Numbers game

Let’s take a look back over the history of the Foden 4000

- Peter Davies

The cab that graced the Foden 4000XL was the fifth, and final, version of the long running S10 design. The composite GRP/aluminium S10 cab first appeared in 1978 and continued in production through to 2001 when the company switched completely to the Daf based pressed steel Alpha cab. The Alpha had first been introduced in 1998 so there was some overlap with the later style S10. The last S10s did in fact feature Alpha style front grilles and were referred to by some as ‘510’ cabs.

When Paccar took over Foden in 1980 the S10, in original form, had been going for two years and the first trucks of the Paccar era were virtually unchanged. It wasn’t long however before styling changes began to appear. By 1987 it had been given a completely new look. The windscreen was set further forward, no longer stepped back slightly as on earlier versions, making the interior roomier as well as improving the external appearance.

September 1992 saw the introduction of the Hi-line sleeper cab on the Foden 4000 Series and, shortly after that, it was given another facelift. The small central grille gave way to three bold black horizontal stripes giving the cabs some resemblance to Leyland Daf’s trucks. At the same time the familiar kite mark was deleted, except for a small circular badge, something that did not go down too well with traditionalists.