Ford F-Series (1st gen) 1948-1952

The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford since the 1948 model year. Slotted above the Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range, the F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks. Alongside the F-150 (introduced in 1975), the F-Series also includes the Super Duty series (introduced in 1999), which includes the heavier-duty F-250 through F-450 pickups, F-450/F-550 chassis cabs, and F-600/F-650/F-750 Class 6-8 commercial trucks. The most popular version of the model line is the F-150 pickup truck, currently in its 14th generation. From 1953 to 1985, the entry-level F-series pickup was the ½ ton F-100.

The F-Series trucks have been developed into a wide range of design configurations during their production run. Alongside medium-duty trucks and "Big Job" conventional trucks (the forerunners of the Ford L-series), the model line has been sold as a chassis-cab truck and a panel van (a predecessor of the Ford E-Series). The F-Series has also served as the basis for multiple full-sized Ford SUVs, including the Ford Bronco, Ford Expedition/Lincoln Navigator, and Ford Excursion. The F-Series has been marketed by its three North American brands, as Mercury sold the model line as the Mercury M-Series in Canada from 1948 to 1968; Lincoln sold the F-Series during the 2000s as the Lincoln Blackwood and the later Lincoln Mark LT.

Since 1977, the F-Series has remained the best-selling pickup truck line in the United States; it has been the highest-selling vehicle overall since 1981. The F-Series is the best-selling truck in Canada for over fifty years. As of the 2018 model year, the F-Series generated $41 billion in annual revenue for Ford. By January 2022, the F-Series models have been sold 40 million units. Currently, Ford manufactures the F-Series in four facilities in the United States.

[B]Ford F-Series (1st gen) 1948-1952[/B]
The first-generation of the Ford F-Series (also known as the Ford Bonus-Built trucks) is a series of trucks that was produced by Ford from the 1948 to the 1952 model years. The introduction of the F-Series marked the divergence of Ford car and truck design, developing a chassis intended specifically for truck use. Alongside pickup trucks, the model line included also panel vans, bare and cowled chassis, and marked the entry of Ford into the medium and heavy-duty truck segment.

Across North America, Ford assembled F-Series trucks at sixteen different facilities during its production. In Canada, Lincoln-Mercury sold the F-Series under the Mercury M-Series nameplate to expand coverage in rural areas. The first generation of the F-Series is the sole generation produced entirely with "Flathead" engines (inline-6 and V8).

[B]Models[/B]
The first-generation F-Series was marketed in eight different chassis (based on their GVWR), giving them their model names; the F-1 was the lightest-capacity version with the F-8 as the highest. F-1 through F-3 pickup trucks were offered (forming the basis for panel trucks) and the bare F-3 chassis served as the basis for a parcel delivery truck. The heavier-duty F-4 chassis was produced as a light-duty commercial truck. The F-5 and F-6 were produced as medium-duty trucks in three configurations, a conventional, a COE/cab-over (as the C-Series), and a school bus chassis (as the B-Series, no bodywork rear of the firewall). The F-7 and F-8 were heavy-duty commercial trucks, marketed under the "Big Job" brand name from 1951.

With the exception of bus chassis and parcel-delivery vehicles (which used bodywork produced by second-party manufacturers), Ford shared the same cab design on all F-Series trucks; C-Series trucks moved the cab upward and forward, requiring a higher hood and different fenders than conventional models. Also, F-2 and up used a larger wheel well openings than the F-1 models.

The most common first-generation model was the F-1 with a 6 ½-foot (1.98 m) bed with 45 cubic feet volume of cargo room and 114 inch wheelbase, followed by the F-2 and F-3 Express models with an 8-foot (2.4 m) bed with 122 inch wheelbase and a single side member located each side over the wheel housing. All Pickup truck bed had a all-steel floor construction with hardwood subfloor to keep it from being dented. Skid strips were now stamped into the steel so they would not come loose, unlike the previous model. The tailgate was strengthened and reinforced using a rolled edge with a tapered truss. Anti-rattle chains had a smooth quiet operation and lengthened to allow the tailgate to open flat to the bed floor, allowing easier loading and unloading of the cargo by sliding.

[SIZE=1]Source: Wikipedia[/SIZE]