How about these odd looking buses.

ok i'll bite. what are they? (other than busses)

Austin ? like the look of those roof vents

French made: Chaussons
Loosley

You're on to it LN700, I think they ran on single wheels all round and were powered by 4 cylinder Somua diesel engines. The French referred to them as "nez de cochon" which means pig nose.

A bit of a swell showing off his pretty white shoes (middle bus) next to a bus load of workers.
Was he trying to say sumpfin?
Big cheesey grin too.

lol
-b

These three have been identified already as Chaussons, to be exact they are AP48s and the engine could have been not just the Somua, there were other options. However those being a part of the Jerusalem operator, Hamekasher, I would guess Somuas were the units in question. The story of Chausson in Israel is a rather confusing one but basically the first ones were a part of a deal involving barter of Israeli-assembled Kaiser-Frazer cars (yes) which were exported to France. At the time (early 1950s) there was a desperate need by all the main bus operators in Israel to replace their existing fleets, much of which were comprised of old and war-weary vehicles. The Chaussons seemed initially to fit the bill perfectly, being seen as modern and advanced compared with the bonnetted types used until that time. They were also not too sophisticated like the few US-made Flxibles and GMC PDs which were also imported - or as expensive. So they went into service with all the main operators. In service however many problems became apparent: suspension that worked on relatively smooth French Autoroutes gave passengers sea sickness, the doghouse transmitted heat into the passenger area (not funny under Israeli conditions (dry season and very dry season)), steering was imprecise and gearbox selection left much to be desired. However, at the time they paved the way for integral, modern bus construction and the bus which finally fitted the bill: the Leyland Royal Tiger, which was assembled in Israel and fitted with local bodies.

This process took a few years so in the meantime operators were stuck with the APs (and the later APUs). In order to deal with the problems a lot of modifications were made, like locally built PAS, restructuring those large windows which tended to shatter under Israeli road conditions, replacment of the French powertrain with Leyland 600s/larger radiators/SCG 5sp g/boxes/Leyland rear axles and double wheels, etc. This led to a wilder appearence, in the end they looked like this:



That's one which had all the mods, probably before retirment.



A caricature showing the re-fitting with the Leyland 600.



An Israeli road in the 1950s. This and the previous pics are from one of the operators, Egged's, home page.

Some more...



What it was like inside (pic: Peter marom)



Being painted at Haargaz coachworks in Israel, near a freshly bodied AEC Regal. There's a conspiracy theory the Chaussons were used when the French sold/bartered them which would explain some of the problems and what looks like a French rego on the bus near the camera may substantiate that... Pic: Fritz Schlezinger.



One survived and has been restored by its operator, Egged...

Cheers

T

Thanks Tatra, very interesting stuff. When they fitted the Leyland 600 motors, having the exposed radiator certainly didn't improve their looks.