Bedford TA
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The Bedford TA (also called Bedford A) is a medium-duty truck produced by Bedford Vehicles from 1953 to 1958, as a replacement for the older Bedford K/M/O series. In total around 200,000 TA trucks were built, until it was eventually modernised as the newer TJ. The truck was an all new vehicle compared to its predecessors, and competed with similar vehicles from other manufacturers although the TA and TD were more popular than most competitors due to their larger engines, which were a development of the Stovebolt units. Apart from the main Chevrolet-derived 6-cylinder engines, various 4- and 6-cylinder
Perkins Perkins is a surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon corruption of the kin of Pierre (from Pierre kin to Pierrekin to Perkins), introduced into England by the Norman Conquest. It is found throughout mid- and southern England. Another derivation com ...
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s were also available.


Development

With the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Bedford factories had been converted into suitable only for military production for the war effort and were in a precarious state, so the revert process back to civilian production was not an easy one, resulting in the company being forced to limp on with the outdated Bedford K/M/O trucks. In order remain profitable, Bedford decided to prioritize their production mostly for export, something that happened with almost all British vehicle companies in a new fashion called "Export or Die" that was also responsible for the development of the
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that became a legend. During that time
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
, the parent of
Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors Limited , ;Company No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. is a British Automoti ...
that controlled Bedford, was thriving in the
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with new models on the commercial truck market with the Chevrolet and GMC Advance Design range, which were the most popular truck in the USA at the market during that time around. To cut costs it was decided to import a
Chevrolet Advance Design The Advance-Design is a light and medium duty truck series by Chevrolet, their first major redesign after WWII. Its GMC counterpart was the GMC New Design. It was billed as a larger, stronger, and sleeker design in comparison to the earlier AK S ...
truck in the Luton factory, to create a new model based on the tooling of the American truck instead of entirely developing a new one. During the launch of the TA series, many motoring presses noted the similarities between the Advance Design and the TA, and suggested that some panels were even interchangeable, but Bedford proclaimed that apart from a similarity in design (that was also applied to the re-designed 1950s
Opel Blitz Opel Blitz (''Blitz'' being German for "lightning") was the name given to various light and middleweight trucks built by the German Opel automobile manufacturer between 1930 and 1975. The original logo for this truck, two stripes arranged loose ...
) there was no mechanical commonality between these trucks, since if the company was going to "copy" the design of the American truck there were going to be production problems in order to adjust the American tooling and dies to the then British machines due to the Bedford truck being somewhat larger and heavier in almost all dimensions, while the Advance Design was ready to be discontinued in the USA. Despite this, the styling was considered fresh in the United Kingdom, a key feature that made the TA very successful. When the TA was released, it was presented to dealers and large fleet operators that gave the truck positive reviews, and initial sales were much higher than the production capacity at the Bedford factories, so there were shortages and delays in production. During the 1954 model year, some changes included a new bonnet pressing with a raised T-shaped ridge that strengthened the vehicle's overall front end. The TA series was produced in many versions, including platform
trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
,
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,
pickup trucks A pickup truck or pickup is a light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removabl ...
, chassis cabs and
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. In 1957, the TA was modernized and renamed the TD. It was slightly restyled, with the heavier models specifically receiving a different front grille. It was planned to replace the vehicle with an all new truck, but due to Bedford eventually deciding that the styling was still popular and wanting to focus more on their lighter vans and cab-over trucks, it was decided to just facelift the model and rename it to the TJ series.


References

{{Commons category, Bedford TA


External links


bedford trucks

Bedford Light Truck

1953 Bedford truck
TA Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Pickup trucks Vans