A huge, almost vertical windshield and a short nose with a slightly sloping hood. Straight lines everywhere. The unmistakable shape of a second gen Mercedes-Benz T2, introduced in 1986. Eliminator from Brazil uploaded a duo of T2-709D chassis-cabs. Two curbside classics, still fit and far away from retirement.
The 709D was factory rated at a GVW of 6,600 kg (14,550 lbs), that’s some serious business in the world of light commercial vehicles.
The 90 DIN-type of horses came from a naturally aspirated, inline-four diesel with a displacement of 3,972 cc, known as the OM 364 engine. Detuned to 86 DIN-hp in 1992, when the Euro 1 emission standards came into effect.
In 1996, the T2W-series, better known as the Vario, superseded the T2. It was merely an updated T2 though and its production run ended in 2013.
The runner up, also with a breezy headache rack and ditto dropsides. I bet this tidy and seemingly very fit ol’ Benz works for Distribuidora De Bananas Nicolau from São Paulo.
Now about that unmistakable shape. The second generation of the T2 clearly spoke the same design language as the smaller 1977 T1, yet it shared many cab components with the 1983 LN2 cabover series, which was evidently the top banana of the Mercedes-Benz light trucks line-up.
Timless design! The best years for Daimler in regard to cars and trucks!
You see? Mercedes Benz DOES make vehicles or working class people.
They always have. An almost incredible range, actually, both on- and off-road.
Johannes, thanks for posting it and putting in context. As for the last picture, I didn’t know the 709 had a smaller brother. Here in Brazil the 709 was the smallest MB at the time.
I should mention timber flatbeds have been the default configuration for trucks and trailers around here. Nowadays it’s mandatory to use chains or stripes to the tie loads, but until some years ago every truck driver used only ropes, so there was the ancient art of knots
Also thanks for posting them!
Scroll to the bottom for a complete overview of the second gen T2. It’s in German, but the chart speaks for itself (5xx, 6xx, 7xx and the 7.5 tons 8xx):
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_T_2
Thanks for that!
There’s so many combinations… unlike in Brazil, they even offered gas engines! I’ve never knew about that, but of course it made sense, for various reasons.
I never noticed the differences in the cabs between the T2 and T1. I just assumed it was the T1 cab.
A clean and very familiar design, even for North Americans. Love the colourful 1970s-style door graphics on the lead photo truck. When I was a boy, I had a number of die cast versions by several manufacturers, of the earlier Mercedes-Benz 508D.
That was also the basic design of the 1990-2001 Freightliner ‘Business Class’ FL 60/70/80 cab.
Right!
Work vehicles and working people’s vehicles remain the mainstay of M-B throughout most of the world. One of the notable and largest exception to this is stuck with mostly just the overpriced fu fu.