(first posted 4/28/2017) CC’s full write-up (by Ian Williams) on these trucks is titled “The Almost-Immortal Ford C-Series“. And to prove the point, I’ve shot two of them recently within a few blocks of my house. This one is in the service of a tree service.
These were once everywhere, starting in 1957. And they had a mighty long run without any substantial changes, all the way to 1990. I can’t think of another American truck that was built so long with such few exterior changes, the only one of significance was the reversion from quad headlights to its original duals. I’m not sure of the years, but one of you undoubtedly will.
I’m not going to say that I ever thought it was a particularly handsome truck, and its odd vent behind the front door makes it look like it was cobbled together, although that’s not really the case. Is it a ram-air intake for the engine?
Its big brother, the H-Series did look rather cobbled up, but that was often the case back then. The H-Series wasn’t nearly as popular, and had a much shorter life, as it was replaced by the more purposeful W-Series COE in 1966.
I could not see into the little gap between the cab and the truck body, so I took a risk and stuck my iphone in there and took a shot. Bingo! It came out well enough to confirm the obvious: there’s an FE V8 in there, as was the case in an overwhelming majority of these, (update: it’s a “385” series V8, of the 370-429-460 family. Most likely this is a 370, as used on medium duty trucks to replace the FE. This is obviously a late-series version, or possibly it was re-engined)..although there were a number of other choices, ranging from six cylinder gas engines, the Y=Block V8s in the early years, the Super-Duty V8s, as well as a smattering of diesel choices. But it seems like FE versions were the happy medium, so to speak, and undoubtedly, the ones still at work have them as they can be kept going a lot easier than the other alternatives.
Looks like the ubiquitous 5 speed and 2 speed axle combo. How familiar the sound of a hard-working truck FE is to me, having driven number of them back in the day.
No, they weren’t there to cut down that magnificent big old cedar back there. Actually, it’s probably not all that old; maybe 40 years or so. These, like all trees, grow crazy fast in our climate here. The biggest mistake folks make in the landscaping is not being able to visualize how big (and how fast) their trees will become.
Late last summer, just about two blocks from where I spotted the red truck, there was this one at a roofing job. Perfect truck for the job, as the shorter wheelbase and overall length makes it more maneuverable in residential settings.
This one is a bit older, I’m guessing, from the dashboard. This appears to be a more original dash design, while the red one has what appears to be a newer, more industrial design. This one does like a bit 60s.
Nothing’s immortal, but these do get close to it. At least so far.
The Model A of trucks.
Given it’s production lifespan, It’s more like “the Panther of trucks” ?
The only thing I miss is the parking lamps/turn signals at either end of the grill, as they appeared in the 60s. The quintessential medium-duty cabover.
Simply wonderful rigs these were and are to – day .
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A tree service out fit near me uses and entire fleet of them all painted Safety Yellow and he has the grilles and bumpers chromed .
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This Chipper Van looks like a later model .
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At one time this was the most popular medium duty trick there was .
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Sterling bought Ford’s medium duty line and immediately stopped producing parts ~ a foolish move as there are many of these still out working and those Customers will no be forced to buy a new Sterling rig because they cannot get basic cab & chassis parts anymore new .
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-Nate
I don’t remember ever seeing chrome grilles and bumpers on these in real life (ie not Ford publicity pics) except on fire engines. Granted, these were popular chassis for those.
That’s because Stevens Tree Service, rebuilt the entire body of every one they bought and had the chroming done at that time .
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-Nate
You might appreciate this story Nate. I heard about a owner-driver who back in the 1960’s had liked chrome and had a bright idea to get the entire hood of his Mack B61 (or similar) chromed!
He came to the attention of the police who told him it was a hazard due to reflections or similar and he had to repaint it. So he coats the hood in something I can’t remember to ensure the new paint job does not permanently adhere, then promptly attends the designated police station to have the defect notice lifted and within the same day the new paint is gone again.
The guy telling the story said the only reason he didn’t have the entire cab chrome-plated was that it wouldn’t fit in the tank!
Wow .
Yes, I do appreciate that story, I like chrome if tastefully applied but many Truckers go WAY over board .
We used to have a really clean 1967 Mack RS700L tow truck, the powers that are mostly stupid and clueless but wanted to wa$te Taxpayer Dollars decided to put it in the local working truck show and opened the purse strings, I sent almost every thing they could un bolt, out for chroming and bought box fulls of bull dog ornaments, we modified them to replace the plain black ball handles on all the various external controls .
