Bedford TL

The Bedford TL is a truck that was produced by the British Bedford Vehicles company, a subsidiary of the General Motors owned Vauxhall Motors. Launched in 1981 to replace the Bedford TK, on which it was heavily based, the TL remain in production until Bedford's demise in 1986, but restarted production in 1988 by the new owners AWD.^[1] The range expanded to include various derivatives, but production ended in 1992 when AWD went into receivership.

History and use

From launch, the TL was powered by petrol and diesel engines. The 6-cylinder petrol power units were 214P 3.5-litre and the 300P 4.9-litre. The diesel units were the updated versions of the TK 3.6-litre four-cylinder 220D and the 5.4-litre six-cylinder 330D, with the option for heavier models of the 8.2-litre Blue Series.

By 1984 the engine power was slightly increased with the adoption of turbocharging and the engines were reclassified and now called Red Series. The 220D was replaced by the 3.6-litre 70TD and the 330D replaced by the 5.4-litre 105TD. The 8.2-litre Blue Series engines continued in two version; 130TD and the higher rated 175TD.^[2]

When AWD re-launched the TL in 1988, it was equipped with two 6-cylinder engines; initially as the 17-18 model with a Perkins Phaser 180 bhp (134 kW; 182 PS) unit, and from 1990 with the 17-27 with a Cummins 8.3-litre producing 269 bhp (201 kW; 273 PS).

Notes

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