Sourced from the UK: the Motor Panels tilt cab and Kirkstall axles (all five). From the US: the frame rails, Detroit Diesel 6V-71N two-stroke engine and Fuller RTO 9513 transmission. Once everything was joined together, using in-house suspension components, truck maker FTF had created a monster of a straight truck, unheard of in Europe. Then again, no one could un-hear a Detroit Diesel anywhere else either.
This 10×4 dump truck was owned by a hauling company near my place, I immediately recognized the cab’s color scheme. It’s still name- and spotless though, with a temporary license plate behind the windshield. The high-quality photo must have been used in an FTF brochure or ad, 45 years ago.
So many fronts used on that cab! Now adding FTF to that list.
Bernard, have a look here (Floor = FTF):
https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31078-the-early-years-of-mack-in-europe-the-mysterious-30-%E2%80%93-those-motor-panels-cabbed-mack-f-models/
Theres some very old brands on that list Johannes some haven’t been used in anger for a long time, Seddon and Atkinson, Scammel, Guy even ERFs are becoming rare though the occasional EC14 can be seen doing export logs.
That 10 wheel FTF is quite a weapon, with a Detroit the cab would have been a very noisy place to sit.
The company that owned the 10×4 dump truck had a small fleet of FTF’s, all of them with a DD V6, IIRC.
They also had a 4×2 tractor towing a single-axle semi-trailer to deliver bagged cattle feed at the farms in the countryside. I could here its holler from far away when doing my homework (we’re talking early eighties), at which point I wasn’t doing my homework any longer…
With all those windows it’s more of a greenhouse than a cab and that’s why I like it.
I’m a little confused. Buying in mechanical parts I can understand, but why would they have got the frame rails from the US? Could no European supplier make them heavy enough – surely not?
These were very strong manganese steel frame rails, made by an American manufacturer that also supplied to Mack. And the Floor company assembled Macks, prior to building their own FTF’s, so they must have been very familiar with the products.
Years ago, I’ve read that these were made by a company called Spycer, but I can’t find any additional information. Spicer is a more familiar name, but hardly in the field of frames for heavy trucks and tractors.
Thanks Johannes. That makes sense, a specific steel they were used to working with.
That’s a lot of truck for a 6V-71. Here in the U.S. the 6V-71 was primarily a transit coach engine though it was used in a few trucks throughout the 60’s. The early versions were only good for about 195 H.P., some issue with coolant flow kept the 6V from making the same 238 H.P. the in-line 6-71 could be rated at.
I hope that cab was not made of fiberglass!
Max. power output, as stated by FTF (early seventies):
6V-71N – 238 hp @ 2,100 rpm
8V-71N – 318 hp @ 2,100 rpm
12V-71N – 430 hp @ 2,300 rpm
Legal max. gross weight 1978 10×4 truck: 39,000 kg. It was quite common a 30 to 40 tons FTF was powered by the V6. The 50 tons dudes had the V8. The V12 was for heavy-haulage and the Dutch army (battle tank haulers).
As for the cab: it did had a good portion of fiberglass, indeed.