Prior to the introduction of the Model T in 1908 Ford built only light passenger cars and commercial vehicles for under 1 ton payloads. The first purpose built Ford commercial was the TT 1 tonner that appeared in 1917 this was basically a lengthened Model T with worm drive and over 1 million were sold within 10 years. A new screen side TT 1 tonner appeared in 1925. The heavier all commercial version of the TT was the AA that was designed for 1 to 1 1/2 ton payloads and this model was introduced in 1928 and by 1931 Ford AA´s were being licence built in Russia as Russian GAZ´s and in 1932 Ford introduced the BB model initially using a 4 cylinder petrol engine but this was replaced in 1933 by a 65 bhp 3.6 litre engine, in 1935 the BB was remodelled along car lines and by 1936 Ford had sold 3 million trucks and the first Ford cabover versions appeared in 1938.
1923 Ford Model T
Ford AA
1939 Ford artic
Hydraulic brakes appeared in 1939 as did the new 95 bhp 3.5 litre Mercury V8 petrol engine. By the 1940´s the Ford truck range had once again been restyled and some American components were being used in British built Fords and after the war the same models were on offer as before the war and new models did not appear until 1948 when the F6, F7 and F8 models were introduced for 2-3 ton payloads the heaviest of these had a 5 speed transmission, hydrovac brakes and a 135 bhp V8 engine and the F8 model was also available in 6x4 form. In 1949 a 6 cylinder forward control parcel delivery model appeared. By 1952 the company had introduced their first over head valve engine comprising of a 3.6 litre in line 6 cylinder with up to 155 bhp. For 1954 the goods vehicle range was extended upwards to include models of up to 25 tons and power steering was introduced as an optional extra, by 1956 tubeless tyres and 12 volt electrics had been included as standard while engines now reached outputs of up to 22 bhp.
In 1957 the well known forward control tilt cab C Series for payloads of between 5 and 9 tons was announced, this had a 4 or 5 speed synchromesh transmission as standard, other features included hypoid driving axles, hydraulic, hydrovac, air/hydraulic or full air brakes. By 1958 a series of heavy bonneted trucks had been announced and the most powerful of these reached 277 bhp. In 1960 a prototype gas turbine engine was installed in a Ford truck, and at the top end of the range the forward control tilt cab H Series tractor was available as a 4x2 or 6x4 with a choice of various Ford V8petrol engines or Cummins diesels, these also had twin plate clutches, air brakes and numerous transmission options offering up to 12 forward speeds. A prototype 6x4 gas turbine tractor known as Big Red was unveiled in 1963 using a 600 bhp power unit with 5 speed transmission and air suspension, soon after this Cummins V6 diesel engines were announced for the snub nosed NS Series and by 1965 independent front suspension had been introduced.
Ford F6 artic 1949
Ford F8 rigids 1949
Ford C600 1956
The 1966 truck and bus line offered no fewer than 1000 different models and 6 cylinder Caterpiller engines were introduced for some of the heavier models.
In 1970 the L Series of heavy duty bonneted trucks went in to production at a new plant in Louisville and these were soon referred to as the Louisville range taking the company´s weight range up to nearly 30 tons, available in either 4x2 or 6x4 form these could be had with with a variety of specifications including V6 or V8 Detroit diesel engines, air brakes and a tilting fibreglass bonnet. A new heavy duty cab over range known as the W Series was introduced in 1971 this was the company´s first maximum capacity model and numerous aluminium components were used in order to keep unladen weight down. By 1978 the CL9000 with light alloy tilt cab Caterpillar, Cummins or Detroit diesels of up to 600 bhp were available, special versions for weights of up to 62 tons were also built. Over the years Ford have opened up or bought production capacity in numerous countries throughout Europe and all over the world.
Ford N Series 1963
Ford C Series 1972
Ford Aeromax
Ford L8000
Ford LTA 9000
FORD UK 1932 - 1933 and 1965 - 1986
The British Ford commercial range was much the same as the American line up until 1932 when after a move from Trafford Park Manchester to new premises by the Thames at Dagenham the Ford Motor Company announced a 3 speed 1 tonner with a 3.3 litre 4 cylinder side valve petrol engine. To avoid confusion with US built Fords a new model designation scheme was introduced whereby all Dagenham built vehicles incorporated a letter E in their model numbers. By 1933 however a new 2 tonner was being marketed as the Fordson the same name that had been used for many years on the company´s agricultural vehicles and this name was quickly adopted for all but the lightest commercials. The Ford name was not be used to describe commercial vehicles of more than 1 ton capacity until October 1965. In 1986 Ford joined forces with Iveco and models such as the Ford cargo were to be known as Iveco Fords and eventually with the passing of time the Ford part of the name was dropped and all future models were Italian designed Ivecos.
