I've got a mate with a 6LX in a 40 foot tug, 33 inch four bladed prop running through a twin disc gearbox. Cruising revs are pitched at 780rpm. It's dry stacked and makes the most incredible bark under a bit of load. Cheers Bruce
Thanks Chris, there was a commercial boat that would come up the river where I lived and I remember always seeing it and hearing it so I know what your saying, Bruce
I have worked on Diesel engines for 53 years , From Rustons to Caterpillars, to Detroits & Cummins & Lots of the UK Engines. These Old Gardeners were the finest Diesel engines you could get in their day, so well engineered, Unfortunately they got left behind in a time warp, where as the likes of Volve , Caterpillar , Scania were producing Big Horse power. But As a Plodder there is None finer than a Gardener Engine, so reliable & ran forever.
In the 60's I did my apprenticeship as a truck mechanic working on those engines. I did, at that time, work and live near the Gardner factory in Patricroft, Eccles Manchester. When we needed parts we just went along to the factory to get them. Great engines.
I would be inclined to say the 6LXB was the finest that was produced. Used in a lot of trucks, whereas the 8 LXB was a limited choice to truck owners. Maybe I am wrong, but I feel the 8LXB came too late to compete with other Brands , therefore Gardener got left behind with their technology, even tho they were very reliable. The newer trucks were producing more Horse Power therefore cornering the Market, leaving the British truck market behind, Im sorry to say.
Thank you, I would have liked to have stayed a bit longer and adjusted the govner a little bit, changed the fuel filter ect but time didn’t permit. It sure did run nice though, Bruce
So smooth....and the smile when it got running....many years ago my mate was involved in a boat building project where, in the big workshop stood two massive old 6 cylinder Gardners from some or other marine project. They both ran, blew beautiful smoke rings and were magnificent. I moved away and about 10 years later met up with the same mate who told me the Gardners had been sold for scrap metal....I have spent a disproportionate amount of time since then worrying about what will happen to the surviving examples on earth and what I can do save them. Its crazy, but they are magnificent. Thanks for the video...
I remember in the late 70s here in the uk. The fairground had something roughly like this. It ran the main generator that supplied the rides with power 👍. That gardner sounded awesome bruce when you sprung it into submission 😉.
I worked many cranes that had Gardeners but they were the most reliable and economical engines. I worked with a old fisherman who told me if I wanted to build a boat I should buy a Gardner and build the boat around it, when I left Tassy and came to Sydney I met an old shipwright who had done just that for his personal yacht.
My great uncle built a 65' launch and installed two of these same engines. Absolute pleasure to hear them purr. Rolls Royce of the marine motor world is spot on.
As a teen and living close to the water I used to look at all the old boats .One day i met the owner of a wooden yacht very old i thought well I was young we got to be friends and i helped him to refurbish and restore this old yacht .the one thing he couldn't figure out was the engine .Yes it was a Gardner .Well being a teen i had a love for motors and boats so i spent many hours looking up every thing i could find on that motor then went to work going step by step thru the whole thing like you do . then came the day to start it up for the first time in 10 years .and like yours i turned the key hit the start button .She fired off on the first revolution it was amazing to just sit and listen to that engine .The owner Jerry and i were the hit of that marina .and i had about the best summer a young man could have that year .
It's good to see an old school tradesman that knows what he is about, we got taught to do everything in the 70's, they new blokes just plug in the analyser and get the fault code, I have got a real soft spot for these old engines, love your videos Bruce
Hi Bruce, my Dad used to say Gardener engines were the best. I asked him why and he said, 'Son when you are on a boat in the middle of the ocean, you want a reliable, easy to maintain engine and a Gardener of any configuration is just that'. 'And not only that, he said , they are supremely well balanced with hardly any vibration and economical to(very handy with a Boat). There are a lot of more powerful faster engines,but the Gardener is the way better engine for smoothness, economy and most of all reliability'.
A trawler I worked on, had one of these beasts in it. Originally it was turbocharged, but the owner removed that. The amount of torque they have is astonishing.
As I have posted previously, I fished in Tasmania for many years on many different boats with a lot of different motors , in my opinion there was not a marine engine that.could hold a candle to the Gardner for reliability and economy, that included motors from the 4lw right up to the magnificent 8L3B, I swear by them , what a great shame they are no longer made , cheers from Tasmania
Hi Michael, thanks for sharing, I’ve never seen an 8L3B in the flesh, they certainly have a good reputation in commercial marine applications up here on QLD, best wishes, Bruce
@@bruceinaus hi Bruce, thanks for your response, I always get a bit excited when someone writes about the great Gardner engine, as I said in my post I've had a myriad of different motors, the last being an 8 L3B ,I purchased a 60 foot conventional hull timber boat in 1989 , it was powered by a 3406 cat , 180 HP @1500 rpm , steaming at 1350 it would give me 8.5 knots using just over nine gallons per hour, it gave me so much trouble and cost so many fishing days I replaced it in 1993 with the Gardner ,230 HP at 1150 rpm , at 975 rpm gave me nine knots using around five gallons per hour, this motor had a bore of five and a half inches and a stroke of eight inches,I was swinging a 58--42 four blade prop through anMG514 twin disc box with a 4:5to 1 reduction box and in seven years it never gave me any trouble and never cost me a days fishing, and it's worthy of note that this motor complete,weighed around three and a half tonnes,an absolutely wonderful piece of machinery, cheers from Tasmania
Years ago I had a ride in a rail motor up in Qld. Sat in the cab and and the sweet sound of the Gardner diesel was so smooth and something I’ll never forget.
