Ford C700

Last Call: C Series is best series

Peter Tanshanomi
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I’ve never been a trucker, or personally known many truckers. But my employer for the last decade and a half is a big player in the trucking industry, so I’ve gradually learned to appreciate big haulers. I can even imagine myself having a “project truck,” perhaps when I have more free time and have given up chasing motorcycle parts. The Ford C-Series COE medium-duty trucks are very distinctive, and not too big to practically store, drive, and work on. Built from 1957 to 1990, they are plentiful and parts will still be available long after Lord Humongous of the Wasteland becomes president. This derelict ’66 SWB C700 looks like the perfect starting point. It looks to have good bones and solid sheetmetal. It’s original engine and trans have gone missing, but that’s is no detriment if you’re going to hotrod it.

Last Call indicates the end of Hooniverse’s broadcast day. It’s meant to be an open forum for anyone and anything. Thread jacking is not only accepted, it’s encouraged.

Source: Pueblo CO Craigslist

About

Peter Tanshanomi

Peter Tanshanomi

Tanshanomi is Japanese [単車のみ] for “motorcycle(s) only.” Though primarily tasked with creating two-wheel oriented content for Hooniverse, Pete is a lover of all sorts of motorized vehicles.

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28 responses to “Last Call: C Series is best series”

  1. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    Is there a convertible EV with four usable seats? Why not?

    Reply
  2. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    COE is nice but this 1947 Ford makes a compelling case for chain drive, in that it has chain drive:

    https://images.craigslist.org/00I0I_e9r5UlaH8zZ_600x450.jpg

    https://images.craigslist.org/00c0c_aZSNYctXF7c_600x450.jpg

    https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/d/south-prairie-1947-ford-chain-drive/6794315705.html

    Reply
    1. outback_ute Avatar
      outback_ute

      Would it have left the factory like that? Looks more like an aftermarket conversion to me.

      Reply
      1. mdharrell Avatar
        mdharrell

        It’s a conversion. These were produced by a handful of companies but I haven’t been able to identify this one. The truck itself has been intermittently offered for sale for a few years now.

        Reply
        1. outback_ute Avatar
          outback_ute

          I thought so, thanks. Some truck manufacturers were offering bogie drive axles but they were still very much a specialist item until the mid-late 50s I think.

          Reply
  3. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    No engine or transmission?

    Turbo-Supercharged Two-Stroke Diesel Twin Stick is always the answer.

    Reply
    1. Fuhrman16 Avatar
      Fuhrman16

      Such an awesome sound.

      Reply
    2. Victor Avatar
      Victor

      No syncromesh , just good driving.

      Reply
      1. Harry Callahan Avatar
        Harry Callahan

        Indeed. I drove a 6 x 4 behind a Big Cam Cummins in an Autocar with wrecker body. Took me a while to get the hang of it…especially trying to choose a gear when rolling at about 15 mph….grind….grind….grind….!

        Reply
    3. Harry Callahan Avatar
      Harry Callahan

      Screamin Jimmy!

      Fun to hear again as a novelty, but I can tell you as a driver, that “scream” was good for a headache after about 30 minutes….especially on a hot day. Torture.

      If you watch the tach, you will see that while these sound like they are revving like crazy, but they aren’t—-the nature of 2-Stroke engines.

      Reply
  4. Manxman Avatar
    Manxman

    Size wise the C series seems to compare with a super-duty with a shorter wheelbase? However, the cab-over is too much like my old VW bus experiences for my tastes although I’m sure the sheetmetal and instrument panel are more substantial than the VW in a frontal shunt.

    Reply
    1. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      I guess it depends on what you intend with your super duty comparison. Ford used to use that term as an engine designation, so there were Super Duty C-series and non-Super Duty C-series.

      But the C-series came in multiple wheelbase configurations, and the longer ones (which can be considerably longer than a modern Super Duty) were popular choices for firetrucks.
      http://www.imcdb.org/i528232.jpg
      http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/40700000/1970-Ford-C-Series-Firetruck-mauserfan1910-40780977-914-523.jpg

      Reply
      1. Vairship Avatar
        Vairship

        Them Duke boys are everywhere!

