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mak e rs forecasi

utne ruture

HIGH ENGINE POWER and high gross weights will be the main themes of many stands at the Commercial Motor Show which opens its doors next Friday. Although nothing has yet come out of the talking that has been going on for well over two years about increasing UK vehicle weight limits—and despite there being no official indication for manufacturers and operators of the probable future figures—British makers such as AEC, Atkinson, ERF, Fodens, Guy, Seddon and Scarnmell are featuring models for weights higher than the current Construction and Use limits.

But because of the lack of decision on what future regulations will be, no one can say: "This is a chassis for the future top weight." Instead, makers have to speculate and in the tractive unit field there are 34-, 36and 38-ton two-axle machines, double-drive and twin-steer six-wheelers for 38 tons and 6 X 4 models for 44 tons. When it comes to the tractor /trailer category 56 tons gross is talked about as a possibility and there will be an eight-wheeler for operation at this figure.

To power these heavier vehicles, manufacturers have to go for bigger engines than used previously and to meet the need there is the new Gardner eight-cylinder 8LXB in-line producing 240 bhp. Cummins and Rolls-Royce engines are also popular and where adequate power is not obtainable in naturally aspirated versions, turbocharged units have been selected. Guy and Seddon use Rolls-Royce turbocharged diesels, while Cummins units with th feature are employed by Atkinson ar Fodens as well as Guy.

It is possible that when higher-outp power units than these are required, the g;

Opine will take over and in this connection LMC will go one stage further at Earls !ourt. As well as a repeat of the 1968 lowing of the 6 X 4 tractive unit for 44 nts with 350/400 bhp turbine, there will be iree similar units painted in operators' Dlours appearing on bodybuilders' stands; tese are due to go into service, obviously S part of the development programme, and

they differ—particularly in axles and suspension—from the prototype displayed two years ago.

DAF, Fiat, Magirus-Deutz, MercedesBenz, Volvo and Scania trucks will be appearing at Earls Court, including models already marketed for weights in excess of the British Construction and Use limits and for the first time there will be a Russian light van. Also in the light-vehicle field there will be the new Morrison-Hectricar batteryelectric van and commercial and military applications of the new Range Rover.

Details of what is bound to be the major psv interest at the Show—the Leyland National bus—must be kept a secret until next week but, as with all the new goods models to appear, descriptions of other new psv to be exhibited have already been published in Commercial Motor. These are the Bedford YRQ with vertical mid-engine, the Daimler Fleedine with Leyland 680 engine and the Bristol RE with Leyland 500 engine.

But while heavy goods models and advanced psv create major interest, the importance of new models such as the Leyland Redline Terrier for gross weights from 6.5 to 9.5 tons and the Albion Reiver and Clydesdale with turbocharged engines must not be overlooked.

There will be no completely new vehicles on the AEC stand but two of the chassis—Mandator and Mercury tractive units—will incorporate a number of interesting changes made to the models.

Most of the modifications apply to the Mercury which now has a 10in.-deep frame like the Mandator instead of 9.25in. Side-member flitches in the area of the fifth-wheel are also altered and they now extend downwards in between the hanger brackets and the side-members. The driving axle is also changed from the AEC double reduction unit to the medium-duty BLMC hub-reduction axle introduced two years ago.

Both the Mercury and Mandator have improved cooling for the engine with a re-designed header tank and twin wax thermostats; the rear engine supports are from the clutch housing instead of from the engine bell housing. All 0.625in. air-brake pipes are now in stainless steel and the air reservoirs have improved treatment against corrosion. And the chassis now have a transverse silencer, rubber-mounted below the gearbox, which avoids the use of a flexible section. The Mandator will have the latest Clayton Dewandre HM air/hydraulic clutch actuator instead of the previous design.

The latest versions of the Reiver and Clydesdale to be shown by Albion will appear to be different externally to the earlier models because they have the Leyland Lynx cab. But they are production versions of the prototype Super Clydesdale and Super Reiver chassis displayed at the Glasgow Show last November with turbocharged Leyland 401 engines—the 410. Although the "Super" models and the Reiver and Clydesdale with old-design cab continue in production, the Albion display will consist entirely of the new models with a Clydesdale CD41 two-axle 24-ton-gross tractive unit and a Reiver RE41, 6 x 4 rigid both with the turbocharged engine and rigid examples of both types with naturally aspirated diesels.

The Austin Morris Division of British

Leyland Motor Corporation will be featuring a variety of vans and van-based models. The J4, JU and EA models which have now lost their BMC name in favour of "Austin Morris" are to appear with many detail improvements.

