We land an Octopus!
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FROM the wide range of demonstration vehicles in the park at Tipcon '76 I chose two to drive, the Leyland Octopus 30-tonner and the Seddon Atkinson four-wheel 16-tonner.
The route consisted of mixed road running in town and country, though it did not include motorway. The steepest hill on the route was an estimated I in 6/7 which ran for about a quarter of a mile.
Although introduced in November last year this was our first chance at the wheel of the Octopus. Supplied in standard specification, the vehicle had the Leyland 502 engine developing 153kW (205bhp) at 2,400rpm and 735Nm (5421bft) torque at 1,400rpm; both figures to BS AU141a:net installed. Drive is transmitted through a 356mm (14in) diameter twin dry-plate clutch and Fuller nine-speed gearbox to the rear axles.
The Octopus was fitted with an all-aluminium body and tipping gear by Anthony Carrimore and carried a payload of 21.4 tonnes (21 tons) when loaded to 30.5 tonnes (30 tons) gvw.
At the test the vehicle had covered less than 2,000km (1,243 miles) and so it was accountably stiff. The best results were achieved by keeping the turbocharger singing by ensuring that the engine revs remained between 2,000 and 2,40Orpm.
The engine seemed to thrive on being driven hard and responded well when the throttle was treated harshly. However, with the vehicle correctly run in I suspect that the driving style will be more relaxed.
The Fuller gearbox has a close-pattern and well defined gate though fluid changes were thwarted by the stiff gearshift mechanism.
Changing between the four gears in the low range without complaint from the cogs needed a very swift lever shift, though in the four high-range gears the change could be taken more leisurely.
Cab noise-level was spoilt by a buzz from the power steering gear and I would prefer to see the park-brake lever relocated closer to the driver.
The instruments lay almost flat and, at least during daylight, are sometimes difficult to read because of the reflected glare through the screen.