The AEC Mandator (Old Pond Books) (Commericial Vehicles Archive)

This book deals with the history and development of the AEC Mandator range from inception to demise. From its earliest days AEC was an engineering-led concern that maintained close relationships with its customers. The original AEC Mandator lorry first appeared in 1931 to fulfil the special requirements of hauliers that wanted low-height chassis vehicles for carrying machinery or bodying as furniture vans. By the 1960s the Mandator Mk V was at the vanguard of AEC's successful assault on home and export commercial vehicle markets. Later, the Ergomatic tilt-cabbed design consolidated the success of AEC's heavyweight tractive units. Fast, powerful and with excellent brakes, as well as looking the part, these lorries became immensely popular. But as Graham Edge says in his Introduction, 'It was a great pity that the Mandator development stagnated in a period of rapid advances and when production ended in 1977 the model had become somewhat outdated.' With a selection of chapters devoted to the fundamental models, including the Matador Mk III, the Mandator Mk III and the Mammoth Minor, the story of the AEC Mandator is told through comprehensive narrative and stunning photographs of the machines at work. This book also includes an appendix devoted to the chassis designations and wheelbases of these machines and another on their engine details.