Buzzer:
Oily got these of my face book, Pearce’s bakery in Carp st Beca New South Wales, Australia . Old and new the Ford bought in 1947, Buzzer.
I’m old enough Buzzer to remember the horse and cart delivery of bread and groceries in rural Aberdeeshire, also the fishwife, Fish Bell her name was, she’d get off the train with two large basketfuls of fish, having travelled some twenty odd miles from the coast, round the village and farms until she’d sold everything, then came the Ford 10 van of the same family, Findlay of Whitehills,(coastal fishing town) Banffshire.
Oily
Oily I remember the fish monger calling at our farm once a week, he had what I think was a Trojan three wheeler with handle bar steering and a van body behind, don’t think it had any doors. The chap had three fingers missing on his left hand and always told me and my sisters he cut them of gutting fish but much later when I was older he told me he lost them working a fly press during the effort for WW2 in a badly lit factory, cheers Buzzer.
I have only experienced life in two SK Mercedes , one , a 2033 with a 16 speed ZF and one with a ESP box and I know which one I preferred!
Cheers Bassman
Twixt the devil and the deep blue sea really: the ZF Ecosplit was a pretty grim syncho 'box, but at least it was manual; but the EPS was truly dreadful! To be honest, Mercedes has always been grim on the gearbox front, going back to the ZF constant-mesh 12-speeders. I’ve always liked Mercs but their choice of gearbox has always let them down in my (opinionated) book! I reckon Archer got it right when it spec’d an NG with a 13-speed Fuller (see picture below). Robert
Not a two stick model but in my opinion the best AEC made, and I don,t mind if you drool over it!!
Cheers Bassman
I can’t argue with your opinion…A Mk V, ■■■■ fine machine.
And a silly little thing that I always thought gave the AEC’s a touch of class…the chrome half shaft covers and the front wheel nut covers. For my sins I used to keep mine spotless. (I was a keen young fella )
Hi, GOM
Like you I used to be a keen young fella, always cleaning and polishing.
The first new truck that was allocated to me ,my truck, was an ERF E series.As my first ever brand new truck it got extra attention.When I got a replacement the “driver” who got my E series proceeded to wash it but instead of Traffic Film Remover he used acid mixed with water!!
Hi GOM I was like you whatever I was driving and owned at the time, Foden, ERF, lorries, AEC & Leyland buses and coaches with genuine manufacturers wheel trims. The vehicles then looked cared forand smart grimy salt pitted trims were my pet hate. Here are a few more for you to polish just for old times sake.
Cheers Leyland 600.
> robert1952: > Twixt the devil and the deep blue sea really: the ZF Ecosplit was a pretty grim syncho 'box, but at least it was manual; but the EPS was truly dreadful! To be honest, Mercedes has always been grim on the gearbox front, going back to the ZF constant-mesh 12-speeders. I’ve always liked Mercs but their choice of gearbox has always let them down in my (opinionated) book! I reckon Archer got it right when it spec’d an NG with a 13-speed Fuller (see picture below). Robert
The 8 speed synchro range change ZF in the V10 LPS 1932 was to my mind a good box, the one below URO 234M (Promo Image) was a special import for John Fishwick who was subbing for Astran.
A Left ■■■■■■ running on 1200 x 20 tyres, I was lucky to get it from him when it was about 18 months old.
At 320 bhp it drove and pulled well, comfortable to live in. I reckon it was one of the best wagons Mercedes built, quite happy on Middle East at 44t in the 70s
whisperingsmith: > robert1952: > Twixt the devil and the deep blue sea really: the ZF Ecosplit was a pretty grim syncho 'box, but at least it was manual; but the EPS was truly dreadful! To be honest, Mercedes has always been grim on the gearbox front, going back to the ZF constant-mesh 12-speeders. I’ve always liked Mercs but their choice of gearbox has always let them down in my (opinionated) book! I reckon Archer got it right when it spec’d an NG with a 13-speed Fuller (see picture below). Robert
The 8 speed synchro range change ZF in the V10 LPS 1932 was to my mind a good box, the one below URO 234M (Promo Image) was a special import for John Fishwick who was subbing for Astran.
A Left ■■■■■■ running on 1200 x 20 tyres, I was lucky to get it from him when it was about 18 months old.
At 320 bhp it drove and pulled well, comfortable to live in. I reckon it was one of the best wagons Mercedes built, quite happy on Middle East at 44t in the 70s
Some fine pics there, thanks to robert1952, Bassman, Leyland600 and whispersmith
Wasn’t one for spit and polish on wagons, occasional wash down(in my own time) cartransporters not the easiest motor to wash though quite fussy about clean cab in and out also lights, marker and rear in them days were rubber encased and water drainage a must for me, also air tank drainage also grease on artic turntable(fixed type) not a 5th wheel as such.
Hey back to long haul Mercs, one in Ireland, one in Russia.
Oily
Mr Oiltreader has just stirred a few memories, a clean cab inside, mine HAD to be neat tidy and spotless, I spent a lot of time in cabs and I couldn’t do with anything out of place. The 5th wheel/turntable…not too much grease but just enough to make it slide easy, lights and number plate, I HAD to have them clean, air tanks drained DAILY.
All the little things were not too much work/trouble etc. but it gave me satisfaction.
Happy days.
oiltreader:
Hi Robert, no doubt you came across Willi Betz wagons during your journeys abroad, seems to favour Merc, remarkably he started the firm aged just 17 in 1945.
