Bedford pickup by *Khristian05

Source: http://khristian05.deviantart.com/art/Bedford-pick-up-311942900

Vende-se: Bedford CF "A-Team" - auto mais baratos

Já nos tinhamos cruzado com Bedford CF estilo "A-Team" o ano passado, mas agora aparece um pouco mais apretechada, nomeadamente com umas jantes especiais e uns farois de nevoeiro.
Estas fotos foram encontradas no facebook, onde o dono diz que vende "pela melhor oferta acima dos 7000 euros".

Junkyard Sunday's

Source: www.flickr.com/photos/27487434@N04/9423124563/

Vende-se: Bedford CF1 Fúnebre - Portugal

As Bedford Fúnebres continuam a aparecer! Esta CF1 está com um aspecto bastante deteriorado... Está a venda em Abrantes juntamente com outras viaturas fúnebres. Duvido que alguem vai pegar nesta CF para restaurar, mas pelo menos tem os documentos o que pode ser util. 

Link: http://abrantes.olx.pt/lote-de-3-carrinhas-para-restauro-iid-440834349

Junkyard Sunday's

Source: portugal.portalclassicos.com

The Bedford "World Van"?

"World Van" was the plan that General Motors had in the early 80's to replace the +10 year old Bedford CF. Several articles in Commercial Motor magazine document the rise and fall of the CF successor.

In 1982 Bedford separates itself from Vauxhall and affiliates with GM's Truck and Bus Group. The objective of this move was to unify all of GM's resources for a "world truck" concept. This is the first time that the CF replacement is mentioned.
Dec.1982 article "Bedford severs the Vauxhall link":

"In a move which will take Bedford a step closer to the GM "world truck" concept, a Bedford Commercial Vehicle Division of the General Motors Overseas Commercial Vehicle Corporation will be formed later this month. It will be affiliated to the GM Worldwide Truck and Bus Group, based at Pontiac, Michigan." (...)
"The change in structure will help Bedford fit in with the year old Truck and Bus Division's aim of pooling the design, manufacturing and marketing resources of GM's international organization to maximize economies of scale and realize the full potential of its large-scale production.
This is the corporation's approach to the "world truck" concept, and will mean that maximum use will be made of suitable parts across its range, be they door handles, engines, or floor pans. But it does not mean, necessarily, that identical vehicles will be built in Britain, and the United States.
The first British fruit of this approach is likely to be a CF medium-van replacement, which is planned for launch in three years." (...)

CM - 11th December 1982, Page 3

Six months later, in July 1983, two more articles gives us more details about GM's plan with Bedford and also mention the CF replacement as "the first of Bedford's world trucks".

"(...) GM is pinning its faith in self-generated salvation, and the first step of a £70m investment plan will be the assembly of the WFR, a one-ton van based on a Japanese lsuzu model which is already being sold in mainland Europe. It will be available from the end of next year, and will complement the existing Bedford range.
The body, trim and final assembly lines at the Luton van plant will be rearranged and modernised specifically for the WFR, CF and CF electric models. This will incorporate a body protection system with phosphate protective coating using a fulldip immersion process.

In the longer term, Bedford is to produce and sell entirely new designs of commercials, taking advantage of the "world truck" scale economies possible through the Truck and Bus Group. A medium van to produce the CF is among these plans, but it will not be ready until after 1986, when Ford replaces its long-running Transit, by far the market leader in Britain. (..)"

In the other article, we start to see where GM shot itself in the foot... Instead of focusing on the CF replacement (that would be the main competitor with the market leader Ford Transit), they were putting all there attention on the re-badged Isuzu. GM was now stalling the World Van until the point where it was to late.

"(...) GM vice-president Donald Atwood said last week: "It is our goal to make it a UK van."

Bedford aims to sell 12,000, WFRs in 1985 and 20,000 a year after that, half of these being exported. While it is a way of plugging a gap in the range and of using up an embarrasingly under-used factory, Bedford insists that the WFR is no "stop-gap" model.

It will be available "for the foreseeable future" and for "a number of years", Mr Atwood insisted. The long-awaited CF replacement — the first of Bedford's world trucks — is not expected to be available until the late Eighties, some time after Ford's Triton, the Transit replacement which is scheduled for a 1986 launch. (...)"

