Shelvoke for Coke
Page 14
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THE FIRST two production versions of the Shelvoke drop-frame brewery vehicle have just been delivered to Coca-Cola Bottlers (Ulster).
They incorporate Ford drive lines and power-lift side-curtain bodywork by Lawrence David of Peterborough.
The production chassis is based on the prototype Brewery truck shown at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1980 but with a number of modifications.
The gross weight is now 16 tons with a longer wheelbase of 4m (13ft) to give a 10 pallet floorpan in contrast to the proto type with its 14ton gvw and eight pallet capacity.
Each side of the 6.96m (22ft 10in) body is divided into four compartments with the sections over the wheel arches and the rear section being 1.3m (4ft 4in) long compared with the 2.6m (8ft 71n) of the main section.
In between the axles the unladen floor height is 825mm (2ft 8in) rising to 1250mm (4ft lin) over the wheel arches with both these figures being for the vehicle on 10.00 x 20 tyres.
The body sides and the floor are angled four degrees towards the centre of the vehicle so the crates lean inwards towards a central longitudinal partition.
Shelvoke claims that although the Coca-Cola vehicles use Ford engines, the Brewerytruck concept can accommodate power units from Bedford, Perkins and Leyland along with the option of manual or automatic gearbox.
The 5.95-litre (363cuin) turbocharged Ford engine in the Ulster chassis develops 118kW (158bhp) at 2,400rpm with a maximum torque figure of 498Nm (367 lbft) at 1,700rpm.
Shelvoke claims that the double drop-frame of the Brewerytruck allows cross body access to be retained, which is usually difficult with the centre spine type of construction.