We are not talking about Swedish super-group ABBA however, but the only organisation to make more export revenue for its Government in the same period; Volvo. There had been a few European lorries getting a foothold in the UK truck market throughout the 1960s. Volvo was neither the first one nor only one. There had been other Volvos before this model too, but it was the F88 more than any other single truck, which was to change the balance of Britain’s truck market forever. This was the start; the thin end of the wedge, the beginning of the end.
It was a quiet revolution in every sense. Imported to the UK by Ailsa Trucks, the F86 had established a beach-head for the larger F88 to come ashore and both were renowned for their low noise levels. Independent tests in the early 1970s declared F86 and F88 in-cab noise to be ‘more akin to a saloon car than a lorry’ with just 74dBA in the cab at 2,400rpm the findings reported. The external figures on the test varied from 84.2 dBA on the upwind side to 85.8 on the downwind. The results compared with contemporary UK limits of 92 dBA for new vehicles at the F88’s power, and 89 dBA for the F86 type respectively.
This one is certainly quiet. Owner Maurice Fearn has itrestored into that specification; witness the wheel sizes. In its current condition, rest assured you will not have seen it in print, but in a former life it did appear in our sister title , when operated by owner-from-new LM Allan. The year after this one was built, at the Earl’s Court Commercial Vehicle Show in October 1976, Volvo launched the down-rated 250bhp F88 to plug the gap between the 201bhp F86 and the near 300-horse F88. The 290’s larger grille is the visual difference but as Maurice Fearn points out many post-’76 owner-driver 250s were retro-fitted with the large grille. At 32 tons 250bhp was deemed to be sufficient, competing head-on with Cummins-engined ERFs and Seddon-Atkinsons while DAF had recently launched its 2300 (230bhp) tractor unit. Therefore, Volvo reasoned, a 250bhp truck would gain a slice of the distribution fleet sector without affecting sales of either the F86 or 290bhp F88. Essentially the F88 290bhp was more intended for 38 tonnes operation, but many operators just liked the extra power and torque. A Volvo spokesman at the time was quoted as saying; “Some operators need more power than the F86 can provide but don’t like the idea of letting their drivers loose in a truck which has got nearly 300bhp under its belt”. We wonder what he would say today, with fleets running flagship FH16s with 750bhp at only 12 tonnes more!