Three years later, in July 1986, Bedford should have been unveiling it's new CF replacement to compete with the all new third generation Ford Transit but instead the headlines read that GM had killed the World Van! The launch had already been pushed forward to 1988 as sales of the aged CF were dropping. Bedford was losing £1·5 million a week and at this same time the merger talks with Leyland were shot down by the Thatcher government. The decision was made...

"Bedford's future in the UK heavy market has suffered a new blow with news that its parent company, General Motors, has shelved plans to build a "world van", the vehicle originally intended to replace the Bedford CF range.
The decision to suspend work on the world van — due for launch in 1988 — follows a change in GM's vehicle development policy which will see resources switched to alternative forward heavy truck programmes.
Bedford insists that the project has not been totally abandoned, although it will give no indication about its future heavy van policy, or whether it will develop a replacement to the ageing CF independent of the GM World Truck and Bus Group.
The world van project was originally intended to use GM's global manufacturing and design resources with production of the basic model spread throughout different countries, using common components. Having already gone to Isuzu and Suzuki for its Midi and Rascal van designs, Bedford may try once again to find a Japanese partner with a suitable large panel van which could be assembled at its Luton plant. GM currently holds a 38 per cent share in Isuzu.
Since the launch of the Midi in 1984, CF sales have declined by around 30% although its overall light commercial sales have risen. (...)"

So far, to my knowledge, there was no prototype, concept, or even sketches released to the public of the "World Van" that GM was presumably developing. I have long searched and came up with nothing, until now...

GEOFF LAWSON
After graduating, Geoff Lawson joined Vauxhall in 1969 as a designer. He worked on several projects for General Motors in the USA and Europe, like the 1974 Vauxhall SRV concept, 1977 Panther 6 concept and the successful 1975 Vauxhall Chevette. By 1982 he had moved up the ladder to become Chief Designer of styling at Bedford Trucks in Luton.
He went on to become the top designer at Jaguar in 1984 where he was successful with the XJ220, XJ6, XJ8, XK8 and S-Type. He suffered a stroke and passed away in 1999.



As mentioned above, 1982 is when GM first announced the World Van concept, so Lawson would have had is hands in designing that van at the time. Following the Lawson connection I found a post on the Big Lorry Blog - Futuristic trucks... Biglorryblog highlights the fabulous drawings of the late Geoff Lawson--GM design guru.

Posted there are a series of concept sketches of commercial trucks from 1982-1983 by Geoff Lawson that are in the possession of Ed Burrows. There is a strong possibility that these were early Bedford World Truck concepts and one of the drawings certainly showcases what seems to be a van! Could that have been the replacement of the CF? 

I can imagine that if something remotely similar to that futuristic van ever went into production in the following years, with the reliable japanese engines from Isuzu, it would have crushed the Ford Transit and dominated the market saving Bedford in the process. That design is just way ahead of it's time!
You have to also remember that Bedford was already producing an Electric CF way before anyone was talking about EV's and alternative fuels. The whole World Van concept was 30 years of it's time, just look at what Ford is doing with the Global Transit today!

If you have any further information please comment below. Thanks.