Names are part of news also in respect of the display of Atkinson Vehicles Ltd. The company is now calling its four-wheel tractors Borderer, its six-wheel rear-steer tractors Leader, six-wheel double-drive tractors Adventurer, six-wheel rigids Searcher and eight-wheelers Defender. Part of the reason for the introduction of these names is that numerous changes have been made to vehicle specifications and highlights of the stand will be a Leader rear-steer model for 38 tons gross and fitted with the new Gardner 8LXI3 engine, Fuller Roadranger gearbox and Lipe-Rollway twin-plate clutch and a Borderer two-axle tractive unit for 34 tons gross with a Cummins 205 bhp diesel driving through a Borg and Beck single-plate clutch to a Fuller gearbox_ Both these chassis have a new Kirkstall axle which incorporates an air-operated differential lock. And another interesting exhibit will be an Adventurer 6 x 4 tractive unit for operation at up to 44 tons gross combination weight, the engine in this being a Cummins 270 bhp turbocharged diesel.

There will be no new goods vehicles on the Vauxhall Motors stand although there will be a civilian version of the Bedford M-Type 4 + 4 which is due to go into production this month. On its first Earls Court showing the M-Type will be seen as a tipper chassis for 11 tons gross. Of more interest will be the new Bedford YRQ bus and coach chassis which has its vertical 466

cu.in. 146 bhp gross diesel located amidships. This layout gives an evenly balanced weight distribution and it is still possible to have a coach with a normal-height floor level.

The stands of two BLMC companies —Bristol Commercial Vehicles Ltd and Daimler Transport Vehicles Ltd—will both feature developments in psv chassis which primarily involve employing Leyland engines instead of previously standard power units. The Bristol RE rear-engined single-deck chassis will be seen with a Leyland 500 fixed-head diesel in horizontal form, this unit being set to give 150 bhp at 2200 rpm. This will have an ECW body but the chief Daimler exhibit will be a Fleetline chassis with a Leyland 680 diesel instead of the usual Gardner 6LX.

On the Dennis Bros Ltd stand will be seen the first example of a chassis fitted with the new Perkins turbocharged T6.354 diesel which produces 155 bhp gross at 2600 rpm. Dennii uses this engine for its new 24-ton-gross tractive unit which is named the Defiant DB 24T. While the Defiant has many similarities with the 15.5-ton-gross four-wheeler made by the company, there is

a new version of the Dennis U-T' gearbox in the chassis, this being the NI which has wider teeth, among modificati■ made to accommodate the extra tort from the new engine.

Both versions of the new Morn: Electricar model Al—the van and pick-up—will be exhibited by Crotnp Leyland Electricars Ltd. This is completely new design of battery-elect vehicle intended for light-goods delivery city and urban districts. The body is plastics, mounted on a conventional chat and two .series-wound motors drive independently sprung front wheels. '1 Model Al is designed for a payload up to 4.5cwt.

After showing interest in the British m ket in 1966 and appearing at the Comm cial Motor Show that year, DAF of Holh was not at Earls Court in 1968 but the fi will be represented again this year. D, Motors (GE) Ltd is now a subsidiary of Dutch company and is starting to im serious efforts at selling heavy trucks in• UK. Two of the new models featured DAF at Geneva and Amsterdam earlier t year will be on display, these being an FT 2000 tractive unit with 156 bhp unit and designed for 28 tons gross and an FT 2000 tractive unit with a turbocharged version of the 8.25-litre engine in the 2000 and designed for 36 tons gross. A fourth heavyvehicle exhibit will be a terminal tractor for up to 65 tons gcw with new-design half cab and a 126 bhp engine driving through an automatic gearbox.

Two new tractive units to be featured by ERF Ltd represent the first stages of a re-appraisal of the complete range of vehicles made by the company and incorporate features that will allow them to be modified to fit future legislation requirements and to take alternative components. Many common parts will be used on the new A-series chassis and this will be evident from the two main exhibits. These will be a two-axle tractive unit with a design rating of 36 tons gross and a 38-ton-gross 6 x 4 tractive unit. The four-wheeler will have the new Gardner 8LXB engine while the 6 x 4 will be powered by a Cummins 230 bhp diesel. The six-wheeler is designed as a lightweight chassis and it is expected that unladen weight will be very similar to that of a conventional two-axle maximum gross tractor. ERF has also improved the interior of its cab and revised front-end treatment.

New chassis with high-quality cabs introduced at the Geneva and Amsterdam Shows earlier this year will also feature on the Fiat stand at Earls Court. There will be four exhibits, three tractive units and a load carrier designed to form part of a tractortrailer combination. Design weights for the chassis to be exhibited go from 32 to 44 metric tons.

There are to be two completely new models and a third is to be exhibited for the first time on the stand of Fodens Ltd. This company uses the new Gardner 8LXB for a six-wheel twin-steer tractive unit for operation at 38 tons gross and accompanying it on the stand will be an eight-wheel tipper chassis which is actually designed for up to 30 tons gross operation but limited because of its 2311 axle spread dimension to 26 tons. The eight-wheeler has a Gardner 6LXB 180 bhp diesel while the third exhibit by the company will be a 6 x 4 tractive unit designed for 44 tons gross operation and fitted with a Cummins turbocharged diesel giving 270 bhp. All three chassis will have the latest version of the Foden 12-speed overdrive gearbox and they will illustrate changes made recently by Fodens to reduce the number of variations to models in production.

