AROnline gets down in the dirt as we take another look at the T45 cab system Leyland introduced back in the early 80′s. Another big seller in the commercial vehicle sector was the Leyland Constructor – a range of 6 or 8 wheel vehicles up to 30 tons GVW.   Mike Humble gets into gear and takes [...]

Leyland’s medium weight Freighter was the company’s bright new hope of the 1980s, combining two previous ranges into one – and putting in a strong performance in what became the fast growing sector up to 17 tons GVW. Mike Humble takes up the story. The Boxer is beaten by a new middleweight Even those unaware [...]

Hot on the heels of the stylish Roadtrain, and replacing the Buffalo 2 range of meduim weight artics, was the T45 Cruiser launched in 1982. Differing from the Roadtrain by only being offered with in-house power units and 4×2 axle configuration, Mike Humble tells the story. Cruising the UK’s mean streets The Leyland truck portfolio [...]

Many see 1980 as the start of the big product led recovery plan instigated by Sir Michael Edwardes, notably with the Austin Metro. But a few junctions up the M6 in Lancashire, another revolution was also starting. Mike Humble takes a look at the heavy end of BL with the multi-award winning Leyland Roadtrain Keep [...]

The 500 Series diesel cost Leyland a packet – and not just in development costs. Mike Humble tells the story of this ‘interesting’ engine Fixed head asset CONTRARY to modern day belief, Leyland Truck and Bus was once a formidable force on a truly global scale with British trucks and buses operating in all four [...]

Launched with a blaze of publicity on billboards, Trucking magazines and TV advertising, the Roadrunner quickly became an established member of the quickest growing sector in the truck market – the 7.5-tonne range. Stylish, economical and a class-leading payload, the Roadrunner became the best selling truck in its sector which even today in the form [...]

A brief look at BMC>Rover’s light commercial vehicles being built. A colourful shot of the J4 van on the production line (presumably at Drews Lane, now home to the Sherpa-based LDV Pilot and Convoy). A rare, export-only A40 Farina van and a rather more commonplace Minivan on the production line at Longbridge’s CAB1 plant in [...]

The General Post Office (GPO) had long-favoured Morris vans both for Royal Mail and Telephones duties, and this loyalty was maintained throughout the BMC era and right into the early 1970s. Following a brief dalliance with Bedford, BL products were again purchased for much of the 1980s. Indeed, the Sherpa van remained popular with Royal [...]

The installation and maintenance of Britain’s telephone network was originally the responsibility of the Post Office, and as with their purchases of Royal Mail vans, Morris (and later BMC) was traditionally the favoured supplier. This virtual stranglehold was broken in the 1970s, although BL/Austin Rover continued to supply vans during the 1980s, a decade which [...]

Prior to the 1968 merger with Leyland, BMC was busily cultivating its own range of trucks, writes DECLAN BERRIDGE… These trucks were mainly derived from the former products of Morris Commercial, which BMC had inherited in 1952. As with many of the cars and vans produced by company, most of these light trucks were sold [...]

Following the 1952 merger, BMC rationalised its van range by concentrating on the Morris models. However, in order to keep their separate Austin and Morris dealer chains supplied, they turned again to badge engineering, with certain vans being offered under both marques with just the badges and grilles differentiating them. In August 1968, the fledgling [...]

For many years, the small and medium-sized Austin and Morris vans produced by BMC were almost as familar a sight on British roads as the cars on which they were based. Lucrative contracts with the nationalised utility companies helped to ensure that some of these models remained in production way beyond their natural sell-by dates, [...]

For those who wanted a home-from-home when they went on holiday, Torcars offered these two Sherpa-based campers. Suntor Sherpa Folllowing on from the success of their Marina-based models, Torcars introduced this full-size camper van, taking the Sherpa 215 as its basis. A fully insulated, fibreglass elevating roof, complete with side windows and ventilation grilles, gave [...]

In 1964 a Turkish truck-building company (BMC Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.) was set up at Izmir (birthplace of Alec Issigonis, incidentally) in partnership with BMC to build Austin and Morris trucks under licence. The company later became independent of British Leyland, but has retained its BMC name; indeed, its recent establishment of a distribution network [...]

The Sherpa/LDV 200/400/Pilot Convoy was a perfect example of British industry make-do-and-mend. In an ideal world, the boxy JU/J4-based van would have been replaced sometime in the early 1980s, but it ended up going on a whole lot longer… Here’s the fascinating story of one aborted attempt at replacement, and how it went on to [...]

Following the 1952 merger, BMC rationalised its van range by concentrating on the Morris models. However, in order to keep their spearate Austin and Morris dealer chains supplied, they turned again to badge engineering, with certain vans being offered under both marques with just the badges and grilles differentiating them. In August 1968, the fledgling [...]

With its long wheelbase and front-wheel drive layout, the 1800 would have made the ideal starting point for a range of commercial derivatives. Sadly, only the Australians saw fit to put such a vehicle into production… Van proposal Austin 1800 Utility

We all know and love it from the James Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me, but Leyland’s Sherpa had a vitally important role in life – to beat Ford’s all-conquering Transit. And given the resources available at the time, it was a fantastic effort. Leyland’s Transit BY the late 1960s, BLMC’s offerings in the [...]

When the ADO17 was launched as the Austin 1800 in 1964, few people can have imagined that one of its defining features – its doors – would later appear on a series of cars ranging from a 1.5-litre family hatchback to a 3-litre executive saloon. But the story doesn’t end there. As well as being [...]

Keith Adams So, it looks like it could be the end for LDV and I, for one, can’t help but feel that these are increasingly looking like desperate times for the automotive industry in the UK. I suppose that cash-strapped vehicle makers looking after their bottom lines are always going to close overseas operations (just [...]