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Ford Big Red


Sedalia Dave

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Sorry the sound is kinda crappy

 

 

 

 

This film from Ford shows the company's experimental gas turbine semi truck, known as "Big Red". It dates to approximately 1965. The film starts out with shots of the Cabana Motel in Atlanta before showing a map of the nation's new interstate highway system. At :54 a superhighway is shown with its many interchanges. "When this network is completed, true long-range hauling at sustained speeds with all city traffic bypassed...will become a practical idea for the first time." At 1:30 the standard cargo hauler of the era, a Ford diesel truck, is shown. The truck for the future is then unveiled at 1:56, the "Big Red". At 2:39 the truck is shown at the New York World's Fair where it was on display. At 2:52 it is shown at an auto show. At 3:10 the cab of the truck is shown backing into its trailer. At 3:30 an early Ford turbine is shown. At 3:42 the Ford turbine laboratory is shown with a mainframe type computer in operation. At 4:00 the experimental 705 engine is shown. At 4:12 the futuristic cab of the truck is shown off with its refrigerator, toilet, sleeping area, television set and more amenities. Sitting eight feet above the highway behind a free-standing control console, the driver had unlimited visibility. Ford's advanced experimental “Big Red” truck represented a massive R&D effort by Ford. A major catalyst for the project was the potential for lucrative military gas turbine engine contracts unrelated to heavy trucks. “Big Red” made its public debut at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. After the fair, “Big Red” toured the United States and Canada with stops in Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles, Newark, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, Toronto and Washington DC. The truck then made several cross-country test runs at costs comparable to diesel operation. Ford executive vice president Charles H. Patterson said “This truck is a concept vehicle from our product research office. It is a test-bed in which advanced engineering ideas are proved out in actual over-the-road operation”. Ford envisioned huge double-trailer combinations like the “Big Red” concept which would travel 24/7 for maximum operating economy, rarely leaving the interstates except for driver changes, switching trailers and refueling. Test drivers reported that the turbine power-plant was virtually noiseless, and produced an odorless, non-toxic exhaust (which was safely vented 14 feet above traffic). Years before brake regulations were created for heavy trucks, “Big Red” was built with three redundant brake systems. The brakes would pulse-lock automatically if the air pressure dropped below minimal levels.

 

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The Turbine Truck Wars: Inside Ford and Chevy's Jet Age Battle for a Better Semi-Truck

 

 

 

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The story of the American automobile is a tale of ever-growing comfort. Cushy seats, supple suspensions, and now, cars that are designed with ever-increasing degrees of autonomy. Powertrains are also evolving here, as the reciprocating clamor of an internal combustion engine is gradually giving way to the quiet, effortless push of an electric motor. But there's an alternative ending if quieter, more refined power delivery is what you seek. I'm talking about gas turbines, which—nutty as it seems today—promised a more civilized car more than 50 years ago.

 

More than that, though, the technology opened up one of the most fascinating and obscure fronts in Ford and Chevrolet's eternal truck wars: their race to build the first viable turbine-powered semi-truck in the 1960s. Spurred on by the country's rapidly-expanding Interstate Highway System, Ford and Chevy built gleaming concepts that promised to revolutionize trucking with incredible power, durability and efficiency.  On paper, the turbine engine looked like the future. So what happened?

 

The story of the gas turbine in cars didn't actually begin in the United States. It began in 1950 in Great Britain with the Rover JET1, work on which started back in 1946 after the end of World War II. Rover was in a unique position to give it a go—it had been involved in the production of the first working turbojet engine, designed by famed engineer Frank Whittle in the 1930s

 

 

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The idea of turbine power was very big back then. I remember as a kid seeing Chrysler's prototype turbine car at the Auburn, IN car show. It was a very futuristic looking design like most prototypes of that era. If you walked too close behind it while it was running the exhaust would blister your leg if you were wearing shorts!

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