Foden 8X4

Hi Paul,

The vehicles military Reg No. will be stamped onto the data plate somewhere on the chassis..usually under the cab. Also do you have a copy of the Application For Disposal Of A Cast Vehicle document MOD Form 654? This will tell you the date when the vehicle was first in service and also the reg no. If it was disposed of through Withams then they may have the info on their records.

The Foden is a lovely truck to drive...used to drive them when i was in and we used them mainly for carrying Heavy Stress Platforms when i was at an air drop trials unit. We had 2 steel and 2 fibreglass cab models and all were 9 speed..4 over 4 with 9th overdrive..range change being a paddle shift. Id say yours was originally a GS version and not a tanker..someones just modified the rear of the bed into a beaver tail.

Hope this helps.

Andy.

Hope

A lot of the 8x4 16 tonne Fodens had the army rego with letters GB, which denotes 1973-74. But...I am not sure that is the build or in-service date in this case. ( Could have been when they were ordered) Memory serves me that I started work with the Army at that time and these vehicles had not arrived, in fact it was several years after this date and there was a shortfall in heavy GS trucks, so much so that WW2 Leyland Hippos were drawn from storage depots until the Foden arrived.

I think all our 16 tonners were GB's. Most of the 8t TM's we had at 27 Regt RCT were GT's or AJ's. 14t TM's were mostly KE. My 8t TM CALM is KB and its Date in Sevice is 25th August 1983.

okay will do a bit of searching on the truck, hopefully I can find something. The gearbox right now is awful, it has an eaton 4 over 4 and it is awful at changing...it needs sorting.

Hi Paul,

Your truck is simular to ours. I dont drive it as I have no HGV, but thr two guys that do have both stated there is a knack to the gear changes. As has been said in 1 of the other threads there is a brake on the clutch, so you only need to press it down a fraction of the way for normal gear changes.

Ours was definately a tanker, and was changes over by a member on here, I belive from what we have found out that all the electrics go through breakers, and everything is wired positive and negative, not a negative earth.

If you find a data plate let me know where it is as I would like to find the history of ours, but we havent found a data plate with the military reg number yet.

All tankers that carry an inflammable load are required by law to have an insulated return electrical system. Other regs require the use of conduit for the wiring and a firewall behind the cab. Insulated return systems are now standard factory fit on a lot of LGV's.

there must be a foden register somewhere of truck chassis numbers...I will keep looking...

think you will find double de clutching on the up shift and down shift will work ,same gearbox as the old leyland marathon pigs to change till u get the nack of it

This was ours as a tanker

This was ours as a tanker

[ATTACH=CONFIG]41290[/ATTACH]

interesting not the same as mine in many ways but mine has been played with I suspect...

Today we've been working on our Foden, starting to prep it for an MOT.

I was using a steam cleaner, and cleaning the chassis rail, front near side and under a couple of layers of paint I revield the data plate. It is rivited to the chassis by a rivit in each corner. Ours was 54 AD 05, which was made in 1980.

The layer of paint over the plate was a desert stone colour, now wondering if it went to the gulf war? Still we can now trace some of the history.

Really pleased to find it.

On the subject of Foden gear changing .. I drove (civvy) artic road tankers in the 'eighties, with 9 speed Fuller 'boxes & Lippe-Rollway (spelling?) clutches with what's known as a clutch-stop. To change up the pedal was depressed half way when coming out of gear, then fully depressed to slow the engine slightly before selecting the higher ratio, thus enabling a faster change. Down changes were made by just depressing half way & matching road speed/engine revs. as in any 'crash' box. If you really knew what you were doing, changes both up & down could be achieved without using the clutch at all.

Models from the 'seventies had a wonderful (not) system of a 4 speed main 'box & separate control on the side of the instrument panel for low/direct/overdrive selection, giving a total of 12 speeds, but I don't recall these versions having a clutch-stop.

Happy days ! (most of the time anyway)

Johno

I note that someone has put 27 LSG Regt RCT, 8 Sqn had 32 x 16 tonne GS LLMC between A & B troops, each troop had a Fuel section of 4x1300Ltr MK Pods and 4x22,500 Ltr Foden TTF, we got all the Fodens from Nottingham (can’t remember the depot) brand new in 1978 just before a UN tour so probably April, all GB’s, cracking trucks and very user friendly if not Squaddie proof .