Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors


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Mrsmackpaul
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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #11 by Mrsmackpaul » Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:18 am

there does seem to be a few places around the world that rebuilds and supplies them for boats does anybody no the difference between a boat motor and a automotive motor?

some more useless information from me

A plastic cab Atkinson 1972 with a 8 LXB
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A Delta cab Foden 1972 with a 8 LXB

Image

Image

Paul
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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #12 by Jeremy Rowland » Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:46 am

There was very little difference between the marine and automotive engines; in the eighties when I was working on the trucks the old Brit trucks that had Gardner engines in them and had come to the end of their useful life, many had their Gardner engines taken out and exported to China for fitting into their Chinese Junk boats.
My gaffer at the time sent many there via a breakers who were at the time based at Burton on Trent; at the time an old 8LXB was worth between £2-£3k a throw and around £1k for the 6LX engines whereas a used Cummins was worth only around £800 and around £500 would get you an old Rolls Royce Eagle diesel.
Yes the LX range all had aluminium crankcases and rocker tops but cast iron blocks and heads; Gardner did build a pretty good lump, the only issues I ever recall seeing on them apart from endless oil leaks was they would occasionally drop a valve else they were pretty solid engines.

Jeremy


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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #13 by Mrsmackpaul » Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:35 pm

Thanks for that Jeremy I guess now china would just build there own motors now and most old motors have been turned into god knows what and sent back to us

Paul
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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #14 by XS650 » Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:38 am

Think it was Hong Kong that took all the Gardners for Junks . The communists having their own superb engines from the Peoples Factory or maybe not. :)
North East trawler skippers used to venerate Gardners in their day, being very disappointed if they had to have a Kelvin due to non availability of Gardners for new boats.
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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #15 by essexpete » Sun Feb 08, 2015 3:50 pm

You could always ear a Gardner 240 coming


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMoovr1pQbQ


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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #16 by Mrsmackpaul » Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:43 pm

I as I google around I cant seem to find any definite specs on a 8LXCT I guess what Im looking for is something like the blue brouchure for the 8LXB that shows the advertised actual figures does any know were I could view such a thing


was the 8 LW all cast iron

what model does anybody think this would be ?

Image

thanks for your help so for everyone

Paul
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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #17 by FOWLER MAN » Mon Feb 09, 2015 1:24 am

Hi,
Wish I could help, but my blue books don't cover the 8 cylinder moddels, though I think a lot of the build info. will be the same as the 6LXB

I've done a lot with Gardners over the years, 3, 5, and 6 LWs in Smith navvies and cranes and 6 LX & 6LXBs in Guy, Foden & Scammell trucks.

They always wanted that bit more out of them and I remember squeezing a bit more out of the old 150s by fitting 180 governor springs and filing the maximum fuel control trigers to give them a bit more juice, (and smoke).:roll: It kept the drivers happy anyway. :lol:

The company I worked for then also had an old seagoing boat with a 22 RB on deck which they used for piling on harbour works.
She had two Gardner 8L3 marine units and I did spend a bit of time on board rebuilding one of them. It would have been about 1965.
The one I rebuilt was set up to drive in reverse rotation and the other ran anti-clock as normal, (looking flywheel end :think: ),to allow for the two screws turning in opposite directions.

Fred


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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #18 by Jeremy Rowland » Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:04 am

Yes Fred the 8LX models were basically eight pot versions of the 6LX range; Gardner simply squeezed a bit more power out of the same engines to upgrade them and gave them another letter prefix. The only difference was the 6LXCT and 8LXCT which were of course the turbo models but these engines only had low boost from their turbos.
If I recall correctly the 6LXCT produced 235bhp and the 8LXCT produced 265bhp.

Jeremy


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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #19 by Mrsmackpaul » Sat May 23, 2015 12:43 am

well I found out some more information while googling around
300 hp gross
287 hp net
865 ft/lbs

http://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/30th-april-1983/49/eggett-freightways-pecifies-the-eight-ylinder-gard#ij8DFPeQ2UmELtzc.99

now were do I get some of these gems ??????? for the big A Im dreaming building gotta find motor first the rest will be easier I feel

Paul

I tell you what there is some pretty impressive fuel figures would put a Mack Maxidyne to shame or just about anything else out there even today

The Big A and self steering double deck cattle trailer for getting in and out of cattle stations on the coastal mountains of north Queensland
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Re: Gardner 8LXB and 8LXCT motors

Post #20 by Dreamweaver » Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:34 pm

Jeremy Rowland wrote:
essexpete wrote:I don't often look but if you go on the classic truck type forums you will see with just how bad a reputation Gardner finished. A great pity as they were world leaders pre and immediately post WW2.


Actually Pete they were a good engine until the very last models they produced after the LX series engines; the problem was that they sat on their laurels as the saying goes, and as other engine manufacturers were making even more powerful truck engines to keep up with the increasing tonnage that trucks were legally permitted to carry, by the time they had played a game of 'catch up' it was far too late and the last series of engines they made had a poor reputation and great problems, something that you don't need when your in the 'cart'
Just like Hymac the reputation of the product suffered; they also treated the chassis makers very badly and missed the opportunity to buy out Rolls Royce Diesels when they went bump around 1973.

I don't think there was much difference between the LXB and LXC models it was more a case of fine tuning but all too late by then! Also they lost the support of the truck drivers and as drivers jobs became more freely available they could pick and chose who they worked for so if a driver did not want to drive a truck fitted with an old 180 Gardner he could simply go drive for somebody who would give him a 290 Cummins powered truck or better still a Volvo or a Scania :cry: no wonder the British truck and engine manufacturing industries died.

Many drivers referred to Gardner engines as 'Patricroft plodders' because they were so slow; a great pity really and a sad end to what had been a firmly established and profitable business.

Jeremy



I drove a 240 Percy powered Big J and you could hardly refer to it a a plodder or indeed "so slow",by today's values,yes it was underpowered,but a great and powerful engine in its day.


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