BVBG - chassis and engine type codes

Bristol chassis/engine type codes

All buses built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles were specified by a code - as an example, our bus FTT704 is a Bristol "K6A".

The first letter/s of the code indicate/s the chassis type, and these started with "A" for one of the earliest first chassis types that BCV built, and went alphabetically through much of the company's life. After the Bristol "L" type, this changed and became more complicated with codes such as "FLF" appearing. However the coding system remained the same - the first letters denote the chassis type. In the case of FTT704, the chassis is a "K" type.

Type	Produced from	Description
2 ton	1923	Small bus or light lorry chassis
4 ton	1920
A	1925	Heavy passenger, intended for 60 passengers double-deck, but several received single-deck bodies.
B	1925	Light passenger. Improved 'A' type. Single deck
B21	1977	Chassis version of Leyland National
B45	1979	Leyland Olympian
B52	1981	Olympian with horizontal rear engine: only 9 produced
C	1929 None sold	6-wheel 60-seat double-deck
C40	1908	40 cwt chassis 4-cylinder 24hp
C45	1912	Worm-gear drive replaced chain drive
C50	1913	4-cylinder 28hp, pressed steel frame
C60	1912	4-cylinder 28hp, rolled channel frame
C65	1913	4-cylinder 28hp
D	1929	4-wheel, 6-cylinder, 32 passenger version of 'B' type
E	1929	6-wheel trolleybus (only two were built)
F	Never produced	Replacement design for the 'B' type?
FL		30' long version of the FS
FLF		Flat floor, long wheelbase, front entrance Lodekka
FS		Flat floor, short wheelbase, rear entrance Lodekka
FSF		Flat floor, short wheelbase, front entrance Lodekka
G	1931	6-cylinder double-deck
H	1931	27'6" single-deck chassis
HA	1956	Lorry tractor unit for operation with ST trailer
HG	1952	Rigid 8-wheel 22-ton lorry
J	1933	6 cylinder 27'6" single-deck
K	1937	26' double-deck
KS		27' version of the 'K'
KSW		8' wide version of the 'KS'
L	1937	Single-deck
LD	1957	Lodekka double-deck: 27' long, 8' wide
LDL		30' long version of the LD. Only 6 were built.
LH	1968	Lightweight short bus
LHL		Long LH - 36'
LHS		Short LH
LL		Long 'L' type - 30'
LWL		Long, wide, 'L' - 30' long, 8' wide
LS	1950	Light saloon - single-deck
MW	1957	Medium weight - single-deck
RE	1962	36' by 8'2.5" rear-engined single-deck
RELH		High-frame for coach bodies
RELL		Low frame, 36'
REMH		40' long version
RESH		Short version of the RELH
RESL		Short version of the RELL
SC	1956	Small capacity - single-deck, front engined
ST	1956	24-ton semi-trailer for use with HA tractor unit
SU	1960	Small underfloor
VRL	1966	Vertical-rear-longitudinal engine double-deck
VRT	1968	As VR but with transverse engine
W	1915

In most cases, next comes a number. This signifies the number of cylinders in the engine. In FTT704's case, it has a 6-cylinder engine.

Last comes another letter, and this signifies the engine manufacturer:

A	AEC
B	Bristol
D	Dennis
G	Gardner
L	Leyland
P	Perkins

In FTT704's case, the engine is an AEC.

Our Bristol-built buses are as follows:

Bus/coach	Chassis/engine code
536JHU	MW5G
AHU803	J5G (originally JJW - signifying a 'J' type chassis with a Bristol JW petrol engine)
EMW284	L6B
FTT704	K6A
GHT127	K5G
GHT154	K5G
KLJ749	LL6G
MOD978	LS6G
OTT98	LS6G
YHY80	LS5G