Bedford SB
Encyclopedia
The Bedford SB was a front-engined bus chassis built by Bedford Vehicles
in the United Kingdom
. It was launched at the 1950 Commercial Motor Show as the replacement for the Bedford OB
.
It was the first Bedford vehicle to have a "forward control" design, with the driver's seat located at the right of the engine and the front axle underneath. It used a four-speed synchromesh gearbox, with five-speed gearboxes offered later. It could be fitted with Bedford's own petrol or diesel engine, with the Perkins R6 and Leyland O.350 and O.370 engines also being offered during the 1950s and 1960s.
Wheelbase
length was originally 17ft 2in (5.23 m), but from 1955 an 18ft (5.49 m) option was also offered. Bodywork was provided by a wide range of builders, including Duple
, Plaxton
, Harrington
, Willowbrook and Marshall of the United Kingdom, Hawke Coachwork and New Zealand Motor Bodies of New Zealand, and many more.
There were numerous variants of the SB, each determined by the engine fitted:
From 1968, the SB series used computer classification codes from Bedford's parent company General Motors
, with the petrol-engined SB3 variant becoming NFM, and the diesel-engined SB5 variant becoming NJM. However, they were rarely referred to under these codes.
The SB was built for the UK market and export, and production spanned 37 years - longer than any other Bedford bus chassis - until the sale of Bedford Vehicles in 1987.
Bedford Vehicles
Bedford Vehicles, usually shortened to just Bedford, was a subsidiary of Vauxhall Motors, itself the British subsidiary of General Motors , established in 1930; and constructing commercial vehicles. Bedford Vehicles was a leading international truck manufacturer, with substantial export sales of...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was launched at the 1950 Commercial Motor Show as the replacement for the Bedford OB
Bedford OB
The Bedford OB model was a bus or coach chassis introduced in 1939.The OB has a wheelbase of , and is a semi-forward control model, designed to carry 26 to 29-passenger bodywork....
.
It was the first Bedford vehicle to have a "forward control" design, with the driver's seat located at the right of the engine and the front axle underneath. It used a four-speed synchromesh gearbox, with five-speed gearboxes offered later. It could be fitted with Bedford's own petrol or diesel engine, with the Perkins R6 and Leyland O.350 and O.370 engines also being offered during the 1950s and 1960s.
Wheelbase
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
length was originally 17ft 2in (5.23 m), but from 1955 an 18ft (5.49 m) option was also offered. Bodywork was provided by a wide range of builders, including Duple
Duple Coachbuilders
Duple was best known as a British manufacturer of coach and bus bodywork from 1919 until 1989.-History:Duple Bodies & Motors Ltd was formed in 1919 by Herbert White in Hornsey, London...
, Plaxton
Plaxton
Plaxton is a builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough, England.-History:The Plaxton of today is the successor to a business founded in Scarborough in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton.-Beginnings:...
, Harrington
Thomas Harrington Ltd
Thomas Harrington & Sons Ltd was a coachbuilder in the county of Sussex from 1897 until 1966, initially at Brighton but from 1930 until the end in a purpose built Art Deco factory at Old Shoreham Road, Hove.-Overview:The company began with the construction of horse-drawn carriages...
, Willowbrook and Marshall of the United Kingdom, Hawke Coachwork and New Zealand Motor Bodies of New Zealand, and many more.
There were numerous variants of the SB, each determined by the engine fitted:
| Variant | Engine |
|---|---|
| SB | Bedford petrol 4.927 L Litre pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre... |
| SBG | Bedford petrol 4.927 L |
| SB3 | Bedford petrol 4.927 L |
| SBO | Perkins R6 |
| SB1 | Bedford diesel 4.927 L |
| SB5 | Bedford diesel 5.42 L |
| SB8 | Leyland O.350 |
| SB13 | Leyland O.370 |
From 1968, the SB series used computer classification codes from Bedford's parent company General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, with the petrol-engined SB3 variant becoming NFM, and the diesel-engined SB5 variant becoming NJM. However, they were rarely referred to under these codes.
The SB was built for the UK market and export, and production spanned 37 years - longer than any other Bedford bus chassis - until the sale of Bedford Vehicles in 1987.