Leyland Leopard ex Mayne Warrington SNC365X

[ssprinks]

Nice manual gearbox action. You do not see it much nowadays.

[MrT9alizee]

Wonderful sound,past my test at 18 and got to drive these whilst working at shelton orsborn of wollaston up until the company was decimated by midland fox,wonderful times

[plymtube1]

I own a semi auto atlantean and had to have some work done to the gearbox. when the fitter took the top of the gearbox off, to check the bands he noticed that the lining on 2nd gear was starting to break apart. he said this was due to drivers pulling away in 2nd esp on hills putting strain on the bands. so from now on i always use 1st when pulling away except down hill. you are driving her very well mate. keep it up!

[spartan117ism]

can it drive with ZF gearbox

[transitcoffin]

plaxton body i used to drive a coach like this for national travel west skelhorne street liverpool love the gear box on them we had some in national holiday's livery and on motorway once you got it going 70mph + 3rd lane leopard engine fantastic dam good bloody work horse they would run all day/night not a problem thanks for posting

[queenandi]

Ohhhh that sound of the engine. It just sounds exactly like that of the buses in Holland. Also Leyland. Awesome!!!

[ediandpen]

nice driving mate, used to drive these at Strathtay many years ago

[gazhug]

3yrs today....... she's having a face and body lift...... have a look on flickr in plaxtongeezer for latest photo's of her ongoing makeover.... can't wait to get her back.... still runs like a dream.............

thanks for all the comments.............

[walkercontracts]

That man can operate a leyland leopard. I remember going to school on them and every time they changed gear the pasangers heads flew back .

[themanmaschine]

Used to drive an pneumocyclic Atlantean on Schools (SNU 459X), I loved driving it, used to use the gearbox exactly like this, timed perfect smooth ride! A lot didn't use the gearbox right I hasten to add!

[craigybus1]

No need whatsoever to use first though when pulling off. Its a crawler gear. Any 5 speed semi auto is designed to be able to pul away on the flat in 2nd, and every stick box PCV ive driven pulls away in 2nd fine even on hills.

[1100HondaCB]

@craigybus1 Dead right mate. I've driven mk2 Nationals and Bristol VRs with the 5speed semi-auto and 2nd gear is the one you use to pull away. 1st is just a crawling gear and very rarely gets used. Lovely old vehicles and very sad indeed there not around in service any more.

[themanmaschine]

That guy is handling the pneumocyclic precisely right, a joy to watch! The Coach looks great as well, nice condition, I think thats a Plaxton Supreme Body if I'm not mistaken.

[TheDavidpayne]

@themanmaschine tis a supreme body on here alright !

[kevr1983]

Great driver! Especially the blip on the throttle before shifting down. Should use this as a training video :o)

[AECAH760]

Just how they should be driven.

[rdrogel]

The gear shift lever is similar to UTA Sydney/Newcastle Leopards.

[tpvalley]

so some had an overdrive or was it a crawler?

[merlinbus]

@tpvalley

The semi auto`s had a five speed box. In fact,on this video, the driver pulled away in 1st, or "crawler". Normally, 2nd was used. On the manual box vehicles, a 2 speed axle was fitted (Hi / Low), with the switch on the stick.

[G285LNY]

When I was in school we used to go on these. I rem that some drivers used to change slowly like this letting the revs drop and holding it in neutral but some would just keep their foot down and pull the lever fast through the gate without stopping in neutral. Sounded more like an auto when they did that.

[StevieO1974]

Sounds like these drivers hadn't been taught the art of changing gear. Straight-through changes aren't recommended with a semi-auto box, as it ends up ruining the gearbox bands and can cause premature gearbox failure. There should always be a pause between gearchanges.

[wbtuser]

What an absoloute beauty :-)

Dan

[tpvalley]

do u have to back off accelerator to shift gears or does engine do it by itself to stop damage?

[Mitsugejl]

You will have to release the throttle to make it change... In theory, you can select 3rd gear and still accelerate through 2nd, it will only change when the throttle is released. This gearcolumn is the fully pneumatic type (classic hissing noise when gears are changed), newer buses was electro/pneumatic, where the column was fitted with contacts instead of pneumatic valves, leaving the pneumatic part back in the gearbox itself. Correct me if i am wrong.

[tpvalley]

I remember my lecturer used to work for a bus company and they would call the drivers "the animals" mentioned an essential device to cut rpm to shift, he may be just saying what u r saying, I cant remember?

whats the red button for that some have in middle of gear shifter gate? not this one.

[Mitsugejl]

Probably, yes. I guess it would make for a rough ride if you were to do so when downshifting and maybe even when upshifting too. I dont know what the red button is for, i have seen it on some buses...

[tpvalley]

maybe u select a seat and auto eject passengers that u dont like!

