Choice of experience
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Losing your job in a recession can spell disaster—but for nine former Leyland Daf employees the future is looking brighter.
by Bill Brock • When Leyland Daf went into receivership Gary Smith was one of more than 1,000 people who lost their jobs.
Smith was a product line manager in marketing and sales with over 20 years' service: his department was responsible for the specification and support of standard vehicles as well as the more obscure.
Since July, he and eight former colleagues have been putting their combined experience of more than 200 years to good use, setting up The Vehicles Application Centre (TVAC), a one-stop conversion shop at the Lancashire Enterprise Park, formerly the Spurrior works.
Much of the group's expertise comes from involvement in suspension, chassis, powertrain and electrical design; but others bring skills nurtured at the former Leyland Daf special vehicle assembly plant.
TVAC specialises in nonstandard applications of commercial vehicles and offers a complete service from drawbar conversions to adding top sleeper pods.
Chassis lengthening and axle conversions will inevitably contribute to the core business but there's not much that this team couldn't tackle. Contact has been re-established with the management buyout team at Leyland and Leyland Daf at Thame, but the operation will not be restricted to Leyland Dafs.
When we visited TVAC's premises a Ford Cargo was being converted to four-wheel drive for vehicle recovery in the Welsh mountains. A converted 45-Series dual-steer road sweeper was also bound for Malaysia.
Dual-steer conversions involve changes to steering, brakes, clutch, electrics and instrumentation, with all the new wiring looms being made in-house. A single switch moves the driving/operating control from one side to the other.
Several chassis were having lifting axles added; others were being lengthened.
Cross-members and axles were being moved on an 85Series rigid; this entailed drilling out rivets and replacing them with bolts. Where an extension to a propshaft is required TVAC obtains certification from the relevant propshaft manufacturer.
TVAC claims to have completed the first in-territory drawbar conversion to the Leyland Daf 75 Series.
Design facilities include AutoCAD and all project drawings are recorded for future reference.
The company has already been approached by a small bus company to produce a frontwheel drive prototype 18-seater for the American market, based on a space-frame chassis, with automatic transmission.
It is also a fitting agent for a number of proprietary components such as Allison automatic transmissions, Telma retarders, Hatcher Components cab conversions and aerodynamic aids, Eberspacher night heaters, Gigant and Hendrickson axles, suspensions and drawbar equipment, and Holland Hitch fifth wheels and catwalks.
In addition to these TVAC has developed a few items inhouse for the aftermarket, including a one-piece stone guard suitable for the 65, 75 and 85 Series, which can be fitted in less than 30 minutes, and a clipboard/document storage unit for the 45 Series, which can be installed without drilling in just five minutes without affecting access.