New chassis for above current C and U rates will be featured by Guy Motor Ltd. There will be an eight-wheeler for 30 tons solo and 56 tons with trailer and a 34ton-gross two-axle tractive unit. Both chassis have turbocharged diesels, a Cummins 350 bhp in the eight-wheeler and RollsRoyce 265 bhp in the four-wheeler. In addition, there are several other interesting features.

Just as the Leyland gas turbine was a major attraction at Earls Court in 1968 so it is likely that the Leyland National bus will be this time. But as already pointed out details cannot be given of this model yet; the full story has to wait until next week. The gas turbine truck will attract attention and a new exhibit on the stand will be a Super Beaver export vehicle with turbocharged 690 engine. On the Leyland Motors (Scotland) stand there will be the 6.5ton-gross version of the new Terrier.

An unusual exhibit will be the new Range Rover on the stand of The Rover Co Ltd for although this 4 x 4 model can operate in a similar way to the long-lived Land-Rover it is essentially an estate car. But two examples will be seen and these will show commercial applications; one of them will be modified as a police motorway patrol vehicle while the second will be shown as an army staff car.

A light van based on the Moskvich 412 estate car will be the first Russian vehicle to be seen at the Commercial Motor Show. The Moskvich 434 8.5cwt van is being marketed by Satra Motors Ltd and it features a 1.5-litre overhead camshaft engine with an output of 80 bhp gross. The body in the 434 has a capacity of 58 cu ft.

It is now just over a year since ScaniaVabis of Sweden introduced its 140 range with 350 bhp V8 at the Frankfurt Show. This means that the Scania LBT140, 6 x 4 chassis to be featured at Earls Court will be getting its first major showing in the UK and this will also be the first time that the LB80 appears at Earls Court. The 140 can gross 24.5 tons on its three axles and is designed to operate in a combination at up to 70 tons. A left-hand drive chassis will be exhibited but production of the first righthand drive versions of the 140 series will begin by the middle of 1971.

Biggest new vehicle to be seen at Earls Court will be the Samson to be featured by Scammell Lorries Ltd. Developed from the Crusader range, this 8 x 4 chassis has its second steering axle set close to the rear bogie; this extra axle as compared to the 6 x 4 Crusader is carried on air /leaf spring suspension. The Samson is designed for gross combination weights up to 75 tons and has a heavier double-drive rear bogie than the Crusader. But it uses the same 290 bhp Detroit Diesel two-stroke V8 and drives through a Fuller gearbox. The Crusader introduced two years ago will also be featured by Scammell uprated for 44 tons gross operation and there will be a 65-ton version of the Crusader. Other novelties by Scammell at the Show will be a Contractor heavy-haulage model for offroad work, and a Trunker III fitted with the optional Dunlop Maxaret anti-wheel locking equipment.

A Rolls-Royce turbocharged engine giv ing 265 bhp at 2,100 rpm is used by Seth Motors Ltd for its offering of a veh suitable for possible future gross weig. The chassis is in the 32: four series an designed to operate at up to 38 tons gro This chassis will be shown with the la Seddon cab which has an improved inte trim and revised instrument layout. ( improvements apply also to the units u on other Seddon models and include tu tional sound proofing.

On the Thornycroft stand there will b tractive unit derived from the AEC Dumptruk (now marketed by Aveling E ford) this being called the Bush Tractor designed for use in off-road conditions at to 35 tons gross combination weight. /1 on the stand of Universal Power Drives, Invader introduced two years ago will seen as a breakdown recovery vehicle v Dial-Holmes equipment. Also on the stt, will be a new Unipower single-drive bc developed to convert 16-ton-gross fc wheelers to 22-ton-gross six-wheelers.

A more powerful engine, disc brakes the front wheels and a wider track improved road-holding will be features the latest Volkswagen vans and van-ba models to appear at Earls Court. Eng output is increased from 57 bhp gross to bhp gross and in conjunction with t stronger drive shafts are employed. Th are also heavy-duty dampers at the fr, and rear on the 1970 models together improved noise insulation in the eng compartment and other minor chang With the changes, retail prices of all mod are increascd by £14 in the case of vE and pick-ups.

Volvo models will appear at Earls Co in basically unchanged form but the F86 be seen with a new higher-output version the TD 70 turbocharged engine. Maximi output is 207 bhp at 2,400 rpm as agai the previous rating of 195 bhp and torqut now 499 lb ft at 1,400 rpm. Sole cone sionaire for Volvo in the UK is Ailsa Truc Ltd and the F86 exhibited will be fitted w EKA breakdown-recovery equipment mz in Sweden and which Ailsa is to market this country.