 One variant of the Thames logo | |
 Ford Thames 300E Van (1958) | |
| Product type | Commercial vehicles (vans and trucks) |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ford |
| Produced by | Ford of Britain |
| Country | United Kingdom, Europe and Canada |
| Introduced | 1939 |
| Discontinued | 1965 |
| Related brands | Fordson |
Thames (also known as Ford Thames or Fordson Thames) was a commercial vehicle brand produced by Ford of Britain.
The Thames name first appeared in 1939 as the Fordson Thames. Ford of Britain wanted to make a British brand identity and differentiate its passenger and commercial lines. Subsequently, the Thames name became widely used. The name Thames was initially used alongside Fordson on commercial products until 1957 when the Fordson name was removed from all trucks and the brand was focused only on farm products such as tractors. In 1965 Ford dropped the Thames name and all commercial vehicles and trucks were now marketed under the Ford name.
The Fordson E83W and was the brand's light commercial van offering, being offered on the 10 cwt (1,100 lb; 510 kg) segment. It was built at Ford's Dagenham plant where the brand's tractors were also being produced. The E83W range was offered as a van, pickup truck and many special bodyshops produced various other bodies upon the chassis, such as mobile canteens, fire trucks and ice cream vans.
The Fordson E83W pre-dated the name Thames. It was produced between 1938 and 1957. The van was sold in Australia as the Ford Ten-Ten, and the E83W was available in various forms around much of the world as Britain strove to export after World War II. In some countries, the 'cowl and chassis' only was imported and local bodies built.
The E83W range was powered by Ford's sidevalve engine which produced 30 hp with a 3-speed gearbox, and was heavily geared down in the rear axle. This made the van much slower than a contemporary saloon with an effective top speed of not much over 40-50 mph. The E83W had a mostly unique body and shared few parts with other small Fords, although some parts were based on the larger Ford Pilot while the headlamps came from Fordson tractors. Since 1952 the van was also sold under the Thames brand.
The Fordson 7V or Fordson Thames 7V , depending on the dealer network, was a medium/heavy-duty commercial truck range. it was first introduced in 1937 as the successor to the Ford Model BB (while still being based around the same chassis and mechanicals). Available with a payload of up to 5 tonnes, the then very modern truck in cab-over-engine design enabled greater manoeuvrability in urban environments. Two different wheelbases were available, and the chassis provided the basis for various bodies. For example, the Fordson Thames 7V was the most widely used fire truck during the Second World War. The model series was powered by the well-known V8 Ford Flathead side-valve engine with 85 hp. By means of a three-speed (optional four-speed) manual transmission and cardan shaft, the drive was made to the rear wheels. For that time, the one-piece windscreen, which could be opened for ventilation, and a sunroof above the passenger seat stood out.
Early 7Vs built in 1937 and 1938 had a curved rounded grille, while from the 7Vs built in 1939 it stood flat and was smaller as were the headlights. These measures were consequences of the beginning of the war and the associated shortage of raw materials. The production of the civilian 7Vs was maintained throughout the war. An armored version was also produced for use by the army. During World War II, civilian production was halted for military vehicles, in 1945 civilian production resumed.
Immediately after the end of the war, numerous improvements were introduced, the most outstanding of which were a new braking system and a tractor unit. A 4.7-liter Perkins Engines inline six-cylinder diesel engine with 45 hp was available as an option from 1948. Until mid-1949, the model series was produced in Dagenham and replaced by the Fordson Thames ET. One disadvantage of the 7V range was its somewhat cramped cab, something that its successor greatly improved upon.
In 1949, Ford of Britain presented its new post-war truck range, this time under the Fordson Thames brand only (instead of offering a vehicle by both brands separately), replacing the previous Fordson 7V models while still retaining the same chassis and Ford V8 flathead engine. ET stood for English Truck. In addition to the Commonwealth of Nations, it was also offered in continental Europe, but not in Germany (where it was seen as unnecessary as the similar Rhein and Ruhr models were sold there). The model series was available not only as a truck and chassis, but also as a panel van and bus.
A version with a Perkins engine was also offered. The conventional cab with a hood muzzle and split windscreen had more space than its predecessor. It was built by coachbuilder Briggs Motor Bodies and was supplied in almost the same form for the Dodge 100 and the Leyland Comet. The chassis had semi-elliptical leaf springs and now hydraulically operated brakes with vacuum brake booster. Payloads of up to eight tons and optional all-wheel drive were now also possible.