I converted my Scammell Explorer to a 6LXB engine. I remember the lovely sound and the priming levers on each cylinder. She needed a good prime in winter to fire up then she would SMOKE like a forest fire until wrmed up - a chracteristic of all Gardners BEAUTIFUL engines and a beaut to drive with a crash gearbox! My old wagon was FLAT OUT at 30 MPH maybe 40 downhill with the wind behind her!😂🤣😅🤣 These engines are STILL in use in boats today my engine was already about 40 years old! Reliable, slow revving but they got you there!
I used to have a 42 ft. fan tail salmon troller with a 5 cylinder Gardner. Those injector levers are also used to lock out cylinders while running to slow the engine down even lower than the idle setting. It was very useful in the fishboat for Tyee salmon as they like a very slow troll. I could lock out right down to 1 cylinder on that engine. I couldn't believe how slow that engine could run. The perfect trolling rpm. was 60 rpm. on 1 cylinder and do it all day.
I used to be one of the technicians at a haulage firm in Liverpool England, we ran a mixed fleet but we had Leyland buffalo, and Atki Borderer units, all day cabs, fitted with straight eight Gardner 240. I could always pick out which truck it was as they pulled into the yard, each had it's own unique sound. An absolute doddle to work on. In fact I still have some Gardner special tools in the garage somewhere.
In the forties, fifties and sixties nearly two fifths of all heavy good vehicles on British roads had either a Gardener 180 (straight six ) or a 240 (straight eight) mainly in Atkinsons, and ERF's etc, I will always remember the gloriously lazy sounding slow revving noise these motors used to make, under load you could almost hear each individual cylinder firing since flat out revs was around 1100 to 1400 revs but they would happily pull hard down at around 700 revs fully loaded, they were universally known in the trade as bosses motors, chugging along for ever more seemingly unburstable no frills or fancies just a totally reliable engine. if they had a downside (if you can call it one) it was that they could be absolute pigs to start on a really cold, freezing winters morning blowing huge clouds of white smoke out for about ten minutes after starting, but once running they would just carry on, never being turned off all day long, without a murmur. they ran so cold drivers used to have to completely cover the grill up in winter just so they would warm up and stay warm, I reckon you could run one with no coolant in it and it would still never get hot.
Worked for Pickfords heavy haulage early 70's, had a load of Gardeners there, they got Banned from the overseas ferries, due to the fact when they fired up in the mornings , the smoked everyone off the deck, specially the 240's straight 8. great engines tho.50 MPH downhill & 50 MPH up a mountain side. gardeners just got left behind in the Truck industry, not enough Horse Power compared to the foreign Boys, Just like Leyland trucks, AEC etc etc .
I did this on an old ship we were working on, two 4 cylinder gardners running air compressor, they hadn't been started for over 30 years according to the owner. He gave me permission, good oil and fuel. We could handstart them , one of the big guys swung it over and up it went, we didn't know how to stop it😁
Absolutely a beautiful sounding engine, thank you so very much for sharing, i love watch old engines coming back to life. Hello from the U.S., down here in Florida
Hi there I was an apprentice clock engineer I served some time here at the patricroft works in eccles ncr they manufactured everything on site massive machine shops and test beds they also had a foundry where we often spent time on cold days happy memories
Gardener engines were all hand built, each engine was assembled by one person. They were popular in the UK in trucks up until late 70s-mid 80s. They did produce one 8 cylinder turbocharged engine but it lacked reliability, something that Gardener had been legendary for. They were left behind by Cummins and truck manufacturers own engines. Properly maintained they were capable of phenomenol mileages and good fuel consumption.
The company I worked for had a fleet of Atkinsons with the 6LXB ..they were called the governors motor given the amount of trouble free work they did ..serviced regularly they seemed to run for ever .Enjoyed that mate , brought back a memory or two ..
Turbo came in after they were taken over by Perkins . 6 lx CT 230 horse power , 8 lxct around 320 , and the 6lyt A fifteen liter monster that blew head gaskets at 400 horses . I drove one in a ERF they would out slog anything built then , A pleasure to drive
Thanks for that, the turbo ones were pretty rare here in Australia and I have also been told they lacked reliability. You only have to undo a few things on a Gardiner to see they are precision built. Thanks for watching, Bruce
On Robbie Coltrane's excellent series ''Coltrane's Planes and Automobiles'' in the diesel engine episode, he helps a mechanic fix a Gardner diesel, the mechanic tells him the Gardners once finished a full working life on the old DD buses, would be sold to India and Pakistan where they'd run irrigation pumps 24/7. Quality engines!
