69 FORD

22nd September 1972, Page 125

22nd September 1972

Page 125

Page 125, 22nd September 1972 — 69 FORD

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Ford Motor Co Ltd, Eagle Way, Warley, Nr Brentwood, Essex.

Ford has chosen a "vehicleswith-a-difference" theme for its stand, and certainly some very interesting exhibits are on show. Ford feels that operators do not come to the Show to see vehicles which they can see on the road any day of the week, and which can be seen at any Ford dealer, but rather to see the latest ideas and variations on a theme. The exhibits on display therefore feature special options-equipment or bodywork which operators would not normally get the chance to inspect.

These include the Ford D1010 truck with air suspension and demountable body, specially designed with the bottling industry in mind, the PA 2417 tractive unit with fully automatic transmission, and a new high-roof version of the Transit van. It is worth noting here that the well-known Ford model numbers, eg. D300, D800, D1000, have been dropped in favour of numbers which now have a definite meaning. The first pair of numbers give the maximum gvw and the second pair indicate the engine output. 01010 for example translates as a 10 tons gvw rigid with a 100 bhp engine and DA 2418 as a 24 tons gcw artic with a 180 bhp engine.

To continue with the exhibits an example of the recently introduced "baby artic" based on the Transit can be seen on the Feeney and Johnson stand in the gallery and a D1614 tipper with one of the new factory-fitted bodies is available in the demonstration park. Ford's own 2.4-litre diesel which has been introduced since the last Show can be seen in two Transit exhibits.

Centrepiece of the stand is a 0281728 tons truck and drawbar trailer outfit. This model features a refrigerated demountable body by Pen-Cargo which is described fully elsewhere in this issue.

Ford's Special Vehicles Order Division undertakes to "tailor make" a truck to individual requirements and one such SVO option is the Transit bus which is fitted with a 2.5-litre V6 engine and overdrive transmission. Ford offers production-line fitted tachographs as an option: these instruments are likely to be legal requirements in the future, and operators who want to have a look at one can see examples fitted to many of the Ford exhibits.

Ford produces two passenger chassis, the R1014 and the R1114. The first is suitable for a 10-metre 45/48-seat body and the second for an 11-metre 53-seat body.

An R1014 chassis is on show, powered by the Ford Turbo 360 six-litre engine and mated to a Ford six-speed all-synchromesh gearbox. Heavy-duty power steering and twin alternators are standard equipment and the latest changes in the specification include the introduction of a Holset viscous drive fan and better body sound insulation to give lower interior noise levels.