Ford A0609 55-tongvw
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light truck by Trevor Longcroft
Pictures by Dick Ross THE A-series Fords announced this week range in gross weight ratings from 3.5 to 5.5 tons gvw, and it was one of the latter top-weight models which we recently tested over our Midlands circuit and at MIRA.
It was a type A0609 145in.-wheelbase truck with factory-fitted dropside body, having the new six-cylinder version of Ford's own "York" diesel engine. This version has a maximum payload of just under 3 tons including driver; its unladen weight is below 3 tons, gross vehicle weight below 7.5 tonnes, so there is no need for an hgv licence now or when the new licence regulations take effect in 1976.
The test vehicle was fitted with the optional five-speed all-synchro ZF gearbox which adds £142.90 to the basic chassis price.
The custom cab package was fitted to our test model, this including a dual passenger seat, fully adjustable driving seat and various additions to trim.
Entering and leaving the cab is easy via two steps positioned at 7in. and 16-fin. from ground level; entry would be improved, however, by a door opening wider than the present 60deg or so.
The driving seat adjusts fore and aft and vertically, and the rake of the squab can be set in three positions. I found that not all of this facility could be used, since with the maximum backward squab tilt, the seat back fouled the rear of the cab before the maximum rearward adjustment of the seat was reached.
Inside, the cab is similar to that of the Transit. The speedometer which also incorporates a fuel and water temperature gauge beneath its glass is housed on a binnacle set dead ahead of the driver. It can be easily seen through the top sector of the steering wheel. Adjacent to the speedometer is a vacuum gauge. All the frequently used minor controls such as the side/head lights, windscreen wiper and washer switches are located on the offside of the dash beneath the "swivel socket" ventilator. Direction indicator, flasher /full-beam switch are incorporated in one stalk projecting from the steering column. The only criticism I have was that the side /head lights switch could be more conveniently placed for the driver — say, on another column-mounted switch.
To clear the dual passenger seat, the gearlever is cranked but is within comfortable driver reach. Clutch, brake and throttle pedals are evenly spaced. The brake pedal travel was, I thought, excessive but a Ford engineer claimed that the amount of travel was common to vehicles employing automatically adjusting brakes. However, r still had misgivings because at least half the pedal travel had to be employed before any braking was achieved though when they
came on, the brakes produced good stopping distances as the table shows.
Although the engine compartment intruded into the cab, it was sufficiently well insulated to keep the cab quiet enough for conversation and the radio to be easily heard. Only when travelling on motorway with the engine at max rpm did the cab noise rise to an uncomfortable level.
All-round vision is good except for the poorly positioned wing mirrors which barely project outside the body line, leaving a "blind spot" along the body sides. Longer stems or cab-mounted mirrors extending beyond the body line should prove a satisfactory remedy.
Ride and handling Good ride is greatly assisted by the long wheelbase and by the driver being seated between the axles, An anti-roll bar is fitted at the front axle and hydraulic dampers at front and rear. There was no evidence of roll, pitch, or bounce and even when idling the cab and mirrors remained vibration free.
In my opinion the ZF gearbox fitted to the test vehicle offers a superior and slicker change to the other four-speed gearboxes offered in the range. Gearchanging was effortless — more like that of a private car. Ratios from 2 to 5 are arranged in the conventional four-speed H-formation. First gear is needed only for hill starts. Consequently, for normal running I only used the higher four ratios, pulling away from a standing start in second. Driving straight ahead, steering control was light and easy. However, the steering gets progressively heavier towards full lock and when manoeuvring at low speeds the effort required to turn the wheel was excessive for a light vehicle.
Performance The on-the-road assessment of the A0609 performance was completed over CM's Midland test circuit which consists of motorway, trunk roads and typical rural roads.
Progress on the first section, MI, was impeded by an ac-cident which partially blocked the road and reduced speed to a crawl for nearly 15 minutes. But for this hold-up the average speed for the section would have been about 59 mph.
I was able to maintain speeds of 60 mph along most of the motorway, the speed dropping to the high forties when climbing the gradient from A5 intersection north of Hemel Hempstead. Fifth gear would have been used all the way but for the delay.
On other normal road sections of the route typical gears were fourth and fifth and very occasionally third for the steeper gradients. The truck cruised effortlessly at 40 mph in fifth, and it was difficult not to let the speeds creep up to the high forties because the engine note remained virtually unchanged in this speed range.
On both of the timed hill-climbs on our route the Ford was baulked by slowermoving vehicles. However, both climbs were completed with a minimum of fuss. At Broadway the lowest gear needed was third and the minimum speed was 15 mph. At Aston Hill I was able to remain in fourth gear, minimum speed being 29 mph.
The Ford pulled away from 25 mph in fifth gear without complaint and so when approaching slower traffic it was not necessary to change down unless extra acceleration was called for when overtaking.
On the MIRA test hills, the Ford restarted on a I in 4 facing upward, but failed to restart in reverse because first gear is a lower gear than reverse. The fast changes proved advantageous when accelerating through the gears. Starting in second gear from stationary, 50 mph was reached in 49.3 secs.
The overall fuel consumption of 18.3 mpg obtained may have been adversely affected by the delay on MI, though only slightly.
The good fuel consumption achieved can be attributed to the vehicle's ability to cruise effortlessly in fifth gear at 40 mph — the maximum legal limit over most of the route.
Typically, the vehicle will be used for delivery operation so I completed one and two stops per mile consumption tests at MIRA, each stop being of lOsec duration. Except for restarts, fifth gear was used for the run. At one stop per mile, fuel consumption achieved was 16.7 mpg at an average of 27.6 mph; at two stops per mile fuel consumption dropped to 14.3 mpg and speed averaged 20.2 mph.
In standard form with the four-speed Ford gearbox the A0609 chassis float costs £2181. As tested, with the custom cab £47.80, ZF five-speed gearbox £142.90, and radio £28.60, the total price is £2400.30.