We ran a 240 8lxb, I remember the tickover was really low and wasn't a stable speed, The torque was brilliant but the biggest thing with them in UK trucks was getting them to build up any heat, the poor driver's were dressed for the arctic. However they were a very well built engine. I seem to remember that the problems started when they were bought out by Hawker Sidley.
Hello Bruce, I really like your presentations, they are really interesting and your efforts top notch! I am a Gardner lover and had a 3LW marine engine with 2UC gearbox and 3:1 reduction in my traditional narrowboat in the UK cruising with my mate Jeff Millward and his wife San, who came over from Victoria Australia to do the UK canals in the early nineties. when they returned to Victoria he bought a number of engines including a Gardner 6lw that he was intending to put in a boat. Sadly cancer took San in the early Millennium and Jeff bought and sold stationary engines and gensets and built up quite a collection of classic mainly Brit motorcycles. He was a great hand on Fixer who sadly succumbed to Lupus in 2017 and I lost a great buddy. Take care.
The Term “bulletproof “ was invented for Gardner 6 and 8 s remember the 8LXB in the late 70s in Foden,Atkinson Seddon trucks.They always delivered good MPG
Great video Bruce and a lovely sounding engine (even without an exhaust!). The 6LX was in probably in half the trucks here in the UK at one time. Still occasionally see one earning its keep on a travelling Fair generator, they were renowned for being fuel efficient and long lasting.
Thanks Paul, nice to know. Your description of them is how I also know of them. We had them in a few buses here but where they really excelled in Aus was in boats. Thanks for watching, Bruce
gardner engines were used in the fruit trucks between shepparton an melbourne, the story was they had the same speed uphill and downhill but never failed.
G'Day Bruce . Always a pleasure watching you start these old machines mate ! That one was really easy one , did'nt fight you too much ! I look forward to the next one . Scott 🌵
Thanks Scott, yes these are marvellous engines and are engineered nicely. That shows by how easy they can fire up even after sitting in marine environments for many years (which fortunately this one hasn’t -it’s been resting in this farm shed for many years. Glad you enjoyed it, Bruce
I worked on Gardner engines a long time ago for many years, the engines on these when they are stopped go into the full throttle position, when started the governor moves the throttle position to make it tick over, the governor rack bar will want some lubrication on it, it’s accessed by the 4 x 0 BA screws on the side of the pump/governor
Thank you Brendan, I checked the rack was free before I started it and it was free but someone had a side plate off and the govner cover off before I got there (albeit a long time ago). Thanks for watching, Bruce
Hi bruce.i worked on an 8lxb which was fitted to a crane which loaded logs onto a sawmill.this engine ran from early morning till late evening for over 25 years and NEVER had a radiator fitted to it.im not jokeing.if it rained a small wisp of steam would come from the thermostat houseing.ticked over all day long.greetings from ireland.love the channel.....
In the 1970's I used to drive a twin steer, tandem drive Foden with a concrete agitator powered by an 8LXB Gardener and the epicycle gearbox. What an overweight and under powered bloody thing that was. It seemed designed to make a drivers life as hard as possible, almost as a punishment. Were were used to no air-conditioning in trucks and didn't expect it. The aluminium steering wheel was the last thing you needed in an Australian summer.
Would love to get one of these in a truck, Travancore Transport in Melbourne had a couple of White Road Commanders specially built with 8LXB engines for semi work after International bought out Atkinson and refused to fit Gardeners.
good job Bruce , I remember doing some electrical work on one of those engines about 35 years ago , it was set up in the bush to run a small sawmill in West Gippsland .
hi Bruce, greetings from England, Gardner engines were Top of the Pops just like AEC engines were, the 8xlb was also fitted to British Railways small shunting engines and had one oil bath air-cleaner per cylinder.some of these locos have been preserved.
Thanks Peter, greetings from Qld, Australia. I believe some of our very early cane trains had gardners but I haven’t seen one for many years. It would be nice to get hold of one! Bruce
I love your videos. The sound of those pistons sent a chill down my spine. Most of my working days were on small automotive diesels but you gotta love these giants. Cheere from Canada North
Oil is often clean if it's been sitting for a while because the water and sludge drop to the bottom. So the dipstick is good but not authoritative. Need to drop a sample out of the sump drain
Drove 240 Gardener in a big J guy for years, in the 1970- 80s. Starting one in the dead of winter,Christ instant thick exhaust. And at times they jumped the rack bar in the fuel pump.
Morning David, yes it would be interesting wouldnt it. Funny you should say this, there was a really smart bloke a few hours south of us here and he made about at least three of his own cars and I think one had a straight 8 fitted! Bruce
There can't be many straight 8 Diesel manufacturers around nowadays ? My uncle used to drive an AEC which had a gardner in it and he was all praise for it . I know that Schluter had a straight 8 in their tractors .
My mate from Tottenham NSW just watched your video and he said "BLH Lima" and some "Kohring King" cranes had the Gardener in them back in the 1960's and 1970's, he worked a "BLH Lima" with a dredge bucket on it in the early 1970's, it was lashed to a barge and worked in and around Sydney Harbour.
