Fordson

 

Fordson was a tractor and truck brand used by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920; by Ford Motor Company (USA) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (UK) from 1920 to 1928; and by Ford Motor Company Ltd (UK) alone from 1929 to 1964. 

 

Following the almost immediate success of the Model T car and TT light truck derivative, Henry Ford wanted to develop a tractor for the small farmer. Ford Motor Company stockholders rejected this idea, so Ford incorporated a new company, Henry Ford & Son, to produce the company’s first tractor in 1917, using a modified Model T engine as its powerplant.

 

Fordson engine cutaway – Harold Manly

 

The ‘Fordson’ brand name was chosen for two reasons: reflecting the Henry Ford & Son company name and also neatly avoiding brand conflict with an existing maker, the Ford Tractor Company that already owned the ‘Ford’ brand name in the tractor business.

Like the Model TT, the Fordson tractor was lightweight and inexpensive, and backed up by the expanding Ford dealer network, so Fordsons quickly became the most popular tractors in America. As with cars, Ford’s Fordson brand never had the market to itself but it dominated from 1917 to 1925.

 

Henry and son Edsel pose with their successful agricultural innovation – Henry Ford Museum 

 

The economic slump of the early 1920s caused Fordson tractor sales to slow, so Henry and Edsel looked at expanding the Ford Model TT powertrain into a heavier truck model than the one-ton-capacity light truck.

 

1926 Fordson Truck – Ford Authority

 

The first two-ton truck built by Fordson was a 1926 prototype that used as much of the TT componentry as possible. However, when the weight distribution calculations were done it became obvious that the TT’s front end didn’t have the capacity to carry its share of the payload as well as the weight of the engine and transmission, so the decision was made to move the engine and gearbox further aft in the frame.

 

Mecum Auctions

 

The rear suspension was also quite different from the TT’s, having trunnion-mounted, inverted-leaf, semi-elliptic springs. Fordson must have expected that severe overloading would occur, because the spring packs were massive, 12-leaf assemblies.

Declining Fordson tractor sales and the need for Ford to focus on the replacement for the Model T car and TT light truck range meant that the Fordson two-tonner was put on the back burner and only one 1926 Fordson truck was delivered to a customer. (This rarity was sold by Mecum Auctions in 2019.)

Then came the Great Depression and for the decade between 1928 and 1939, Ford of the USA left the tractor business. During that decade, Ford of Britain continued to build tractors and develop new variants, which it exported widely. 

 

1935 Fordson three-ton truck – Ausdew

 

However, the 1932 introduction in the USA of the Ford Model B car, on the heavier-duty BB chassis, was an opportunity for the postponed Fordson truck brand to re-appear, alongside later Ford-branded, light trucks.

Although the Fordson brand name was soon phased out in the USA, apart from gracing the fronts of imported tractors, it was retained on tractors and trucks in the UK. 

 

Old Number One – Henry Ford Museum 

 

The introduction of Ford’s world-first, mass-produced petrol V8 engine allowed Ford and Fordson trucks to introduce two-ton-payload BBE models in 1934. These trucks were powered by an 85bhp version of the flathead V8 engine and were offered in 4×2, 6×2 and 6×4 factory versions. 

 

1937 Fordson 7V – HCVA

 

In 1937, Ford Motor Company Ltd, Dagenham, announced a new design for its two-ton and three-ton trucks. The Fordson 7V rode on a 134-inch or 157-inch wheelbase chassis and featured cab-over-engine (COE) configuration. Other improvements were made to the engine, electrical system and brakes.

In 1939, ‘Fordson Thames’ replaced the Fordson brand on some models, to give them a more British identity.

Also in 1939, Ford USA re-entered the tractor market with an all-new model, based on Harry Ferguson’s design  – this time under the Ford brand. Fordson tractor production took place in the USA (1917–1928); Cork, Ireland (1919–1923 and 1928–1933); and both tractors and trucks were produced at Dagenham, Essex, England (1933–1964). Ford of Britain tractors continued to use the Fordson brand until 1964, but it was dropped from truck models in 1957.

 

Fordson WOT 2D 15cwt truck

 

Post-War UK production of Fordson trucks employed COE, snub-nosed and bonneted configurations, which included Model 79, Fordson 7V, wartime Fordson WOT, half-ton-payload E83W and up to eight-tons payload ET trucks. 

The Fordson WOT (War Office ‘Type’ or ‘Truck’) was a V8-powered military truck produced by Ford of Britain during the Second World War. Five models – WOT1, WOT2, WOT3, WOT6 and WOT8 – were produced. The WOT1, 2 and 3 were rear-wheel drive and had the cab behind the engine; WOT6 and 8 were all-wheel-drive COEs. The transmission was a four-speed manual, with an additional reduction gearbox for the 4×4 models and the WOT 3D. Between 1939 to 1945, around 130,000 units were produced, with almost half being the WOT2.

A copy of the Fordson 7V was produced in France by Ford’s local subsidiary and partner Matford as the F917WS model. It was designed principally for the French Army, but only around 600 were delivered before France fell to the Nazis. However, this truck served as the basis for post-War French Army vehicles that were subsequently produced by Simca and Unic.

 

Fordson Sussex barrage balloon tender – Hugh Llewelyn

 

Immediately after the War, in the UK, numerous improvements were introduced across the Fordson Thames range, including a new braking system and a prime mover model. 

The 4.7-litre Perkins six-cylinder, 45bhp diesel engine was an option from 1948. 

In 1949, Ford of Britain presented its post-War truck range, under the Fordson Thames brand only. The rebranded Fordson 7V models retained the same chassis and Ford V8 flathead engine, and they came also as panel vans and buses.

 

1951 Fordson Thames – Joost Bakker

 

The bonnetted Fordson Thames models had more space than their  predecessors, using cabs built by coachbuilder Briggs Motor Bodies, who also supplied them for the competitor Dodge 100 and Leyland Comet trucks. The chassis had hydraulically operated brakes with vacuum brake boosters and payloads of up to eight tons, and optional all-wheel drive were available.

A COE, four-wheel drive, three-ton, ETF6, powered by the Canadian OHV V8 Y-block engine, was fitted with a cab from British Light Steel Pressings and this shed was also used by Commer.

 

1957 Fordson Thames E83W dropside – DeFacto

 

The Ford flathead V8 dated back to 1934 and was no longer competitive in the early 1950s – particularly in terms of its fuel consumption – so Ford launched a newly developed ‘Cost Cutter’, four-cylinder, 3.6-litre, OHV petrol engine in 1953, for payload variants up to three tons.

This block was also the basis for Ford’s first in-house diesel engines that were offered from 1954 as 4D or 6D models. 

Fordson-brand truck production in Dagenham ended in 1957, after which year the Fordson name was removed from the brand, which became simply Ford Thames. However, Ebro built the Fordson-Thames ET models under license from 1956 to 1963 as the Ebro B series.

After 1965, Ford’s UK trucks were simply branded ‘Ford’. 

 

Wall sign – Sweet & Nostalgic