Japanese heavies in Eire and Britain next year?
Page 28
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• A licence for assembly and sale ofJapane se Hi no vehicles has been taken up by J . Harris (Assemblers) Ltd., of Santry, Co. Dublin. Two heavy goods models have been sold, a further 18 are in the course of assembly and orders for a total of 34 have been received. Later this year marketing in Northern Ireland is planned with export to Britain anticipated in 1969.
The two vehicles which are now in service entered Eire originally for demonstration purposes. They are a KA 300 four-wheel rigid and a TH 340 tractive unit. The KA 300 is suitable for 16 tons gross when operated solo or 32 tons with a draw-bar trailer and it has a 10.18 litre diesel engine with an output of 200 bhp gross at 2,300 rpm. The transmission is through a five-speed gearbox to a double-reduction two-speed rear axle and standard equipment includes power steering, full-air cam actuated brakes and an engine exhaust brake.
The KA 300 is a forward-control chassis with a tilt cab and in this respect it is the same as the TH 340. But this chassis is sold by Harris for 30-tons-gross combination weight 0 and while the main specification is similar to the KA 300 it has a 7.981itre engine producing 160 bhp gross at 2,400 rpm.
As well as these two chassis, the Hino HE 300 features in the orders received by Harris. This is a tractive unit for 35-tons-gross combination weight and has the same engine and general specification as the KA 300 but with strengthened components to accommodate the higher weight. And in addition to these three chassis it is intended to offer the Hino TH 320 (a rigid version of the TH 340), for 16-tons-gross solo or 30 tons with draw-bar trailer.
The activities of J. Harris means that heavy Japanese vehicles are available in Europe for the first time. Until now only light vehicles have been seen, let alone marketed. At the Amsterdam Show more Japanese goods models are displayed than have been seen at any previous European exhibition and as will be seen from the report on pages 52 to 57 the heaviest is a 5-tonner.
J. Harris, intends to offer any Hino model from a 2-tonner upwards and considers that for the British market dump trucks and buses will be good sellers. With such a wide range, spares facilities can be a problem. To cater for the current limited range of heavies, over £.60,000 worth of parts are at present on their way from Japan but where other, models are sold Harris will ensure that there is, always a complete vehicle in stock so that any part needed will be available.