Those old Gardners powered all those London city buses in the 60s & 70s. Damn reliable and strong motors. Super popular in huge fishing boats over in Asia and all over the world
I’m sure I was told they ran a gardener in the factory for 6months straight or 12months as an endurance test. If it wasn’t gardener is was a lister engine. I was told this by a ex gardener mechanic at college as we had to rebuild them.
@@davelove3779 On Robbie Coltrane's excellent series ''Coltrane's Planes and Automobiles'' in the diesel engine episode, he helps a mechanic fix a Gardner diesel, the mechanic tells him the Gardners once finished a full working life on the old DD buses, would be sold to India and Pakistan where they'd run irrigation pumps 24/7. Quality engines!
Hi Bruce ,, I saw a blog recently and found out 4 cyl Gardners were fitted in English taxis and 6 cyl engines were in English double decker busses ,, later the Leyland 680 were fitted ,
The Bristol vehicles used Gardner 5LW to 6LXC engnes, the Bristol VR doube deckers 's I drove were in the main engined with the 6LXB unit, the Leyland 0.680 was switched out relatively quickly in the vehicle's life as they were used during a period when Gardner were on strike to maintain vehicle deliveries although one or two companies did specify it as it maintained continuity with the Atlanteans they had.
Gday Kleps Garage. Thanks for watching. I use an old farm trick, it’s basically boiling hot water and bi carb soda. I usually use a heaped teaspoon to every cup full of water. It does a nice job cleaning the acid and grunge off the terminals and even around where the wire comes out the cable. All the best, Bruce
Served my apprenticeship at Gardners good old days.
I've got a mate with a 6LX in a 40 foot tug, 33 inch four bladed prop running through a twin disc gearbox. Cruising revs are pitched at 780rpm. It's dry stacked and makes the most incredible bark under a bit of load. Cheers Bruce
Thanks Chris, there was a commercial boat that would come up the river where I lived and I remember always seeing it and hearing it so I know what your saying, Bruce
They would bark!!!! Not as loud as a 680 leyland but they just were the bees knees of Diesel engines. Better than anything else.
I have worked on Diesel engines for 53 years , From Rustons to Caterpillars, to Detroits & Cummins & Lots of the UK Engines. These Old Gardeners were the finest Diesel engines you could get in their day, so well engineered, Unfortunately they got left behind in a time warp, where as the likes of Volve , Caterpillar , Scania were producing Big Horse power. But As a Plodder there is None finer than a Gardener Engine, so reliable & ran forever.
In the 60's I did my apprenticeship as a truck mechanic working on those engines. I did, at that time, work and live near the Gardner factory in Patricroft, Eccles Manchester. When we needed parts we just went along to the factory to get them. Great engines.
Nice video Bruce, the 8 LXB Gardner was one of England's finest engines ever.
Up there with the Merlin for sure
Thanks Seastar, known for longevity and fuel economy, Bruce
I would be inclined to say the 6LXB was the finest that was produced. Used in a lot of trucks, whereas the 8 LXB was a limited choice to truck owners. Maybe I am wrong, but I feel the 8LXB came too late to compete with other Brands , therefore Gardener got left behind with their technology, even tho they were very reliable. The newer trucks were producing more Horse Power therefore cornering the Market, leaving the British truck market behind, Im sorry to say.
Gardner really produced some incredibly high quality Engines such a shame they didn't move with the times they are still sadly missed.
One of the best engines ever built. Durable and ultra reliable.
I could tinker with that kind of stuff all day, thanks for sharing 🐾✌️🇺🇸
Thank you, I would have liked to have stayed a bit longer and adjusted the govner a little bit, changed the fuel filter ect but time didn’t permit. It sure did run nice though, Bruce
When I saw Gardner mentioned I knew he would have no problems !
What I liked most about Gardner engines and the ones I worked in the 70's on fishing boats was the ability to prime and check the fuel injectors.
So smooth....and the smile when it got running....many years ago my mate was involved in a boat building project where, in the big workshop stood two massive old 6 cylinder Gardners from some or other marine project. They both ran, blew beautiful smoke rings and were magnificent. I moved away and about 10 years later met up with the same mate who told me the Gardners had been sold for scrap metal....I have spent a disproportionate amount of time since then worrying about what will happen to the surviving examples on earth and what I can do save them. Its crazy, but they are magnificent. Thanks for the video...
Gardner, the Rolls Royce engine of the fishing fleet. Beautiful.
I remember in the late 70s here in the uk. The fairground had something roughly like this. It ran the main generator that supplied the rides with power 👍. That gardner sounded awesome bruce when you sprung it into submission 😉.
I worked many cranes that had Gardeners but they were the most reliable and economical engines. I worked with a old fisherman who told me if I wanted to build a boat I should buy a Gardner and build the boat around it, when I left Tassy and came to Sydney I met an old shipwright who had done just that for his personal yacht.
My great uncle built a 65' launch and installed two of these same engines. Absolute pleasure to hear them purr. Rolls Royce of the marine motor world is spot on.
