The ubiquitous Ford Transit, which Ford described as a family of light commercial vehicles, has been on our roads since 1965 and is still going strong today, having undergone many upgrades, facelifts and employed in multiple uses along the way. The majority of these have also been modelled by Oxford over the years and we are once more filling a gap in the 1:76 scale range with the Mk 2. The upgraded Mark 2 first appeared in 1977 and continued in Ford production until 1985. Our newly tooled model is registered C332 OYJ from that last year, coinciding with the Ford Transit reaching an amazing production quantity of 2 million vehicles.
The Mk 2 came with a restyled longer nose section and could now accommodate a new A-line engine. In 1984, the York diesel engine was redesigned into the 2.5 L 'DI' (direct injection) unit. At this time this generation received a minor facelift including a grey plastic front grille with integrated headlamp surrounds, wraparound indicators, longer bumper end caps and multifunction rear lights incorporating fog, indicator, reversing and side lights.
The choice of purchase options on the Mark 2 was very wide. It was available in 6 body styles: Van, Kombi, Chassis Cab, Parcel Van, Bus, and Crew bus all available in short-wheelbase (2690 mm) and long-wheelbase (3000 mm) versions. A selection of 5 engines was available: 1.6-litre OHC Petrol, 1.6-litre OHV Petrol (Kent), 2.0-litre OHC Petrol, 2.0-litre OHC Petrol (Economy) and 2.4-litre Diesel. On top of this were 32 door combinations, 6 axle ratios and options for 12 – 17 interior seats. All of these were available in any combination when purchased with Ford's extensive custom plan. This vast choice resulted in the Transit’s amazing success as it proved so versatile.
Our first release is decorated in white with black and silver trim. The interior is black too, apart from white interior door panel inserts. It comes as a two cab door van with a sliding door on the near side and two rear doors. Oxford has replicated faithfully the physical features of the real thing. A final detail sees the Ford badge in blue set in the radiator grille and again on the bottom offside rear edge of the van beneath the door. Given the vast number of variations on the actual Ford Transit Mk 2, there are bound to be many exciting Oxford miniature releases to look forward to.
