Ford Medium-duty trucks are rugged, dependable, economical, and easy to work on. Ford helped ease the growing pains of American evolution by building hundreds of thousands of tough trucks for medium-duty service. From early conversion kit trucks used mainly by farmers, Ford's trucks and chassis became common for utility maintenance, construction, school bus transportation, towing, dumping, firefighting, and camping. This book focuses on Ford's medium-duty line—everything is covered from the early Canopied Express and continues through the various models and engines, sales figures, styling and technical developments, and much more.
Learn about the entire history of America’s best-selling vehicle: the Ford F-Series truck. When Henry Ford first started manufacturing Model Ts more than 100 years ago, he didn’t really have any sort of pickup or truck configuration in mind. However, enterprising people and businesses were modifying those early chassis for commercial use, and it didn’t take long for Ford to figure out that there was a demand for a truck application of the Model T. Soon, Ford was making its own configurations for commercial use, first through third-party body companies and eventually by Ford itself with the Model TT. From these humble beginnings, Ford stumbled onto the basis for one of the most popular vehicles ever built: the Ford F-Series pickup truck. In Ford F-Series Trucks: 1948–Present, authors Jimmy Dinsmore and James Halderman thoroughly dissect the history of Ford F-Series pickup trucks as seen from a technical viewpoint. Fully covered are all the options, chassis specifications, running changes, and the evolution of these trucks, as they transformed from postwar utilitarian vehicles to the best-selling luxury family cruisers seen today. Not only are Ford trucks the best-selling trucks, they are the best-selling vehicle of any category, cars included. This book will thrill truck aficionados and Ford historians alike, as it covers the first F-Series models (1948–1952), the ever-popular second-generation F-Series models (1953–1956), the popular Bumpsides (1967–1972), and all the way through the remarkable technology of what is now the 14th generation of the F-Series.
A lavishly illustrated celebration of trucks and trucking, from the first motorized wagons to the advent of electric, driverless freight vehicles. Charting decade after decade of innovation and change, The Truck Book is a beautifully illustrated history of trucks, trucking culture, and the romance of the open road. Trucks, semis, and vans share their origins in the steam wagons of the 1800s and the invention of the modern combustion engine in the 1870s. As steam power gave way to gas and diesel engines, trucks evolved and diversified according to their desired purpose - becoming everything from panel vans and pickup trucks to heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), or construction trucks, such as log carriers or concrete transporters. Military forces worldwide soon realized the value in these vehicles, and so they played a defining role in the wars of the 20th century. In the meantime, they have also saved lives as ambulances and fire trucks and entertained the masses in the form of monster trucks. The Truck Book showcases the most important and iconic makes and models of every era - from the Ford TT to the Bedford TM Turbo 92 Series, to the Toyota Hilux. Along the way, it evokes the freedom and nostalgia of the open road, explores trucking culture, and shows how trucks and trucking companies, such as Mack and UPS, have won a place in fans' hearts. Weaving together stunning photographic catalogs with specially commissioned "visual tours," feature spreads on truck models, designers, and manufacturers, as well as on milestone events or technological developments over the last 200 years, The Truck Book is the most comprehensive and best-illustrated title available on the subject.
The Iron Mining Industry was quite extensive throughout the area known as the Lake Superior Iron Ore District. All of the iron ore was transported by rail to a wide number of lake ports on Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. This book lists all of the ore docks constructed on The Great Lakes. Includes photos of the ore docks and ore cars, ore car schematics and pertinent data.
The continued improvement of roadways and the dawn of the Interstate highway system in the 1950s was a boon to American industry in general and the trucking industry in particular. This marque-by-marque photo collection provides a comprehensive and nostalgic look back at the rapid development of the tractor-trailer rigs that resulted. Manufacturers like GMC, Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, White, Freightliner, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Diamond T, International, Mack, Autocar, Brockway and Sterling are shown hauling everything from Cadillacs to cabbage across town, up the coast and over mountain passes. Thorough captions describe the development and history of each model as depicted in archival black-and-white and period color photography.
