Daf/Leyland team
Page 18
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LEYLAND Constructor six wheelers fitted with Daf engines will probably be on display at this year's Road Haulage Association Tipcon at Harrogate in May. In March last year Leyland reached an agreement with Daf Diesel, a separate company in the Daf group, for the supply of a limited number of 8.25-litre, 214hp (gross) DHT engines.
Leyland chose this engine for the Constructor to satisfy customer demand for a lightweight, high-power high-power 6x4 mixer chassis which it has been unable to meet since production of the Perkins V8.540 powered Super Mastiff stopped in early 1984
The wide V8 Perkins would not fit underneath the T45 cab or between the parallel chassis side members without substantial modifications. Leyland says that several in-line six-cylinder engines apart from the Daf were considered as a replacement for the Perkins, but will not specify which ones. Though Leyland's own 11-litre engine, the TL11, which is the standard Constructor engine, is powerful enough, it is too heavy (about 200k) heavier than the Daf) for many mixer operators.
Six Constructors fitted with the 214hp DHT Daf engine have aimost completed field trials with mixer operators. If these prove successful, Leyland expects to buy about 250 Daf engines a year over three years.
Da' Trucks (GB) will have no involvement with the sale or service of these engines. Leyland will take responsibility for after sales service and warranty