Ford D-series light truckFord D1000 (UK nomenclature), powered by Cummins Diesel 7.7 unit
The Ford D-Series is a range of middle weight trucks that were introduced by Ford UK in 1965.[1] It replaced the Thames Trader and appears to have been envisaged as a more modern competitor to the Bedford TK produced by General Motors' UK truck subsidiary.
Ford of Britain is a British wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Oval Holdings, itself a subsidiary of Ford International Capital LLC, which is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. Its business started in 1909 and has its registered office in Brentwood, Essex. It adopted the name of Ford of Britain in 1960.
The Thames Trader was a range of trucks manufactured by Ford UK built between 1957 and 1965.
The Bedford TK is a truck that was produced by Bedford. Launched in 1959 to replace the Bedford S type, the TK was scheduled to be replaced by the Bedford TL in 1981, but manufacturing of the TK continued as a cheaper alternative. A military 4x4 version called the Bedford MK was also produced. After Bedford's Dunstable factory was sold in 1987 to AWD, the TK restarted production for military only use until 1992 when AWD went into receivership.
In 1965 the range covered rigid trucks with gross weights from 5.2 to 12.75 British tons, and tippers from 10.8 to 12.75 tons.[1] Higher gross weights became available with the subsequent introduction of versions featuring twin rear axles and articulated models were also quickly added to the range.[1]
Long ton, also known as the imperial ton or displacement ton, is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois system of weights or Imperial system of measurements. It was standardised in the thirteenth century and is used in the United Kingdom and several other British Commonwealth of Nations countries alongside the mass-based metric tonne defined in 1799.
Three new diesel engines were developed for the trucks, respectively of 3.97 litres, 5.42 litres and 5.95 litres cylinder capacity.[1] The smallest unit was of four cylinders while the larger engines employed six cylinders.[1] Claimed power ranged from 82.5bhp to 128bhp.[1] Possibly with an eye to export markets outside Europe, petrol-engined versions with power outputs of 129bhp and 149bhp were also offered.[1]
As on the Bedford TK and on various US built heavy trucks of the time, the cabin was a flat fronted forward control unit positioned above the engine.[1] Engine access was achieved by tilting the entire cab forwards: the hinge at the front employed a torsion-bar counterbalancing system which according to commentators made tilting the cab to access the engine "almost a one-hand job".[1] The engines were installed at an angle of 45 degrees from the vertical which was intended to enable the cab interior to feature a virtually flat floor without the cab itself becoming excessively tall.[1]
April 1967 saw the range expanded upwards with the arrival of the Phase II D1000 series, designed for operation up to a weight of 28 tons gross, and at that time the largest trucks ever produced by Ford of Britain.[1] The D1000s were powered by Cummins produced V8 diesel engines of 7.7 litres displacement.[1]
In 1981 the range was replaced by the Ford Cargo in European markets and by the Ford N-Series (badge-engineered Hino Ranger) in Australasia.
The Ford Cargo is a forward control (cab-over-engine) truck model that is manufactured by Ford. Designed by Ford of Britain as the successor to the larger Ford Transcontinental cabover, the Cargo entered production in 1981. In 1986, the Cargo entered the United States market as a successor to the long-running Ford C-Series.
The Hino Ranger is a medium-duty commercial vehicle produced by Hino Motors, a 50.1% subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation. It was introduced in 1969 with the original model.
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