Jump to content

Leyland Hippo in Scrap Yard


Invincible Mick

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 50
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

What's wrong with investor collectors? If it wasent for them most things wouldent be found, and bought back to life.

 

Nothing at all, Bill! Just as there is nothing wrong with people buying something for reasons other than its monetary value. I was just thinking this truck's survival may depend on the latter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been trying to find out something about Leyland diesels of this period - not much info out there to be easily found.

 

WW2 production was 3.9 and 8.6 litre units. Seems the 600 (10 litre) did not come out until early 1946.

 

This era of hippo was fitted with the Leyland e 175, 6 cylinder direct injection. 7300 cc. 328lb.feet torque at 1200 rpm. The most noticeable difference with this engine is the lack of external drive belts or fan belts. All the ancillaries are driven by the internal cam chain then shaft driven externally. A lovely smooth and quiet running engine.

I bought my hippo in 1996 from a scrap yard in scrap condition. The hippo mentioned in this discussion is like new compared to what mine was like. I had to fabricate nearly all the cab from scratch and replace all the wood in the body and much much more!!! 8 years later and I took it to Normandy on a tour. A real sense of achievement during the trip. I agree that it is a great shame to loose these vehicles because they are not worth restoring. But as these vehicles get scrapped it makes the remaining ones more viable to save because the value of them starts to creep up. I travelled the country whilst restoring mine and removed parts from hippos that were in much better condition than mine but they were all in various yard and for spares only so they had to be broken. A lot of those have since been "weighed in".

I find a great sense of satisfaction getting a really bad vehicle and rebuilding it but most people don't want to waste so much time on a project.

If I were to sell my hippo for what it cost me then it would probably be in excess of £1200 but in reality I would be lucky to get £7-8000 for it. A great shame because you will struggle to find a hippo that has truly been restored as opposed to just painted, had a couple of plates welded in and a few planks changed. If it was a matador or an American vehicle then you would get in excess of £12000 ! Fingers crossed the price of old brit beauties go up and then more of them will be saved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The motor is 7.4 litre and is an updated version of the tank engine which came in left and right hand. This engine was used post war to repower buses and in fact was fitted to some buses ex factory. It was also used in industrial units. The contract for the mkll Hippo was issued in 1944 and the final one was built around April 1946. Only 600 were built and many remained in service until demobbed in the mid sixties. They were issued with different size tyres back and front and a later version had them with big singles all round. Not to be confused with the 19H Hippo in army service which was much the same as the civilian post war Hippo with the new 600 motor.

I have the only one in Australia (long story) but most of the cab is rotted and I need doors and window complete or just fittings. Most of the cab is flat so I can make new.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love a volunteer ;)

 

trevor

Hi everyone,

 

Getting back to the intention of the original posting which was to more widely make aware that this old motor is in a scrapyard and available, rather than the economics of whether its worth bothering to restore, is there anyone out there interested?

 

There are a lot of good points about a Hippo that have already been mentioned and once you accept the size there are a number of advantages, not least is the convenience and room of making the back into accommodation for the weekend rallies (Ask long standing Hippo owner Phil Palmer).

 

I am no expert on these vehicles but I would say that it is probably mechanically pretty sound and generally an easy restoration. It appears complete and original and to be honest I have seen worse vehicles being rallied.

 

I am sure that they would be open to sensible offers, so it may come for £2000 or less and it must surely be worth that in spares to someone (The body would cost more than that to make) rather than go for its metal value.

 

 

 

So back to the original thread. Is there anyone out there interested?100_1012.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is everything done for its value? Might someone do it for the pleasure of doing it and doing it well, or is that an old fashioned notion or the fact it's British

 

I did mine for the pleasure of doing it !!! Could have got one on the road for a lot less hassle but finding all the bits and making new parts is all part of the fun in my mind! They are great fun and return good mpg to (11mpg). Hope somebody goes for it. The wood work looks good and most of the cab panels are flat so easy to repair or remake. Cab frame work is just 1" 1/2" angle iron so no need for fancy ash wood work! I know of some spare hood sticks if anybody does take it on.. About time a few more brit heavies were saved! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
  • 3 months later...

Thanks for the interest. As mine would be the only example in Australia you can understand that I have to look to the old country for spares. The cab rotted out while it was in New Guinea and then in the previous owners leaky shed The front and lower back is ok but the roof is only good for a pattern. I have only one door which is missing the internals and would need replacing anyway. The windscreen frame is there but the fittings are too far gone to use.. The heads (7.4 engine is different from the Matilda tank engine) went missing before it came to me but as I have found a genset with 7.4 engine all is not lost, although transplanting the genset heads would mean that one would be scrap. I think the electricals might be savable although I am looking for the correct vacuum gauge. Freight of course is a major issue but best option would be to get quotes from one of the UK freight forwarding mobs.

 

I would be happy to scan relevant pages from the manual (but don't tell anyone because it is secret - says so on the front) but a full manual becomes a bigger task. PM me with your needs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

looks like prices have gone up since 2014 ?

 

Name: [TABLE=width: 95%, align: center]

[TR]

[TD=class: dpa_bg, width: 80, align: left][/TD]

[TD=align: left] marc All advertising of marc Mail-a-Friend[/TD]

[TD][TABLE=width: 100%, align: center]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: dpa_bg, width: 80, align: left] Date:[/TD]

[TD=align: left] 14 June 2016[/TD]

[TD=width: 160, align: center] generaaltje47370_2_thumb.jpg[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: dpa_bg, width: 80, align: left] Phone nr.:[/TD]

[TD=align: left] 3259326767 view location: Ostend, Belgium[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: dpa_bg, width: 80, align: left] section:[/TD]

[TD=align: left] Leyland[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: dpa_bg, width: 80, align: left] For Sale:[/TD]

[TD=align: left] For sale Leyland hippo for restoration or parts € 3,500 OTK

marc[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was sure that the guy that bought it said so in a post here but I have just gone right through this thread and couldn't find it. I am sure that the buying price was mentioned too (quite reasionable). Maybe he deleted it or it is somewhere else in HMVF.

 

David

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...