A four-wheel drive 3-ton variant (ETF6) with the Canadian V8 engine with vertical valves and a cab-over-engine cab from British Light Steel Pressings was also built. This was also used by Commer.
Because of the high fuel consumption of the outdated V8 engine, Ford launched the newly developed "Cost Cutter" in 1953 for payload variants up to three tons, a 3.6-liter four-cylinder engine with overhead valves. This engine was also the basis for Ford's first self-developed diesel engine with 3.61 liters of displacement and 70 hp (55 kW) of power. This was offered from 1954 as 4D or 6D. Production in Dagenham ended in 1957 and its successor was the Ford Thames Trader. Ebro built the Fordson-Thames ET models under license from 1956 to 1963 as the Ebro B series.
The Thames Trader was presented in 1957 as the successor to the Fordson Thames ET range. It shared almost nothing with its predecessor and was a completely new model, although it still shared some styling with the contemporary 1950s Ford F-Series model line. It was offered all around Europe except for Germany (like its predecessor) because the mechanically similar Ford FK range was sold there and it was feared that offering both model lines would cause in-house competition between the models. The Trader was also exported to South Africa, Malta, Morocco, Indonesia and Australia. From 1963, the Trader was also produced by Ebro in Spain as Ebro C-400, C-500 and C-550. Also from 1963, production began at Otosan in Turkey and at the Ford plant in Rhodesia – Egypt. Additionally, like its predecessors, some vehicles were also exported to Canada but did not find much success there because Ford was also offering its more popular American products there and the British vehicles were quickly withdrawn from the market. Overall, the Trader was replaced by the Ford D series range as Ford removed the Thames name from its products.
Additionally, a normal control version using the cab of the discontinued Ford FK range was also offered under the NC designation and was later renamed the K series.
It was available at up to 7 tons as a rigid truck and 13.4 tons as a tractor. At that time Ford had Thames rigid models from 1.5 to 7 tons. In 1962 The Trader II was introduced, available as a 7.5 tons rigid and 17 tons tractor.
Production of all variants ended in 1965.
A light car derived van based on the Ford Anglia / Prefect 100E saloon range. It shared its bodyshell and 1172 cc sidevalve four-cylinder engine with the Ford Squire estate car versions of the line. It was available as a 5 cwt version and a deluxe model alongside a 7 cwt one was also offered. All three offered the same 66-cubic-foot (1.9 m3) load volume. Production totalled 196,885 examples comprising 139,267 5 cwt, 10,056 Standard 7 cwt and 47,562 Deluxe 7 cwt units. [1]
Similar to the 300E, it was a small car-derived van based on the recently introduced Ford Anglia 105E. it was marketed again as the Thames 5 cwt or the Thames 7 cwt van. These names defined, in Imperial measurements, the recommended maximum load weights (approximately equivalent to 250 and 350 kg respectively) of the vehicles. Advertised load space was 73 cubic feet (2,100 L) including 12 cubic feet (340 L) beside the driver. From October 1962 the 5cwt and 7cwt vans were also offered with the 1198cc engine from the Ford Anglia Super and these were designated as Thames 309E. In March 1965 the use of the Thames name was discontinued and from that time Anglia-based vans were marketed as Ford Anglia Vans.
Production ended in 1967 with over 200,000 having been produced by then.
A copy of the Fordson 7V was produced in France by Ford's local subsidiary and partner Matford as the F917WS model in their Poissy factory. It was mainly designed for the French army in the outbreak of World War 2 but only around 600 were delivered to the army before France was seized by Nazy Germany. The Nazis used a number of these trucks, but sabotages made by the French workers who were not fond of their ideals led to production ending the following months and the army using only German Ford trucks while the Poissy plant only delivered parts to Germany to keep production running. After the war, the truck was heavily modernized both mechanically and stylistically and was relaunched as the Ford Cargo F798WM (not to be confused with the later Ford Cargo range). This time, the Ford V8 was extensively reworked for the vehicle with the help from Hispano-Suiza. Apart from its home market, it also saw some export sales.