As a teen and living close to the water I used to look at all the old boats .One day i met the owner of a wooden yacht very old i thought well I was young we got to be friends and i helped him to refurbish and restore this old yacht .the one thing he couldn't figure out was the engine .Yes it was a Gardner .Well being a teen i had a love for motors and boats so i spent many hours looking up every thing i could find on that motor then went to work going step by step thru the whole thing like you do . then came the day to start it up for the first time in 10 years .and like yours i turned the key hit the start button .She fired off on the first revolution it was amazing to just sit and listen to that engine .The owner Jerry and i were the hit of that marina .and i had about the best summer a young man could have that year .
It's good to see an old school tradesman that knows what he is about, we got taught to do everything in the 70's, they new blokes just plug in the analyser and get the fault code, I have got a real soft spot for these old engines, love your videos Bruce
Hi Bruce, my Dad used to say Gardener engines were the best. I asked him why and he said, 'Son when you are on a boat in the middle of the ocean, you want a reliable, easy to maintain engine and a Gardener of any configuration is just that'. 'And not only that, he said , they are supremely well balanced with hardly any vibration and economical to(very handy with a Boat). There are a lot of more powerful faster engines,but the Gardener is the way better engine for smoothness, economy and most of all reliability'.
The mighty Gardner. What more can you say.
Hi , an old friend of mine had one of these running a breaking down saw in his saw mill hear Edenhope in Victoria never missed a beat in 30 years
Great engines build in those years.
Simple and build to last forever 💪💪
A trawler I worked on, had one of these beasts in it. Originally it was turbocharged, but the owner removed that. The amount of torque they have is astonishing.
Those engines are gold 😊😊 make it run ❤❤and love the birds outside too 😊
Superb British engineering, really enjoying the videos.
As I have posted previously, I fished in Tasmania for many years on many different boats with a lot of different motors , in my opinion there was not a marine engine that.could hold a candle to the Gardner for reliability and economy, that included motors from the 4lw right up to the magnificent 8L3B, I swear by them , what a great shame they are no longer made , cheers from Tasmania
Hi Michael, thanks for sharing, I’ve never seen an 8L3B in the flesh, they certainly have a good reputation in commercial marine applications up here on QLD, best wishes, Bruce
@@bruceinaus hi Bruce, thanks for your response, I always get a bit excited when someone writes about the great Gardner engine, as I said in my post I've had a myriad of different motors, the last being an 8 L3B ,I purchased a 60 foot conventional hull timber boat in 1989 , it was powered by a 3406 cat , 180 HP @1500 rpm , steaming at 1350 it would give me 8.5 knots using just over nine gallons per hour, it gave me so much trouble and cost so many fishing days I replaced it in 1993 with the Gardner ,230 HP at 1150 rpm , at 975 rpm gave me nine knots using around five gallons per hour, this motor had a bore of five and a half inches and a stroke of eight inches,I was swinging a 58--42 four blade prop through anMG514 twin disc box with a 4:5to 1 reduction box and in seven years it never gave me any trouble and never cost me a days fishing, and it's worthy of note that this motor complete,weighed around three and a half tonnes,an absolutely wonderful piece of machinery, cheers from Tasmania
Years ago I had a ride in a rail motor up in Qld. Sat in the cab and and the sweet sound of the Gardner diesel was so smooth and something I’ll never forget.
Morning Rob, thanks for sharing, would that have been one of the early “cane train” type locos on narrow 2ft gauge? Bruce
@@bruceinaus Hi Bruce, no it was a rail motor at a museum on a closed section of track but so long ago I can remember where it was. Cheers.
Got one of these lumps at my work in the uk.she runs a treat
Thank Dexter, a nice engine for sure, Bruce
I worked on these engines in the ERF trucks we had a fleet of them
As soon as his “Lucky Hat” came out it started Purring like a Kitten!
Great video, Lovely Engine!
I converted my Scammell Explorer to a 6LXB engine. I remember the lovely sound and the priming levers on each cylinder. She needed a good prime in winter to fire up then she would SMOKE like a forest fire until wrmed up - a chracteristic of all Gardners BEAUTIFUL engines and a beaut to drive with a crash gearbox! My old wagon was FLAT OUT at 30 MPH maybe 40 downhill with the wind behind her!😂🤣😅🤣 These engines are STILL in use in boats today my engine was already about 40 years old! Reliable, slow revving but they got you there!
I used to have a 42 ft. fan tail salmon troller with a 5 cylinder Gardner. Those injector levers are also used to lock out cylinders while running to slow the engine down even lower than the idle setting. It was very useful in the fishboat for Tyee salmon as they like a very slow troll. I could lock out right down to 1 cylinder on that engine. I couldn't believe how slow that engine could run. The perfect trolling rpm. was 60 rpm. on 1 cylinder and do it all day.
I used to be one of the technicians at a haulage firm in Liverpool England, we ran a mixed fleet but we had Leyland buffalo, and Atki Borderer units, all day cabs, fitted with straight eight Gardner 240. I could always pick out which truck it was as they pulled into the yard, each had it's own unique sound. An absolute doddle to work on. In fact I still have some Gardner special tools in the garage somewhere.