End of the road for CF2 - July 1987

Commercial Motor - 23rd July 1987, Page 19

End of the road for CF2

• The final chapter in the story of Bedford's CF van appears to be drawing to a close with the news that the company is to cease production of the 2.3-3.5-tonne CF2 van and chassis cab range at the end of the month.
Bedford, currently embroiled in the details of its life-saving venture with the Japanese manufacturer Isuzu (CM 2 May), will offer only a terse "no comment", but a number of Bedford dealers say they have been notified by GM that no more CF2s will be built after the end of July.
The CF is produced at Bedford's Luton assembly plant, which also builds the Isuzu-derived Midi van and the Suzuki-designed Rascal micro range. The Luton plant is scheduled to shut down for its three-week summer break on 24 July and it is expected that all CF production will end on that date.
According to Burgh Heath, Surrey-based Vauxhall Bedford dealer French & Foxwell, GM has sent a letter to all its CF dealers stating that it will not continue with CF beyond the 1987 model year.
Biggs says that GM stopped taking orders for the CF "some time ago", and that it has been difficult to get hold of chassis cabs for a number of months.
The phasing out of the CF has also been confirmed by Portsmouth-based dealer USG and by Syd Abrams of Manchester, which says it has been told the CF will no longer be built at Luton after the end of the month.
The termination of CF production is another step in Bedford's retrenchment in the UK commercial vehicle industry. The original CF range was launched in October 1969 as a competitor to Ford's Transit, and was most recently revised in 1984 with new engines and gearboxes, an improved interior and facelifted cab with better engine access.
Sales suffered
Since the introduction of the Luton-built Midi, and more importantly of the new Ford Transit, CF sales have suffered a marked decline as it became long overdue for replacement.
GM originally intended to supersede the CF with its much-reported "World Van", using its global manufacturing and design resources to produce in a number of countries a basic model with common components, but the project was shelved in the middle of last year, leaving the future of the CF even more uncertain.
One alternative for Bedford is to engineer another, heavier, Isuzu panel van range which will include a chassis cab, for the UK, This option could be one of the major factors within the proposed Isuzu-Bedford deal, under which GM will sell its loss-making van plant to a new joint venture company in which Isuzu will hold 40%. The departure of the CF leaves a major gap in Bedford's van line-up, particularly in the lucrative 3.5-tonne sector, which has grown fast in recent years. It will also leave Bedford without a chassis cab model to sell into the utility and municipal markets and for conversion for the ambulance services.
While GM is not even admitting that it is about to drop the CF, it is expected to plug the gap left by the CF's departure with more powerful diesel Midi models — possible even turbocharged — until its replacement arrives.


Source: Commercial Motor Archive

"World van" dies ... July 1986

"World Van" dies

• Bedford's future in the UK heavy market has suffered a new blow with news that its parent company, General Motors, has shelved plans to build a "world van", the vehicle originally intended to replace the Bedford CF range.
The decision to suspend work on the world van — due for launch in 1988 — follows a change in GM's vehicle development policy which will see resources switched to alternative forward heavy truck programmes.
Bedford insists that the project has not been totally abandoned, although it will give no indication about its future heavy van policy, or whether it will develop a replacement to the ageing CF independent of the GM World Truck and Bus Group.
The world van project was originally intended to use GM's global manufacturing and design resources with production of the basic model spread throughout different countries, using common components. Having already gone to Isuzu and Suzuki for its Midi and Rascal van designs, Bedford may try once again to find a Japanese partner with a suitable large panel van which could be assembled at its Luton plant. GM currently holds a 38 per cent share in Isuzu.
Since the launch of the Midi in 1984, CF sales have declined by around 30% although its overall light commercial sales have risen.
There are many potential CF replacements in the Isuzu cupboard, with the WHR, NHR, NKR and NPR models all bridging the gap between the WER (the Midi in Britain) and Isuzu's ERR light truck. Some of these models are already sold in Europe.


Source: Commercial Motor Archive

Bedford CF Road Test - May 1976

Commercial Motor - May 14 1976

by Graham Montgomerie, photographs by Dick Ross

TEST RESULTS Bedford CF 220

Commercial Motor - 14th May 1976

Road Test - Bedford CF 220 at 2.2 tons gvw

A VERY NIPPY vehicle in spite of its gross weight of over 2 tons—that's the Bedford CF 220 van (so called because of its gvw of 2.2 tons.
CM tested it last week fully laden both on/ our round-the-houses urban delivery route and on a motorway section. On the stop-start delivery section the Bedford returned an overall fuel consumption of 13.3 lit/ 100km (21.3mpg).
Our test Bedford used the familiar 1.8-litre (108cuin) four cylinder petrol engine which develops 50kW (67bhp) at 5,200rpm. A preheating box on the exhaust manifold is controlled by a thermostat on the intake side for a quicker warmup from cold. The exhaust valves are fitted with rotators which turn the valve slightly each time it opens to prevent pitting of the seats.
So far as fuel is concerned, Bedford says that two-star petrol is adequate.
The suspension on the most recent models has now been uprated by using heavier-duty dampers.
The gearbox is a four-speed all syncromesh unit with a direct-drive top gear (an overdrive is optional).

