Ford Tough: 100 Years of Ford Trucks

211 Pages·87.273 MB·English

by  Patrick Foster

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FORD TOUGH
Ford Trucks
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PATRICK FOSTER
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To the memory of my parents,
Wilfred and Liane Foster.
© 2017 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Text © 2017 Patrick Foster
Most photos courtesy Ford Motor Company, except on pages 9, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19,
24, 46, 49, 56, 64, 66, 78, 79, 83 courtesy Patrick Foster Historical Collection.
First published in 2017 by Motorbooks, an imprint of The Quarto Group,
401 Second Avenue North, Suite 310, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
T: [phone] F: [phone] QuartoKnows.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without
written permission of the copyright owners. All images in this book have been
reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no
responsibility is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of
copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort
has been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied.
We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve
inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.
Motorbooks titles are also available at discount for retail, wholesale, promotional,
and bulk purchase. For details, contact the Special Sales Manager by email at
[email protected] or by mail at The Quarto Group, Attn: Special Sales
Manager, 401 Second Avenue North, Suite 310, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN: 978-0-7603-5217-5
Digital edition: 978-0-76035-822-1
Hardcover edition: 978-0-76035-217-5
Library of Congress control number: 2016963834
Acquiring Editor: Darwin Holmstrom
Project Manager: Caitlin Fultz
Art Director: James Kegley
Layout: Diana Boger
On the front cover: 1965 advertisement for the Twin I-Beam.
On the back cover: 2017 F-150 SuperCab with the Special Edition package.
On the title page: 2016 Ford F-150.
On the endpapers: front: 1953 Ford F-100 pickup. back: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor.
Printed in China
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 6
CHAPTER 1 EARLY ATTEMPTS: 1905–1916 10
CHAPTER 2 FORD ENTERS THE TRUCK MARKET:
1917–1927 20
CHAPTER 3 FORD EXPANDS: 1928–1942 46
CHAPTER 4 THE WAR YEARS: 1942–1945 76
CHAPTER 5 YEARS OF GREATNESS: 1946–1959 84
CHAPTER 6 FORD EXPANDS THE LINE: 1960–1979 110
CHAPTER 7 TROUBLED TIMES: 1980–1989 146
CHAPTER 8 GLORY DAYS: 1990–2008 162
CHAPTER 9 THE ROAD BACK: 2009–2017 190
INDEX 202
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 208
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INTRODUCTION
IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED
If an absolute refusal to give up on a dream counts
for anything, Henry Ford was bound to succeed. The
former superintendent of the Edison Illuminating
Company in Detroit was a natural mechanic, a
self-taught engineer, and a visionary thinker. After
designing and building a self-propelled gasoline-
engine buggy for his own use in 1896, Ford became de-
termined to be an automobile manufacturer. Three years
later, in August 1899, Ford and a group of local inves-
tors organized the Detroit Automobile Company, which
produced its first vehicle, a commercial delivery wagon,
in January 1900. During the ensuing months the infant
firm built a number of automobiles but by year-end was
out of business, many of its backers blaming Ford. He
had the skills to design a car but apparently lacked the
ability to run a profitable business. Rather than focus on
building cars in quantity, he’d spent too much time
experimenting with new ideas and developing
additional car models.
Here’s a Model T roadster fitted with what appears to be a home-built wooden pickup box. Apparently
this unit was built by a dealer for use as a service car for the dealership’s service department. Although
Ford says this photo is a 1915 model, other sources have claimed it is a 1912 model.
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Undeterred by this setback, Henry Ford decided to continue to experiment with new
engineering notions and even built racing cars to try out some of his ideas, quickly growing
a reputation as a talented automotive engineer and daring race car driver. Then in November
1901 he got a second chance when his new enterprise, the Henry Ford Company, was
incorporated with a new group of investors. Although the company got off to a good start,
it wasn’t long before Ford became disenchanted with his backers; within three months of
its founding, Ford resigned from the firm, taking his name with him. Truth be told, many of
Ford’s backers had become disenchanted with him as well. The investors wanted to produce
larger, more expensive cars that would yield big profits, while Ford wanted to produce small,
inexpensive cars that could sell in large volumes. He spoke of something that seemed
impossible: a car for the masses, affordable for the average man. Sometime after he left
the fold, the Henry Ford Company was reorganized as the Cadillac Automobile Company. It
went on, of course, to become one of the most successful of the early carmakers.
Henry’s third try, the one that would prove successful, began on June 16, 1903, when
the Ford Motor Company was established, with Henry Ford serving as vice president and
chief engineer and holding 25.5 percent of its stock, which was given to him in exchange
for his designs and expertise.
Ford was joined in his efforts by a team of men who each held skills needed to ensure
the new enterprise would be successful. Electrician and mechanic Edward “Spider” Huff was
an old friend who helped build many of the prototype components used in the cars, while
Childe Harold Wills, a talented draftsman, was the man who expertly put Henry’s ideas to
paper so they could be produced in quantity. Detroit coal merchant Alex Malcomson put up
money to get the company started, while his chief clerk, James Couzens, kept an eye on the
new firm’s cashbox and made sure the company was run on a lean and efficient basis. They
were joined by a varied group of other investors, all of whom must have felt a little uneasy
about Mr. Ford’s two previous failures. Couzens, however, had complete faith in Henry’s
vision and bravely put every dime he had into the new venture. He even convinced his
schoolteacher sister to put half of her two hundred dollars in life savings into the company.
One of the investors had a suitable building to rent on Mack Avenue in Detroit for
seventy-five dollars per month, so the new firm had a factory in which to build its new
car. However, in today’s terminology, it would be called an assembly plant rather than a
manufacturing plant because rather than manufacture all of the new car’s components in-
house, which would have called for a much larger investment than the group was capable
of securing, the company’s leaders decided to farm out production of the most capital-
intensive parts and components. Thus, vehicle bodies were produced by the C. R. Wilson
Carriage Company, while Ford’s engines, transmissions, and axles were produced by a
machine shop owned by two hard-drinking hell-raisers, brothers Horace and John Dodge.
In time the Dodge boys would become investors in the new firm as well, eventually earning
enough money to become automakers themselves. Other suppliers included Lansing’s
Prudden Wheel Company and the Hartford Rubber Works Company, which provided the
wheels and tires for the cars, respectively.
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