1972 Styling Proposal photos posted...CHECK THESE OUT!

[FORDification]

I'm constantly adding new brochures, pamphlets, etc. to the Factory Literature Index, but while they're all pretty cool in their own right, many of these are just repackaged versions of the same information. However, I've just posted something that I know none of you have ever seen before....and I'll admit it, I find these darned cool!

Any auto manufacturer starts several years in advance planning the models that will be released in the future. They try out many different things in an effort to do some updating, but rarely do we actually get a chance to take a look at some of the proposed changes...especially those that never made it into production.

...until now!

I've recently gotten my hands on two different photo sheets, with 4 photos on each sheet, dated in 1968 of some proposed styling changes for the upcoming 1972 model year for the light-duty trucks. The first sheet is dated July 1968 and the second one is dated November 1968. And as you'll see, there were some semi-radical ideas being tossed around for the new body style. I've scanned each photo is high-resolution so you can check them out in detail.

1972 FORD LIGHT TRUCK STYLING PROPOSAL PHOTOS

• 1972 Styling Proposal Photos (Dated July 1969)
• 1972 Styling Proposal Photos (Dated October 1969)
• 1972 Styling Proposal Photos (Dated May 1970)

Keep in mind that these aren't prototypes, per se. They are simply BODY styling proposals. Evidence of this is in Fig. 3, where they are obviously using a pre-'65 chassis, with a single mono-beam front axle. Regardless, these are a very cool piece of Ford truck history, and I'm excited to be able to share these with you.

[fordman]

looks like they took a c10 and a dodge adventurer and put them together. yuk.

[Thunderfoot]

Way cool find

[AlleyCat]

Thanks Keith. Way cool find.

The July 68 photo set looks very Moparish.

[willowbilly3]

looks like they took a c10 and a dodge adventurer and put them together. yuk.

Yeah that, and did it in Austrailia

[wildcard]

Looks like dodge saw it and put it into production.

[td]

wow just wow!!

[rjewkes]

Glad they left them the way they are. But look at all the stylings that look to have survived to the courier and the tiny rangers and the 80's F- series

[rubiranch]

Nice find Keith.

They kind of remind me of the early Ford Ranger PUs, the little ones from 1984.

They also look like something that Ford would have sold in Australia.

[mk]

The truck in the oct '69 pics sure foreshadows the final '73 design with the cab roof, hood and rudimentary 'dent' along the side...

mike

[71 LONG BED]

Wow, what could have been.....
I think I'll refere to them as "ugly sides"

[OldRedFord]

Very interesting, and the grills do look mopar'ish . I do like the rocker panel and wheel arch lines tho.

[MaxKlinger]

I think I'll refere to them as "ugly sides"

HAHAHA I like that. "Ugly Sides"

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that it looks like a Dodge. The grille inserts on one of the photos looks just like the as-built 1971 Bumpside grille.

So does this mean that Ford intended to bring about the new bodystyle, which eventually became the Dentsides, in 1972? I wonder what delayed the Dentsides until 1973?

[FORDification]

Well, technically the Dentside era DID start in '72. Typically the new model years run from August to July, so the first Dentsides came out in late '72.

When I bought these online from a vintage memorabilia dealer, I was hoping they'd come with some form of documentation. Unfortunately, they didn't. I e-mailed the dealer and asked if he could provide any info on them...here's the reply I received today:

...I purchased these photos many years ago from an ex Ford executive in Detroit. I do not have any documentation and can not even remember the mans name as it was in the early 1990's. I received many Ford car and truck proposals and they were all photographed on a factory turnstile. The date the photo was taken is shown on a placard and the date of the vehicle sometimes appears as a license plate. Most of these were photographs about three years before the vehicle was released...

I'm sure there are other similar photos, so I'll definitely be keeping my eyes and ears open.

[fordman]

i looked a second time and the tailgate is a real dentside tailgate. see how it slopes from the sides toward the letters. so that was the only thing fromthis drawing that made into manufacture.