This Ford heavy-truck nameplate belongs to the Aeromax 113 era of Ford’s Louisville/Aeromax line, a Class 8 vocational and tractor family positioned above Ford’s medium-duty offerings. The A8513 designation appears in 1996-era parts and fitment references as Ford A8513 Aeromax 113, indicating the set-back-front-axle Aeromax configuration with the 113-inch BBC layout. In practice, it was part of Ford’s late heavy-truck program and shared its basic cab and chassis architecture with related Louisville and Aeromax variants used for a wide range of commercial work.
The Ford-badged run was brief. Ford announced the sale of its heavy-duty truck business in 1997, and the heavy-truck lines were transferred into the Sterling brand soon afterward, with Sterling trucks launched in 1998. That transition effectively ended Ford-badged production of this truck family after the 1998 model year, even though the underlying design continued under Sterling branding. For collectors and heavy-truck enthusiasts, the Aeromax 113 stands as one of the last Ford Class 8 names to wear the Blue Oval before Ford exited the heavy-truck market.
Because this exact Ford nameplate did not have a later Ford revival, it is best treated as a single continuous production run from the mid-1990s through 1998. The model is notable as a transitional truck: a late, aerodynamic Ford highway tractor that bridged Ford’s historic Louisville heavy-truck era and the subsequent Sterling chapter.