Amazing, you made that "will it start" look easy Bruce and the grin on your face though when it started!
Thanks very much, they certainly run nice when they idle back, Bruce
When us brits USED to make the BEST 👌 how times have changed!!thanks 4 vid love your channel 😊
In the forties, fifties and sixties nearly two fifths of all heavy good vehicles on British roads had either a Gardener 180 (straight six ) or a 240 (straight eight) mainly in Atkinsons, and ERF's etc, I will always remember the gloriously lazy sounding slow revving noise these motors used to make, under load you could almost hear each individual cylinder firing since flat out revs was around 1100 to 1400 revs but they would happily pull hard down at around 700 revs fully loaded, they were universally known in the trade as bosses motors, chugging along for ever more seemingly unburstable no frills or fancies just a totally reliable engine. if they had a downside (if you can call it one) it was that they could be absolute pigs to start on a really cold, freezing winters morning blowing huge clouds of white smoke out for about ten minutes after starting, but once running they would just carry on, never being turned off all day long, without a murmur. they ran so cold drivers used to have to completely cover the grill up in winter just so they would warm up and stay warm, I reckon you could run one with no coolant in it and it would still never get hot.
Worked for Pickfords heavy haulage early 70's, had a load of Gardeners there, they got Banned from the overseas ferries, due to the fact when they fired up in the mornings , the smoked everyone off the deck, specially the 240's straight 8. great engines tho.50 MPH downhill & 50 MPH up a mountain side. gardeners just got left behind in the Truck industry, not enough Horse Power compared to the foreign Boys, Just like Leyland trucks, AEC etc etc .
Worked on the 6lxbs in foden 8x4 tipper trucks in the 70s great engine's, run forever.
Those Gardner diesels can reach 40% thermal efficiency, pretty astonishing for the time!
Very interesting stats indeed for the time, Bruce
I did this on an old ship we were working on, two 4 cylinder gardners running air compressor, they hadn't been started for over 30 years according to the owner. He gave me permission, good oil and fuel. We could handstart them , one of the big guys swung it over and up it went, we didn't know how to stop it😁
i sometimes run a boat with a pair of those in it, absolutely beautiful machines!
Yes they sure are nice, thanks for watching, Bruce
Absolutely a beautiful sounding engine, thank you so very much for sharing, i love watch old engines coming back to life. Hello from the U.S., down here in Florida
I used to work on underground locomotives fitted with Gardner engines. They were fitted with inlet and exhaust flame proofing devices.
Hi there I was an apprentice clock engineer I served some time here at the patricroft works in eccles ncr they manufactured everything on site massive machine shops and test beds they also had a foundry where we often spent time on cold days happy memories
Gardener engines were all hand built, each engine was assembled by one person. They were popular in the UK in trucks up until late 70s-mid 80s. They did produce one 8 cylinder turbocharged engine but it lacked reliability, something that Gardener had been legendary for. They were left behind by Cummins and truck manufacturers own engines. Properly maintained they were capable of phenomenol mileages and good fuel consumption.
The company I worked for had a fleet of Atkinsons with the 6LXB ..they were called the governors motor given the amount of trouble free work they did ..serviced regularly they seemed to run for ever .Enjoyed that mate , brought back a memory or two ..
Turbo came in after they were taken over by Perkins . 6 lx CT 230 horse power , 8 lxct around 320 , and the 6lyt A fifteen liter monster that blew head gaskets at 400 horses . I drove one in a ERF they would out slog anything built then , A pleasure to drive
Thanks for that, the turbo ones were pretty rare here in Australia and I have also been told they lacked reliability. You only have to undo a few things on a Gardiner to see they are precision built. Thanks for watching, Bruce
On Robbie Coltrane's excellent series ''Coltrane's Planes and Automobiles'' in the diesel engine episode, he helps a mechanic fix a Gardner diesel, the mechanic tells him the Gardners once finished a full working life on the old DD buses, would be sold to India and Pakistan where they'd run irrigation pumps 24/7. Quality engines!
We ran a 240 8lxb, I remember the tickover was really low and wasn't a stable speed, The torque was brilliant but the biggest thing with them in UK trucks was getting them to build up any heat, the poor driver's were dressed for the arctic. However they were a very well built engine. I seem to remember that the problems started when they were bought out by Hawker Sidley.
Didn't they have Kaiser Shutters? fitted to help with the cold running?
@@jknight5991 Nothing as posh as that, most of them had a potato sack in front of the radiator
Just thought on, they also used to fit a material radiator cover with press studs, so you could roll part of it up and adjust the running temp.
@@jknight5991 Yes, now you mention it, I do recall that
Had one in a 400 series seddon Atkinson back in the 80s in a day cab trunking up and down the UK .
Thanks for sharing David, Bruce
Enjoyed this bro it made for great viewing. Engine sounds a real honey. Safe travels. Ken.
