a decent motor to drive, But the gear box was a 6 speed but badley spaced out too big of a gap between 4th & 5th, I never had the pleasure of driving a motor with the 8LXB In it, Regards Larry.
Not unlike the 6-speed David Brown, then! A Fuller behind a 180 Gardner makes it so much nicer
Larry and Chris,this “A” series ERF was a longstanding favourite of mine,180LXB/Fuller 609/Kirkstall D85 into service Jan 76,what a great little workhorse and it wasn’t actually the motor I’d bought at the time,from HLH of Norwich.I’d paid for a DB 6 speed/Eaton 2 speed motor,but a certain Mr.A Sutton had collared that one!!! Anyhow,at the time beggars couldn’t be choosers and the Trade Plate delivery driver wasn’t hanging about on a Friday morning at 7.30AM in Milnthorpe,and the cheeky ■■■■■■■ had hit a pheasant on the A6 and he had it in a carrier bag to take back to Norwhich !!But this motor turned out to be a real “little Gem” over the years.We ran it on double shift for a long while and it was 100% reliable,we had ERF change the diff to a higher ratio which lifted it’s top speed from 53 to about 63mph and I reckon this was it’s making,well geared and plenty of them!! Shot here in the later 70’s in the depot at Milnthorpe coupled up to a Bowater Scott load ex Barrow for West Thurrock,it would run the trailer to Daventry on the night shift and return with a load of woodpulp ex Tilbury for Milnthorpe.
Bewick:
Larry and Chris,this “A” series ERF was a longstanding favourite of mine…
Dennis, look what you’ve done! You put an ERF on the Atki thread… you know what that means? I’ll have to put some more Atkis back on, to bring the thread back on track!
Atkinson Venturer LCK 480N by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
Atkinson Viewline BVB 457H by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
JFV 798N Atkinson Borderer by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
TTC 547M Atkinson Defender by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
NFD 921M Atkinson Borderer by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
Atkinsons, G B Crook by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
RAO 207M Atkinson Searcher by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
Atkinson Searcher VTD 495M by 240 Gardner, on Flickr
Looking very shiny…
The gassing commences…
Enough!!
Hi, 240 Gardner,
You have put a photo on of a Atkinson Searcher coupled to a Bernard Mathews freezer. Is this the same model Atkinson Searcher as used in the 6 wheel haulage chassis,converted for purpose, or have I got my model names mixed up?
Also it appears ,it may be optical illusion , to have a larger radiator grill than standard, is this the case?
And finally, whilst not wanting to be too much of a pita, is it the same model pulling the fuel tank in Aussie, or is that an Aussie special?
Just something to sleep on
Cheers Bassman
Bassman:
Hi, 240 Gardner,
You have put a photo on of a Atkinson Searcher coupled to a Bernard Mathews freezer. Is this the same model Atkinson Searcher as used in the 6 wheel haulage chassis,converted for purpose, or have I got my model names mixed up?
Also it appears ,it may be optical illusion , to have a larger radiator grill than standard, is this the case?
And finally, whilst not wanting to be too much of a pita, is it the same model pulling the fuel tank in Aussie, or is that an Aussie special?Just something to sleep on
Cheers Bassman
RAO207M started life as a Searcher mixer IIRC
Larger engined models have a front grill moulding – IIRC this was vehicles fitted with the Gardner 240 and the big Rolls engines
I “think” the cab aperture is the same but the black grill part in the centre is larger – if you look at these two pics you’ll see it:
“Normal”
“Wide”
Or this shot which shows both styles
The Aussie one is just Mk 1 cab isn’t it? Albeit with the 4 piece screen - I think I’m right in saying that the UK spec cabs are moulded for a 4 piece screen but the “horns” are then cut off and twin screens fitted ?
I may be totally wrong here…
fryske:
Bassman:
Hi, 240 Gardner,
You have put a photo on of a Atkinson Searcher coupled to a Bernard Mathews freezer. Is this the same model Atkinson Searcher as used in the 6 wheel haulage chassis,converted for purpose, or have I got my model names mixed up?
