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Scania LB76
Page 51
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"PICK UP YOUR UNIT, get to Avonmouth by 6am to collect one of Forsey's fridge trailers with a load of pears for Rungis, Paris— delivery midnight latest. By the way, you have a new tractor."
When Jim said -new" he meant new to his fleet. Nevertheless, on arriving in the yard at 3arn that morning I was delighted to find a bright yellow and red Scania Vabis LB76. It was left-hand drive, but no problem as most of our work was to France and the Netherlands.
The solo three-hour ride from Southampton to Avonmouth was a bit bumpy, but way less so than in the 180 Gardner powered Atkinson I was driving the day before!
Avonmouth,or the "Mouth" as it was nicknamed, is not the most beautiful place at any time, but at 6am on a freezing March morning it was truly grim.AD Forsey was the biggest fridge haulier then working out of the West Country, and his trailers dominated the park. Mine was a 361t tandem, and of course the airline couplings were all different to my unit.
This was not unusual, and after 20 minutes of try and swap I found the right combination of palm/spear adapters and was away on the return leg to catch a 2pm ferry from Southampton to 1,e Havre.
At that time avocado pears — as my load turned out to be — were as rare in the UK as were power steering, synchromesh gearboxes, and suspension seats. But the Scania LB 76 had all these and more.
Launched in Sweden in 1963, the LB76 was well ahead of most other European trucks. Only its Swedish compatriots at Volvo offered equivalent levels of performance, comfort and models were introduced into the UK in 1966 and quickly found favour with high-profile fleets like Hingleys of Brierley Hill, Hiltons, Samuel Williams, J&H, Jamesons, and Eurohaul. My unit, vintage circa 1965. had already had a hard five years with Astran running to Tehran.A snapped half-shaft the following day in Rouen was possibly caused by excessive diff-lock use on eastern roads.
In addition to power steering, synchro and its suspended seat, the 76 boasted an awesomely powerful 11-litre turbocharged engine developing 220hp, coupled to a 10-speed splitter gearbox, with two levers requiring considerable dexterity on the split change!
The truck could stop too, sporting dual-circuit air brakes. exhaust brake and separate trailer brake which enabled`traction" operators to use their customers' trailers to bear the brunt of slowing down.
Turbocharging was another innovation favoured by the Swedes, but regarded with some scepticism elsewhere in Europe. Certainly the truck pulled; the "turbo whistle" becoming the loudest sound in an otherwise peaceful driver environment. While fuel consumption was not the issue it is today, turbocharged motors were generally returning lmpg better than the equivalent Cummins and Rolls Royce engines. Only the frugal Gardner 180 could compete, but journey times were even then becoming a focus in road transport.
Good braking was not the only safety feature of the LB76. Stringent strength requirements were imposed on truck cabs in Sweden in the early 1960s, and Scania steel cabs easily complied with these standards.
Along with the F86 Volvo, the Scania Vabis LB76 was the parent of today's modem truck. The all-time best? Probably... and in my opinion, certainly.
• Mike Mudie began his career as a truck driver and used car dealer before becoming founder andjoint MD of the Mudie-Bond dealer network Since his 'retirement' he has been responsible for DaimlerCluysler's Mitsubishi Canter range in the UK