Oily
Thanks Oily! He had stakes in Mercedes I believe . He was certainly one of their biggest customers. What frustrated me was MB wouldn’t sell the public any SK without the dreaded and horrible EPS gearshift , yet Betz had hundreds of the damned things with manual ZF Ecosplits because he refused to have EPS. Makes you spit! Robert
Sorry to contradict you here Robert, but EPS was only standard fit in the UK, at least in Europe, other markets had to pay extra for it, and a majority of customers did just that. In theory it was possible to delete it on right hand drive, but the only ones I knew of were a batch of I think 20, 1838 G cabs which Edmondsons from Morecambe got in 1995 all manual RHD. The manual box was the MB 16 sped box as used with all but the first EPS installations, this is the box Betz got as well, not an Ecosplit.
On a different matter point, the 28 was offered for years here with a 13 speed Fuller as a factory option; and virtually nobody ordered it. In fact an MB guy once told me it was just one, I don’t know if that was true, but it was certainly a tiny number.
Personally I loved EPS, a thousand times better than Telligent in Actros. You just had to use it properly, went up blue bank out of Whitby a hundred times loaded with coils, block changing down the box on the hill and never stopped or missed one. Just don’t lift the clutch, even a mm, until it clicked in and they were first time everytime; but let the clutch up early, trying to rush it and you had a box of neutrals.
oiltreader:
Hi Robert, no doubt you came across Willi Betz wagons during your journeys abroad, seems to favour Merc, remarkably he started the firm aged just 17 in 1945.
Oily
Thanks Oily! He had stakes in Mercedes I believe . He was certainly one of their biggest customers. What frustrated me was MB wouldn’t sell the public any SK without the dreaded and horrible EPS gearshift , yet Betz had hundreds of the damned things with manual ZF Ecosplits because he refused to have EPS. Makes you spit! Robert
Sorry to contradict you here Robert, but EPS was only standard fit in the UK, at least in Europe, other markets had to pay extra for it, and a majority of customers did just that. In theory it was possible to delete it on right hand drive, but the only ones I knew of were a batch of I think 20, 1838 G cabs which Edmondsons from Morecambe got in 1995 all manual RHD. The manual box was the MB 16 sped box as used with all but the first EPS installations, this is the box Betz got as well, not an Ecosplit.
On a different matter point, the 28 was offered for years here with a 13 speed Fuller as a factory option; and virtually nobody ordered it. In fact an MB guy once told me it was just one, I don’t know if that was true, but it was certainly a tiny number.
Personally I loved EPS, a thousand times better than Telligent in Actros. You just had to use it properly, went up blue bank out of Whitby a hundred times loaded with coils, block changing down the box on the hill and never stopped or missed one. Just don’t lift the clutch, even a mm, until it clicked in and they were first time everytime; but let the clutch up early, trying to rush it and you had a box of neutrals.
Thanks for the clarification and corrections ‘acd1202’! I didn’t know that UK had been singled out for the lack-of-choice package. As for the ZF Ecosplit, I remember them in the later NGs and had rather assumed that they were carried over into the Betz units, as they too were 16-speed boxes. I’m surprised you preferred EPS to Telligent: I thought they were just as bad! I suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised by the low take-up of Mercs with Fullers, as at that time there were still plenty of other units on the market with Fuller 'boxes. Glad you replied! Cheers, Robert
grumpy old man:
Mr Oiltreader has just stirred a few memories, a clean cab inside, mine HAD to be neat tidy and spotless, I spent a lot of time in cabs and I couldn’t do with anything out of place. The 5th wheel/turntable…not too much grease but just enough to make it slide easy, lights and number plate, I HAD to have them clean, air tanks drained DAILY.
All the little things were not too much work/trouble etc. but it gave me satisfaction.
Happy days.
Good man GOM, reference the air tanks, and wagon and drag, going in after the Christmas/ New Year break and having to get the burning rag going under the air tank for a thaw out and drain, the drag trailer brakes never seemed 100% at the best of times but attention to the tank and drawbar connections did get the best out of them
Oily
oiltreader:
Good man GOM, reference the air tanks, and wagon and drag, going in after the Christmas/ New Year break and having to get the burning rag going under the air tank for a thaw out and drain, the drag trailer brakes never seemed 100% at the best of times but attention to the tank and drawbar connections did get the best out of them
Oily
Picture the scene, GOM with an Atki unit in some godforesaken land (north of Dundee) colder that Antarctica, middle of winter, and a bit of moisture got as far as the brake valves that were on the back of the cab and froze…ALL STOP. Solution■■? stand on the cat walk and pis…urinate all over the valves. Job done and i’m on my way again. I never neglected to drain them after that , it was so cold I feared for the wellbeing of my cheeky bits standing there with everything exposed.
grumpy old man:
Picture the scene, GOM with an Atki unit in some godforesaken land (north of Dundee) colder that Antarctica, middle of winter, and a bit of moisture got as far as the brake valves that were on the back of the cab and froze…ALL STOP. Solution■■? stand on the cat walk and pis….urinate all over the valves. Job done and i’m on my way again. I never neglected to drain them after that , it was so cold I feared for the wellbeing of my cheeky bits standing there with everything exposed.
Ah ha, now we know why you drank Islay whisky GOM!
though quite fussy about clean cab in and out also lights, marker and rear in them days were rubber encased and water drainage a must for me, also air tank drainage also grease on artic turntable(fixed type) not a 5th wheel as such.
. He was certainly one of their biggest customers. What frustrated me was MB wouldn’t sell the public any SK without the dreaded and horrible EPS gearshift 
, yet Betz had hundreds of the damned things with manual ZF Ecosplits because he refused to have EPS. Makes you spit! 
Robert