Thanks for the comment Ken, glad you liked it, Bruce
I love the sound of these engines, the 6 cylinder version ended up in a lot of double decker buses in my town, Brilliant old things.
Sounds great! Lovely example of a magnificent engine
It was worth watching just to hear it run. Sounds great.
The factory used to be three or four miles from where I live and my grandfather used to work there,good old engine the Gardner.
Hello Bruce, I really like your presentations, they are really interesting and your efforts top notch! I am a Gardner lover and had a 3LW marine engine with 2UC gearbox and 3:1 reduction in my traditional narrowboat in the UK cruising with my mate Jeff Millward and his wife San, who came over from Victoria Australia to do the UK canals in the early nineties. when they returned to Victoria he bought a number of engines including a Gardner 6lw that he was intending to put in a boat. Sadly cancer took San in the early Millennium and Jeff bought and sold stationary engines and gensets and built up quite a collection of classic mainly Brit motorcycles. He was a great hand on Fixer who sadly succumbed to Lupus in 2017 and I lost a great buddy. Take care.
She's a sweet old lady.. lovely sounding machine! ❤
The Term “bulletproof “ was invented for Gardner 6 and 8 s remember the 8LXB in the late 70s in Foden,Atkinson Seddon trucks.They always delivered good MPG
The most were in ERF’s. Particularly the 8 cylinder in tractor units. 8mpg too.
8mpg in a tractor unit with a fuller gearbox
Thanks Michael, Bruce
Great video Bruce and a lovely sounding engine (even without an exhaust!). The 6LX was in probably in half the trucks here in the UK at one time. Still occasionally see one earning its keep on a travelling Fair generator, they were renowned for being fuel efficient and long lasting.
Thanks Paul, nice to know. Your description of them is how I also know of them. We had them in a few buses here but where they really excelled in Aus was in boats. Thanks for watching, Bruce
gardner engines were used in the fruit trucks between shepparton an melbourne, the story was they had the same speed uphill and downhill but never failed.
Str8 8 Gardner, fishing boats will want it. I know a kiwi fisherman that runs Gardners....😊
Thank you, yes they are well loved in fishing and other commercial boat applications both here and in NZ I believe, Bruce
You gotta love those Old Analog Diesels.... Simple, Reliable......
A crane company called Smith of Rodley used them too I’ve got a 6LW with hand clutch and gearbox out of one
I had a 5lw in a boat still miss the old girl.
G'Day Bruce . Always a pleasure watching you start these old machines mate ! That one was really easy one , did'nt fight you too much ! I look forward to the next one . Scott 🌵
Thanks Scott, yes these are marvellous engines and are engineered nicely. That shows by how easy they can fire up even after sitting in marine environments for many years (which fortunately this one hasn’t -it’s been resting in this farm shed for many years. Glad you enjoyed it, Bruce
I worked on Gardner engines a long time ago for many years, the engines on these when they are stopped go into the full throttle position, when started the governor moves the throttle position to make it tick over, the governor rack bar will want some lubrication on it, it’s accessed by the 4 x 0 BA screws on the side of the pump/governor
Thank you Brendan, I checked the rack was free before I started it and it was free but someone had a side plate off and the govner cover off before I got there (albeit a long time ago). Thanks for watching, Bruce
G,day Bruce thank you for doing the video on this great Gardner straight 8 rare beast
Thank you, hopefully someone can make some use of it and it can be put back into service
Wonderful Bruce what a great engine thanks for sharing 🦘
Thanks Kerry, Bruce
Lovely sound when you got it running Bruce. Love the sound of those big old diesels running. Bob.
Thanks Bob, these gardeners do run really nice, Bruce
Hi bruce.i worked on an 8lxb which was fitted to a crane which loaded logs onto a sawmill.this engine ran from early morning till late evening for over 25 years and NEVER had a radiator fitted to it.im not jokeing.if it rained a small wisp of steam would come from the thermostat houseing.ticked over all day long.greetings from ireland.love the channel.....
In the 1970's I used to drive a twin steer, tandem drive Foden with a concrete agitator powered by an 8LXB Gardener and the epicycle gearbox. What an overweight and under powered bloody thing that was. It seemed designed to make a drivers life as hard as possible, almost as a punishment. Were were used to no air-conditioning in trucks and didn't expect it. The aluminium steering wheel was the last thing you needed in an Australian summer.
Did she ROAL KOLE tho ?
Got one of those in my boat, definitely a great engine.
Hi Mr Crabbing, Looked at your videos, lovely boat and engine, where abouts do you work out of? Bruce
@@bruceinaus I work it of Brixham in South Devon in the UK
Very nice, looks like a nice place coming back into the harbour, thanks for the reply, Bruce
Yes It's a nice harbour @@bruceinaus
Would love to get one of these in a truck, Travancore Transport in Melbourne had a couple of White Road Commanders specially built with 8LXB engines for semi work after International bought out Atkinson and refused to fit Gardeners.
Had a 5lw in a hired boat for a few months. It used 40 gallons a week doing 10 hours a day fishing
good job Bruce , I remember doing some electrical work on one of those engines about 35 years ago , it was set up in the bush to run a small sawmill in West Gippsland .
