| Commer FC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Rootes Group Chrysler Europe Renault Trucks |
| Production | 1960–1983[1] |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | Forward control panel van. Numerous conversions and adaptations to special purposes |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
|
| Transmission | |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 170 in (4,318 mm)[2] |
| Width | 75 in (1,905 mm)[2] |
| Kerb weight | 1,200–1,499 kg (2,646–3,305 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Commer Express[4] |
| Successor | Talbot Express Dodge 50 series[5] |
The Commer FC was a forward control commercial vehicle produced by Commer from 1960 to 1976. During its lifespan, it was developed into the Commer PB in 1967, and the Commer SpaceVan in 1974. After the Rootes Group, which owned Commer, was purchased by Chrysler, the SpaceVan was also sold under the Dodge, DeSoto and Fargo marques. From 1976 onwards, the van was only sold as the Dodge SpaceVan, and it remained in production until 1983.
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Transcription
This episode of DNews is brought to you by Toyota’s Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Leave your mark. Toyota, let’s go places. It's 2015, Hollywood prophecy says we should have flying cars, and though we don't have those… how about hydrogen cars? Fueling your car with hydrogen is weird. Hydrogen, number 1 on the periodic table. It's a powerful combustible element, it blew up the Hindenburg after all! But it's also part of water, and carbohydrates, and so many other things in nature. The thing is… hydrogen is a lot of things, and IN a lot of things, because it's a super simple element; one proton, one electron and it makes up SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT of the universe. Yeah, three quarters of everything is hydrogen. Hydrogen is used for food processing, petroleum refining and in a variety of industrial applications. The U.S. already creates more than 9 million metric tons of hydrogen annually! So I say again, fueling your car with hydrogen is weird, but not THAT weird. You've probably heard of hydrogen fuel cells, they've been around for a while. They were first invented in 1839. They use oxygen and hydrogen to power a car with no moving parts, and only emit clean water vapor when burned. And according to many car companies, 2015 might be the year the rubber meets the road for hydrogen as a fuel. When you think of creating hydrogen, you probably think of this[a] but 95 percent of America's hydrogen is produced using natural gas steam reformation. Factories use high temperatures and pressures to break the natural gas into hydrogen (YAY!) and carbon oxides (BOO!). You can also make it using electrolysis -- essentially running electricity through water to split the hydrogen from the oxygen! Two great things! But something has to GENERATE that electricity, and in the U.S., that's usually coal power. But if we used wind, or solar -- then we'd be onto something. Once it's made, it has to be cooled and stored, which uses MORE fossil fuel energy; and then you have to ship it to pumping stations using trucks and trains… you get it. The HYDROGEN is great, but we suck at making it and moving it around. For now we're stuck making hydrogen using fossil fuels, which might not be ideal, but that could all change once hydrogen vehicles get on the roads! Why buy a hydrogen car if there's nowhere to fill it up! The government and private companies are partnering to get fuel stations out there… California has a goal in place to have more than 15 percent of all cars in the state be zero-emissions vehicles by 2025 -- and to hit that goal they've pledged 200 million dollars to build 100 more fueling stations before then. There are already 10, though I don't imagine they're very busy since there aren't too many cars on the road yet, but that'll change soon too. In tandem with this momentum, a bunch of auto companies have pledged to release hydrogen fuel cell cars this year, and with 100 more stations coming too, filling them up should be a cinch! According to research from the University of California Davis, those 100 stations should be able to make fuel cell vehicles cost-competitive with gasoline! We'd like to take a second and give a shout out to Toyota for supporting DNews. They were at CES this week and released their patents for new fuel-cell technology, and revealed THEIR fuel cell car to the world, the Mirai. They’re hoping these royalty-free patents will spurn a hydrogen-fuel-based future and spent the last decade reducing the cost of fuel cell production 95 percent. Have you ever seen a hydrogen fuel station? Would you want a hydrogen car?
History
Commer became known in later years as a maker of vans for the British Post Office—particularly the Commer FC which was introduced in 1960 with many body styles, including a 1,500 cc (92 cu in) van. After engine and interior upgrades it was renamed the PB in 1967 and the SpaceVan in 1974.[1] Following the merger of Rootes Group with Chrysler to form Chrysler Europe, the SpaceVan was sold as a Dodge and Fargo model until 1976, when both Commer and Fargo names were dropped. These were rounded-front forward-control vans with narrow front track—a legacy of their Humber car-derived suspension. Utilising at first the Hillman-derived 1,500 cc (92 cu in) four-cylinder engine in the PA series, then the larger 1,600 cc (98 cu in), and from 1968 onwards the 1,725 cc (105.3 cu in) unit in the PB, only the cast-iron-head version of this engine were used. A Perkins 4108 diesel was also available.
