Ford C-Series
| Ford C-Series | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Ford |
| Also called | Mercury M-Series (Canada) |
| Production | 1957-1990 |
| Assembly | Kentucky Truck Assembly, Louisville, Kentucky |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Medium-duty truck |
| Body style | Cab over |
| Related |
|
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Gasoline Diesel |
| Transmission | Manual Automatic |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Ford C-Series (F-Series COE) |
| Successor | Ford Cargo |
The Ford C-Series is a medium-duty cab-over engine (COE) truck that was built by Ford between 1957 and 1990. It was used primarily for local delivery, and fire apparatus. Many of the fire trucks came merely as cab and windshield models.
In production nearly unchanged for 33 years, the C-Series was the longest-produced commercial truck in North America at the time it was discontinued. Only the Mack Model R (39 years) and Kenworth W900 (55 years; still in production) have remained in production longer.
Like other automotive manufacturers that built COE trucks before the 1960s, early Ford C-Series trucks were "helmet-shaped", cab-forward trucks that shared components with pickup trucks (the F-Series, in this case). From 1948-52, they were simply COE versions of the F-5, F-6, F-7, and F-8. For 1953, they were redesignated the C-Series, but largely remained modified F-Series trucks.
Models consisted of the C-500, C-600, C-700, C-750, C-800, C-850 and C-900. Like the F-900, the C-900 also included a "Big Job" model. Diesel-engined trucks included an extra zero in the model designations (i.e. C-8000 or C-9000).
As Ford started squaring off its vehicles in 1957, they finally gave the cab-overs their own designs separate from the rest of the Ford truck lineup. It featured a small grille near the front bumper, with a four-pointed star emblem on each end, the word "F O R D" spelled out below the windshield, and had a cog-and-lightning bolt crest emblem between the headlights. Variations of this emblem were found on many other Ford trucks during the 1950s and into the 1960s. The C-Series held onto this logo the longest.
In a fashion similar to the Checker Marathon or Volkswagen Beetle, changes to the C-Series trucks throughout its production were very subtle. If anywhere, many of these changes were identifiable by the changes in the cowl insignias and badging. Between 1958 and 1960, the C-Series used a quad-headlight fascia. This was helpful for fire departments, which wanted to use the extra headlight bezels for emergency flashers, an option that was offered exclusively to fire, and other emergency vehicles after 1960. In 1961, Ford reverted to the single headlight design; the regular C-series cab closely resembled the 1957 version. A new Super Duty model was added. Another option included a small sleeper cab.
...
Wikipedia