>>Ford C-Series

Ford C-Series

Ford C-Series

Manufacturer	Ford Motor Company
Also called	Mercury M-Series (Canada)
Production	1957-1990
Successor	Ford Cargo
Class	Medium-duty truck
Body style	Cab over
Engine	Gasoline Diesel
Transmission	Manual Automatic
Related	Mack Model N (1958-1962)

The Ford C-Series was a medium-duty cab-over engine (COE) truck built by theFord Motor Company between 1957 and 1990. While advertisers boasted of its versatility, it was used primarily for local delivery, and fire apparatus. Many of the fire trucks came merely as cab and windshield models.

C-Series COE (1948-1956)

"Helmet-shaped" COE (1955 Ford C-600)

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).

Design history

1973 Ford C-900 fire truck

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.

Design updates

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 back 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.

Two-story Falcon

Another new model was introduced as Ford moved into the Class 8 cab-over market. Ford raised the C-Series cab and added a bigger grille similar to the T-Series (including Heavy-Duty F-Series) and upcoming N-Series trucks; the front axle was moved forward. These would be known as the H-Series trucks, which were commonly referred to as the "Two-story Falcon".It was Ford's first entry into the heavy-duty COE market, and would last until 1966, when it was replaced by the W-Series COE trucks. The 1961 HD-series with Cummins engines were the first Ford diesel trucks.

1963-1990

For 1963, the C-Series was updated with the same cowl insignias used by the rest of the medium- and heavy-duty truck line up. The logo had the word FORD on top of a trapezoid with the model number designation. This insignia was used until 1967. Also in 1963, Ford introduced diesel versions of the C-series, as well as the N-series and Heavy-Duty F-Series.

1986 Ford C-800 Diesel

In 1968, federal regulations required all automotive manufacturers to add side marker reflectors or lights, which Ford was able to add to the new cowl insignia used on the F-Series since 1967. That same year, Ford decided to add this insignia on the doors of the C-Series, as well. Unlike the Ford F-Series, which removed them for 1973, the C-Series would retain them until the end of production in 1990. After 1972, the Canadian Mercury version of the C-Series was discontinued, becoming the last Mercury truck until the 1993 Mercury Villager.

The year 1974 was the last for the cog-and-lightning bolt crest that graced the front of the trucks from the beginning, and other Ford trucks since the 1950s. In the 1980s, as Ford began adding its blue oval logo to all models; it was added to the C-Series in 1984.

In 1981, Ford introduced the Cargo built by Iveco. By the time the Cargo was imported to North America, the existing C-Series cab looked like a dated design. The last C-Series trucks were built in 1990.

Powertrain

From the 1954 through 1963 model years, the Ford C-Series had the Lincoln Y-block V8 engine as optional or standard equipment.

Usage by other manufacturers

Some historians have erroneously referred to the Ford tilt-cab as the "Budd" cab, implying it was an off-the-shelf item available to anyone. However, the C-Series cab was designed by Ford, tooled at its own expense and built by the Budd Company to Ford Motor Company specifications. Other truck manufacturers had to obtain Ford approval before purchasing it. The exception was Mack, which bought most of the major cab stampings from Budd and assembled them itself on a floor pan of its own design. In Canada, the Ford "C" had an identical twin - the Mercury "M" Series offered from 1957 to 1972.

At least four truck makers used the Ford C-Series tilt cab. Best known was the look-alike Mack model "N", which was produced between 1958 and 1962. The Four-Wheel-Drive Auto Company used some Ford "C" cabs which bore the FWD emblems, and Yankee-Walter used C-series cab components on some of its large airport crash trucks. In Canada, the Thibault fire truck manufacturer of Pierreville, Quebec, also used C-series parts for their Custom (i.e. non-commercial chassis) trucks.