        Reply
      2. Manxman Avatar
        Manxman

        Thanks for the pics…the fire truck is cool. Does it have a third door. I was actually trying to compare the regular c series with the modern Ford F series superduty pickups. Are they in the same ball park physically? I’m thinking with a pickup bed it would look like a super-sized old Econoline pickup.

        Reply
        1. 0A5599 Avatar
          0A5599

          The double cab firetrucks usually have second row seating that faces rearward (or sometimes sideways), and then the back of the cab isn’t enclosed. That lets the crew exit more quickly in an emergency response. See pics at this for sale site. https://www.mylittlesalesman.com/1977-ford-8000-fire-truck-8739429

          Comparing size to a modern F-series, it’s maybe in the ballpark of an F650 or bigger. Think garbage truck size, or fuel tanker. The one at the top of the page was probably originally equipped to pull a single axle semitrailer for in-town deliveries. The short wheelbase made it easier to back into loading docks that are perpendicular to the road. A lot of LTL fleets ran them.

          I drove a C700 bobtail with a 22 foot box at a long-ago job. It was about the size of a large UHaul truck, but dock high, with a liftgate. FT391 gas engine with a speed transmission and a 2-speed rear end. It wasn’t particularly swift or fuel efficient, but it could be loaded with about tons of bulky stuff.

          Reply
  5. Victor Avatar
    Victor

    Auto Union land speed car. Bernard Rosemeyer at the wheel, who would later die during a speed run when a cross wind blew the car off the Autobahn at nearly 250mph https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/54977ac259dfe219b780721e633d21ef0d86ca74417a9114aa099a39d9d23a61.jpg

    Reply
    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      The Avus, where I guess this photo was taken, is now a regular part of the motorway-ring around Berlin. When I drive there with my German relatives, they are so indifferent to this history, we discuss it every single time.

      Reply
      1. Victor Avatar
        Victor

        Spent a year in Kaiserslautern attached to an Engineer unit. Bought the clothes at Hertie and learned enough language to get by , carried their currency. When I travelled which was often I got the best tables and top treatment. They loved my assimilation. Blonde hair and blue eyes helped as well. Loved it there and was planning to stay but came home on leave and impregnated the prom queen.

        Reply
        1. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          Haha, that escalated quickly, as they say.

          Reply
          1. Victor Avatar
            Victor

            Son and three Grandsons .

  6. Victor Avatar
    Victor

    Those short wheelbase single axle trucks were good for moving and placing mobile homes, moved a couple dozen with one back in the day.

    Reply
    1. outback_ute Avatar
      outback_ute

      There are a few Isuzu NPR type running around with a forklift on the back, as an easier option for rural areas that only needed a forklift occasionally (and a rough terrain one), instead of transporting a normal one.

      Reply
  7. Harry Callahan Avatar
    Harry Callahan

    A firm that delivers purified water cylinders still runs a fleet of about 20 of these in Oxnard, CA. They run the FE series big block engines, mostly likely 390s, so they are quite elderly indeed. So unusual to hear gasoline powered commercial trucks these days.

    Reply
  8. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
    SlowJoeCrow

    Curbside Classic has had some articles on the Ford C Series and the very similar GM cabovers (apparently the actual cab was made by Budd and sold to both Ford and GM). Personally I’d rather have an IH Loadstar as my project truck, partly for looks, partly because my childhood school district used them and partl because Oregon has some of the leading IH specialists

    Reply
    1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
      Peter Tanshanomi

      A Dodge L-series would be the Holy Grail, but they are rare and expensive nowadays.

      https://images54.fotki.com/v1642/photos/2/1834112/11513690/L700-vi.jpg

      Reply
      1. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
        SlowJoeCrow

        I had Matchbox models of those

        Reply
  9. Tank Avatar
    Tank

    This popped up On Bringatrailer recently, and I think I saw it on Reddit. This is a really nice conversion. I remember Roadway used them up until fairly recently in my area, so you may be able to find one of those

    Custom Pick-Up Build: 1965 Ford C600

    Reply
  10. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    6 wheels bad, 5 wheels good

    https://giphy.com/gifs/MVgKQDu6X5IxCFNIb1/html5

    Reply