In 1951, the French Ministry of Defense placed a major order for 2000 diesel engine trucks with 6x6 all-wheel drive. However, such a model hat yet to be developed. As a temporary solution, Ford delivered 560 trucks with gasoline engines. From 1951, a tractor unit with the diesel engine was also available. Because of the austerity plans in 1952, the government withdrew its order and Ford France boss Lehideux immediately dismissed several hundred workers. As early as 1950, there had been repeated violent strikes at the Poissy plant. These strikes and low sales led Ford to look for a buyer for the plant. On July 4, 1954, Simca took over most of Ford France and thus also the Poissy plant. Until 1958, Ford still held 18% of the shares. At the end of 1954, sales of the Ford Cargo F798WM were discontinued. Nevertheless, a version for the French military continued in production under the Simca and later Unic brands in the company's plant in Suresnes. The engines were now supplied by Bugatti although they were still being based on the Ford V8 design. During all of production, more economical 4- and 6-cylinder engines were also available. [2] Since 1953, the engine of the Cargo was also used in the Ford Vendôme luxury car.
Since the French army was looking for a small off-road truck in the style of the Unimog and no French automobile company had such a vehicle in its product range, the Simca SUMB was developed. The Simca SUMB shared the same transmission and engine as the by-now called Unic Cargo but had a new cab and slightly shorter chassis which was provided by Unic, while the axles came from Marmon-Herrington; the body was styled by local company Bocquet. Therefore, SUMB stands for Simca Unic Marmon Boquet. [2]
The SUMB came into many versions for the military, many including various special bodies, allowing for payloads up to 2 tons. Over 6,000 were produced and delivered to the French army before production ended in 1973. The tooling was sold to Renault which however did not procced further with the design, instead providing their own Saviem TP3 to the army as the successor. After 1994-1995, a number of SUMB vehicles were converted to use Renault engines as the outdated Ford design was very much uneconomical by now. Since 2005, SUMB vehicles started getting retired from military service and sold as surplus products. [2]
Iveco who went on to purchase Unic would produce an off-road oriented version of its Iveco Daily van which was named the Iveco Daily 4x4 and would also be marketed in France under the Unic brand, effectively filling the gap left by the Simca/Unic SUMB by one of their own models.
After the Thames name was retired, Ford continued building commercial vehicles in Europe but only under its own brand name. By the 1980s, Ford was still very successful on the segment and offered the Escort Van, Transit and Cargo alongside the P100, Courier and Transcontinental models. However, during the 1990s Ford started facing major problems on the medium-duty segment and was forced to sell its Langley truck plant to Iveco who managed to establish more themselves on the British market by also offering the Daily and Eurocargo models under the Ford brand alongside the original Iveco models, effectively expanding their network dealer.
IVECO, an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is a Dutch multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. The name IVECO first appeared in 1975 after a merger of Italian, French, and German brands. Its production plants are in Europe, China, Russia, Australia and Latin America and it has about 5,000 sales and service outlets in over 160 countries. The worldwide output of the company amounts to around 150,000 commercial vehicles with a turnover of about €10 billion.
Pegaso was a Spanish manufacturer of trucks, buses, tractors, armored vehicles, and, for a while, to train apprentices, and have a good brand image, some sports cars. The parent company, Enasa, was created in 1946 and based in the old Hispano-Suiza factory, under the direction of the renowned automotive engineer Wifredo Ricart. In 1990, Iveco took over Enasa, and the Pegaso name became a secondary brand of Iveco.
Commer was a British manufacturer of commercial and military vehicles from 1905 until 1979. Commer vehicles included car-derived vans, light vans, medium to heavy commercial trucks, and buses. The company also designed and built some of its own diesel engines for its heavy commercial vehicles.
Unic was a French manufacturer founded in 1905, and active as an automobile producer until July 1938. After this the company continued to produce commercial vehicles, retaining its independence for a further fourteen years before being purchased in 1952 by Henri Pigozzi, who was keen to develop Unic as a commercial vehicle arm of the then flourishing Simca business.
The International Harvester Company was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It was formed from the 1902 merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company and three smaller manufacturers: Milwaukee; Plano; and Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner. Its brands included McCormick, Deering, and later McCormick-Deering, as well as International. Along with the Farmall and Cub Cadet tractors, International was also known for the Scout and Travelall vehicle nameplates. In the 1980s all divisions were sold off except for International Trucks, which changed its parent company name to Navistar International.
Chrysler Europe was the American automotive company Chrysler's operations in Europe from 1967 through 1978. It was formed from the merger of the French Simca, British Rootes and Spanish Barreiros companies. In 1978, Chrysler divested these operations to PSA Peugeot Citroën.
