Please do not copy words or pictures for profit or gain, I have no problem with you sharing the information on this site but please credit the site with that information.
Info
No one website is large enough to put the complete Ford Transit story on, having put Van websites online since 1995 I am more than aware that no matter how much text and pictures I place on this site it will not complete the story. I will be adding far more information than is on here now but please be patient.
Getting the story straight
Having just finished a 2nd on the Ford Transit van that covers some of the vans amazing stories over the last 57 years (from project planning stage) and meeting and interviewing planners, designers, engineers, fleet company owners, custom van builders, as well as camper van companies from all over Europe and the USA I realised to tell the Ford Transit story from its conception in 1958 to the present day would be a very hard story to tell, the story itself twists and turns and goes off in so many directions it is more like a trilogy than a simple book. With over 75,000 words and 310 picture's it covers the Transit story in some detail when it was finished and sent off to the editors for the last time I felt there were still four more books inside me ready to write. during the 2 years it took to write I met and interviewed over twenty Ford designers along with engineers from the past and present. The stories flooded out and I came away even more infused and excited as their enthusiasm rubbed off on me far more than I expected. To meet these amazing people that had not worked on the Ford Transit for over 50 years but are still enthusiastic today as they were back in the 1960's is incredible. Their affection for the van and their part in its never ending story is a joy to behold that I felt I just had to get to the bottom of this interest they all seemed to have. I quickly found out that the Transit is not just a van it is a way of life that has become imbedded in our culture. Quite amazing that a vehicle that was built to carry everything from boxes of medical supplies to bricks should end up carrying out peoples passions and change the lives of most of the people that have come into contact with the vehicle on a day to day basis.
Facts
While the world wide web is full of so called historic facts on the Ford Transit it has been my experience most of the text is not correct in one way or another and when you are dealing with history it is important to get your facts right as we all know. "Cutting and pasting text just doesn't not make sense when you are dealing with facts and thats what happens on the web" The Transit van club gets around 20 phone calls, emails and texts a day from all around the globe about the Transit. They come from the press, Ford enthusiasts, the police, magazine editors, van drivers and company owners all looking for a "write up" for their promotional paperwork or history details... Basically they are all looking for one thing...
"THE TRUE FACTS"
The problem in sorting out the facts from the fiction is not an easy task in todays world as the internet is full of experts on every subject from Doorknobs to Diamonds. To find the experts just type in your subject in a search engine and it will do the rest; You then take their words, copy and paste and the job is done ! The problem is the basic information surrounding the Ford Transit is vast and I have a whole study full of information. It is not that all these websites, magazines and information gurus have it wrong they are just re-telling a story that has been re-told time and time again and every time it is told it changes just by a few words and ends up incorrect.
Truth
So to make sure that I have our facts right I have checked and double checked all the stories and traveled round the world to interview and meet the actual people that built, designed and handled the Ford Transit. These people are part of the story from the first days of the Transit and I wanted to make sure no fiction crept in by mistake. I worked hard and cross referenced all stories and information to ensure that facts were correct from the countless publications I read and only used Fords press packs from the correct timeline and spoke to the people from that timeline in order to tell the true Transit story from start to finish. No news paper, magazine or hearsay clippings were used from the press but Ford brochures,pictures, interviewed employees and all factual events were.
All the facts have been double checked Then checked again.
Over the next year I will get the full story on the site,in the meantime
Enjoy
Peter Lee