More than 300 trucks were present at the sublime Oldtimer Truck Show in Stroe, the Netherlands, held on the 9th of July. Trucks of European and American origin. Actually, there were so many American trucks they’ll get their own article, especially the Bulldog and Corn Binder fans won’t be disappointed. But first part one -of three- filled with Euro trucks…and one bus. Enjoy the tour.
This impressive 2008 Scania R620 was the entry guard. The pusher axle is steerable and liftable, 620 horses from a 15.6 liter V8 under its big cab.
1955 M.A.N. Diesel 515 dump truck, powered by an 8.0 liter 6-cylinder diesel. In 1924 M.A.N. from Germany introduced the first direct injected diesel engine, the company is a true truck diesel pioneer. Up to the mid-twenties, diesel engines were only used in factories (as static engines) and in ships.
Very neat, this 1969 M.A.N. Diesel 415 is carrying a classic M.A.N. farm tractor. The truck’s engine is a 5.9 liter 6-cylinder. This type of conventional M.A.N. trucks with a short nose is better known as the M.A.N. Ponton-Kurzhauber, built from 1956 to 1994. One of its direct competitors ? The famous Mercedes-Benz L-series.
In 1987 Volvo introduced a new 470 hp 16.1 liter 6-cylinder engine. One of them powers this 1989 Volvo F16 Globetrotter. The red truck in the background is a 1973 DAF 2600-series. Volvo’s 16 liter engine is good for a whopping 750 hp these days, the most powerful series production truck diesel on the market.
1955 Scania-Vabis L51 with a 100 hp 4-cylinder diesel engine. Swedish Scania, founded in 1891, merged with Vabis in 1911. In 1969 the truck maker formed one company with Saab, since then the trucks are known as Scania. Saab-Scania AB ended in 1995…and Scania still proudly wears the griffin logo !
A brand new Scania R520 V8 6×4 tractor, towing a low bed semi-trailer with 5 axles. Scania’s biggest engine, a V8 since 1969, has grown to 16.4 liter displacement these days. The most powerful version can be found in the Scania R730. You’ve guessed it, that’s 730 hp. And that makes Swedish truck makers Volvo and Scania the undisputed Kings of Horsepower.
Another giant with a V8, this 2008 MAN (no M.A.N. Diesel anymore) TGX 18.680. Engine displacement 16.2 liter, 680 hp.
1971 Scania 110 with a 203 hp 11 liter inline-6 diesel engine. The number 110 explained: 11 for 11 liter displacement, 0 for the first generation of the 1969 renamed series.
So logically, after the 110 came the 111. Above a 1979 Scania 111 with a 305 hp engine. These conventional Scanias were still very popular throughout the seventies, although by then conventional trucks were already fading away in Europe.
Something completely different, a 1951 Opel Blitz, powered by a 2.5 liter 6-cylinder gasoline engine.
Nice, this 1960 Volvo P445 pickup truck. Its registered payload capacity is 620 kg (1,367 lbs).
Just a few months old, the MAN TGX tractor above. Under its shiny black cab we find a 440 hp 12.4 liter 6-cylinder engine.
1954 Barkas V901/2 with a 901 cc 3-cylinder 2-stroke gasoline engine.
1971 Hanomag-Henschel F20, powered by a 1.6 liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine. German truck makers Hanomag and Henschel merged in 1969. The new company Hanomag-Henschel Fahrzeugwerke GmbH didn’t last long though, as Daimler-Benz bought all their shares in 1974. That was the end of the brand, yet several of their models lived on for a few years, wearing a Mercedes-Benz star. The F20, available as a van and chassis-cab, was one of them.
Let’s get loud ! A 1977 Magirus-Deutz 270 D19FS with an air cooled 270 hp V10 diesel engine.
And here we have the (day cab) COE-version of the Scania 110. Pictured a 1972 Scania 110 Super tractor with a 275 hp engine. Super is classic Scania language for a turbocharged diesel engine.
1972 Mercedes-Benz LPK 2232 6×4 tractor. The number 2232 is also on the doors; 22 for 22 metric ton GVM – 32 for 320 hp. That power is coming from a 15.8 liter V10 engine.
From the same series, a 1973 Mercedes-Benz LPS 2024. Flipje (the little fruit master) and Bibendum (the little Michelin man) are sitting on the roof as permanent co-drivers. Popular items among the truck drivers back then, when the roofs were still flat and relatively low. And nobody cared about aerodynamics.
Splendid color scheme on the Van Maanen trucks, exactly how I like it. This one is a 1974 DAF FA 2600 DKA.
1968 Scania-Vabis LB 76 Super. Power from an 11 liter 6-cylinder diesel.
Made in the UK, a 1964 Austin 504 Forward Control, powered by a 105 hp 6-cylinder diesel engine.
In the Netherlands a transit bus like this is called a standaard streekbus (standard regional bus), built from 1967 to 1988 by several Dutch and also Belgian bus builders.
The Verheul bus -basically the original standard regional bus- was a unibody design using Leyland components, but at the end most of these transit buses were built on the mid-engine DAF MB200 bus chassis that was developed in the mid-sixties. The 1988 Den Oudsten DAF MB200 DKL600 pictured above must have been one of the last.
