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Excerpt from Cable-Price Corp Chapter

When is an improvement not an improvement?

 

1972 was notable for the introduction of the Mercedes Benz LP1319/1419 truck range to New Zealand. Virtually identical to the ubiquitous 1418, the new range differed only in having a marginally more powerful engine (at least on paper) and a slimline cab - no bonneted option. (The only difference between a 1319 and a 1419 is 8 stud or 10 stud wheels, respectively.)

 

There was no hint that the 1418 range was nearing the end of its production life, and the purchase price was similar; the only explanation I could see for the introduction of the LP1319/1419s was the slim cab. With a regulated 60ft (18.28m) maximum overall length for truck and trailer units, the L (bonneted) and LP (cab-over engine) 1418s’ cabs swallowed up a lot of potential cargo space. LP 1418s had either a rest- cab (0.5m longer than the ‘slim’) or full sleeper cab (0.8m longer), although the latter were rare in NZ. The bonnet on the L series was a whopping 1.4m longer than the slimline cab.

 

Early sales were strong and Kelly sold three units immediately: two to McDonalds and one to Kaitaia Transport. Both operators based the purchases on past experience with 1418s and the sweetener of more power. Straight away in Northland and nationally, drivers complained that the new versions couldn’t keep up with the 1418s on the same work, and owners reported 1319s were using more fuel for lesser performance. Cable-Price countered initially with “Wait until they’re run in”. The complaints continued, and unrest increased.

 

An early experiment to try and improve the situation involved having the injector pump exactingly recalibrated at a local pump servicing facility. In our area the removal and refitting of the pumps naturally fell to me. At this time, all LP cabs were non tilting; engine access was via a large lift out floor panel or through hinged service doors each side of the cab, which doubled as entry steps when closed.

 

The injector pump is situated low down on the righthand side of the engine and, on right-hand-drive vehicles such as ours, directly below the driver’s position. The mechanic (me) first turns the steering to hard right lock, opens the service door, manoeuvres himself under the 1.3m cab floor and sits his arse on a 20L oil drum. He has the steering drag link in his lap, the ZF steering box in his right ear, and from this position he will have the injector pump ‘in sight’ – although miscellaneous items such as clutch, brake, gear lever, and single pull parking brake mechanisms obscure the view. If that’s not enough to make access ‘difficult’, the pump itself is partly hidden behind the chassis rail. The accelerator lever (which has to be disconnected before the pump can be removed) is out of sight in a 35mm gap between the pump housing and the engine crankcase: you can touch it but can’t see it while the pump is in situ. Two of the four pump anchor bolts are not visible. The injector pipe unions and driveshaft connection bolts are, thankfully, in plain sight and easily accessible.

 

The first one I did took me 90 minutes to remove and 75 minutes to replace. A good part of that time was figuring out which spanners were needed, which obstacles had to be disconnected to remove the pump, and which ones could be manoeuvred around. I shaved 20 minutes off each operation on the second truck, finetuning the procedure even further with the third.

 

After a few months (and, no doubt, disgruntled phone calls), Rotorua based CPC NZ Service Manager (Mercedes Trucks) Bill Ricketts developed a ‘modified’ calibration for the fuel pumps, offered for stricken vehicles on a pump exchange basis. One of McDonald’s 1319s came in for its exchange, but I was told not to touch it until Bill, carrying the modified pump, was present in the workshop.

 

Arriving from the airport around 1pm, Bill turned out to be fiftyish, and somewhat dour. Our Service Manager, Scotsman Bill Campbell, introduced us, adding “Rufus is our truck man. He’s going to fit the pump”. Ricketts gave me a cool up and down look, noting my obvious youth, the hair for Africa, overall sleeves lopped off near the shoulder – and made a silent but obvious judgement. “I’ve got a plane to catch at five. My best man in Rotorua can remove a pump in 55 minutes and fit the replacement in one hour five minutes. I’ll wait here in the office with Bill (Campbell). I don’t want to miss my plane.” Wondering ‘What takes them so long?’, I silently accepted the challenge. Bill Campbell gave me a knowing wink, and I set off to remove the injector pump from McDonald’s truck. 47 minutes later I was back in the office, pump in hand. We exchanged units, and I fired the truck up 55 minutes later. Ricketts, without further comment but with a wry glimmer of respect in his eye, caught his plane with time to spare. We were all well satisfied.

 

 

End of Cable-Price Corp Excerpt