Ford introduced their new 10cwt commercial in March 1938, the Fordson E83W. In Ford code, E signified England, 8 denoted 1938, 3 indicated a 10hp four-cylinder engine, and W meant forward control commercial.
The E83W was a good-looking vehicle, which in truth could perhaps better be described as semi-forward control, as although the driver sat beside the engine rather than behind it (which would be the case with normal control), the E83W did have a short protruding bonnet.
The Fordson name was first used on a Dagenham-built commercial in 1932 on the Model BB 2-ton truck, with the brand being adopted for all Ford’s British commercial vehicles by 1935.
In 1937, the Dagenham-designed Fordson 7V forward control two-ton truck was launched. The grille of this pre-war 7V was used on the 10cwt E83W throughout its productionalthough the 7V itself received a flatter, plainer, more utilitarian grille for military versions from 1941, which it kept when civilian production recommenced after the War. The E83W’s headlamps were in turn sourced from the Fordson E27N tractor.