These buses, all of them were bright yellow, drove from city to city and served the small towns and villages on their route.
Another one from the UK, a 1978 Ford D1010. The successful Ford D-series was built from 1965 to 1981. More than 50 years after its introduction the D-series still doesn’t look as an old (as in completely outdated) truck to me.
A special treat, a 1957 Krupp Elch with a 2-stroke diesel engine. The Krupp industrial empire, nowadays part of ThyssenKrupp, also built commercial vehicles from 1919 to the late sixties.
1972 Scania 110 Super with a sleeper cab, a typical example of a European long distance tractor as used during the seventies.
1967 Scania-Vabis 76 Super, towing a Hulo spoorloper semi-trailer, equipped with a Hulo crane. Throughout the sixties and seventies combinations like this were widely used for hauling bricks. As a matter of fact, the Hulo crane (Van Huet Laad en Losser – developed in the fifties) ended hard manual labor in this type of transport.
1967 Volvo N88 flatbed truck.
In another truck segment is this 1972 Hanomag-Henschel F45.
1963 Morris FFK 140 with what seems to be a camper unit as its load.
First generation M.A.N. Diesel Ponton Kurzhauber, a 1966 flatbed truck, type 626H. The second generation, with the headlights in the bumper, was introduced in 1969.
In the early eighties Scania introduced its all-new 2-series, a radical change from the past. The top model with Scania’s 14 liter V8 was the 142. Pictured above the conventional model with a day cab, a 1981 6×2 tractor with a 388 hp engine.
1960 Bedford TJ-series dump truck. Bedford was GM’s commercial vehicle division in the UK.
A bit bigger, plus equipped with a crane, is this 1966 DAF Torpedo (registered as a DAF A16DD456) with DAF’s 5.76 liter 6-cylinder diesel engine. Which was originally a Leyland O.350 engine.
1963 Ford Thames Trader with a 5.4 liter 6-cylinder diesel engine. This Ford model was replaced by the D-series (see further above) in 1965.
1980 Scania 141 with the 375 hp 14 liter (14,190 cc, to be exact) V8. Note the fully optioned roof.
DAF’s first heavy-duty truck was the 2000 DO-series, introduced in 1957. This 1968 DAF T2400DK is an excellent representant of the series.
1970 Henschel HS 3-14 HA 6×6 military truck.
Under its hood this 11 liter 6-cylinder diesel engine.
More high-quality classic trucks in the short term.
Beautiful trucks, thanks for the post. Any thoughts as to why the Euros seem to favor the V engines over the inline?
Especially the German brands offered V engines in the past, right up to the air cooled V12 Deutz engine.
Now only Scania still offers a V engine, and only as a V8 in its top-model. Everything else is inline. The most common truck diesel throughout Europe has always been the inline-6.
Instant thought; a V is shorter than an inline engine, and length regulations in Europe are tighter than the US
Love seeing all these classics! It’s a whole new world of trucks as the vast majority of those brands were never sold here. Though I did have Matchbox scale versions of a DAF 3300 and a Scania conventional.
Interesting how the heavy truck market diverged, with the COE disappearing here in the USA and the conventional disappearing in Europe. Must be somewhat annoying for Volvo as the one manufacturer I can think of with a big presence in both markets–none of their class 8 models can be offered both places.
Daimler-Benz also owns Freightliner, Fuso (Mitsubishi) and Detroit Diesel. And Paccar owns Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF. So those two are also present in both heavy truck markets.
I’ll read any JD old truck article just to catch another glimpse of a DAF 2600, and I was not disappointed. Volvo ute is cute and that Ford Thames Trader is another great cab shape. Thanks Johannes.
Johannes, A colorful display of beautiful trucks. I never heard of two stroke diesels. I am familiar with two stoke gas engines like my 1958 Johnson outboard and my friend’s old SAAB. But diesel? Does an engine like that need 2 stroke oil in the diesel fuel? Thanks for the great article.
You’ve never heard (of) Detroit Diesel 2-stroke diesel engines ? Back then owned by GM. In buses and big trucks, all over North America. You just can not “unhear” their sound (or song, as far as I’m concerned) !
Here’s a hands-on college session with an old Detroit Diesel:
Nice video. I vividly remember their sound since local truck builder FTF used 2-stroke Detroit Diesels. Here’s one with a V8 after a restoration:
The screamin’ demon.
Robert; 2 stroke diesels operate a bit different than most 2 stroke gas engines. They have valves, used for the exhaust, and their inlet ports are boosted by a blower or turbocharger. It’s called “Uniflow”.
Here’s a few of many articles on the subject; the first has some basic info.