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The "1725 cc engine" (as it is known; it actually displaces 1,724 cc (105.2 cu in)) was available in the 1970s with a Borg Warner (BW) Model 35 three-speed automatic transmission with a dashboard-mounted selector. This was not a popular option and few were built.
The four-speed gearbox on manual transmission models was based on those fitted to contemporary Hillman Minx (of the "Audax" generation) and later Rootes Arrow series cars such as the Hillman Hunter.
An unusual feature of the model was that the handbrake operated on the front drum brakes.
One of the reasons that the van was less popular with fleet operators than the Bedford and Ford Transit models it sold against was that, as on the BMC J2 and J4 models the forward-control design restricted access to the engine and made engine changes labour-intensive; the only way to remove the engine without dropping the suspension subframe was to crane the engine out through the passenger door. A 1974 road test of a motor caravan version fitted with the 1725 cc engine reported a maximum speed of 70 mph (110 km/h) and a 0–50 mph (80 km/h) time of 25 seconds, indicating a higher top speed but, in this form, slower acceleration than the BMC competitor.[2] However, the testers reported that at 70 mph (110 km/h) the van was "plainly at its absolute limit, screaming away in a most distressing fashion";[2] readers were advised to view 65 mph (105 km/h) as a more realistic absolute maximum.[2]
Reportedly, one condition of the government bailout of Chrysler's British operations in 1976 was a commitment to upgrade the Spacevan, which was praised for its brakes, cornering, and price, but criticized for its power, comforts, and top speed.[6] A revised Spacevan was thus introduced in 1977, using the same mechanicals but with numerous cosmetic changes, conveniences, and a new interior. Although outdated by its demise in 1982, the Spacevan remained a familiar sight in the UK thanks to its role with Post Office Telephones whose contract was almost solely responsible for it remaining in production after the acquisition of Commer by Peugeot. The extant fleet and outstanding orders were inherited by British Telecom on its formation in October 1981. By this time, there were three engines: two 1.7 L petrol engines of either 50 hp (37 kW) (with low compression) or 58 hp (43 kW) (with high compression), and a 1.8-liter Perkins diesel engine with 42 hp (31 kW), with a four-speed manual transmission and no automatic available. The last Spacevan was built in 1983.[1]
Under PSA's management, the Dodge SpaceVan was succeeded by a rebadged version of the Peugeot J5 (itself a rebadged Fiat Ducato) called the "Talbot Express"; it was only available for the UK market. On the other hand, Renault Trucks (who had bought the truck division of Chrysler Europe) offered the Dodge 50 series as the successor to the SpaceVan, being available as both a van, chassis cab and pickup - thus offering a wider variety of body styles than the Talbot Express. Nevertheless, the 50 series range was significantly bigger and heavier than the SpaceVan.
In contrary to its rivals, which had disappeared from everyday streetscape during the previous years, the Dodge SpaceVan remained a familiar sight on British roads up until the mid-1990s.
New Zealand production
This van was produced in New Zealand by Todd Motors at their Petone Factory. It was last produced in 1974 in their secondary body factory on the other side to the railway tracks from the main car assembly plant. They produced a standard panel van, a mini bus body with sliding side windows, and cab and chassis models. The seats for the mini bus were produced by other coach builders. They used the high compression steel head motors; not the alloy head Hillman Hunter units.
Generally, one unit was produced in the morning and another unit in the afternoon; i.e. 10 units per week, a third unit could be produced each day when sales were higher.
See also
- Ford Thames 400E – similarly sized vans from the same period
- Morris Commercial J4
References
- ^ a b c Thompson, Andy. "Dodge Spacevan / Telecom Van (Commer PA and PB vans, Dodge K-series)". allpar.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g Goffey, Chris (23 November 1974). Garnier, Peter (ed.). "Easy living, hard driving: Commer Auto-sleeper C20 two berth". Autocar. Vol. 141, no. 4074. p. 26.
- ^ McLachlan, A.S.; Kipp, D.E. (October 1969). "A New System for the Detection of V.H.F. Sound-Radio Receivers and V.H.F. and U.H.F. Television Receivers". The Post Office Electrical Engineers' Journal. 62 (part 3): 148.
- ^ "Auction Site Classic: 1980 Dodge Spacevan – Can 27,000 Telephone Engineers be Wrong?". 12 March 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ "Dodge Spacevan / Telecom Van (Fargo F-series, Dodge K-series, Commer PA and PB vans)". Allpar.
Fortunately, those who needed chassis cabs could get a new Dodge 50, well into the 1980s, -even if they wanted it to be electrically powered.
- ^ "Dodge Spacevan / Telecom Van (Fargo F-series, Dodge K-series, Commer PA and PB vans)". Allpar. Allpar LLC. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
This page was last edited on 18 March 2024, at 00:30