Also it appears ,it may be optical illusion , to have a larger radiator grill than standard, is this the case?
And finally, whilst not wanting to be too much of a pita, is it the same model pulling the fuel tank in Aussie, or is that an Aussie special?Just something to sleep on
Cheers Bassman
RAO207M started life as a Searcher mixer IIRC
Larger engined models have a front grill moulding – IIRC this was vehicles fitted with the Gardner 240 and the big Rolls engines
I “think” the cab aperture is the same but the black grill part in the centre is larger – if you look at these two pics you’ll see it:
The Aussie one is just Mk 1 cab isn’t it? Albeit with the 4 piece screen - I think I’m right in saying that the UK spec cabs are moulded for a 4 piece screen but the “horns” are then cut off and twin screens fitted ?
I may be totally wrong here…
As Steve says, RAO 207M was new as a mixer with Edenhall Concrete of Penrith, and was shortened by John Killingbeck into a 6x4 tractor. Out came the 150 Gardner and 6-speed David Brown, to be replaced by a 240 with a Fuller. Despite appearances, VTD 495M also started life as a flat-bodied Searcher, with Chapman Envelopes of Balham & Darwen. Along with sister Chapman vehicle STC 262M, it too was converted in the same way.
VTD 495M was actually the first 38 tonne Atkinson that John put on the road, and it later became the first of his “Mk.3” Atkinsons, when it was fitted with a secondhand cab from a scrapped 400 Series.
The larger grille was fitted to the 8LXBs and Rolls 280s, as Steve says, and also on the ■■■■■■■ 290 & 335 fitted to the Venturer tractors - see LCK 480N, above.
Australia did indeed have the standard Mk.1 cab, with both 2 and 4 screens (referred to Down Under as the “Preston cab”, to distinguish from their own Mk.1), but they moved over to the steel-framed version. The 4-screen arrangement was used for other export markets, and also on the early snowploughs.
And that’s right, the standard Mk.1 jigs for the front panels had the extra piece necessary, and you would trim them as you wished:
I still have a set of those jigs!
Hi, 240
My thanks to you and Fryske for the info.
Did Killingbecks do work like you have listed as a means to an end ,to get just what they wanted, or was their way cheaper than buying a similar specced truck off the secondhand market? There were trucks like that available from Atkinson, I would have thought that a line built truck was better than a make up of retro fit parts, even secondhand.
In saying this I am not detracting from the expertise which went into the “conversions” that they did.
Cheers Bassman
John Killingbeck converted the wagons in his fleet to prolong the life of motors he was skilled at working on - ie. the MkII Atkinsons. Atkinson had ceased production when these vehicles were converted and put into operation with Killingbeck; this would’ve been 1983, so there was no option of a factory-built motor. John did have some factory-built Venturers through his hands but, using LCK480N as a perfect example, he heavily modified them several times. This wasn’t just just a case of transplanting an 8LXB in place of the original small-cam ■■■■■■■ 290, but the gearbox and back axles were swapped, the latter for a pair of Eaton 2 speeds. Then there were cab swaps, chassis stretches and cuts - as well as some wonderful chinese sixes he built as well, two of which live on today (the Buccaneer and an ERF B Series). It was often heard as a joke, but partially true that drivers never knew what they might be driving on a Monday morning after John had been building over a weekend…
Even when the Atkinson era finally ended, John was still tinkering with the ERFs and Seddon-Atkinsons that replaced them - anyone who was present at the auction will know what some of these tinkerings looked like. I think it fair to say that tare-weight wasn’t foremost in his considerations…
Hi,Marky
Thanks for that , made me chuckle reading it. I’ve seen in days gone by some of his ? motors up and down the road and there’s no doubting his “adaptability”.
He put his stamp on them and the words “Triggers Brush” come to mind.
Cheers Bassman
20 pages of Atkinson trucks and not a mention of R.Hanson & son Ltd., Wakefield
who in their heyday must have been one of this countries biggest operators of Atkinson trucks