Hi Ron, thanks for sharing, best wishes, Bruce
Thanks Bruce. Hope things are going well for you. Love your uploads.
hi Bruce, greetings from England, Gardner engines were Top of the Pops just like AEC engines were, the 8xlb was also fitted to British Railways small shunting engines and had one oil bath air-cleaner per cylinder.some of these locos have been preserved.
Thanks Peter, greetings from Qld, Australia. I believe some of our very early cane trains had gardners but I haven’t seen one for many years. It would be nice to get hold of one! Bruce
Bruce this is heritage stuff... lovely!
Woohoo 🥳 She’s a runner! The old girl sounds great Bruce 👍. Another great video 😊
The hat made the difference!
I love your videos. The sound of those pistons sent a chill down my spine. Most of my working days were on small automotive diesels but you gotta love these giants.
Cheere from Canada North
Oil is often clean if it's been sitting for a while because the water and sludge drop to the bottom. So the dipstick is good but not authoritative. Need to drop a sample out of the sump drain
Hi there, yes I agree with you that your way is the best and most definitive way to test, thanks for watching, Bruce
Great work and nice video, God bless you and your friends!!... best regards from Santiago of Chile, SouthAmerica!!
Too good man have fine knowledge of engineering..
thanks for all your amazing videos !
Oh Bruce what a sweet old engine. I can imagine a turbo on the exhaust to produce so much power she would twist that long crank in two.
Thanks Bruce, that was really cool. Amazing sound too.
Good engineering.
Thanks Keith, Bruce
a real nice engine.
Drove 240 Gardener in a big J guy for years, in the 1970- 80s. Starting one in the dead of winter,Christ instant thick exhaust. And at times they jumped the rack bar in the fuel pump.
Once again a good result good on you
That’s a fantastic engine Bruce
Someone needs to build a big rat rod with this engine in it with 8 zoomie pipes out the side 👍👍👍
Morning David, yes it would be interesting wouldnt it. Funny you should say this, there was a really smart bloke a few hours south of us here and he made about at least three of his own cars and I think one had a straight 8 fitted! Bruce
Just discovered your channel and Iam really enjoying the content and your way of approaching the old equipment recovery. Keep them coming and Thanks
There can't be many straight 8 Diesel manufacturers around nowadays ? My uncle used to drive an AEC which had a gardner in it and he was all praise for it . I know that Schluter had a straight 8 in their tractors .
Hi Noel, I don’t know anyone In my local area running any modern land based equipment with a straight 8, thanks for sharing, Bruce
Thank you for sharing this beautiful piece of machinery
My mate from Tottenham NSW just watched your video and he said "BLH Lima" and some "Kohring King" cranes had the Gardener in them back in the 1960's and 1970's, he worked a "BLH Lima" with a dredge bucket on it in the early 1970's, it was lashed to a barge and worked in and around Sydney Harbour.
I should do some research on this Dave, tell him thanks very much for this info. Bruce
Hi Bruce, I think Col would’ve been happy to see it run!
Those old Gardners powered all those London city buses in the 60s & 70s. Damn reliable and strong motors. Super popular in huge fishing boats over in Asia and all over the world
I worked on these engines, serviced one with over 100 thousand hour lodged in it's maintenance records. Slow revving built to last.
Hi Mike, that is absolutely astounding. Thank so much for sharing, best regards, Bruce
I’m sure I was told they ran a gardener in the factory for 6months straight or 12months as an endurance test.
If it wasn’t gardener is was a lister engine. I was told this by a ex gardener mechanic at college as we had to rebuild them.
@@davelove3779 On Robbie Coltrane's excellent series ''Coltrane's Planes and Automobiles'' in the diesel engine episode, he helps a mechanic fix a Gardner diesel, the mechanic tells him the Gardners once finished a full working life on the old DD buses, would be sold to India and Pakistan where they'd run irrigation pumps 24/7. Quality engines!
Good job excellent engines nz
Thanks Ronald
Just found your channel and im really digging it! Keep it up..woukd live to see you start some old aus lorries
Hi Bruce ,, I saw a blog recently and found out 4 cyl Gardners were fitted in English taxis and 6 cyl engines were in English double decker busses ,, later the Leyland 680 were fitted ,
The Bristol vehicles used Gardner 5LW to 6LXC engnes, the Bristol VR doube deckers 's I drove were in the main engined with the 6LXB unit, the Leyland 0.680 was switched out relatively quickly in the vehicle's life as they were used during a period when Gardner were on strike to maintain vehicle deliveries although one or two companies did specify it as it maintained continuity with the Atlanteans they had.
pure magic
Sound Solid Engineering ! 😂
Great video. But you didn’t tell us what you were using clean the cables. Inquiring minds need to know. Gday.
Gday Kleps Garage. Thanks for watching. I use an old farm trick, it’s basically boiling hot water and bi carb soda. I usually use a heaped teaspoon to every cup full of water. It does a nice job cleaning the acid and grunge off the terminals and even around where the wire comes out the cable. All the best, Bruce