We actually won a prize ! this on a real honest to God daily working rig .
Sadly they salvaged it a few years later right after we dropped almost $40,000.00 in up grades and repairs to it, sold for $2,500.00 @ auction and I spotted it a month later in a low end trade rag for $4,700.00, no mention if the freshly rebuilt engine, tranny, rear end, AC, frame, dual booms, all new radial tires on and on and…..
-Nate
Sterling bought both Ford’s medium and heavy duty lines. Both and the brand currently RIP, so those customers are likely on their own.
Or maybe not? Ford may still be serving them. We used to source parts (circa 2002-3) for our LN and LNT-8000 trucks from Ford… during the Sterling era.
_NOT_ .
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I was the parts buyer for most of the L.A. City’s Fleet of these and Ford always said : we have to go through Sterling to get anything and Sterling was discontinuing parts left and right……..
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A bad business all around .
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-Nate
Ford has built and sold a lot of, shall we say, compromised designs over the years. But when it gets one really, really right, then it can be epic.
I remember these in green as Baltimore City garbage trucks.
Did Ford go to DD for the diesels? I can’t think of any other they’d use back then…
No; I think ford was trying real hard not to buy from GM at the time. In the early years, Ford’s own inline diesel six was used, but the most common one (IIRC) was a Cummins “compact” V8 diesel, and later a Cat, also a V8, IIRC. The Cummins N-Series six may have been used too, in the heaviest-duty versions.
Interesting catch Paul.
I rubbed a good bit of grease off “Cs” and I guess had some sort of perverse interest in them. LoL So find the spotting interesting.
As to engines, I positively recall ever seeing just one C with a gasoline 6, it was
the “Big 223” type engine.
I sort of recall one C with the “new” 240/300 type 6, but at probably 40 odd years I’m not positively certain on that now. I do recall a bit about the truck in question having a broken flywheel housing, which used an oddball adapter to marry the 300-6 to a common FT bell housing. I’m sure about the failure and the difficult hunt for scarce “6” HD parts, but now I’m not so positive if the truck was a C or F; just don’t recall.
I’d be interested in hearing about Ford’s own early diesel six in a C. Was it a Dagenham product?
Same goes for Cummins 555 “compact” V-8, I don’t recall ever seeing one in a C. Not saying it couldn’t have been, just never saw one.
Either would be oddballs, for sure.
The C’s “spy shot” V-8 gas? I’m pretty sure that’s not an FT (truck version of FE) but instead a “Lima” 370/429. Have another look.
You’ll recall that FE/T had more-or-less vertical exhaust port flanges and a “funnel” around the spark plug holes, which made it convenient and sure to drop small parts in while the plugs were out. Also the intake was “half” the head with FT.
Thanks for posting the capture.
Oops; quite right about that not being an FE! I just took a quick glance at the valve covers. Thanks for the correction.
This is obviously a very late production C-Series, and presumably they came with these by then, or it’s been re-powered?
The best feature of this truck is the tilting cab. The first time I saw one open as a young kid, I was utterly amazed. I thought that it was the greatest thing! These remain a favorite so many decades later.
In the area where I grew up there was a family owned enterprise consisting of excavating, fuel oil delivery, container/dumpster services and a school bus operation. Aside from the school buses (obviously) their entire fleet of trucks were C-series in a crisp apple red color with white lettering outlined in black. Those trucks were seemingly all over the county from the time I could first remember them in the early 70’s right up until I was last out that way around 2006. I can’t say how many of them were around for the whole 40+ year stretch, but I’d hardly be surprised to find out I was passing the same trucks in 2006 that I’d crossed paths with in 1986. These are practically an institution.
I recall a Matchbox version of this truck, maybe a stake bed farm truck? These were the real blue collar work trucks weren’t they? Garbage trucks, septic pumper trucks, construction site deliveries. All the stuff I loved to watch as a young lad.
I think of them foremost as fire trucks, then strangely, the default home heating oil delivery truck.
I know next to nothing about these, except that I recall seeing them on the road, and they turn up on old TV episodes, like Perry Mason or Hawaii 5-0.
I would’ve guessed the ‘padded-dash’ version was the later model.