Performance and economy
For once on the light vans test route the traffic was not unduly heavy, resulting in an average speed for the circuit of 43.8km/h (27.2mph) —some four or five mph quicker than average.
One problem which cropped up consistently with the CF during the test was the way the engine ran on after the ignition was switched off. This was far more noticeable after the low-speed running than after the motorway section.
As one would expect, the fuel consumption was heavier when criusing at near 60 on the motorway. For an average speed of 87km/h (54mph) the CF returned a fuel figure of 14.3 lit/100km (19.7mpg) fully laden.
The CF had a maximum speed on the level of 117km/h (73mph) and a very useful selection of ratios in the gearbox. Third gear for example gave a maximum speed of 103km/h (64mph). The acceleration was certainly adequate for traffic use making the CF a very nippy vehicle in spite of its gross weight of over two tons.
Because of some problems associated with the fuel test tank on the van. I ran out of time to carry out the usual halt-laden fuel consumption test.

Maintenance accessibility
The small bonnet on the CF gives some access to the power unit, but for any carburetter maintenance, for example, it is very necessary to remove the engine cowl inside the cab. With the pronounced angle of installation of the CF engine the carburetter and distributor are easy to get at although the alternator suffers by being on the "underneath" side. Routine level checking, including hydraulic fluid can be carried out from the front with the bonnet up. The fuse box is situated under the instrument panel on the driver's side and the functions of the various circuits— lights, horn, etc—are indicated on the fuse box cover.
The loading height of the load space is 61cm (2ft) with the interior floor length of our particular test model being 2.54m (8ft 4in) which can be extended to 3.75m (I2ft 4in) if the passenger seat is removed. The total body volume of the CF 220 is 6.74cum (238cuft) in the form as tested by CM with an extra 0.91curn (32cuft) available again if the passenger seat is removed. The rear doors will open up to a full 180 degrees to allow the van to be backed up to a loading bay. These doors have a slam-type mechanism so that they can be closed by one hand or a convenient elbow if the driver has both hands full. The braking figures for light vans on CM road tests are usually very good with high average efficiencies, but the CF did better than most. As an example, it stopped from 40mph fully laden in a fraction under 60ft for an average efficiency of 90 per cent. The servo-assisted system worked well througout the stop-start conditions of the light vans test route giving a light pedal action but still allowing a certain amount of "feel".

Not so impressive
The park brake was not quite so impressive although it did manage to hold the van safely on the 1 in 4 test gradient at MIRA. The maximum retardation recorded on the Tapley meter using the park brake barely reached 25 per cent even with a hefty pull and it did this to the accompaniment of a loud graunching noise from the rear drums.
The CF's handling was safe and sure even when exposed to the swoops and swerves of the MIRA ride and handling circuit. Even allowing for the low centre of gravity of the test load there was remarkably little body roll.

In the cab
The instrumentation on the CF is straightforward and well laid out. With the serious exception of the heater switches all the controls are within easy reach. I use the word "serious" in relation to the heater controls as it is not only difficult to reach them when wearing a seat belt—it is impossible. You could argue that local delivery drivers don't bother with seat belts on their type of work, but I think this is missing the point.
One other irritation was the proximity of the gear lever to the passenger seat when in second gear.
The CF I tested was with the de luxe trim, which included among other things, extra sound insulation. This worked quite well as at no time did the nois2 level reach nuisance level. For a panel van the lack of body boom was also noticeable.
The driver's seat is adjustable in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the angle of the back can also be adjusted which is not all that common on light vans.
The list price of the CF220 with petrol engine is £1,873 plus a further £70 for the de luxe cab giving a total of £1,943 as tested. The sliding doors are a no-cost option.


