AutoCult Ford Thames 400E platform (1957) (Great Britain)

About the Original:

English-Danish Co-Production

In 1957 Ford was presenting the small truck, Thames 400E for the first time. It replaced the Fordson E83W, which was produced since 1937, and was already outdated.

The British Ford-factory was reconnected in the production of the Thames. The small truck series main production plant was in the English town Dagenham, but it was also produced in the Danish Ford-plant in Copenhagen.

The Ford-Thames generation was starting with a version of a delivery van, followed by a version of a minivan in different designs, and from 1961 also as a pick-up version. In a typical style of that time, the side planks could be folded down and were made mostly of wood, but they could also be ordered in a sheet steel construction.

At the beginning of the 1960s, the Thames 400E was still powered by a 1,703 cc four-stroke engine and a performance of 53 hp, which was transferred to a three-speed box which was heavily geared down in the rear axle. From 1963, the engine got a minimal peak power of 55 hp by using regular petrol and 58 hp by using premium petrol.

Until the end of production in September in 1965, the British and Danish plant could sell 187.000 models in total.

The Thames 400E is one of the successful model series in the history of Ford.