Note the recess in the centre of the floor to allow clearance for low exhausts or similar. This example has the 140″ wheelbase version available on the Cab Chassis from 1975, which is probably not necessary for the small cars I’d put on it. Picture from As a car nut, the thought of a dedicated hauler has some appeal, and is how I would want to own a CF (with V8 on LPG).
Later this changed to 4.1:1 standard or the 2.75:1 “highway” diff – you can imagine this was a pretty important choice to get right! Brakes were power-assisted four wheel drums. Final drive ratios were raised (!) to 4.625:1 on short wheelbase models and a tree-climbing 5.222:1 on the long wheelbase. In 1978 the larger 202 cu in (3.3L) six brought the option of some extra power and torque.
Transmission options were 3 or 4-speed manual depending if you bought the short or long wheelbase, or a 3-speed automatic. I imagine that this would have involved extending the ‘doghouse’ rearwards for the extra two cylinders by comparison Ford Australia used the existing extended-nose diesel bodywork when they slotted the Falcon’s 6-cyl into the Transit. This was developed to provide more volume for carrying straw hats, that were a traditional product of the town.įrom 1973 Holden dropped the 75 hp (56 kW) Vauxhall 2-litre four in favour of their own 173 cu in (2.8L) 6-cylinder with 112 hp (83.5 kW) and 160 lb-ft 2000 rpm (217 Nm), still in gross power ratings at this time and in Low Compression form to run on Standard grade petrol. As a piece of trivia, the town of Luton in Bedfordshire where Bedford was located had already given its name to the Luton Peak style of van body, which extended over the cab as seen above. The CF was also available as a “cowl chassis” or even a bare chassis in the UK. if you added the optional passenger seat! The longer wheelbase van had dual rear wheels giving a load capacity of 4021 lb, quite an increase on the entry level 2039 lb! Engines were 1.6L & 2.0L Vauxhall gasoline or 1.8L & 2.5L Perkins diesels, which would be upgraded over the years.
Both Chevrolet and Dodge would debut their front-engined vans for 1971 in the US, while Dodge never did replace the old cab-over Commer in the UK. Ford had a march on the van market at this time, not only with the October 1965 Transit, but in North America the front-engined Econoline was launched over a year earlier (January 1968 as a 1969 model). The Bedford CF was released in August 1969 to replace both the smaller CA and larger TJ vans, and updated its CA predecessor’s setting of the modern van layout (ignoring fwd) of a front-mounted engine, the historic cab-over van setup, passenger car front suspension (GM stablemate Vauxhall Victor in the case of the CF) and drivetrain for good drivability, by replacing the separate chassis with a robust van unibody.
This type of vehicle has always appealed to me as a Goldilocks ‘just right’ vehicle in size and capability, but not necessarily as they came from the factory. I’ve come across this Bedford a few times in the same industrial neighbourhood in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, so it must belong to someone working in the area.