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I am beginning to look for my first big truck project and have my heart set on finding a 1940-1947 Ford truck. I am discovering that many folks don't know what type of truck it is that they have parked out in their field. How can you tell a 1.5 ton, 2 ton, and 3 ton truck apart? Is it just a matter of counting leaf springs or are their other differences?
I am beginning to look for my first big truck project and have my heart set on finding a 1940-1947 Ford truck. I am discovering that many folks don't know what type of truck it is that they have parked out in their field. How can you tell a 1.5 ton, 2 ton, and 3 ton truck apart? Is it just a matter of counting leaf springs or are their other differences?
Thanks,
MarkV
Welcome to the Forum. Here is some good information:
taco~ in looking at the linked brochure COE pages, it looks like there at least the rear springs DO discern between 1.5 & 2-ton… unless I missed another feature. 2-stage springs = 2T. I got that right?
taco~ in looking at the linked brochure COE pages, it looks like there at least the rear springs DO discern between 1.5 & 2-ton… unless I missed another feature. 2-stage springs = 2T. I got that right?
You are on track; I don't see any differences with the COE, other than the springs. Both options are heavy duty.
Vacuum brake booster is standard on 2 ton trucks. Optional on 1.5 ton. So no booster means 1.5 ton. Trucks that have a booster are probably 2 ton but might be 1.5 ton.
After looking at your brochure I see that you are right! There is a lot of fine print there, lol. After all you have one of these trucks.
When reading this there was always this:
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I am thinking that if a buyer was really wanting the truck his way, he could have it built however he wanted it to be. So there could be many combinations. I think that would happen very rarely though. Again, thanks for posting the brochure!
I doubt there were many factory special orders right after the war. With pent up demand, anything that made it to a dealer probably sold as is. But yes, there were a lot of options and configurations.
And a lot of mods have probably been done in the last 70+ years. For example my truck had a Watson 3 speed transmission added at one time, probably in the 50s. A mod that I'm very thankful for given that I use my truck and live in hill country.
I read the great 1947 literature (thanks again) and it raises a couple of questions:
1. Do the descriptions given in the 1947 literature accurately represent what was available throughout the 1940-47 period? I am thinking that sometimes items that are unavailable or optional earlier become standard or optional later on. If so then I may need to consider the model year when I look at a feature on a truck to figure out if it is a 1 1/2 Ton Model or a 2 Ton Model.
2. The "small print" in the 1947 product literature seems to say that a 1 1/2 Ton Model truck could have been ordered with all the bolt-on features found on the 2 Ton Model. If so, what really distinguishes the two models?
The comment about few folks special-ordering a truck right after the war and just taking what was coming off the line is also interesting. I looked into the Army's use of these trucks during the war, and what was coming off the line during the war seems to have been the Ford 4 x 2 6-cyl. 158" w.b. Chassis truck that was rated at 1 1/2 tons. (Please let me know if I am wrong!)
Standard Military Motor Vehicles
Interestingly, the "S.M. 2451" manual on the British Army version of this truck (they were made in the USA or Canada) says "Nominal rating 1 1/2 tons. Actual rating 3 tons for road work (with the special tyre equipment, reinforced frame and auxiliary springs as being supplied on S.M. 2451)." In other words the standard British Army 3 Ton version appears to have been a Ford "1 1/2 Ton Model" truck with the bolt-on options of the heavier truck.
S.M.2451
On a related note, the 1947 product literature calls out a gross vehicle weight for the 1 1/2 Ton Model of 12,500 LBS. which appears to be more that 6,000 LBS. above the empty weight of the truck, so I am guessing this number was for a 1 1/2 Ton Model with all of the 2 Ton Model bolt-on options.
1947 Product Literature
PS - A little digging online turned up the information that trucks for use by the British in North Africa were either ordered with the V8 or had V8 crate engines swapped into them at their first major overhaul. - In case you are wondering, I am looking to restore one to its WWII British Army specs, as used in North Africa, because I have to have a V8.
Not a lot of changes during the 40s because of the war. So I would expect little different between 41 and 47, at least for heavy trucks. Certainly my 41 and 47 COE trucks are about the same other than the Marmon Harrington conversion for the 41.
Military trucks are a different story. Pretty much Ford standard except for the wheels. The military standardized on 6 lug wheels so that's what Ford supplied for military trucks instead of their standard 5 lug wheels.
I don't know who pays attention to the advertised load rating of trucks. I routinely haul 3 ton loads with my 1 1/2 ton truck. A few times I've gone up to 5 tons if that meant one less trip. The empty weight of my 47 is about 6000 lbs. The licensed weight limit is 18,000 lbs. Notice that the 2 ton gvw in the brochure is a ton more than the 1 1/2 ton gvw. It may be that there is a bit more steel in the 2 ton frames. The brochure does say that there is more reinforcement in the longer wheelbase frames.
For military trucks the enemy was trying hard to destroy them, so I doubt anyone worried about wearing them out by overloading them.
Well, we were talking about the COE trucks. The Military trucks were built to a higher standard than the civilian units. But not all of them were. Hey, it is your thread, OK let's get back on track.
