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Chassis development Although body manufacturers will normally steal the show
Page 71
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there were three particularly interesting chassis developments: the automatic Ford R-series; the Seddon Atkinson Pennine 7 now available to operators other than the Scottish Bus Group; and the Foden rear-engined double-deck chassis.
The Pennine 7 may well prove of considerable interest to operators although how many will have the cash to afford the luxury of a ZF manual gearbox coupled to a Gardner 6HLXB engine is doubtful.
Price for the six-speed box 18ft Bin wheelbase version is £15,070 which may be just too much in the present economic climate, even bearing in mind the price will hold steady at least until June 1977.
The Pennine is probably the proof that bus and coach operators will never freely standardise because with the accent at the Show on automatic operation the Pennine is the result of a specific operator's requirement for the Gardner engine coupled with a manual gearbox and it may be that for this reason alone the chassis will be a success, if not in this country then Perhaps abroad, where a number of left-hand models have recently been ordered by operators in Greece.
If it were an operator's requirement that prompted the manufacture of the Pennine it is equally true of the Ford R 1014 1 Om bus-chassis which is now available as a Special Vehicle Order (SVO) with the Allison AT543 four-speed automatic gearbox operated by a Morse range-change gear selector for an extra £1,200 or so.
Apparently, interest was shown by the Australian Army some four years ago when a number were supplied with the SCG unit and it was to meet their requirements for a fully automatic gearbox that led to the 8evelopment and combination with the Allison. About 50 of this svo type R1014 will be supplied to the Australian Army.
It would be unreasonable to dismiss the Foden-Northern Counties double-deck bus as simply a development without giving consideration to the amount of technical skill that has gone into the development and design of this advanced vehicle. The National Travel engineers, while admitting their experience on double-decks was limited, nonetheless expressed some reservations at the accessibility to the engine and other relevant parts.
Foden has had the opportunity to produce a vehicle which is up to date and in line with operatos' general requirements and it is interesting to note that it has opted for a fully automatic gearbox, Gardner engine in a sealed compartment, air operated, and oil cooled Ferodo brake retarder. It also attaches a good deal of importance to low noise levels,