Source: Commercial Motor Archive

Exit CA Enter CF - October 1969

Commercial Motor - 31st October 1969

Exit CA Enter CF

TODAY is the official birthday of a new range of Bedford light commercial vehicles, every one of which can operate fully laden within 3.5 tons g.v.w. and therefore does not require an operator's licence. The introduction also signals the demise of that very famous Bedford light van, the CA.
After 17 years of production during which 370,045 units were produced, the CA van was finally phased out during August of this year.
The new range of vans, designated CF, features five basic models with wheelbases of 106in. for the three lighter chassis and 126in. for the two heavier as opposed to the CAS and CAL at 90in. and 102in. respectively. At the lower end of the range the lightest 106in. model has a capacity of 14cwt while the higher capacity vehicles will early 18cwt and 22cwt. The 126in. wheelbase models are produced with payload capacities Of 25cwt and 35cwt respectively. On all but the 35cwt vehicles single wheel and tyre equipment is used on the rear axle. Twin formation equipment is fitted to the 35cwt. There are 25 variations of the four basic models.
The body capacity of the 106in. vans is 185 cu.ft. and on the 126in. wheelbase models it is 252 cu.ft. In both cases an additional 16 cu.ft. is available in the space beside the driver when the passenger seat is not fitted. The respective floor areas for the two vehicles are 41.5 sq.ft. and 50.5 sq.ft.
The floor loading height of the models varies only by 1.6in., the lightest being 20.7in. unladen while the heavier are 22.3in. unladen. With the rear doors open through 90dag the usable space for loading is almost square with 48in. in width and 48.5in. in height available. The side loading door when fitted, measures 36.8in. wide by 48in. high.
There are four engine options included in the range, these being the Bedford 97.5 cu.in. and 120.5 cu.in. petrol engines and the Perkins 4.108 and 4.154 diesel engines. The 97.5 cu.in. petrol engine is fitted to the 14cwt and 18cwt models only, while the Perkins 4.108 diesel is available in the 14cwt, 18cwt and 22cwt versions. The 120.5 cu.in. petrol engine can be fitted in the 22cwt, 106in. wheelbase van or the two 126in. wheelbase models. Finally, the new Perkins 4.154 diesel can be supplied in the two largest versions, the 25cwt and 35cwt, 126in. wheelbase models.
Transmission
Borg and Beck single plate diaphragmspring clutches are used throughout the range. The diameters vary by only 0.5in, between the smallest and largest models. The smaller vehicle with the 97.5 cu.in.
• petrol engine or the 108 cu.in, diesel, and the 22cwt model fitted with the 120.5in. petrol engine (108 diesel) are all equipped with an 8in. clutch. All the 126in. wheelbase vehicles are equipped with an 8.5in. diameter clutch.
Three different types of gearboxes are fitted, the 14cwt and 18cwt being available with a three-speed box as standard or a four-speed box as an optional extra. On the 22cwt model the four-speed box is fitted as standard. This box has two alternative sets of ratios the lower of which is used when the box is fitted in the 14cwt and 18cwt vans, and in the 22cwt van with 108 cu.in, diesel engine. The two sets of ratios are 4.06, 2.64, 1.68 and 1 to 1 with a reverse of 3.77 to 1, and 4.54, 2.94, 1.87 and 1 to 1 with a 4.2 to 1 reverse. The three-speed box available on the 14cwt and 18cwt vehicle has ratios of 3.94. 1.84 and 1 to 1, the reverse ratio being 3.77 to 1.
A heavy-duty four-speed synchromesh gearbox is used on the 25cwt and 35cwt, this having ratios of 5.143, 2.263, 1.265 and 1 to 1 with a reverse ratio of 5.143 to 1. This gearbox has provision for a power take-off which drives at 0.725 times engine speed. All the gearboxes have centremounted gear levers direct into the top of the gearbox.
Power is transmitted from the output shaft of the gearbox via, on the short wheelbase models, a single propeller shaft of 61.99in. in length, while on the long-wheelbase versions two drive shafts of 22.47in. and 63.44in. length are used.
The same universal joints. KR 1500 and 1700 Series, are used on all models.
Steering gear
Steering is by a Cam Gears rack and pinion Type 6 unit which is bolted to the front suspension cross-member and linked to the steering column by a natural-rubber coupling with iron inserts. Linkage from the rack and pinion to the steering arms is through four non-adjustable joints. Turning circles from the 106in. chassis are 34ft 7in. with a swept circle of 36ft 3in., and for the 126in. models 40ft and 41ft 10in. A 17in. diameter steering wheel is used which requires 4.3 turns to move the steering from lock to lock.
Axles, suspension and brakes
Throughout the range independent front suspension is used, this being of the long and short parallel-link and coil spring type. The links are steel pressings and all pivot points are bushed with rubber to eliminate the need for lubrication.Telescopic dampers positioned through the centre of the suspension coils are fitted on all models.