[merlinbus]

@Mitsugejl

I think the red button you are refering to, was a neutral warning light. This was fitted to Leyland vehicles with a CAV gearchange, also fitted to AEC Reliances of the period. It was sited in the centre of the gearchange indicator plan, between the change lever and the steering column the whole mechanism was fitted to.

[mrspivvy]

I think that was just a warning light when in reverse

[merlinbus]

@Mitsugejl

This rev dropper was fitted to Leyland vehicles with Leyland auto boxes, making for an enforced smooth change. I never encountered the rev dropper on any semi box. It was possible to slam right through the box without raising the throttle, making for rough changes.

[cornishadz]

Hi there!!

Thanks for posting this on here!!

In 1997 i started secondary school and my School bus was a 1980 W Reg Leyland Leopard sounded lovely and went too!

[AECAH760]

Well Driven and nice sounds from the 0680! (760 AEC better tho' !)

[MrOrganist]

Lovely sound, good drive but they move off perfectly happily in second on the flat. This was how we were trained to do it (Wessex National, early 80s) and I must have clocked up more than a thousand hours on these.

[clas40]

Regards from Denmark. Excellent sound ! It's reminding my from the time as I started to work as a busdriver. I've been driving Leyland 0680 - 0690 and TL/11. Best buses ever !

[markimark03]

terrific! i remember being taken to school on a leyland leopard for several years in north london, it brings it all back :)

[marsvltor2]

Wonderful stuff. One quibble: where's the gorgeous 'Leyland' steering wheel boss?

Seriously though: a driving masterclass and super footage/

[solaris362]

We have in Żywiec city (Poland) buses DAB 7-1200B with Leyland engine and semi automatic gear box. Very good buses!!!

[johnkawash]

my countruy malta imported about 100 buses in 1980 through `87 a lot of aec swifts plaxtons dominants and tiger cubs love the wastegates we put on them

[mrspivvy]

I know a guy who sent a load of buses to malta way back, could be the same batch. he had a coach firm in south wales

[johnkawash]

depends on what but theyre all running except for half a dozen which got scrapped burt theyre future and our buses` future i threatened with the re3form plans

[mrspivvy]

Yes, I'd heard of that. a great shame, new buses whilst having lower emissions are a LOT thirstier and harder to maintain.

Malta is a kind of mecca for old bus enthusiasts, I'd love to visit again.

[JimmersThomas]

Happy memories.

Nice gear changes, mate - that's how they should be driven.

[thelivingdodo]

We still have one at Mayne coaches. It was used to tow an '06 Scania only recently! What a site that was!

[MisterScania]

What a lovely thing that is :-)

[gcbus]

Superb machine and so well driven. Sounds in fine fettle too!

[hurunuiexp]

Hello bus fans. I own a Leyland Tiger in New Zelanad. There is no glow system to help start it. On cold days it is very hard to start. The batteries are new. What is the best starting method in cold weather? Thanks Ian

[Rekku9]

Since you have no glow plugs, consider a Webasto heating system. Otherwise, just turn the key and keep starting until a) the batteries go dead, or b) the engine starts. DON'T keep any pauses while starting: the engine loses all heat it has gained. Either it starts or you'll need aux power. Never use starting fluids, they ruin the engine.

Hope this helps.

[mrspivvy]

doesnt it have a cold start button? seem to remember older buses having these, like a fuel enrichment device? I agree with rekku9 about starting fluids, they are like running on nitrous and can damage the piston crowns

[hurunuiexp]

Thinks for your feedback. I cant see any button for fuel enrichment starting. Would it be on the injector pump or inside the cab somewhere? I admit that I have used starting fluid over winter as this is the only way of starting it. Do you think that I should use a battery booster system instead? I was worried about burning out the starter motor if I just keep turning it over for long periods. Thanks Ian

[bhamguy777]

hi there, is it a push button start ? if so, turn on the master switch then push the engine stop button once - that should kick in the cold start - thats how we cold started leyland leopards anyway so i'd presume that the tiger uses the same method

[turbodieselleopard]

my loepard had push buttons however the stop only activated the stop solenoid, there wasnt any glow plugs fitted to the 680 engines

[smiffy1071]

In really cold weather, first remove the air intake pipe, then while an assistant presses the starter, you light a blow torch and aim it in the air intake pipe. then whern the engine is running, re-connect the pipe to the air cleaner. It sounds as if you have poor compression, which will not help your cold starting. Time for some new piston rings?

[hallion12]

Lovely video...

[jeffsbuslane]

Lovely machine!

[derek4181]

best bus ever made ,very good memories thankyou very much ,would love to  see more .brilliantly driven just how they should be !!!

[video47]

Very nice :-)

[1973ts]

Nice leopard, good gearchange technique.

[greetpete]

An amazing video, VERY many thanks for your share!!!

[stueybish]

Best Leopard vid on YouTube takes me back a few years!