Happy Motoring, Mark
I was cycling home from work yesterday and also saw a tree-service C-Series on the job. C-Series CC Effect.
I saw this retired one on an Oregon backroad in the Coast Range near US 20 last summer.
Wonder how far from a road it is?
Another view.
The route home from my old job (up until about a year ago) took me over a bridge that was under some kind of long-term work/repair, and one of the trucks involved in the repair work was a C-series with a particularly long wheelbase, dual rear axles, and some sort of large apparatus mounted to the back whose function I could never figure out. They had always knocked off for the day by the time I passed by, but it was parked there overnight in various spots at the roadside. Who knows, if they haven’t finished the job that C-series is probably still in attendance, though I don’t ever have occasion to go that way anymore.
The grilles behind the door handles were functional engine air intakes if the truck had a 4 bbl. 391 or Super Duty V-8. I believe they were functional on some diesel powered C’s as well. As for engine availability, some of the early ones had ‘truck’ versions Ford of Lincoln and Ford Y-blocks before the common ‘FT’ (truck version of the FE) V-8’s. Super Duty V-8’s were offered in the heavy 800 and 900 models, and various Ford 6’s in the 500-600 versions. As for diesels, a few used the British Dagenham 6 cylinder in the 60’s but the Caterpillar small V-8’s (1100 and later 3208) were the most common I saw. I never saw a Cummins V-6 or V-8 in one, but I believe they were yet another option. A few had Detroit 6V-53’s. Starting in the late 70’s, the FT’s were replaced by the Lima 370 and 429, the Super Duty V-8’s were dropped, and the Detroit 8.2L added. 1986 was the last year the C was built with a gasoline engine (my company bought one of the last ones) and from that point on it was 3208 Cat or 8.2L Detroit only. The end came in 1990 when neither of those engines could meet emissions regulations. Due to the design of the cab floor, the truck could not accommodate any of the then-new Cummins or Caterpillar turbocharged aftercooled in-line 6 diesels.
Interesting, BobB, I’d never heard that emissions killed off the C, but it sort of makes sense because at wind-down there were so many unused new surplus parts (complete cabs, etc) around that it seemed like the end was not anticipated or well planned for.
I believe that the Lincoln engines were 302 and 332 and faded away in ’63 with the FT becoming available in ’64.
Raising the spring counterbalanced cab is a breeze if done correctly, by opening both doors first for weight shift. Without open doors the cabs are tough to raise. Firetrucks with a heavy rear extension are tough to raise also. Take the thermos off of the package shelf first, before it falls through the raised cab’s windshield. hehe
Ford was working on a replacement of sorts. In he mid-80’s, they started importing the Brazilian built European designed Cargo cabover, eventually manufacturing them at Louisville after the C was dropped. I think Ford thought the Cargo was a better competitor to the larger Japanese cabovers that were gaining in popularity. Maybe the Cargo was, but that truck was never very popular in the U.S.. GM had dropped their Chevy/GMC ‘Steel Tilt’ C series competitor and replaced it with an Isuzu F series in the mid-80’s.
I think you are correct about the Lincoln V-8’s, and I do remember seeing a couple of replacement C series cabs at my Ford Truck dealer now that you mention it!
Oldcarbrochures.org has several Ford full-line truck catalogs. The 1965 one is at http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/NA/FMC-Trucks-Vans/1965_Trucks-Vans/1965_Ford_Truck_Full_Line_Brochure. Over the full line of trucks they offered five gas sixes, twelve gas V-8s ranging from the 289 to the 534 Super Duty, two Ford diesels, eleven Cummins diesels, and one lonely Caterpillar diesel available by special order only.
H & C models shared most major sheet metal stampings. The heavies were just a lifted version of the mediums with some added stampings. Shared tooling accounts for design elements like the unneeded air intakes on the mediums Shared tooling was common practice for both Ford and GM medium/heavy COEs up through the 80s. It allowed amortizing tooling cost over larger volumes than competitors. Mostly extra margin for the companies rather than lower pricing for buyers. The C series mediums used by our company were equipped with a truck version of the 352. That engine lived on in trucks long after it ceased being used by cars. In assembly line production with high tooling costs, many product design decisions that might seem inexplicable from a product user standpoint make perfect sense when seen from the standpoint of mass production economics. The trick is getting the right balance. Financial emphasis on quarterly results seemed to cause Detroit to lose their balance toward the end of the 20th century.
