With a new Transit on the way here are photos of the last 47 years.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-17792125
There could be a link to the unsafe load thread!
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Some good pics there, especially the Southampton factory workforce in 1972.
I've driven every model, good workhorses all.
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In the first image you see all the Transits lined up. The 70s van looks more old-fashioned than the 60s van.
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Basically the same van BBD, the 70's one has the Diesel or rare V6 petrol front on it, 60's Diesels had that front too.
Slightly altered light lenses and larger wing mirrors were about the limit of the external changes, the 60's Diesels had the Perkins (4108?) that wouldn't pull you out of bed, the 70's model gained Fords own 'York' Diesel that pulled like a train but needed a serious battery, and usually 'easystart' to get it going from cold.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Tue 24 Apr 12 at 10:37
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Almost single handedly responsible for the resurgence in crime from the 60s onwards. Both as targets and getaway vehicles.
One of lifes unexpected pleasures is the first time you drive a transit type van.
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I like the new model very much, wouldn't say no to a camper van based on it (if I had Lud's sort of money)
:-}
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>> Almost single handedly responsible for the resurgence in crime from the 60s onwards. Both as targets
I drove a brand new P reg Transit pickup for work in 1996. It had two immobilisers (one remote plipper, one plug-in dongle), extra locks in the doors and a locking bolt welded into the floor to lock the gear lever in reverse.
I think the statistic at the time was, out of every 7 commercial vehicles (from a Fiesta van to an artic) stolen, 6 were Ford Transits...
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Tue 24 Apr 12 at 17:25
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>> I drove a brand new P reg Transit pickup for work in 1996. It had
>> two immobilisers (one remote plipper, one plug-in dongle), extra locks in the doors and a
>> locking bolt welded into the floor to lock the gear lever in reverse.
Trouble is all that lot means diddly when some untouchable itinerant Hiabs it onto his truck and away she goes.
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I had a job which involved driving a Transit pick-up around London.
Marvellous vehicle for making progress - even the black cabs were wary of taking it on.
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"Marvellous vehicle for making progress"
Agree. Cars clear the way for you like the parting of the Dead Sea. Have used one for deliveries in the congested back streets of Norwich and cars will inevitably back up when confronted by white van man.
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The pick-up cab gave it excellent visibility, and I think drivers were made even more wary by the pick-up bed itself, which would have ripped open most cars like a tin can.
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I have distant memories of dad buying an early Transit Dormobile conversion from Wilsons, then of Brixton, now Epsom. It was an old-fashioned D- reg, so 1968? We went all over Europe in it - from Denmark in the north to southern Italy. 5 of us in an old swb Tranny. Sliding doors were a great way of keeping cool in southern Europe!
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"It was an old-fashioned D- reg, so 1968?"
1966 - so that really was one of the first Transits: they superseded the Ford Thames in 1965.
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>> "It was an old-fashioned D- reg, so 1968?"
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>> 1966 - so that really was one of the first Transits: they superseded the Ford
>> Thames in 1965.
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I was born in 63 and we bought it second-hand, only a couple of years old, hence the distant memory! I actually saw it in London about 3 years ago - that was a major double-take, I can asssure you!
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>> Marvellous vehicle for making progress
I distinctly remember having to work on the Saturday morning of Princess Di's funeral, on the basis that most people wouldn't be bothered by it and we'd be busy as usual. We closed up at 11.00am as the phone hadn't rung once and not a soul had passed through the yard gates.
I drove the 13 miles home through twisty country lanes that I knew very well, in that P reg Transit pickup, in 13 minutes. Axle tramp and oversteer were the main issues :)
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Tue 24 Apr 12 at 22:46
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My dad's had a couple of Transits.
The first was a B plate ("old shape" with the black plastic headlamp surround and grille), with a 2.0 Pinto under the bonnet. Unladen, it went like stink (for a van) and I always remember the really precise gearbox and general ease of operation. Clutch and brakes were light and progressive, and even the non-assisted steering was perfectly manageable. The original engine dropped a valve at 170,000 miles which smashed its way through a waterway, rendering the engine scrap. A banger racing friend stuck a spare 2.0 Granada engine in it for him and it did another 20,000 trouble free miles before he sold it on.
He then bought an F plate diesel LWB to move house and do some renovation work. Gutless, but ran faultlessly for a year, with literally not a penny spent on it apart from fuel and an MOT. He sold it on for what he paid for it.
Great vans.
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47 years of Ford Transits. - -
