T he 80 Series eight-legger CM tested in May 1992, a
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Constructor by any other name, was the most powerful model of a fivemodel range. It offered the choice of Cummins L10 250 and Perkins Eagle
265 as well as Dais 11.6 litre unit with nominal ratings at 260hp, 300hp and 330hp.
Today over two thirds of all eight-wheelers are specified above 300hp. So with an eye to move up in weight to 32 tonnes, the FAD 80.330 seemed to be the right choice The charge-cooled, pre-Euro-I, engine drove through to the slick 12-speed Eaton TwinSplitter gearbox and then to an Albion rear bogie with a 4.63:1 final drive. This gave a geared speed of about 112km/h and at the 96km/h motorway speed limit, it just about hung on to the top edge of the green band at 1,800rprn to return 31.71it/100km
\ (8.90mpg). A-road running gave 33.9lit/100km (8.33mpg) despite working in the supposedly more effl dent range between 1,250 and 1,500rpm.
Compared with similarly powered vehicles of the time the 80.330, returning an overall 33.0lit/100km (8.36mpg), was quick hut erred on the thirsty side. Even at 30.49 tonnes, power was shown to be an advantage, claiming to be 8% more frugal than the 30.26 tested a couple of years earlier
The big Leyland cab has
ample room. Even then we were asking if it was really needed and today the answer appears to be "No", unless the vehicle is used on long haul runs with a sleeper cab. Most manufacturers now offer a narrow day cab range which makes the vehicle easier to manoeuvre and saves weight and cost. Even so, the 80.330 chassis cab weighed in at just 8.82 tonnes.
As it has a design weight of 32.52 tonnes today it would offer a body Payload of 23.18 tonnes— slightly less than some of the lighter current eight-leggers on the markets