Ford Model BB
Ford WOT1 6x2
Ford D Series
Ford Transcontinental 4427
Ford Cargo Drawbar
FORDSON UK & Eire 1929 – 1939
During the 1920´s a common sight on British roads was the light road tractor usually derived from agricultural models. The Fordson was one of these built until 1929 at Fords factory in County Cork before production was transferred to the Dagenham plant in 1931. The road tractor version had an enclosed cab, down swept exhaust and solid rubber tyres. In 1933 all British built Ford commercials were re-named Fordson carrying this name until 1939 when they became known as Fordson-Thames. The first new Fordson truck was the forward control BBE 2 tonner built between 1943 and 1938. It was the first to employ conventional fore and aft semi-elliptic leaf springs instead of transverse springing. Heavier requirements were catered for by the 6x2 Surrey and the 6x4 Sussex models. In 1935 a new 2 to 3 tonner was introduced as the model 51. Other models included the Model 70 of which more than 30,000 were sold and the Model 81 which had sold more than 28,000 by 1939.
Fordson 7V Tractor Unit
Fordson 7V Rigid
FORDSON-THAMES UK 1939 - 1957
In honour of the Ford Motor Company´s successful Dagenham factory on the banks of the river Thames the company re-named its trucks Fordson Thames. Wartime models included 1 1/2 ton light trucks and personnel carriers, 1 1/2 and 3 ton 4x4´s and 3 ton 6x4´s all powered by the 7V range of V8 petrol engines the 3.6 litre version of which was used in various military vehicles produced by other manufacturers. Civilian production resumed immediately after the war with a series of forward control V8´s in the 2 to 5 ton class and these were replaced before 1950 by new ET6 petrol and ET7 bonneted diesel trucks, payloads of up to 8 tons were now catered for with new features including semi-elliptic front leaf springs and hydraulic brakes with vacuum-servo assistance on the heavier models. The Perkins P6 diesel was now also included as an option. In 1953 a new 70 bhp 3.6 litre overhead valve 4 cylinder unit appeared, this developing into the company´s first diesel truck engine the following year. Meanwhile in 1952 a new 3 ton 4x4 had been introduced for the military with a forward control Commer cab and a Canadian V8 petrol engine. The first semi forward control Trader civilian model appeared in 1957 signalling the adoption of the Ford Thames brand name.
Fordson-Thames ET6
Fordson-Thames 1947
UK (Ford Thames) 1957 - 1965
With the announcement of the semi forward control Trader truck range the Ford Motor Company´s British built commercial models became known as Ford Thames. The Traders had synchromesh transmissions and hypoid rear axles and all engines were Ford built petrol or diesel models. Models were initially grouped in the 1 1/2 to 7 ton range but were later extended to include 6x2 and 6x4 derivatives and a 41 seat passenger model was also built. By 1962 5 speed transmissions had been included and 2 speed rear axles were optional extras and the model continued in production until the introduction of the Ford D Series when once again the Ford name was adopted on its own to describe the commercial vehicle range.
Thames ET6
Thames Trader 6x2 rigid
Thames Trader artic
FORD SPAIN 1920 - 1936 & 1940 - 1954
Apart from the civil war years British designed Ford trucks were built under licence by Ford Motor Iberica in Barcelona until an entirely new British designed range was developed from 1954 and was launched as the Ebro two years later.
FORD GERMANY 1935 - 1971
The Cologne plant of Ford Werke AG based its first truck on the parent companies BB model using a 3.2 litre 4 cylinder petrol engine and by 1936 had added a 95 bhp 3.6 litre V8 engined 3 ton model as well as various military models. In 1948 a 4 cylinder petrol engined 3 tnner was introduced as the Ford Ruhr and a year later was joined by a V8 version called the Rhein. By 1951 the 3 tonner had been redesignated as the FK3000 and the larger model was now known as the FK3500. These were the last of the heavier models manufactured in Germany and thereafter until cessation of production in 1971 only 1 to 1 1/2 tonners and Ford Transits were built in Germany.
Ford FK3500
FORD AUSTRALIA 1940 - 1945 & 1975 to date
While Ford commercials had been assembled in Australia for many years it was not until the outbreak of the 2nd World War that distinctly Australian derivatives began to appear built by the Ford Motor Company of Australia these included military all wheel drive vehicles and 6x6 conversions of some standard chassis as well as some armoured vehicles. With a return to piece production was centred on light commercials with the heavier vehicles being imported either from Ford UK or USA although in 1975 a 41 tonner was developed for the Australian army.
FORD FRANCE 1947 - 1954
Ford SAF in Poissy, Seine et Oise took over production of the forward control Matford 5 tonner re-naming this Ford. It now had a 3.9 litre V8 petrol engine and by 1949 an all steel cab had been introduced and in 1950 a 4.1 litre 6 cylinder diesel engine was added to the range. Military versions were also built and 4 speed transmissions, 2 speed back axles and hydrovac brakes were soon on offer. The company was acquired by Simca in 1954 and the 5 tonner model was continued as the Simca Cargo
FORD NETHERLANDS 1975 - ?
By the mid 1970´s the Ford Motor Company had begun to centre some of its European manufacturing facilities in a new plant near Amsterdam and on the truck front introduced the Transcontinental 4x2 and 6x4 truck range which was marketed throughout Europe although production was later switched to the UK.
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