Fordson Thames: Ford of Britain’s commercial brand

Fordson Thames was the commercial vehicle brand of Ford of Britain. It appeared in 1939 to give Ford’s trucks and vans a British identity, survived until 1957 alongside the Fordson tractor name, and was finally replaced by the Ford name in 1965.

Fordson Thames at a glance

This page is based on the English Wikipedia article on Thames commercial vehicles, a single source.

History of the Fordson Thames

The Thames name first appeared in 1939 as the Fordson Thames. Ford of Britain wanted a British brand identity that would separate its passenger cars from its commercial lines. The Thames name was used alongside Fordson on commercial products until 1957, when the Fordson name was removed from all trucks and the brand was concentrated on farm products such as tractors. In 1965 Ford dropped the Thames name and all commercial vehicles were marketed simply as Fords.

The brand covered the whole range of Ford of Britain commercials. The Fordson E83W light van was produced from 1938 to 1957 and was sold under the Thames brand from 1952. The Fordson 7V of 1937 was the medium and heavy truck, and it was followed in 1949 by the Fordson Thames ET.

The ET

In 1949 Ford of Britain presented its new post-war truck range under the Fordson Thames brand alone, replacing the 7V while keeping the same chassis and Ford flathead V8. ET stood for English Truck. It was offered in the Commonwealth and in continental Europe, though not in Germany, where the similar Rhein and Ruhr models were sold. The range included trucks and chassis, a panel van and a bus, and a Perkins-engined version was also available.

The ET had a conventional cab with a bonnet and a split windscreen, giving more space than the 7V. The cab was built by Briggs Motor Bodies and was supplied in almost the same form for the Dodge 100 and the Leyland Comet. The chassis used semi-elliptical leaf springs and hydraulically operated brakes with a vacuum booster, and payloads of up to eight tons were possible, with optional all-wheel drive. A four-wheel-drive 3-ton variant, the ETF6, used a Canadian V8 with vertical valves and a cab-over cab from British Light Steel Pressings; it was also used by Commer.

Because the old V8 was thirsty, Ford launched the Cost Cutter in 1953 for payloads up to three tons, using a new 3.6-litre four-cylinder overhead-valve engine. That engine became the basis of Ford’s first diesel, a 3.61-litre unit of 70 hp offered from 1954 as the 4D or 6D. Production at Dagenham ended in 1957 and the successor was the Thames Trader, a completely new model that shared almost nothing with the ET. Ebro built the Fordson Thames ET under licence in Spain from 1956 to 1963 as the Ebro B series.

Design and features

• British identity: created in 1939 to distinguish Ford of Britain’s commercials from its cars.
• Full range: light vans, medium trucks, heavy trucks and buses under one brand.
• Shared cabs: the ET cab was also supplied to Dodge and Leyland for the 100 and Comet.
• Modern chassis: leaf springs and hydraulic brakes with vacuum assistance on the ET.
• Own diesel: the 3.61-litre 4D and 6D engines of 1954 grew out of the Cost Cutter petrol four.

Fordson Thames versions

• Fordson E83W (1938–1957): the 10 cwt light van, sold as a Thames from 1952.
• Fordson 7V (1937–1949): the medium/heavy truck inherited from the Fordson range.
• Fordson Thames ET (1949–1957): post-war truck, chassis, panel van and bus.
• ET Perkins: version with a Perkins diesel engine.
• ETF6: four-wheel-drive 3-ton model with a Canadian V8 and cab-over cab.
• Thames Trader (1957): completely new successor to the ET.

The light van is covered in Fordson E83W, the wartime trucks in Fordson WOT, and the pre-war range in Fordson trucks. More Fordsons are in the Fordson collection.

Video: Fordson Thames

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• Thames (commercial vehicles), English Wikipedia: brand history, E83W, 7V, ET, Cost Cutter, Trader