Sisu KB-124 was a two-axle lorry and special vehicle chassis made by the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

heavy vehicle manufacturer

Suomen Autoteollisuus Sisu Auto is a truck manufacturer based in Raseborg, Finland. Its name comes from the Finnish word ''sisu'' meaning guts, grit and determination. Sisu Auto has a subsidiary company, "Sisu Defence", producing high mobility tactical vehicles for ...

(SAT). It was a six-tonne delivery lorry which was developed to follow the KB-24. The KB-124 was produced from 1961 until 1968, when it was replaced by the similar KB-121 with increased permitted load. Production ceased in about 1972. The marketing name for the vehicle was Nalle-Sisu, "Teddy-Bear-Sisu". In addition to lorries, the chassis was bodied as

fire engine A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an i ...

s, mobile shops and small

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es by coachbuilders.

Development

The old-fashioned looking cabin of the KB-24 was modernised in the KB-124 and made more spacious to make it competitive with the

Volvo Snabbe The Volvo Snabbe and Trygge was a series of light trucks produced by Swedish automaker Volvo between 1956 and 1975. Volvo L420 Snabbe Volvo introduced its first forward control truck L420 Snabbe ("Fast") at the end of 1956. It had a payload of ...

. As a drawback, the vehicle lost a part of its key strength, agility. The new Nalle could not be driven through some of the tightest curves, which the KB-24 still could handle. The total weight of the truck was increased by to and the model name was changed from KB-124 to KB-121 in 1968, after recommendation from the Ministry of Transport and Public Works.

Production

The main customers were Finnish government institutions. At the beginning of November 1968 the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

approved an order of 50–60 Nalle-Sisus, of which 34 units were for Post and Telegraph Administration, 15 for the State Railways, and few units were for other public institutions. Initially the State Railways had suggested purchasing Fargo FK 500 lorries instead because their unit price was just 16 200

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...

, instead of Sisu's 20 612 marks. However, the domestic origin weighed in favour of Sisus. Selecting the domestic option was not self-evident. At the time, there were many news articles for and against the domestic options. In 1971 the state chose buying 53 Fargos for a total of 1.2 million marks; the minister of transport, K. F. Haapasalo, commented that the domestic vehicle production was "small-time business". SAT tried to end the Nalle production several times, but each time some government institution decided to order a series of a few dozen units, which the company then produced.

Technical data

Engine

At the beginning the engine selection consisted the same models which were used in the previous KB-24: the utterly outdated, in-house produced

four-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

3.5-litre Sisu AMA

side valve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...

petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

with an

output Output may refer to: * The information produced by a computer, see Input/output * An output state of a system, see state (computer science) * Output (economics), the amount of goods and services produced ** Gross output in economics, the value of ...

of 70 hp,Blomberg: ''Omin konein eteenpäin.'' pp. 99–104. and four-cylinder 3.6-litre

Ford Dagenham Ford Dagenham is a major automotive factory located in Dagenham, London, operated by the Ford of Britain subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. The plant opened in 1931 and has produced 10,980,368 cars and more than 39,000,000 engines in its histo ...

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

with the same output.Blomberg: ''...ja muita kummallisuuksia.'' pp. 138–142. A stronger 4-cylinder 4.16-litre Ford Dagenham diesel with 84 horsepower was introduced in 1967.

Chassis and transmission

The frame side beams are U-profile that are high and wide, and produced from thick

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

. The frame width measured from outer edge is . The

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

with diameter is dry single-plate type and features torsional damping. The gearbox includes four speed forward and reverse; the second, third and fourth gear are with synchromesh. The transmission shaft has two

universal joints A universal joint (also called a universal coupling or U-joint) is a joint or coupling connecting rigid shafts whose axes are inclined to each other. It is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges loc ...

. The rear axle has a

hypoid A spiral bevel gear is a bevel gear with helical teeth. The main application of this is in a vehicle differential, where the direction of drive from the drive shaft must be turned 90 degrees to drive the wheels. The helical design produces less ...

gear set. The

forged Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it ...

front axle beam is I-profile shape and there is a drop in the middle. The axles are produced by

Kirkstall Kirkstall is a north-western suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the eastern side of the River Aire. The area sits in the Kirkstall ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds West parliamentary constituency, represented by Rachel Reeves. Th ...

Suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...

is carried out by

leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, it ...

s long and wide. Both front and rear axle are equipped with telescopic

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most sh ...

s. The standard wheel size is 7.50 – 16" and 5.50 – 20" was available as an option. The service

brake A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

consists of

hydraulically Hydraulics (from Greek language, Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is th ...

operated

drum brake A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of shoes or pads that press outward against a rotating cylinder-shaped part called a brake drum. The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press on the inner surfac ...

s, which are same size on the front and the rear axle. Initially a dual-circuit system with

vacuum servo A vacuum servo is a component used on motor vehicles in their braking system, to provide assistance to the driver by decreasing the braking effort. In the US it is commonly called a brake booster. A vacuum servo also known as a power booster or ...

was optional; later servo became standard. The handbrake works mechanically. Steering system is

worm gear A worm drive is a gear arrangement in which a worm (which is a gear in the form of a screw) meshes with a worm wheel (which is similar in appearance to a spur gear). The two elements are also called the worm screw and worm gear. The terminolo ...

type.

Cabin and superstructures

The full-steel cabin used on lorry models represents own production of SAT. Compared to the previous model, it was more upholstered and better insulated. In cabin design the producer had paid attention on good visibility. The

windscreen The windshield (North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. Mo ...

is split and both halves are curved. Both sides have separate

windscreen wiper A windscreen wiper, windshield wiper, wiper blade (American English), or simply wiper, is a device used to remove rain, snow, ice, washer fluid, water, or debris from a vehicle's front window. Almost all motor vehicles, including cars, truck ...

s. An extended five-seat cabin was available as a special order. The electrical system is 12-volt and the vehicle is equipped with an 84-Ah

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

. A 146-Ah battery was available as an option. In earlier models the

fuel tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propel ...

capacity is and it is placed on the right side. Later it was placed on the left side and the capacity was . The bus chassis were delivered with a tank which was optionally available for lorries as well.

Dimensions and weights

Characteristics

The platform width of was good for agility, but became problematic when standard

pallet A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. A pallet is the structural foundat ...

s became more common. The contemporary standard pallets could not be placed two-across the width. The State Railways planned to modify the vehicles by replacing the platforms with the wide type, but the plan was abandoned.

Sources

* *

References

{{reflist, 30em Kb124 Vehicles introduced in 1961