It’s time to flag down a passing AEC Regent, hop onto the platform and find a conductor to sell us a ticket to memory lane, passing through bewilderment, disbelief and, most probably, irony on our way. Welcome back to The Carchive.
Last week we looked at the pride of Browns Lane, the unmistakeable new Jaguar XJS. Today we’re dealing with something totally different. It’s Fords W-Series Cabover of 1974.


“The new look of premium engineering”
You’ll have to forgive me here because this slim document contains absolutely everything I know about the W-Series. Ford certainly sounded quite proud of their new rig, phrases such as “sleek and functional” and “ultramodern exterior” leap from the text with confidence.
We’re also reminded that the Cummins NTC-350 was now available, as were a number of Caterpillar and Detroit Diesel choices (including the 8V-71n which must have sounded terrific).
“Handsome interior luxury” was the expression used to describe the inside story, though todays’ long-distance trucker more used to a mobile condo would probably be reluctant to swap to a W-Series. The word “Vinyl” appears at least seven times to give you a clear idea of just how much petrochemical-based luxury you could realistically expect.

“More roadtime, less downtime”
I like downtime, but it seems profit-hungry transport firms don’t. This section of the brochure speaks of how the W-Series was designed to make routine maintenance a painless, quick task, and design was (allegedly) optimised to try and lessen the chances of component failure as best as possible.
Things like the “Two-stage Cyclopac air cleaner” which seemed to work a bit like a Dyson, “long-life coolant hoses” which seem like a very good idea until you realise they’re optional, and a “high-reliability electrical system” whose naming gives you all the reassurance you could need.
Protection against corrosion was mentioned in a big way, with “deep-dip electrocoat priming” being exclaimed in bold letters. Did the W-Series rust? Maybe one of you can confirm.

“Ford W-Series linehaulers offer high-style appearance options with the economy of assembly line installation”.
Trucks are partially about working well and earning money, and obviously partly about looking fly. To that end Ford offered a catalogue of factory-selected graphic treatments for the cab, and the selection shown here all look awesome.
Which would you choose? I’m feeling one of the beige ones. Whichever one you went for would be applied “right on the paint line in Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant”. Style and distinction right off the peg.
Please feel free to share your For Heavy-Duty Truck experiences below!
(All images are of original manufacturer publicity materials, photographed by me while on my lunchbreak at work. Copyright remains property of Ford Motor Company.)