Am I right in thinking that there were two different castings for the English version of this "skip"? I have two of the type illustrated above with smooth outer side panels, but seem to remember one I had fifty years ago which had multiple vertical ribs cast in. Was the French version (Unic) either one of these castings (with different tinplate side arms), or a completely different one?

You are absolutely right, there are two very different skip castings for the 966 English issue, one with smooth sides and one with corrugated sides which seems to be scarcer.

Which is the earliest one ?

When did the change occur ?

Jacques.

Thanks Jacques for your confirmation about the English variations. I am now able to answer my own question regarding the French version from the Unic Multi-Benne - this was a slightly different casting. The two pockets at the bottom rear where the tipper locks engage are noticeably further apart than on the English version. Obviously, the tinplate side arms are different, being permanently pivoted to the lifting arms on early versions and replaced by plastic ones to allow the bucket to be detached from the truck on later models supplied with an open bucket and a tanker skip.

Bruce,

The problem is that I have never seen one with the corrugated skip other than on pictures, I have not seen the drawing for the skip either. Have you ?