Rear suspension is by 55in.-long semi-elliptic single taper leaf springs of constant width throughout their length. These are mounted via rubber-bushed shackle pins to a fixed hanger at the front end and a shackle at the rear end. Telescopic dampers situated on the outside of the chassis frames on all the single-tyred vehicles are moved to a position inside the chassis frame on those models with twin-tyre equipment.
Brakes on the front axles are of the two-leading-shoe variety being of 91n. diameter and 2.7051n. width on the 106in. wheelbase versions, while on the 126in. wheelbase they have dimensions of 10in. diameter by 2.75in, width. These dimensions coupled with shoe lengths of 8.63in. and 9.6in. respectively give the 106in. vehicles a total front lining area of 93.37 sq. in. and the 126in. a total area of 105.6 sq. in.
Leading and trailing shoes are used on the rear axles of the 106in. wheelbase versions, these being of the same diameter as the front brakes on those models but only 1.75in. in width giving a lining area of 60.41 in. The grand total frictional area for these models is 153.78sq. in. On the long-wheelbase versions duo-servo shoes are used on the rear axle. Again they are of the same diameter, 10in., but of 2.25in, width on the 25cwt models and 2.75in. width on the 35cwt models. These give lining areas of 92.29 sq. in. for the rear axle of the former and 112.8 sq. in. for the rear axle of the latter, the total lining areas being 197.89 and 218.4 sq. in. respectively.
Braking effort on the 106in. versions is proportioned to give 60 per cent front and 40 per cent rear: on the 126in. wheelbase models the division is 59 and 41 per cent.
The parking brake is a single-pull mechanical unit linked to the rear wheels only, the ratchet being controlled by a press button in the end of the lever.
Footbrake actuation is by a hydraulic system from a master cylinder with a piston diameter of 0.75in. on all models serving two single-acting wheel cylinders on the .front axles and one double-acting cylinder on the rear axle. A servo-assisted tandemmaster-cylinder is an option on all models.
The rear axle fitted to the 106in. wheelbase and the 25cwt, 126in. wheelbase models is of the semi-floating type while that used on the 35cwt, 126in. wheelbase version employs fully-floating half shafts. Hypoidbevel final drives are used throughout with two-pinion differentials. Two ratios are available in the 14cwt and 18cwt models, these being 5.29 to 1 (standard) and 4.63 to 1, but the 22cwt model is provided with only one-axle ratio option, 4.63 to 1. The petrolengined 126in. wheelbase, 25cwt model is again served by two ratios, 4.45 to 1 and 5.22 to 1 (standard), as is the 35cwt unit. The 25cwt and 35cwt models have only one ratio available when powered by the Perkins 154 diesel engine, this being 4.45 to 1.
Electrics
The 12V electrical system is fed from a Lucas Type 15ACR alternator serving three different battery sizes, 39Ah where the smallest petrol engine is used, 55Ah with the larger petrol engine and 95Ah when either of the diesel engines is fitted. The vehicle employs negative earth: a printed circuit is used in the dash panel which is housed in an injection-moulded polypropylene nacelle and connected into the circuit by detachable plugs.
Lucas sealed-beam headlamps are used and all light controls are from a single multiposition switch mounted on the dashboard. Flashing indicators are controlled from a self-cancelling lever mounted to the nearside of the steering column beneath the steering wheel.


Source: Commercial Motor Archive

The First Bedford CF - August 1969

Source: www.flickr.com/photos/aceanorak/8747385974/

Bedford CF in Balamory

I found this photo on instagram, of what looks to be a Cavalier Coachman CF patched up with some yellow panels that in turn match the colorful paint on the house. Does Balamory really exist?

Junkyard Sunday's

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38389354@N07/9397277913

ebay: 1973 Bedford CF V6 Hotrod-Campervan

This custom CF camper van was on ebay last week.  It's a really wild van, half camper, half custom van.
It looks mean with the fender flares and turbine style wheels and should drive fast with a Ford Essex 3.0 V6 engine. The fiberglass camper roof gives the necessary headroom but isn't too ugly with a bit of a wedge shape design. What's really weird or unsusal is it has wood burning stove inside! And is that a whiskey bottle dispenser I see?
The bids on ebay reached £2,750 but the reserve wasn't reached.

Maisto Green 70s Van

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sizzler68/9311495377

Was heute als modern bezeichnet wird, gilt fur den Bedford Blitz schon lange.

Source: www.flickr.com/photos/52940389@N06/9291323207/