Bedford CA
| Bedford CA | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Bedford (General Motors) |
| Also called | Envoy |
| Production | 1952–1969 |
| Assembly | Luton, United Kingdom |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Light commercial vehicle |
| Body style | Van |
| Layout | Longitudinal front engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Related | Bedford Dormobile |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.5 L I4 OHV, 1.6 L I4 OHV |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual, 4-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | SWB: 90 in (2,286 mm) LWB: 102 in (2,591 mm) |
| Length | SWB: 154 in (3,912 mm) LWB: 166 in (4,216 mm) |
| Width | 70.0 in (1,778 mm) |
| Height | 74.75 in (1,899 mm) |
| Kerb weight | SWB: 2,245 lb (1,018 kg) LWB: 2,345 lb (1,064 kg) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Bedford CF |
The Bedford CA was a distinctive pug-nosed light commercial vehicle produced between 1952 and 1969 by Bedford in Luton, United Kingdom.
It was manufactured in short-wheelbase and long-wheelbase forms, each form available in either a 10–12 cwt or a 15 cwt version.
Generally it was supplied as a light delivery van with sliding doors, but it was also available as a chassis with cowl upon which specialist bodywork could be added. The Bedford Dormobile was a Campervan conversion based on the Bedford CA van.
In its day, the vehicle was ubiquitous; the Ford Transit of its time. These vehicles are now rare.
The CA was also exported to Canada and sold as the Envoy CA, as part of the Envoy brand line-up.
The overall profile and architecture of the CA changed little during the vehicle's seventeen-year life. There were, however, three distinctly different versions sold. The first CAs featured a two-piece windscreen, comprising two separate flat sheets of glass separated with a central vertical metal divide. As curved screen glass became available in the UK at an acceptable price, the two piece windscreen was replaced with a single slightly curved windscreen in approximately 1958. At the same time the painted front grille of the original, which had featured a central split reflecting the split windscreen, was replaced by a smaller unsplit front grille, still painted in the van's body colour. The third version of the Bedford CA, sold from late 1964, featured a much deeper windscreen and side windows, and a corresponding reduction in the height of the painted metal scuttle panel directly below the windscreen. The 1964 vans also reflected general trends in car design of the time in featuring, for the first time, a pressed aluminium alloy front grille. The longer wheelbase version had the body lengthened by an additional short roof panel, with wider doors.
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