Detroit Diesel powered the overwhelming majority of buses in the us for decades, as well as very heft percentage of large trucks. The also had a near monopoly on diesel locomotives for decades. And subs, ships, yachts, etc., commercial shipping (and cruise ships) Happy reading:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/trackside-classic/the-birth-of-the-gmemd-two-stroke-diesel-engine-very-well-ket-we-are-now-in-the-diesel-engine-business-excerpts-from-my-years-with-gm-by-alfred-sloan/
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/classic-curbside-classic-1947-gm-pd-3751-silversides-greyhound-bus-the-first-modern-diesel-bus-gms-greatest-hit-11/
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/trackside-classic/trackside-classic-1955-union-pacific-emd-e9-the-last-of-the-classic-diesel-streamliners/
Splendid collection of old trucks. I love those long-hood Scanias and some of the others. Some are familiar, others I had forgotten about, and some are quite new to me. like the Krupp Elch.
Some seriously cool trucks here. I love that Volvo F16! That bus is really nice too. Heck, I like them all, who am I kidding? 🙂 Thanks, that made my day
Beautiful display of colorful old trucks. I wonder what some of these huge diesels have for torque. Horsepower is only relevant at speed, it’s foot pounds that launches these behemoths. Thanks!
The torque numbers:
Scania R730 (730 hp), 16.4 liter V8: 3,500 Nm (2,581 ft-lb) @ 1,000 – 1,400 rpm.
Volvo FH16 (750 hp), 16.1 liter inline-6: 3,550 Nm (2,618 ft-lb) @ 950 – 1,400 rpm.
Both engines meet the latest Euro 6 emission standards.
Thanks for this collection, most of which I remember from Israel back in the day, like for example the standard buses imported when Israeli coachbuilders could not meet demand.
According to a Dutch website a total of 111 new Leyland-Verheul buses were exported to Israel in 1969 and 1970.
Leyland owned bus builder Verheul back then. As mentioned in the article those standard buses were unibody designs. Sadly, the Verheul factory burned down to the ground in December 1970. The new building housed British Leyland’s Dutch branch. The Verheul name and their buses did not return.
After 1970 Den Oudsten became the main builder of the standard buses, using DAF’s MB200 bus chassis (see below).
Johannes, we also had the DAFs with either Jonckheere or Israeli Haargaz bodies, see below (from the operator. Egged’s, archives). They were a lot quieter than the Leyland Royal Tigers and more powerful, and some DAF engines were fitted into the Leylands (easy, for obvious reasons).
and one more…
and, lastly, the Israeli body.
…or the Scanias, here next to another popular truck in Israel back then, the White WC-series (pic by Peter Marom)…
as well as the Volvos (pic by H. Sade).
Love the TJ Bedford I got my initial Heavy license in a diesel example many moons ago once a common sight but now very rare in working condition.
I get the distinct impression that the top end European trucks are more powerful than their US counterparts, though I can’t think of why that might be. Perhaps more bulk freight is carried via truck in Europe, whose railroads are more optimized for passenger traffic?
Well, I can’t exactly tell you. It was the other way around in the past, as far as I know. In the seventies and early eighties a 50 ton (110,000 lbs) rig in the very flat Netherlands had a 300 to 400 hp engine. Most Euro-countries had a much lower max. GVM though. A Scania 141 with its 375 hp V8 engine really was the King of the Mountain back then. Quite literally…
After circa 1985 things went fast: 400+ hp, 500+ hp, 600+ hp and now 700+ hp. These days the Netherlands and Sweden have a 60 ton (132,000 lbs) max. GVM, but about 40 to 44 metric ton is still the limit in other Euro-countries.
The average speed is higher with these powerful engines, that’s for sure, without a significantly increasing fuel consumption. But I’m sure it’s also a matter of prestige; among truck makers and truck owners.
Another advantage of the powerhouses is that any mainstream truck maker can offer you a powerful tractor for heavy-haulage nowadays. In the past you had to ask a specialist, like FTF or Titan.
Many Australian fleets have gone back to lower horsepower trucks because the fuel savings outweigh the slight increase in trip times.
Fascinating as always, Johannes. It’s interesting to see how the Ford and GM Europe products echo their recent U.S. contemporaries.
I remember those DAF busses well from my time in Amsterdam. I also seem to remember the same buses in a maroon, white, and black livery – would those have been non-stop intercity coaches or something else?
From my “bus-days”, which ended around the mid-eighties, I remember that all regional buses were yellow and all city buses were maroon/grey, like the Hainje-DAF below. It drove in Amsterdam, IIRC.
Now they come in multiple colors like light green, light blue and plain white.
That’s it. Which was weird, because every other form of mass transport – trams, trains, and those intercity buses were yellow – although the trams are red, white, and blue now.
I really enjoyed this article. So much fun! An old truck is beautiful, no matter where it was built or operated. Especially when you think about the folks who operated them and the millions of families whose daily bread was delivered by truck drivers and the mechanic who serviced them., I am biased, of course; my grandfather drove a dairy truck. Special kudos to the video with the teacher introducing the V8 diesel to a group of students. Those kids have no idea how fortunate there were to be a part of that lesson. It would have been neat to be there. Thanks to Dave P. for sharing.
Very enjoyable post – great pictures. Would love to hear that Magrius-Deutz air-cooled V10. Looking forward to Part 2.
It’s always great to see my old Matchboxes, Majorettes, and Sikus in the flesh!
I want yo buy one Henschel HS-100, anybody could help me giving me a contact?