Fordson Thames

Hi all, I am a new kid on the block and looking forward to interactions on this site.
I am the proud owner of a 1950 Fordson Thames 2 ton truck with the Pommy 21 stud flathead which was still running when parked up about 30 years ago. This was our first new truck purchased for the farm by my Granddad (incidently the last new truck we have been able to afford).
My Dad who is 78 would just love to be able to drive it again so I have decided to restore the old girl once we finish harvest.
I happened to see a 1949 Thames advertised not too far away so have arranged to buy it as back up for parts etc. and if I'm really lucky may get 2 runners out of them.
Does anyone have any background with the Thames trucks or the Pommy 21 studs? Not really sure why the Poms never graduated to the 24 stud flatheads. Are there any issues to be wary of?
Thanks guys, Brad C Ravensthorpe WA

Hi Brad,
Welcome to the forum. Fordson Thames are mot my area of speciality, but I'm sure you'll find someone here who can help. And of course, pictures and progress reports (lots there of) will keep your readership interested and the advice flowing.

Good luck

Otherwise known as ET6, some of the pommy vintage truck magazines have featured them over the years. The cab pressings were made by Briggs and were also used by Leyland for the Comet and by Dodge at Kew. The Kew Dodges starred in the film Hell Drivers. A lot of the components in the build would be English and not American. These trucks might have been common in their day but are quite rare on the restoration scene and are worthy of saving.
Oh, welcome aboard to a wonderful hobby!

Little Bit of Hell Drivers

Great video I used to have one of these trucks but mine must have been the detuned model it only did about 30 mph also never had brakes

Nice looking old Thames. Obviously still working. Where was this photo taken? Who's truck? My two are a bit rustier than this one. Hopefully after harvest is out of the way they will look a bit better. Thanks for the photo.

The only common parts between the ET6 Thames and the Dodge Kew were the cab pressings so performace can't be compared, though 30 mph loaded for either would be good going. A lot of the wild scenes in Hell Drivers were fair dinkum, with the trucks only fit for scrap at the end due to twisted chassis etc. The film was speeded up to give the impression that they were going fast.

The flatheadfordv8 group on Yahoo is a good source of knowledge about these engines.

autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/flatheadfordv8/

Those Fordson Thames trucks aren't all that common, and I didn't even know they were Pommy V8 powered. Apparently it's the same engine as in the Ford Pilot, which was also a less-than-successful attempt by Ford, to bite into the "new" Holdens rocketing sales, and order backlog, in the late 1940's and early 1950's.

The Ford V8's are known to always run hotter, have higher oil consumption, and are much heavier on fuel, than a GM-based 6 cyl engine.
In addition, those crab distributors are a nightmare to access .. and you always have to try and get at them, when the engine's hot!
The Fords also stuck with 6 volt electrics for much longer than anyone else .. and you've never heard such a half-hearted starting effort, than a cranky, tired, old, 6 volt Ford V8 .. particularly if the battery isn't up to scratch as well!

So with this setup, you get the starting sounds of .. "R-R-R" .. "R-R" .. "R-R-R-R-r-r-r-r-r-r" .. "R-r-r" .. "r-r-r-r-r-r-r" .. "r" .. "r-r" .. "r-r" .. "R-R-R-R" ... VRRROOOM!!!

GM got a massive lead on Ford with the release of the Chev "stovebolt" 6 in 1929, with their claim that "no equivalent size engine, cost less to run, in regard to fuel, oil and water consumption, than the Chevrolet Six!".

This was aimed right at Ford, because even the Model A apparently had relatively high oil and fuel consumption .. and it's reported that Henry Ford was so furious about the advertising slant, that he famously exclaimed .. "If it's cylinders they want, then it's cylinders they'll get!!" .. and he promptly produced the first Ford V8.

Chevrolet's ads were even more galling to Ford, because he had tried to build a 6 cylinder engine, and had constant failures due to the end cylinders starving of fuel.
GM overcame this problem with an inlet manifold that spread the fuel/air distribution evenly, and which overcame the 6 cyl, "end-cylinders" starvation problem, that Henry couldn't fix.

Hi, sounds like you have got your self a challenge. good luck. I have some new old stock panels for one, but I think there for a newer model?

Grant