Seddon Atkinson Vehicles Limited, a manufacturer of large goods vehicles based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, was formed after the acquisition in 1970 of Atkinson Vehicles Limited of Preston by Seddon Diesel Vehicles Limited of Oldham. In 1974, the firm was acquired by International Harvester, which sold it in March 1984 to the Spanish group Enasa which made it a subsidiary of Pegaso. In 1990, it became part of Iveco which used the brand for various types of specialised vehicles in the United Kingdom. The range of models produced included EuroMover, Pacer and Strato, which are aimed at refuse collection, recycling and construction operators.
The Thames Trader was a range of trucks manufactured by Ford UK built between 1957 and 1965.
Bedford Vehicles, usually shortened to just Bedford, was a brand of vehicle manufactured by Vauxhall Motors, then a subsidiary of multinational corporation General Motors. Established in April 1931, Bedford Vehicles was set up to build commercial vehicles. The company was a leading international lorry brand, with substantial export sales of light, medium, and heavy lorries throughout the world.
Ford of Britain is a British wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Technologies Limited, 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 Laindon, Essex. It adopted the name of Ford of Britain in 1960.
The medium-duty version of the Ford F-Series is a range of commercial trucks manufactured by Ford since 1948. Derived from the smaller F-Series pickup trucks, the medium-duty range is currently in its eighth generation. Initially slotted between the F-Series pickup trucks and the "Big Job" conventionals, later generations were slotted below the L-Series "Louisville" trucks; the last two generations are the largest vehicles produced by Ford since its exit from the heavy-truck segment.
The Ford Cargo is a forward control (cab-over-engine) truck model manufactured by Ford since 1981. Designed by Ford of Britain as the successor of the larger Ford Transcontinental, the Cargo entered the North American market as the intended successor of the long-running Ford C-Series.
The Ford Thames 400E is a commercial vehicle that was made by Ford UK and introduced in 1957. Production of the range continued until September 1965, by which time a total of 187,000 had been built. Publicity for the model included hiring the Cy Laurie band to make the promotional film short 'Band Wagon', in 1958, preserved in the 'Ford Film and Video Collection' at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu
The Iveco Daily is a large light commercial van produced by the Italian automaker Iveco since 1978; it was also sold as the Fiat Daily by Fiat until 1983. Unlike the more car-like unibody Fiat Ducato, the Daily uses a separate ladder frame typical of heavier commercial vehicles. The Iveco Daily is produced at the Iveco Suzzara plant, near Mantova in Italy, where Iveco has recently made substantial investments to renew the production lines.
The Urals Automotive Plant, an Open Stock Company, is a major Russian manufacturer of off-road trucks under the Ural brand. Located in the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk Oblast in the Ural Mountains. The plant was established in 1941; when the ZiS truck plant was evacuated from Moscow during World War II.
The Ford Thames 300E is a car derived van that was produced by Ford UK from 1954 to 1961. The Thames name was given to all available sizes of commercial vehicle produced by Ford in Britain from the 1950s through to 1965. In that year the Thames and Trader names were discontinued.
The Fordson E83W,, is a 10 cwt light commercial vehicle that was built by Ford of Britain at the Ford Dagenham assembly plant between 1938 and 1957. The van was sold in Australia as the Ford Ten-Ten, and the E83W was available in various forms around much of the world as Britain strove to export after World War II. In some countries, the 'cowl and chassis' only was imported and local bodies built.
Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) trucks were mutually coherent ranges of military trucks, made in large numbers, in several classes and numerous versions, by Canada's branches of the U.S. 'Big Three' auto-makers during World War II, compliant to British Army specifications, primarily intended for use in the armies of the British Commonwealth allies, but also serving in other units of the British Empire.
The Iveco Zeta is a light to medium-duty truck model produced by the Italian manufacturer Iveco. Appearing in 1976 and entering production in 1977, its cab was developed with the aid of Fiat's wind tunnel in Orbassano. The Zeta series continued the lineage begun with the 1959 introduction of the OM Lupetto. The Lupetto, as well as the Leoncino, the Daino, and the Tigrotto, were all replaced by the OM X-series in 1972, which then formed the basis for the Zeta range. The Zeta itself was replaced by the all-new Iveco Eurocargo in 1991.
The Fordson WOT was a military truck produced by Ford of Britain in the Second World War. From 1939 to 1945, around 130,000 units were produced at the Ford Dagenham plant with almost half being the WOT2.
Media related to Ford Thames vehicles at Wikimedia Commons
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