I remember some of these trucks the C-series as well as its main rival, the International Cargostar used as beer delivery trucks with Molson, Labatt, O’Keefe colors and logos as well used by Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
The C series cab was manufactured and designed for Ford by Budd. Budd also sold versions of this cab to Mack and FWD:
http://forums.justoldtrucks.com/Uploads/Images/4257ead0-6ff4-48a0-8c40-d9ad.jpg
The Mack version of this cab had a different floor and a doghouse to accommodate their Thermodyne diesel. Generally speaking, the Mack N was a heavier truck than most Ford C series trucks were.
Yep! As a kid, that confused the heck outta me! ?
Did the H-Series turn the C’s wheel well into a storage compartment?
Yes it did! The H was a quick-and-dirty attempt at a class 8 cabover, likely Ford testing the waters before committing to the W series in 1967. The H was looked at derisively both drivers and mechanics alike, earning the nickname ‘Two Story Falcon’.
I clearly remember that upgrading a short distance daycab COE model (which was developed as such) to a long distance sleeper cab model was considered as a Deadly Sin among truck drivers.
The long distance model had to be a flagship, with the tallest and widest cab possible. Developed as the truck maker’s top model & flagship.
In the second half of the seventies and early eighties Ford Europe offered this Transcontinental:
Two-Story Cortina?
And this became Ford’s Euro “top model” once the production of the Transcontinental ended:
Always great to an old truck still earning its keep – a bit like the old chap at the back of the factory who gets asked to do all the really tricky jobs or the work on old products. You just known he’ll do it.
Interested to read that the red is newer than the white – I’d guessed the opposite based on the very spartan look of the red truck’s vanilla interior.
Also, may be coincidentally, the Ford D series was the UK’s truck of choice from the mid 60s to 1980, and seems to fit into a global naming policy. Styling had some American feel as well.
What a neat old truck. I like the low profile stance that fits neatly with the low-rise body jobs in the rear. I can hear the chugging Ford engines underneath it now. The only C-series I ever drove likely had a Caterpillar V8 diesel, judging by the yellow V bank block and clatter noise. Probably a 3208. Probably should have checked the oil too during the pre-trip and confirmed that it was a Cat. Oh well, I was 19, fresh out of class 1 school, and had to make 30 deliveries working for Coca Cola Bottling at the time saving up for University in the summer. Obviously no time for vital engine fluid checks…
Green oversight.
Anyway, the truck was maneuverable in tight spaces with its cabover body and set back axle. Felt like driving a mini-bus with the front cantilever. Odd feeling, though. Turns are really magnified when you are ahead or on top of the steering axle instead of in sitting in a more “pivot” position within the wheelbase.
I had no idea these were in production so long–learned plenty from today’s essay, Paul.
A first-year brochure here:
Probably the most iconic cab over truck of the 20th century.
http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/New-Brochures—February/1981-Ford-C-Series-Brochure-Cdn
Interestingly, this 1981 brochure shows both SD and 385 series available concurrently.
The SD was only available in the 900 range, the highest capacity version. This had always been the case with Ford trucks; the Super Duty went into the top end of the line, for heaviest-duty applications. I’m guessing in this case that would likely have been for fire trucks, which were generally slower to adopt diesels and needed absolute maximum hp power for pumping.
The Lima replaced the FE in the medium duty ranges.
My father in law had one of these as a farm truck. Red cab and a green box lol, it had the y block engine. Funny story. He was always in a hurry and one day took my cousin along on a sugar beet run. He had just quickly checked everything out under cab, flipped it back and took off. They got to field and he hits the brakes to stop and boom!!! The cab flips forward! He looks over at my cousin and laughingly asks… How you like it so far? He never forgets that ride!
I have seen that chip truck many times! The c series really is a work horse we have 3 still and they really do get the job done!
Ironically, I thought the earliest quad headlight versions looked the best. And looked more modern.
They do look better.
Then you let me loose on a C-series, and… 🙂
Love it! Very nicely done Peter.
I agree with you; this face looks better than the single-headlamp setup.
At least they never tried to graft square headlights and/or a plastic grille onto it.
Back in the 1960s, I thought of these as ‘GFox trucks’. GFox was a department store based in Hartford Connecticut, with a delivery fleet of these that were blue. They were seen driving on Connecticut streets for a long time.