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Avon Lake Medium Duty


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Reminds me of the old Ford "636" diesel. It was all Cat (3208) with a Ford speced torque / rpm rating and valve covers with FORD stamped into them.

 

Story at the time was Ford actually paid for some of the development costs on the V-636 and got to use the engine exclusively for a few years. When used by other manufacturers later on it was known as the 1140/1150/1160 series. That engine family was eventually developed into the 3208.

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FYI...the E-Series "dog house" engine bay CAN accommodate a straight six.....Fords own 300ci I-6 engine was the base motor for years in E150...had an '82 and an '89 with it and there was plenty of service room for up-keep. I don't know if the Cummins ISB inline six is longer, but I doubt it...

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FYI...the E-Series "dog house" engine bay CAN accommodate a straight six.....Fords own 300ci I-6 engine was the base motor for years in E150...had an '82 and an '89 with it and there was plenty of service room for up-keep. I don't know if the Cummins ISB inline six is longer, but I doubt it...

Now THAT was a motor-bring that back in Ecoboost trim!

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Had a conversation with a dealer friend of mine this morning. He says for sure what we are going to see is an "interim" 650/750 with a new hoodline (I asume to handle increased cooling) while utilizing existing cab- . Also says the V-10 will also now be available in 750 @ 33,000 lb. gvw but with juice brakes only. apparently a money issue to engineer an air compressor into the V-10 without spending a lot of money. Wonder if that means V-10 is about to be replaced by another gas engine.

 

This guy has been selling a lot of 650 V-`10's to customers who can't justify the 10 grand diesel premium given their low annual mileage-which we all know to be the case.

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From what I have heard, the only problem with this truck was....shocker- the V-6 version of the 6.0 PowerStroke. The cab was built by Mazda-don't know about chassis- I believe Navistar is still selling their version. Ford does build Cargos in this range in SA and Turkey so perhaps that could be an option.

 

Yes... LCF used the 4th generation Mazda Titan design, but it wasn't built by Mazda. Blue Diamond built the cab in Mexico.

 

Mazda exited the medium truck business in Japan around 2004 (Mark Fields was running the show in Japan and decided to focus on cars) and the Titan cab tooling became "free". It was shipped to Mexico and that's how LCF was born. Mazda replaced the Titan with a rebadged Isuzu Elf in Japan and still sells the rebadged model today.

 

800px-Mazda_Titan_003.JPG

 

46102759.jpg

Edited by bzcat
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Yes... LCF used the 4th generation Mazda Titan design, but it wasn't built by Mazda. Blue Diamond built the cab in Mexico.

 

Mazda exited the medium truck business in Japan around 2004 (Mark Fields was running the show in Japan and decided to focus on cars) and the Titan cab tooling became "free". It was shipped to Mexico and that's how LCF was born. Mazda replaced the Titan with a rebadged Isuzu Elf in Japan and still sells the rebadged model today.

 

800px-Mazda_Titan_003.JPG

 

46102759.jpg

THx for the info. Interesting that Fields kills the truck and then continues to market an outsourced truck???????

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THx for the info. Interesting that Fields kills the truck and then continues to market an outsourced truck???????

 

The Japanese medium duty truck market was very competitive and Mazda was only a marginal player. Toyota (Hino), Isuzu, Volvo (UD), and Daimler (Mitsubishi Fuso) were all heavy hitters so for Mazda, it was smart to exit the business and focus on its main strength. But at the same time, the auto business in Japan is also very regional... For example, Toyota dominates the Kanto area (East Japan) but Mazda is relatively strong in West Japan since it is based in Hiroshima. So it made sense to continue selling medium trucks in its "home turf" of West Japan. Isuzu was willing to play ball so why not?

 

Mark Fields was also responsible for ending Mazda's pickup truck program, with all the engineering resources transferred to Ford Australia. It made sense at that time when Mazda was essentially a Ford brand. The only thing Mazda kept was the light duty van (Mazda Bongo/Ford Econovan) - it entered into a cross-supply joint venture with Mitsubishi and Nissan - Mazda rebadged the Bongo as Nissan Vanette and Mitsubishi Delica in exchange for other rebadged Nissan and Mitsubishi light commercial vehicles.

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  • 5 months later...

Medium Duty is reported as arriving in Spring 2015, so it's more than likely the steel body adapted to MD (and E-Series cutaways?)

 

Could it be that only F250 and F350 get a new alloy body to keep in front of EPA expectations and others remain steel body?

That would mean duplication of pressing plants and body shops - can't do steel and aluminum together (contamination).

 

Not meaning to go off topic but if Ford could reduce gas F250's weight by close to 1,000 lbs it would be similar weight as current F150,

a combination of lighter alloy body (600 lbs) and frame (100 lbs) and selection of 5.0 V8 over 6.2 (300 lbs) could get it there.

Edited by jpd80
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Thanks Richard, duplication of pressing process and then assembly form there on...

 

Actually, the whole stamping & body shop assembly processes would have to be duplicated to keep both body types,

oK for DSP but would that suit Ford KTP or would it simply bite the bullet and switch all SD and MD cabs to Alloy?

 

I get how all SD and MD could share the majority of cab elements, just at a loss to see how E series is integrated,

maybe as Richard suggests, E-Series aligns better with F650/F750.....being more cab over may help the case.

 

Or perhaps Ford has a common cab design flexible enough to encompass the needs of all three vehicle types

and their respective single, Supercab and Crewcab variations:

- Cab low set - Long hood for F250-F550

- Cab high set - short hood for E series cutaway

- Cab high set - long hood for F650 & F750.

Edited by jpd80
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Guys- What am I missing. Isn't the E-350/450 on a short fuse? I thought the announced intention was that ultimately that series would be gone and be replaced by a Transit based cab structure. If so, then in my mind the question is does the new 650/750 get the new alloy cab. Agree with Ifeg- can you afford to produce a steel cab and an alloy cab? Could that new SD cab be incorporated into an E 350/450 replacement? I suppose it could but again I thought Transit would ultimately fill that roll.

 

And I still wonder, would that same Transit "glass house" ultimately work its way into 650/750/"850"??

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